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We recently adopted a border collie mix. At least we think she is a mix, I dont really know. We were told she was given up because she was too mellow. That sounded perfect for us! We have fellen in love with her. She is so sweet and loving. She is very well behaved when we are with her but when we leave her alone in the yard, she digs and pulls plants out of their pots and bbq tools off the BBQ and who knows what she is up to today! I am assuming she is bored. I cant be with her all he time. I run with her at night and always set aside time to play but during the day, I have to go to wokr. Any suggstions on how to keep her busy? I really dont want to kennel her.

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First of all, welcome. This section of the forum is for training discussion of working stockdogs, though, so you'll get more responses if you post in the general discussion part of the board.

 

The only answer is to kennel her. A bored dog left to her own devices will make up games of her own, and it usually includes destruction of some kind! :rolleyes: A border collie in particular loves to be with their people or be mentally stimulated some how. Few are content to hang out in the yard by themselves. I think you'll find that most of us crate our dogs when we're at work, or unable to hang out with them. And most dogs I know enjoy their crates, too. Or, if you don't want to crate her, at least set her up in a doggie proof room with some appropriate, safe chew toys.

 

She's a real cutie, by the way! And be warned, just because she's mellow now, most rescues take a few months to truly settle in and have the true personality shine through. You might be in for a surprise. Have fun with her.

 

ETA: Oops, I see she was mellow before you adopted her. Well, never mind that, then. :D And, she doesn't look like a mix at all from that picture. Based soley on the one shot, she looks 100% border collie to me.

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Why wouldnt you leave them outside? She seems so happy laying in the sun. She is not so happy going into her kennel. But I want to do what is best for her. My last dog was an Akita/Malamute mix, and I just couldnt see locking her up all day. She love patroling the yard and laying in the sun.

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Why wouldnt you leave them outside? She seems so happy laying in the sun. She is not so happy going into her kennel. But I want to do what is best for her. My last dog was an Akita/Malamute mix, and I just couldnt see locking her up all day. She love patroling the yard and laying in the sun.

 

I've heard more than a few stories of dogs being stolen from their yards, or found poisoned in and around my neighborhood. These may not be issues where you live, but there are also questions of whether she can escape, or if other critters can get in, or of her eating something she shouldn't.

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Why wouldnt you leave them outside? She seems so happy laying in the sun. She is not so happy going into her kennel. But I want to do what is best for her. My last dog was an Akita/Malamute mix, and I just couldnt see locking her up all day. She love patroling the yard and laying in the sun.

 

You consider a dog being inside a home as "locked up"? Interesting.

 

It is dangerous for your dog to be outside. There are people who get kicks out of opening gates and letting dogs out, POISONING dogs, harassing dogs, STEALING dogs.

 

I would never keep a dog outside unsupervised. If they were a dog who got bored in the house and into things, whether they liked the kennel or not, they have to be in there unless they can behave.

 

How about looking into doggie daycare?

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Guest SweetJordan

I agree w/ the other things that were said.

But just wondering do you exercise her in the morning before work? If not you should.

I'd suggest providing exercise in the morning and when you get home. And if you don't like the doggie daycare idea you could even think about having someone come to your house in the middle of the day to take her out.

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Guest jackieandryan

People can argue all they want about whether or not dogs should stay inside or outside. I have no problems having my dogs outside during the day. Yes, bad stuff can happen to them but one of the reasons I have dogs is for personal safety. If anyone comes near my house at night, I know about it. Unless the weather is bad, they sleep outside 90% of the time. I know many people that live around me who have had their cars broken into at night. We have never had that problem in 24 years. Coincidence? I think not. We also have a lot of expensive lawn equipment in our backyard so I prefer to have them out there to protect that as well. They are well behaved during the day and love running around the backyard. Anyone who wants to tell me that I am a bad pet owner because I leave my dogs outside all day can kiss my behind <3 . The new Border Collie is crate trained however and lives with my girlfriend. She will however come over for play dates on occasion and be left alone with my 2 dogs unsupervised.

 

Tracy,

 

I would try to leave her as many SAFE chew toys as possible during the day. Good luck with the new dog.

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It probably depends on what the area is like around where you live. I have never left a dog inside during the day, they have always been left in the yard. I have never had a problem with them being let out of the yard, being poisoned etc. I see no issue with leaving her outside all day, but maybe things are different in Australia.

 

I would stick with giving her bones, kongs, a kiddie swimming pool, plenty of toys, possibly a sandpit... basically a whole variety of things that she can amuse herself with. You can make cheap toys by putting stuff in empty plastic bottles that she has to work to get out again.

 

She is beautiful, good luck with her.

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For several years, I allowed my dogs access to the backyard while I was at work and I never ran into any problems. Then I got a dog who became a terrible nuisance barker and one of my neighbors took shots at her with a paint gun. They missed but I saw that 1. it was unfair to my neighbors to need to listen to her barking all day 2. my attempts to lessen her barking were not effective and 3. she was in danger of being hurt or worse if left outside. I now no longer trust my dogs outside without supervision both to avoid bad habits from developing and for their safety. I think a lot depends on your specific dog, where you live and what you expect from your dog. I'm happy with their warning barks and anyone trying to break into my house or mess around in my yard isn't going to do so without at least a whole lot of noise from my three.

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Why wouldnt you leave them outside?

 

Well, it's an interesting coincidence that I read your question today, since this date has some significance to me on this topic. Growing up, we had outside Black Labs who were hunting dogs. My dad got a pup for me when I was in 4th grade (not really mine in retrospect, but I did get to do all the obedience training). He ended up being a barker, I believe because he was upset and confused about getting lots of attention from me but living apart from the family. On Halloween, when I was in 5th grade, I came home and called him, but he didn't come. I went and found him close to death in his dog house. We rushed him to the vet, but he died. He had been given poisoned meat. I don't know if it was a neighbor who was pissed about his barking or a horrible Halloween prank.

 

Now that I'm an adult and have my own dogs, they live with me in the house, which includes staying indoors when I'm not there. My greatest responsibility to them is to keep them safe and healthy. I'm not saying outside dogs can't be kept safe and healthy, and happy. But I just don't like the idea of not knowing for sure when I'm not there. It's not just a hypothetical to me, it's happened to me and it won't happen again.

 

As for protection, I want my dogs to see the inside of the house as "theirs" to protect, and I know for a fact that a barking dog in the house is not only a deterent to stealing stuff outside the house (if people are home, they are alerted), but to breaking INTO the house. I've talked to real live, actual burglars about this, and if the dogs are in the yard, they say they can usually find a way around them to get inside. If they're inside, they'll generally just leave the house alone because the situation is more unpredictable. And believe me, they check it out first to see if there's a dog and where the dog is.

 

ETA: I'm not judging anyone who keeps their dogs outside when they're gone as a "bad" dog owner. I do understand the reasons, and my older dog would probably be happier if he had access to the outside all the time or even if he were left outside when we're gone. But he's not the decider :rolleyes: I am, and he can just pout on the couch about not being able to chase squirrels when we're not home!

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Thanks for all the feedback! I got her a kong and a chew bone and I started a training/playtime routine in the morning. She didnt do any damage yesterday so maybe we are on to something. I really have no concerns of someone in my neighborhood poisoning or stealing her. My neighbors to the west have 5 dogs that bark incessently and no one has poisoned them yet :rolleyes: I will keep trying to come up with new toys for her. i like the idea of something in a bottle that she needs to work on to get out. That will keep her busy.

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I'm in the same boat as you Tracy (Border Collie/German Shepherd mutt), though I live in an apartment in Toronto. Truth be told, the only thing you can do is make it your mission to kill them in the morning (not literally of course), and then make sure they are occupied during the day. The only way I can do this for my pup, is to wake up with enough time for an hour and a half walk. We start off the walk with a 10-20 minute training session whereby we work on whatever it is I feel like working on for the day, followed by a hike of sorts around the city for 30 minutes, with him heeling for the majority of it/being treated for walking properly. This exhausts him. I then end up at a park with some other owners, where he plays fetch/plays with the other dogs until we go in.

 

He then gets walked again by someone I pay daily around 11-12, and, of course, gets another hour or so when I return at 6ish. All in all, it's about 4 hours of walking/stimulation outside, and he's still raring to play when we get inside etc.

 

The fact of the matter is, these guys were built to do a lot more than we can throw at them, especially physically. All you can do is tire them out to the point where they nap a bit before wanting to play again :rolleyes:

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