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New here w/ 14wk border collie/chow chow mix


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Hello all,

I wanted to introduce myself and our newest family member, Willow. He is a 14wk? collie/chow mix adopted from a rescue organization. We have previously owned chows, so his collie part is new to us. We have been training him with the basics, sit, down, kisses, stay, etc for short periods. On Saturday we start clicker training and puppy socialization. (Up til now his has been w/ my 14 year old chow and lots of family members and neighbors.) I haven't been able to introduce him to more dogs as we were waiting for his shots for training and the dogs that live near us tend to be aggressive and I didn't want him to have a bad episode.

 

He is a calm pup with a tendency towards submissiveness w/my older dog. My questions are: Have you seen your puppies go through a crazy puppy time at a certain part of the day and is this ok as long as he isn't trying to jump and nip? Willow gets exercise through short walks, playing fetch or chew w/his toys and general sniff time in the back yard. At around 8 in the evening and 8 in the morning he likes to tuck his tail and just run willy nilly around the kitchen/family area. He was trying to jump and nip, but we curb this with a short "Ahht". (I used this w/ my kids when they were young. Kind of a ah,ah or no no) So now he will do his crazy run for a short period and then lie down for a bit. He isn't harming anything, but I wasn't sure if this leads to other things when he is older.

 

My other question is the names for commands. I've noticed that people use different names for the commands and I am wondering if I am using the wrong words will mess him up the further we take him in the variety of training. I'm sure our trainer will be teaching us certain things also. Does it matter if I've started w/ the wrong one? Will he be able to relearn words if I've used the wrong one?

 

I feel like the new mom afraid to make mistakes. It's been 10 years since I have trained my last chow.

 

Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Georgie

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Welcome! Sounds like you have a nice (and hairy) pup on your hands! Thank you for rescuing a youngster that needed a loving and forever home.

 

Some folks call it the "zoomies" and it is perfectly normal. My youngsters all had that crazy half-hour or so each evening. Reminded me of little children who get wound up and wild just prior to bedtime, and I think it's exactly the same thing. They often tend to grow out of it but some get the zoomies at some time of day or during some situation all their lives. I think it's just letting off steam before bedtime or when feeling especially playful. Your use of the "ahht" and his responding by stopping the undesired behavior is just the right thing to do. Nothing wrong with the zoomies as long as he doesn't get carried away and nip, etc.

 

Commands. Now that's often a matter of personal preference but, as you already realize, you don't want to train a word that will not be the one you want to use later (or, worse yet, will be to similar to the work you want to use for a different command). Usually, I think, that is more of an issue when you are going to work dogs on stock (and, for instance, use "come" for your recall when "come by" is the command for flanking in a clockwise direction).

 

I think the most important thing is to be consistent - if you use "here" or "come" for your recall is less important than that you use the same word to mean the same thing each time. In addition, avoid words for different commands that sound too similar and may be confused by the dog (or you).

 

Also, don't use a word/command over and over - if you don't get a result when you say it once, you may choose to repeat (especially when training initially or for a young pup), but once the pup/dog knows what the word means, expect a response when you first say the word - don't get in the habit of repeating so that the pup figures he doesn't need to respond unless you've said it ten times (or, worse yet, just ignores you entirely).

 

You sound like a thoughtful and concerned owner, and Willow sounds very fortunate to have been adopted by you - very best wishes!

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Thank you Sue. I appreciate the advice. I have noticed myself and my kids repeating a command too many times. We will definitely stop that. Willow is a great pup. It has been a bit of an adjustment for us going from older dogs to a young guy, but we are enjoying ourselves.

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The running episodes you are describing are the zoomies! My Petey has at least of those a day and he's 9 years old. As a pup, he would try to nip at our ankles and jump around, but like you are doing, we corrected him and now he knows how to "zoom" .. properly? Haha.

 

Also, you'll find the most tiring things for your pup is mental stimulation (like through training) rather than physical (while that's still very important) The Border Collie part of your new pup was bred for a job and that job was herding. For those people who don't have sheep to herd, like myself, we need to find a way to channel the focus they have so they don't go focusing on inappropriate things like moving cars or the family cat. When your puppy is fully grown, you can do this by playing with disc, agility, flyball and other doggy sports. As a youngster, keep him stimulated by teaching him new tricks and playing tricky games. If you use the search function at the top right of the website, you can search "mental stimulation" and I'm sure there are plenty of games that will comes up that you could play with your puppy.

 

Lastly, as for commands, in my opinion I don't think it matters what commands you use for your pup. As long as he does what your asking, that's all that matters, I think! If you find that your trainer is using a different "down" command than you or something like that, I'm sure he/she won't mind that you and your pup have a different name for it. One of my friends has a Golden Retriever whose command for "drop it" or "give it" is.. "Ta" but she knows what it means and she hands over whatever she has in her mouth, and that's what matters.

 

Good luck with your new puppy and welcome! He looks adorable in your display picture, do you have anymore pictures? We love puppy pictures here!

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Yes, pictures and more pictures, please! Willow sounds like a very nice puppy who found a very nice home. Welcome aboard!

 

I will agree with Sue that the zoomies is pretty standard. I find with my puppy Juno that her zoomies seem to escalate, becoming wilder and wilder, and then I say "Go in your crate." She goes in, lies down, closes her eyes, and is soundly asleep in minutes! So, yes, it can just be discharging all the circuits in preparation for a good sound sleep.

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I use the basic commands: sit, down, come, rollover, shake, drop it, leave it, etc... BUT for telling a dog to get off something I use the word OFF not get down. Many dogs learn the difference but I think it can be confusing to teach a dog down means lay down so when you say get down and they lie down. The dog is doing exactly what they were taught technically. Those are the kind of commands I would be careful teaching along with the ones mentioned above for herding, sports, etc... you really want to try and avoid that since it can be a tad confusing.

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Of course, Kim, why didn't I remember that very important one! That has got to be the #1 mix-up of command words that the family dog (and other dogs) need to know.

 

"Down" is to lie down and "off" is to get off (of the furniture, of a person, whatever - all feet on the floor).

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Must. have. pictures. Please! :D

 

I trained and showed chows for fifteen years, so I have a soft spot for BC/chow mixes. Which there seem to be a fair few of. :D DH says it is a part of the chow chow plot for world domination - breed with every dog on the planet until they are all chow mixes. bwahahahaha :rolleyes:

 

Anyway - Willow has the zoomies. You will come to know them well. :D And no, I don't think it will mess him up if you have to switch commands later on. My Violet, like many rescues, came to me as an adult, and she probably had to readjust to some different command words. BC are smart beasties - I'm sure Willow will adapt if he has to. :D

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You all are great. Thanks so much for your help. Now I know why Willow looks at me strangely when I tell him "off" for when he jumps up and puts his paws on the furniture or people. I was using the same command for when he wants something he shouldn't have. That "off" should be "leave it"? And "off" should be when he is on something he shouldn't be? I was also using "drop" for when he had something in his mouth that he shouldn't eat. Poor dog, no wonder he was confused.

 

I posted some pictures in the gallery section under Georgie's Willow. I am still learning how to photograph him. Thanks again to those who posted tips on how to photograph dark dogs. The picture of him on his back cracks me up. That is how he likes to sleep or chew on things. He will hold his chew in the air while he wiggles around on his back. Painted Ponies- I think you are right about the chow's trying to take over. I never realized how many chow mixes there were until we decided to find one to rescue. :rolleyes:

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Ahhhh yes! The zoomies. I love it. I actually think its cute. My bc has done that at exactly 9:00 pm every night! But now that she is a little older 14 mos, she doesnt quite do it every night. She now only does that every once in a while and only for a few minutes. However, I still sometimes see her run the zoomies out in our back yard sometimes. It still amazes me.

 

Cassidy

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Awww - what a cute, hairy puppy.

 

Zoomies are fun, and not just a puppy thing. With the commands, I would think that as long as you use the same command for the same activity and different commands for different behaviours, you're good. With agility, a lot of people use "touch" for the contact command. I use "feet" because touch meant something else for my dogs. Some people say "scramble," some "a-frame" some "walk it", some "#$%^&*()" (hey, wait to see what comes out of your mouth when you get turned around backwards and trip over the teeter) It's good if the old standards are the commonly used phrases (here, sit, down, stand, up, crate, stay, off, leave it, give) because if your dog is being watched by someone else, at the vet, or at the groomer, it will be much easier for them to manage. But, honestly, a lot of the cues the dog will pick up from you will be body language, not verbal. Mine go find a place to lay down when I sit at the computer, jump to their feet when they hear the Windows sign off, go racing to the garage door when I pick up the car keys, exit the kitchen and sit waiting in the door way when I get their food trays out, leap to their feet and start searching for a toy when I look at them and smile, go crazy when I put on my tennis shoes, come over to me and stand still when I pick up a dog brush, and wait by the front door when I get their leashes, all without verbal commands. Currently, my older dog has picked up somehow that I am planning on a long trip and is glued to me so he won't miss out.

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I use the basic commands: sit, down, come, rollover, shake, drop it, leave it, etc... BUT for telling a dog to get off something I use the word OFF not get down. Many dogs learn the difference but I think it can be confusing to teach a dog down means lay down so when you say get down and they lie down. The dog is doing exactly what they were taught technically. Those are the kind of commands I would be careful teaching along with the ones mentioned above for herding, sports, etc... you really want to try and avoid that since it can be a tad confusing.

 

This reminds me of a funny story the obedience instructor gave. A guy has a dog Bud (fictitous name) he has trained for the 'standard' commands 'sit, down, come, rollover, shake, drop it, leave it, and OFF' (obvious what the commands mean) Anyway, his girlfriend is visiting and he has to run to the store so his girlfriend stays at home with the dog. While he's gone, Bud jumps up on the sofa and sits down. Girlfriend in turn thinks the dog probably shouldn't be on the sofa so she commands Bud to get down. Bud lays down. Girlfriend continues commanding to get down, and Bud just keeps looking at her dumbfounded ('what are you talking about, I AM down!???'). 15 minutes later the boyfriend walks in, his girlfriend commences to tell him his dog doesn't listen. Says she's been trying to get him off the sofa for 15 minutes and he just looks at her. Boyfriend responds "Bud, OFF" and the dog immediately gets off the sofa. Eh, maybe it's just funny to me because I ust imagine the fruestration the girl must have been going through, Bud just looking at her in a confused daze, and boyfriend comes home and just says off anf the dog complys ...

 

I don't really care about the conventional 'shake' command and I won't say why, but I do have Sassy trained for it with the command 'paw'/'other paw'.

 

The 'shake' (and 'no shake) I have her trained for is reserved for bath time (or when she gets wet). That way I am usually successful getting her to shake off the excess water without my getting bombarded with water drops!

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