got a bc pup last week

[sean mac]

...uh....for a four legged animal this guy is pretty smart.

During training he learns quickly. he sort acknowledges when he's got a command but obeys it selectively to try and have me teach him more stuff or do something likes better... ...is this even possible with a 3 month old puppy or am I losing the plot...

[G. Festerling]

Get used to it!

The sooner you acknowledge that you "could" be outsmarted , the faster you can get used to a whole new way of life!

But know that you are not alone!

[Lewie'sMom]

Welcome to the collective. You HAVE been assimilated.

 

Three months is young, but not too young, to start training/molding your pup. He is a baby so remember that he has a very short attention span just like a human young'un does.

 

This is a great board to learn from folks with lots of experience with BCs so you've come to the right place. At this point in his new life, keep training sessions short, maybe 5 minutes intervals, but with several sessions throughout the day. Keep it fun and positive and always end sessions with a success no matter how small. Good luck!

 

Oh, and it is mandatory to post pics of your pup.

[gcv-border]

Congratulations on your new pup! I agree with the above ^^^^. Training a biddable dog forces you (in a good way) to be more creative in your training, and subsequently elevates your training skills. Soon you begin to feel superior to those other dog owners with their 'average' dogs , but then your dog does something totally off the wall which humbles you. I love it.

 

Jovi

[olivehill]

Welcome -- to both the boards and life with a Border Collie.

 

Sometimes their intelligence is just mind boggling to observe. I don't think your pup is so much maliciously manipulating you, so much as you're probably just losing his interest by focusing on one thing for too long. Try mixing it up a bit. At his age training doesn't have to be in sessions so much as you can just ask for a sit here and there through the day, expect him to be a good citizen in your home, etc. Have fun with it. They grow so fast, pretty soon you'll be staring down his impending birthday and wondering how he became such a good dog in such a short period.

[sean mac]

whoa.. Thanks for all the honest advice - all taken on board. Below is Jin the first day I had him home, he is a bit shy looking in this pic but he is a confident and bold natured guy. Jin is a type of sword. I'd like him to turn out sort of tough...not in a mean way. He is stocky and has big paws. He came out of workers and was given to me by a sheep farmer. The dam is small bitch I never saw the sire but he must have been a larger type.

 

 

 

My next question is how do I get him to calm down... bahaha

[WildFlower]

Welcome! Jin is a handsome fellow.

 

Teaching your pup to settle is a very important lesson for him and tool for you.

 

I would encourage you to begin teaching him to go to his crate (or mat or bed) on a particular command. For my guys it is "go to bed" all three of them go to their respective beds. He is still really young so this will be a learning process. So when you decide play time is over or he is getting a little wild, give the command and pick him up or walk him over to his crate, give him a treat and a bone to chew on and leave him there until he calms down.

 

I'm sure others will share their advice too.

[sean mac]

Welcome! Jin is a handsome fellow.

 

Teaching your pup to settle is a very important lesson for him and tool for you.

 

I would encourage you to begin teaching him to go to his crate (or mat or bed) on a particular command. For my guys it is "go to bed" all three of them go to their respective beds. He is still really young so this will be a learning process. So when you decide play time is over or he is getting a little wild, give the command and pick him up or walk him over to his crate, give him a treat and a bone to chew on and leave him there until he calms down.

 

I'm sure others will share their advice too.

 

 

thanks for this tip,I will take it seriously. he goes to his crate pretty well at night and sleeps quietly in it. but during the day he avoids it because he's associated going in during the day with me leaving, although he hasn't been left that long on his own yet.

[gcv-border]

thanks for this tip,I will take it seriously. he goes to his crate pretty well at night and sleeps quietly in it. but during the day he avoids it because he's associated going in during the day with me leaving, although he hasn't been left that long on his own yet.

 

It sounds like he is doing well in his crate training, and it should be easy to train him to like his crate during the day too. As Wildflower suggests - give him a chew toy (antler, Kong with some wet food smeared inside, etc.) EVERY time you put him in the crate. He will associate the crate with a delicious treat. Even now, my dog at 5 years old will get a treat or two (maybe not a chew toy because he is older and is used to the crate) every time I put him in his crate. Just think of it as a "Thank You".

 

As far as leaving, if you treat him in his crate when you leave, pretty soon you may see him run to his crate when you leave. He is probably thinking "Leave already! I want my treat!"

 

I treat my dogs when I am leaving and then just leave without drama or even saying goodbye. When I came home, I would ignore them when they were all jumping around and happy to see me. If they were calm, I would pet them and praise them in a calm voice. I didn't want to see them over-excited. Nowadays, they pretty much just come to see who is coming into the house, but don't get too excited when they see me - which is a bit of a downer, but that is the trade-off I accept to not have a crazy, wild dog when I come into the house. On the other hand, DH has not followed the same philosophy (in spite of my advice ), so when he comes home, he has two jumping, screaming dogs that will try to jump on him in his business suit.

 

P.S. Jin is adorable. I want a puppy!

Jovi

[sean mac]

It sounds like he is doing well in his crate training,

P.S. Jin is adorable. I want a puppy!

Jovi

 

cool. good idea. I have a pig ear in his crate but I'll get some treats. Yeah he's got a lot of personality. I'm really happy with him we bonded right away.

[D'Elle]

VERY cute puppy.

Welcome to the world of border collies.

You have good advice above. Just be patient and remember training works best if taken in small, incremental steps.

You said you want him to turn out kind of tough. I think the best way to have a "kind of tough" dog is to have a confident dog. If he feels safe with you all the time, and knows that you've always got his back, will protect him and keep him safe, no matter what the situation, then he will have confidence. And I suspect that is actually what you mean by "tough". Best way to do that is introduce him to lots and lots of different places, circumstances, people, things, always keeping him safe in each circumstance. (Not to be around other dogs or places where other dogs have been until he has had all his shots, of course). Lots of stores will let you take him in, lots of people will want to come up to see him, etc. Also different surfaces are good, different noises, and so on. Introduce him to the world and make sure he doesn't have any bad experiences.

:-)

(I feel puppy envy)

D'Elle

[Jexa]

Jovi your house sounds like mine! They run to their crates the second they think I *might* be leaving, are happy but calm when I come home and go totally batsh*t crazy when "daddy" comes home because I haven't been able to train him like the dogs

 

 

 

To the OP- You've gotten great advice, the only thing I have to add is to try feeding him part or all of his food in his crate, at least til he gets to the "yay crate!" stage. There are lots of toys like the kong wobbler or busy buddy toys that you can put kibble in (if that's what you're feeding) that make the dog work a little to get all the food out. Keeps them busy, entertained, slows down the vacuum cleaner effect which is healthier, and teaches your pup that going in the crate might not mean you're leaving-it might mean food! At his normal feeding time, just put him in his crate with his food and let him out after he's finished. Especially if he's very food motivated, feeding him in his crate will really help make that association that the crate is a pretty fun place to be. He's a cutie by the way!

[rushdoggie]

Jovi your house sounds like mine! They run to their crates the second they think I *might* be leaving, are happy but calm when I come home and go totally batsh*t crazy when "daddy" comes home because I haven't been able to train him like the dogs

 

 

 

So glad I am not alone.

 

When we come home together the dogs are pretty quiet. He says "how come they are shrieking at me when I come home alone?" I asked him if he let them out because they were shrieking and he says "of course! they are shrieking!"

 

 

Maybe he will get it some day...

[sean mac]

yeah this is all really good advice.

D'Elle yes confident and calm is what I mean by tough, also that he will be loyal and not overly affectionate with strangers-didn't mean a guard dog or anything. This seems to be his nature and what attracted me to him in the first place. He walked away from his mother right toward me while the other pups were sort of staying behind her. Also I took him to my friends house and he just kind of stretched out at my feet, when another friend came over and called him he just kind of half looked at him out a bit and went back to sleep. nice... He's all ready got it, all I have to do is not spoil it. It will take some work though and I'll defo take your advice on the exposure. yeah I like how you put it to make him feel that I have his back. it was one of those things where I had him home and it was an instant bond like that, got lucky. thanks.

[Notorious]

It's super important to set a couple hour down time every day. It helps create an off switch. For a couple days make him stay in his crate he will take a nap. Make it a good thing like everyone else said. But naturally dogs like to den. Once he realizes its not a bad thing he'll go in all the time. I don't even have to shut the crate door anymore.

[sean mac]

hi guys. the pup is doing good. glad I have the above advice though. hes good with the kids but gets mouthy with me sometimes. It's sort of affectionate playfighting but I have a no teeth on skin rule, what I've used in the past is a pinch on the neck and a no but it's not sinking in yet. any advice there?

[Gloria Atwater]

What I do, if a pup gets too mouthy with me, is the minute his teeth make contact, I give a BIG, high-pitched "OWWW!" and jerk away from him. I'll stand away and look at him as if my feelings are hurt. No moving, no scolding, just looking at him as if I'm unhappy. (The response I usually get from the pup, that first time, is one of acute confusion.) I give him a moment to think about it, then I relax, get happy again and settle back down to his level, and let him come to me again.

 

So, every time he offers that mouthy play-bite, he gets the big yelp and I react as if wounded. They learn among their litter mates what a yelp of pain is. Then after a couple seconds, I dismiss the whole thing and go back to interacting with him happily as if nothing happened.

 

Try that, anyhow. It works for me, and ever after my dogs know what "ow" means. And remember to keep your own energy level mellow, in case you're accidentally exciting him to play a bit too rough.

 

Best of luck!

 

~ Gloria

[rushdoggie]

Some thoughts on bite inhibition. I allow puppies to chew on me and teach them via the "owch" that Gloria outlined how to not bite too hard.

 

A good article:

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/teaching-bite-inhibition

[sean mac]

very interesting approach. will give it a go. thanks.

[sean mac]

jin doing good. very proud of him.. he is more than I expected from the breed to be honest. I mean he is mental to herd a soccer ball but is calm and confident most of the time. He has a lot of prey drive which surprised me. I've spent a lot of time with him off lead in the country which is how I develop communication with a dog. I let them train me really. Anyway he seems to have a nose and he points which was surprising. I purposely didn't want a hunting breed because I've mellowed out since my youth. But if the bug gets us both it might be hard to resist...

[sean mac]

oh the only other thing I wanted to ask about is potty training. when I first got him the weather was horrible so I just took him outside behind the house. Because he was getting discouraged by the weather. now I need him to go further off but he is very fond of his spot close to the house. any suggestions?

[gcv-border]

jin doing good. very proud of him.. he is more than I expected from the breed to be honest. I mean he is mental to herd a soccer ball but is calm and confident most of the time. He has a lot of prey drive which surprised me. I've spent a lot of time with him off lead in the country which is how I develop communication with a dog. I let them train me really. Anyway he seems to have a nose and he points which was surprising. I purposely didn't want a hunting breed because I've mellowed out since my youth. But if the bug gets us both it might be hard to resist...

If you have the urge, Border Collies can become excellent SAR dogs. There are a couple of board members here who train their dogs for SAR.

 

Sorry, but I am not much help for teaching a dog where to go outside - since I live in a rural environment, my dogs are free to 'go' wherever. But, even though my friends think I am nuts, I will still pick up their poops with a plastic bag because there is nothing I hate more than walking in my yard and stepping on a 'lawn bomb'. My practice of picking up after my dogs is a leftover from my days living in urban and suburban areas.

 

Jovi

[Gloria Atwater]

oh the only other thing I wanted to ask about is potty training. when I first got him the weather was horrible so I just took him outside behind the house. Because he was getting discouraged by the weather. now I need him to go further off but he is very fond of his spot close to the house. any suggestions?

 

 

It may sound icky, but try picking up a couple of his poops and placing them in the area where you *do* want him to potty. And be real encouraging about going potty. Lol, I was so zealous about it, my two girl dogs, now ages 2 and 3, will actually pee on command.

 

My girl, Gael, will also "point" at times. Border collies can be pretty high prey drive, or at the least motion-activated to chase. The herding instinct is, in my opinion, an abbreviated, adapted form of the hunting instinct, so I'm never surprised to see hunting behaviors in border collies. Some are real mousers, out in the fields, and an unsupervised BC can become awful about chasing dear or digging for squirrels.

 

You can use that drive, though, to teach them tricks and how to find their toys and things.

 

BTW, feel free to post more photos of your little cutie.

 

~ Gloria

[beachdogz]

It may sound icky, but try picking up a couple of his poops and placing them in the area where you *do* want him to potty. And be real encouraging about going potty. Lol, I was so zealous about it, my two girl dogs, now ages 2 and 3, will actually pee on command. ;)/>/>

~ Gloria

 

I agree, and I'm going to expand on that. Pick the place you want him to go potty; clean up the yard; move some poop to the desired spot. Then, take him to that spot on lead each and every time to go potty. Once off lead, make sure you lead him to the desired spot. Give him the same command each time (i.e. "go pee" or "go poo") Lots of praise when it happens. Mine also will pee on command; they will poo on command only if they have to go poop (dogs never completely empty their bladder.) It comes in very handy. Make sure you are diligent in taking him to the same spot each time. They will learn this very quickly.

 

Two of mine also point.

[sean mac]

 

 

Jin is doing pretty good. He likes playing tricks on me and the kids he likes hiding and stealing small personal belongings, he is great a pick pocket. Out of the three of us him and my 5 year old daughter have the most special bond. They are both difficult sometimes but when they get together they become calm. He is gentle as a lamb with her and guards her. He still plays too rough with my 9 year old son but my son plays too rough with him. He is not friendly to strangers especially if the kids are around. He is hard to handle sometimes but that comes with his type of strong personality which I like. He is well behaived most of the time. Also a very good looking and fit dog with a big blocky head on him. Walking him where there are loose sheep is a pain in the ass as I noted in another thread. He'll sit down watch my neighbour drive his cattle with total focus. I often think it's a waste such a dog won't get a chance to work properly because his drive is so high.