ArtTalKat Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Hi, I'm new here and have a border collie puppy named Talon who is an 11wk old border collie. I've never owned a border collie before so this is going to be a first for me with the breed. So far things are going really well! He is the easiest dog I've ever had to potty train. No accidents in the house for about 3 weeks. He's not completely potty trained yet, but he does tell us when he needs to go out and when he get's out he goes immediately. He either whines at the door or if in his crate he whines until we wake up. He's also been the easiest to crate train. He settles down really easily in his crate. Every once in a while he'll have a bit of a fuss for a few minutes, but gives up easily. He is very smart and knows sit, down, matt (go lay on his mat and stay there), leave it, and watch me reliably. We are still working on making drop it and heel better. We have from the beginning been working on impulse control games. He is in a puppy socialization class right now and we are currently working on his socialization with people. He does great with other dogs, but people he can be a bit leary of. We are working on people feeding him really yummy hot dog treats when we are out and he feels comfortable with it. We also work on "look at that" game with people walking by and that seems to help a lot. The only thing he is such a pain with so far is chewing! boy is he a chewer! He has to have something in his mouth at all times. He has yet to destroy, or even put a mark on anything, but that is only due to really careful monitoring. Nipping us is slowly getting better. I'm slightly worried about OCD issues, anything I should keep an eye out for? I don't let him chase his tail or any lights (laser lights, flashlight, or reflections), and we interrupt barking whenever possible. The other thing I'm concerned with is he has so much DRIVE! He already stalks and wants to chase anything that moves. We do have two cats in the house, an older dog savy cat and a teenage kitten. He doesn't go overboard and we make sure to prevent chasing. How do you guys get your dogs instinct to herd things out? We've been using a flirt pole and he always tries to herd it in the direction he wants, never tries to grab it. It's hilarious! Never seen such a young puppy do that! Is there any other games that would help with that? OH and he does show a bit of possessiveness with toys, not to people but to my other dog. My other dog is very easy going and tolerant. He just lets it happen, but I don't find it acceptable to run up, nip/bark at and then grab the toy/chew away. We've been doing time outs and the other dog get's the toy back for now. Any other suggestions to keep it from escalating? I do plan on doing agility eventually after we get through basic obedience. I am also looking into getting him instinct tested for herding eventually, but I don't know much about that so don't know yet. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 So far things are going really well! He is the easiest dog I've ever had to potty train. No accidents in the house since he was about 3 weeks. 3 weeks? Do you own his dam? I know you said this was your first Boder Collie, but... was he an orphan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtTalKat Posted December 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 3 weeks? Do you own his dam? I know you said this was your first Boder Collie, but... was he an orphan? whoops, that was a typoe. I meant, "he hasn't had an accindent in the last 3 weeks!" Sorry, that was my fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 The other thing I'm concerned with is he has so much DRIVE! He already stalks and wants to chase anything that moves. We do have two cats in the house, an older dog savy cat and a teenage kitten. He doesn't go overboard and we make sure to prevent chasing. Since you are already playing LAT, you can use it for this. You can take some time each day, with super high value treats, and play LAT cat. I successfully trained a dog who had actually killed a cat (when she was a stray) to take no more than a passing interest in them simply by playing LAT cat with her on a regular basis. If you can play LAT while the cat is in motion, all the better, but starting out with a stationary cat would be a great start. I wish you the best with your puppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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