Puppy Advice (merged)

boldaslove

oh wow, boy are you in for a busy few years! my BC didn't calm down till she was about 5 years old, they need so much excercise and mental stimulation!

as other people have pointed out you shouldn't really consider agility till at least 12 months, your pup is still developing and you have to be careful with excercise (very difficult for collies i know, they always want to run and play!). however you can start gentle training. they're incredibly intelligent dogs and will pick up just about anything very quickly. something interesting to watch for is how your dog responds to your movements and body language - collies anticipate everything their owners do and a simple flick of the fingers they'll take as a signal for walkies. i swear my dog knows what i'm going to do 10 seconds before i do it!

i started teaching my dog the basics - sit, stay, lie down, roll over etc. from 12 weeks old, just with little pieces of cooked chicken and some patience. also getting a specialised toy for puppies is a good idea, something with lots of different colours, shapes, textures, sounds, smells will keep them entertained for hours. kongs are popular as you can fill them with treats and they have a puppy version to help with teething

also what another poster pointed out is hiding things around the room for them to find. my dog still loves doing this now, in fact she has a reverse game where she hides a treat i've given her and then SHE makes ME find it! she had to train me for a couple of days before i got the hang of that :rotfl:

good luck, you're always on your toes with a collie pup! but they're so much fun and they really are great companions

Bunny

i have a 13 year old collie cross and yes she has only just calmed down in the last couple of years, we took her to training classes for a couple of years weekly, but she is very stubborn and will now consider to obey you IF there's nothing more exciting going on. Lovely dogs, we got her as an 11 month old rescue dog, fell in love with her instantly.

alfiedog_2

Just wanted to say that is one gorgeous lab! My daughter runs a dog walking business which seems to attract labs! She currently walks or looks after 9! (not all at the same time!) and they are all different. Some have chewed their homes to bits and I'm talking door frames, sofas, laminate floors etc while others haven't chewed a thing!
Some leap up at you the minute they see you and others just plod up to you Some will do anything for a biscuit, some will chase a ball all day and some will do neither.
One thing they have in common is they are all lovely dogs, none are in the least bit aggresive and if you have the room I would recommend them as good pets and companions.

jess_the_cat

Hia thank you for all your advice ta.
now a question when is the best time to get her done (sorry) to be blunt do i wait for her first heat or go for six months as recomended by vet.
many thanks:beer:
ps. sorry i still can not work out how to post pics.

suki1964

jess_the_cat wrote: »

Hia thank you for all your advice ta.
now a question when is the best time to get her done (sorry) to be blunt do i wait for her first heat or go for six months as recomended by vet.
many thanks:beer:
ps. sorry i still can not work out how to post pics.

There is two schools of thoughts on this. some say 6 months, others say after the first season. Personally I would go for after the first season. Reason being is you will know for certain then where she is in her cycle. trouble with going for the 6 month date is that she could be days or weeks off her first season and everythng is swollen and ready to go so to speak which CAN cause problems with the op and /or delay recovery.

However you need to speak more with your vet, They have their own ideas and reasons as to what time is best

Barneysmom

:rotfl: Oh I still remember when my border collie was a pup!
He trashed four rolls of wallpaper in one sitting, a 250 year old book, we've got one of those artificial coal fire, the gas one. He'd take the coals off and leave them round the house, there's be muck everywhere. we had to cut and paint a piece of MDF and put in front of the fire in the end!
But brilliant superb dogs they are!
Hours of love and loyalty.
I showed him to put stuff in the washing machine, he knows how to do it but runs off with it laughing.
He know how to fetch myslippers but picks one up and runs in the kitchen with it when I ask him to give it to mommy!
He's got such a wicked cheeky sense of humour, I love him to bits.
They are easily as intelligent as chimps but not as dextrous if you see what I mean. They are the most human of dogs.
In the park they'll run and run and run, you'll get tired befor he does - then a little nap and he'll be ready to go again.
Carrots. Give fresh carrots, their teeth with stay bright.

peachymonkey

An older medium size dog, such as Pug would be a good choice

nic283

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

However, to the person who suggested a westie - whilst I have nothing against them they would not be my forst choice for around kids - people often choose them for kids as they look teddy like, but they do not tend to have a high tolerance level for being played with and annoyed!

Not true of all Westie's, or any dog for that matter. It all depends on the pup's interaction with children when they are young. We have 2 westie's and they can be trusted with my niece and nephew. Our vet recommended getting the kids to feed the dogs and also take food out of the dish so the dogs knew the kids were allowed to do that. He also recommended being rough with the pups by pulling at their ears etc to mimick what a toddler would do. No pups were harmed in this process Basically, not to treat them like a teddy bear by not touching them. The dogs love it when the kids come over, mostly to grab any bits of food they have dropped

marybishop

We rehomed a choc lab last year aged 19 months and we wouldn't be without him. He is so affectionate and just loves being with us (we work from home so we're around most of the time). Best thing is in the evening when I sit on the sofa he lies as close to me as he possibly can and rests his head on my feet! He's also fine if we leave him for a few hours (previous owner had to work so he obviously got used to being home alone although he did have another lab as company).

I'm sure you won't regret it - good luck!

andybodoyd

We thought about getting a dog for many years and are now proud owners of a 17 week old yellow lab. It certainly is a life changing event! She takes up as much of our time as I can remember our kids doing. She is into everything, chews anything she can get her teeth on and all valuables are now well above waist height. But for all the hard work (and money--food/insurance/wife not able to work as much because she is looking after the dog) they give so much back. I certainly wish we had done it sooner!