Pup keeps attacking the kids

ali-t

mummyplus3 wrote: »

We looked that she should be getting a 5min walk per month age so 30mins a day and that she can't come running/jogging untill a year because her hips and joints are too soft etc, and I don't think they can do agility untill about 10 -12 months either.

Really I just want to work out the best way of getting the pup to stop biting the girls so that my boyfriend will have her in the house.

And I have put the above text in bold as perhaps the boyfriend needs as much training as the dog!

From your second post it does appear you have done some research and genuinely care about the dog so excuse me if my original post sounded harsh. I thought you may have been one of the growing band of posters who comes on here having done no research, put no effort in and is now looking for someone to tell them that putting the dog down or rehoming it is the right answer.

With regards to the 5 minute rule, I have always understood it to be 5 minutes for each month of their life for each walk, so a dog can have 2 or even 3 half hour walks over the course of the day. You are right about protecting the dogs bones and joints when young.

As much as having a pup is great, it is also horrible as they can be total nightmares and very demanding. If you stick with it, you can have an amazing companion for the next 15 or so years - honestly it is worth the effort.

Becles

I second the boyfriend comments. A previous collie and my ex didn't get along well and there was a bit of a power struggle going on between them all the time. You want to avoid that if you can, so the boyfriend needs to join in with the training so the dog knows he's in charge of her.

missmontana

Most dogs can be great family pets, Collies are no exception. Yes they come from working dogs but what do you think spaniels, retrievers and jack russells are? They have all been used as working dogs but all make great family pets as long as everyone is trained properly!

The children need to learn not to react in the way they do to avoid being herded, your pup obviously has this very strong instinct, some collies don't, they aren't all the same.

I have just brought home my girl and she's 7 weeks old, so i have all this to come and have done loads of research. I purposely got her as I knew she would be easy to train. My friend has a collie, she is a child minder and he is the best behaved, most soppiest dog I know, all the kids can get him to do as they say. I challenge anyone that says collies aren't lap dogs to come and meet Bengy! He's the only dog in the park that never runs away from whoever he is with. He also lives with a cat, who has the upper paw...:rotfl:

meritaten

jeez reminds me of my aunts corgi! she was a sweet dog but liked her humans to be corralled! stray out of her comfort zone and you would be yapped and snapped at until you went back to the herd! (or the sitting room). but as long as we were in there she would play for hours with us kids. very affectionate and a well behaved dog.
I love the pic - made me giggle

gettingready

Try leaving the BF in the garden for a whole day on his own with a frisbee - see how HE likes it

Caroline_a

mummyplus3 wrote: »

We looked that she should be getting a 5min walk per month age so 30mins a day and that she can't come running/jogging untill a year because her hips and joints are too soft etc, and I don't think they can do agility untill about 10 -12 months either.

The 5 min per month per day really is only for larger breeds that have potentially poor hips, so i really don't think you need to stick to that. However, if you have her in the garden all the time, rather than with 'her pack', ie you and the rest of the family, she will be a very sad pup. Additionally she may begin to bark for attention, and you will then have neighbours complaining!

She's a young dog, and unfortunately if children are running around where she is, she will nip. They need to stop it, not by shouting at her, or screaming in fear, but maybe get some of those compressed air 'pet stop' type sprays for them. Then if she nips, just press the button briefly and say 'no'. Border collies are bright, she won't like the sound of the noise and will soon learn to stop. Remember also she's still a very young dog, but i would get her into training classes as soon as possible, take the children too so that they can learn how to behave round her. I took my GSD at around 17 weeks, he loved it, and also you may meet people who you can meet up with and dog walk together.

Becles

Just another thought!

What are you feeding the dog?

Foods like Bakers are rubbish. They're full of sugar and additives which can make a dog hyper.

Also keep away from working dog food. They're cheaper as they have no VAT on, but have extra protein to fuel a dog that works hard all day. This can make pet dogs hyper too.

dizziblonde

You've got a very intelligent, very frustrated teenager on your hands. Clicker training is fantastic for working a dog's brain (look up kikopup's you tube videos for some ideas on how you can take it with things like luring and freeshaping) and if you end up with a dog that can do lots of cute tricks - the kids get the kudos from having the coolest dog on the block as well.

There's also a lot of puzzle type dog toys out there (rather than just tuggies - what fun are they with no one to tug with, or frizbees - again require a human's input) - Pets At Home website has some for ideas at the pricier end of the spectrum (things like sliders to get food out and similar) - but look on there then look for something cheaper.... again Kongs keep my dog distracted for hours... especially if you're an evil git and freeze 'em.

Poor pup's bored, probably lonely and is trying desperately to do what they think you want them to do - to herd up those small fleshy sheep!

Personally I'd crate the boyfriend in the garden but that's just me

Laconic

mummyplus3 wrote: »

We looked that she should be getting a 5min walk per month age so 30mins a day and that she can't come running/jogging untill a year because her hips and joints are too soft etc, and I don't think they can do agility untill about 10 -12 months either.

Really I just want to work out the best way of getting the pup to stop biting the girls so that my boyfriend will have her in the house.

Truthfully, the limit exercise thing is what people who've bred dogs with joint problems say to themselves. So long as you're not going on long runs (several hours, not minutes) and the dog's not grossly overweight, any joint problems that develop from that young an age were there already.

Mental exercise is the name of the game! It's almost never too early to start teaching a dog things (well, they're always learning*, so you may as well direct it in a way you want). Right now, he's learning to bite your girls. Clicker training is good but be very very very careful only to reward the activity you want -- I've seen a few dogs come into shelters because their owners inadvertently trained them to bite or lunge at people by clicking to distract them when they did those things. If you've the patience for it, tracking is a fantastic way to drain a dog's energy as the business of focusing closely on a precise trail is quite taxing.


I hope you can make it work -- a smart dog that wants to learn is a beast of joy.



*How early dogs start learning really came home for me many many years ago when we had a litter of lab puppies. When they started eating solid food, about 4 weeks, I'd hold the bowl up until they sat (with their poor balance that just took looking up) and then put it down. Couple of weeks later, I woke up about 4 a.m. one morning (yes, I kept them in my bedroom) to find them playing amongst themselves. When they saw I was awake, they went over to the door and sat. One turned his head to see if I was coming. I sprang up, opened the door and went out with them. By eight weeks, they'd housebroken themselves and that attentive, looking to learn attitude went with them to their new homes.

[Edited to add] Clicker training is a trap for the undisciplined. You need to be consistent, disciplined and dispassionate (i.e. never use it out of frustration) to really get the best out of it. But the principle of rewarding dogs for doing something good or useful, whether bidden or unbidden, even if the reward is something as simple as looking at the dog and acknowledging its behaviour, is a powerful way to shape good behaviour even without formal training -- and dogs look for it, even if it means doing 'bad' things that are guaranteed to be rewarded with our attention.

dizziblonde

Laconic wrote: »

[Edited to add] Clicker training is a trap for the undisciplined. You need to be consistent, disciplined and dispassionate (i.e. never use it out of frustration) to really get the best out of it. But the principle of rewarding dogs for doing something good or useful, whether bidden or unbidden, even if the reward is something as simple as looking at the dog and acknowledging its behaviour, is a powerful way to shape good behaviour even without formal training -- and dogs look for it, even if it means doing 'bad' things that are guaranteed to be rewarded with our attention.

It's also amazing if you do it right (I basically started applying similar principles to early years teaching - reward positive, ignore negative because any attention is a reward) - my dog is, quite frankly, as thick as two short planks, but you can sit and almost hear the wheels turning (granted it's more of a rusty thunk and burning smell with him) when he tries to work out what he's being asked to do!