BCNut

I'm with RSPCA pet insurance. You don't get all your money back (75-80%), but it certainly softens the blow. I found it had the least 'loopholes' (i.e. things not covered) and theres no excess. I read alot of PDS's when I looked around. It was horrible but my main piece of advice would be to do just that, read everything because there are significant differences in levels of cover, whats covered, whats not etc. Its about finding a product that suits your breed (moreso your individual dogs propensity to do harm to self ) and your budget. Hope that helps

Agree with this, Ian Dunbar's toilet training method has worked best for my young BC. Started with treats, but phased them out to praise and pats :) You can always leave a bag of whatever it is that he likes near his toilet somewhere (I put some in a tree :laugh: ) so you don't have to remember to take them with you everytime. You'll find he catches on pretty quick. But I also agree that its about finding Heston's currency; be it the type of food rewards he likes, or you might find a game of tug or a throw of the ball is more reinforcing for him. I find as Calvin is getting older, a game of tug is his favourite thing :)

If you're really worried, go to the dog to give the tablet rather than call him/her over, and give treats at the same time - make it as good an experience as possible. This is a principle in early days with your recall training - try and go to the dog to get him for those potentially undesirable activities (baths, going home etc.), rather than recalling for something he may not want to do. But still try and make those activities rewarding as much as you can.

My BC pup won't eat the chews either. Because I have a box of them now, I just soak his kibble/biscuits, mash them then crumble the chew over it and stir it all together. But will be going back to tablets; he doesn't mind the old tablet down the hatchet and massage the throat technique too much. The training treat idea sounds like a gem though! Will try that first

Yes, from what I understand the procedure does little if anything to solve behavioural problems; these would generally be engrained in the dog's psyche by then. Thanks for the advice :)

Thanks! Here goes! What would you consider temperament problems? Do you mean aggression, incessant humping, marking etc?

Yeah i'd love to get a little girlfriend for Calvin to keep him busy all the time - but going to wait until he is all grown up and (somewhat) matured hopefully :) I imagine having 2 pups of the same age would be challenging...

Hi :) I have a 7mth old Border pup and my vet has recommended neutering @ about 12 months of age. I understand this is to allow the hormones to develop the bones, muscles etc for as long as possible. But I would be interested to see if anyone else has heard different too?

Thanks again for all the discussion. I appreciate all the input and experience being put down on these pages. I'll certainly be having this discussion again with the vet when i see her again. As far as Calvin goes, I've cut forced exercise completely and focusing on keeping him entertained during the day. Working on new tricks, trotting around the paddock (with me holding his tug - and him attached to the other end :laugh: ), throwing the ball/frisbee only a few times per session. When he wants to snooze, I let him. I can see now how the 2 lots of vigorous exercise would've created a nocturnal dog - he was sleeping all day to recover from his morning exercise, then having exercise again in the evening and sleeping on his bed in the lounge while I went about dinner etc - so by the time I was ready to put him outside in his kennel; he would be primed for more action. Just keeping his mind ticking over during the day seems to be yielding similar results to what has been happening previously - he is still obviously up and about at some stage during the night, because his toys have moved. He had a little barking session after lights out on both of the first 2 nights, but the 3rd night no barking. I imagine he will be a bit confused by the adjustments to his daily routine for a while then hopefully settle. But its great to see he is at least just as relaxed from doing this as opposed to all that exercise - and there is no risk to his health this way. Jointguard has been shelved of course. Thanks again for all the advice everyone, really appreciated!

Sorry but your vet is absolutely wrong. Gaiting a dog alongside a bike is the worse thing you can do at this age. The contstant steady pace for that long is what wears joints out. 5 minutes is fine, an hour isn't, even 30 minutes isn't. Far better to have a stop and start walk with time to sniff and vary the pace and direction. It is less stressful on growing joints. Also let the puppy rest when he wants to. Borders tend to have two speeds, flat out and asleep. Self exercise is running around the 2 acres, with you wandering about and doing short training or play sessions between just letting him run. As for dogs being softer these days, the survival of the fittest used to( and sometimes still does) apply to farm dogs so any dog that was badly injured was shot not fixed and the farmer wasn't bothered if the dog became arthritic in it's old age either as he would have had years of work out of the dog first. Working farm dogs have a pretty harsh life and their well being is often not a top priority because they are easily replaced in many cases without sentimental attachment. Not all farmers are like that but many are. Interesting discussion. I appreciate your experience with the breed (somewhat - i am uncertain exactly what that is but you obviously have knowledge behind you); but by the same token I think you are absolutely wrong in stating categorically that a trained professional is absolutely wrong. This is someone who has had years and years of research, training and experience in animal health. Sure, its your prerogative to disagree with any opinion and justify why, but its not fair to state outright that she is wrong. I believe any vet should be fronted more respect than that. I mean no offence or disrespect - I am entirely grateful for your opinion. We are all products of our experiences, inclusive of studies and observations over time and obviously my vet has not seen detriment come from vigorous (but careful) exercising of pups. Obviously you have. I believe there is a lot of misinformation at the moment, in that; if you have a problem with your dog - the remedy is supposedly exercise, exercise, exercise - and physical exercise at that. There's very little (if any) mention of mental exercise, from the sources of information I use anyway. Anyway i'll see how he goes with these changes and will report back of course; I think its certainly going to see him much more settled through the night.

Thanks again for all the further posts. I think i need to clarify some things. The vet stressed the importance of the pace and vigour of running/biking - SLOW. And it is. The main reason he came with me on bike rides is because i hurt my back and walking was off the cards for a while, the riding is never done faster than I could walk. And as for my jogging; well...i'm sure if Calvin could laugh at my attempt at jogging pace, he would, its certainly not strenuous :laugh: He certainly never gets a great deal of pace up and the time we do this for would be faily close to 5 minutes. The vet recommended a glucosamine formula and I chose jointguard for no particular reason other than it was just that. I appreciate now that I have underestimated the mental exercise side of things and am taking steps to reconcile that. I'm interested in this concept of 'self-exercise'; what exactly does that mean? The title in itself suggests he be left outside to his own devices during the day? I thought this was the very thing that led to destructive behaviour. Calvin isn't destructive - I think 1 dripper (which indeed I left in an inappropriate, reachable place for a puppy - he didn't pull it out the ground) and one CD which was had already fallen off the scarecrow hardly describes a destructive puppy - I should've been more specific it seems. I just dont think he was sleeping that well out there. But, knowing him reasonably well, I think an exchange of some physical exercise for more mental ones, focusing on keeping him awake as long as possible during the day - nanna naps are out! I think this will make a significant difference. Thanks again

Wow! Now...wheres that clicker :laugh: ! Thanks for the tips. He did puppy pushups for every bite of his dinner tonight. Poor guy didn't know what hit him!

Thanks also Kavik! Will be canvassing youtube shortly for new tricks to start tonight!! :)

Hello :) Thanks for all the info! Calvin's vet said he's ok to jog and bicycle with me as long as it's kept at a trotting pace for him - same goes with frisbee - no jumping higher than what he normally does just mucking around out in the yard, so i'm very careful with that. He has 6 monthly check ups due to his exercise regime and is on jointguard as a prophylactic. But I do still share your concerns :S As far as tricks/obedience goes - I think he's mastered it all - even with distractions. He's such a smart little fella...sit, drop, stay, come, hi-5, shake, rollover, spin, scoot, beg, we even do little back stalls. At the moment we're working on naming his favourite toys which is taking a bit longer. He eats from kongs when i have to go out, but from a bowl when i'm here - so starting tonight i will kong him at all times! You're absolutely right, in that he sleeps straight through when he's inside - its only been for the last 3-4wks he's been outside at night, as I have gone back to nightshift and would like him to be confident outside overnight so he can toilet himself when he needs. Having him sleep inside when i'm here and outside when i'm not seems to shake him up even more. Thanks again!

Hi all Just wondering if there's anyone out there with (or previously has had) a Border Collie pup that they're trying to get a gauge on how much exercise is needed? I only ask because my young man has an insatiable appetite for it at the moment - but I know i need to be cautious of damaging his joints at this young age (almost 7mths old). We jog or bicycle ride everyday x1-x2 (trot or running pace for him), and throw frisbee for him - when he's tired of that, we play fetch with ball. Or 2 long walks (>1hr each). Plus frisbee and ball. With this, he's happy to snooze all day, or follow me around the yard (2 acres), weather permitting - and he's nice and relaxed. Only problem is, when i put him in his kennel at night, and then come out to get him in the morning there is evidence of a wild night out...toys strewn everywhere, scarecrow attacked and sometimes he might take out a dripper for a munch. No barking or digging though. Is this just his young mind ticking over a bit and will settle in time - or does he need more exercise/or changes to his sleeping routine? Thanks