Collar Or Harness

[Pinchy]

We had a great 15 minute walk on the lead today (i kept the flat collar and fabric lead for now).

No leash biting and hardly any pulling at all.

The mouthing is still a work in progress. Distraction followed by time out for escalation seems to be working at the moment. He seems to be doing it less but still has those silly periods.

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[persephone]

Good update :)

[wuffles]

[Tassie]

Sounds like you and the pup are really starting to establish a good relationship. Nice that you're still using the fabric leash - much easier on the hands, if for example, you need to shorten up the leash to keep puppy closer - as I do with my BCs when we're walking in crowded areas.

And good that the biting thing is improving - it will! Remember that for a pup, especially one having crazy moments, any attention is rewarding/reinforcing - and that includes things we don't mean to be nice. Short calm down time outs are great - you do want the pup to have a good off switch in general.

Just wanted to say that while BCs learn quickly and are very smart, they are also quite soft dogs at heart, and respond much better to positive motivational training. They do need to have rules and boundaries established - but that can be done with clear guidance as to what you do want - what will get the reinforcement (whether that's verbal praise, physical praise, games or treats.)

Keep having fun ... oh - and have we seen pics yet? :laugh:

[ness]

The one thing I did for a while with my young girl was to always have a toy handy. Any mouthing got redirected to a toy. Worked well for her and she is a tug fiend now. I didn't stress to much about her walking on lead. If we wanted to go for a walk I went somewhere it was safe to have her off-lead or alternatively you could have the dog drag a long lead and that I would attach to a harness. Just depends on the temperament of the dog as to whether they are going to want to disappear or stick with you and interact as to whether I would be happy for them off-lead.

Another word of advice I had was to introduce the leash/walking on a lead when she was already a little tired.

Good luck BCs are a lot of fun.

[Pinchy]

Thanks guys:) having fun here as always!!

I seem to always have a pocket full of treats and a toy or two tucked into my shorts haha.

I'm trying to be calm and gentle, I knew they could be softies:) I don't want to scare the poor thing:)

I think he was a little tired this morning when we walked, it made it a calmer 15 minutes for sure.

I bundle up the leash a bit so he doesn't get such a run up, that way he is closer to me all the time. If it tightens he sometimes sits but he knows that we will stop and wait for the leash to slacken.

Here he is now asleep under my chair. I'll try for a better piccy when he wakes up:).

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[wuffles]

To give you some more encouragement - my pup did not ONCE fall asleep indoors near me, outside of his pen/crate, until he was much older than your pup. Being able to settle himself is a great skill to have :)

[Weasels]

Just wanted to say that while BCs learn quickly and are very smart, they are also quite soft dogs at heart,

Hmm are you sure!? I almost got licked to death by a particularly vicious pair yesterday And then they tried to finish me off by smothering me in loose fur! Don't trust 'em for a second, dangerous dogs IMO :p

Pinchy he is gorgeous :)

Edited February 11, 2014 by Weasels

[ness]

ah yes Weasels thats because one of them isn't really a BC its a black and white mal wannabe :laugh:.

[Tassie]

Just wanted to say that while BCs learn quickly and are very smart, they are also quite soft dogs at heart,

Hmm are you sure!? I almost got licked to death by a particularly vicious pair yesterday And then they tried to finish me off by smothering me in loose fur! Don't trust 'em for a second, dangerous dogs IMO :p

Pinchy he is gorgeous :)

Weasels, I know the pair you mean. Been mugged by them myself .

pinchy - he is absolutely gorgeous. And agree - him lying asleep and wanting to be near you is a sign that you're building up a lovely relationship with him. BC boys in particular can be real mummy's boys - which doesn't mean they don't respect boundaries - just means they want to be with you wherever you are and whatever you're doing. It makes them great companions and also fun performance dogs. The girls are gorgeous too - just have their own agenda a bit more ... hey ness :p - like our girls.

[sheena]

I have been out of town for quite a while, so I apologise that I havn't read all the post. But to answer the OP's question...collar or harness, I say both have their place. As an owner of two BC's the youngest of which is not yet three, the ultimate aim is to be able to walk on a flat collar eventually, but in the meantime you will still want to take your dog for walks & if every walk becomes a training session for loose leash walking, then you wont get to go very far on your walks. I used a front attached harness for when I just wanted to go for a walk (& you can still train :) )They can't pull on a front attached harness as they just keep turning themselves back into you. I will still use one if I am in a highly excitable environment or when I am walking two dogs together, but since he chewed up his third harness, I now use a Freedom No Pull, attached at the back & he walks just fine. Just remember, if he is anything like my guy, then they can chew through a harness in seconds if you take your eyes off them

[OSoSwift]

A flat collar ( or martingale slip if you have a dog or breed who may be able to back out of their collar). Harnesses are for car travel and pulling sleds.

I owuld do three 5 minute sessions a day instead of 15 straight minutes. They are babies adn get bored and tired easily. Try and pre-empt a crazy session and put them outside to burn it off.

Mine have a no play must be quiet inside rule. I have a small house and four people, two cats and three Whippets would be a nightmare if everyone was racing around. Same rule applies for kids. Cats are allowed as long as they don't race around knocking things off or over.

[dancinbcs]

I have always used adjustable martingale collars on all my BCs so they can never twist out of them like they can with a flat collar if they are startled by something. After taking months to lead train my first one I have learnt to teach them to heel without a lead first. I train babies for no more than a minute or two, many times a day with different commands and by 12 weeks they know most of them. 15 minutes is way too long for a baby to concentrate at one time. With food treats held low beside my leg they are lured to heel next to me in the yard. After a few days when they have got the hang of it, I put the lead on and repeat the heeling lessons as if the lead isn't there. Only when I can walk around in all directions with the puppy watching me and staying close to my leg, do I venture out of the yard. Then do the same training in other areas so the puppy learns to obey your commands not just the lead. Also teach the other commands of watch, come, stand, drop and sit in that order to make training more interesting. No matter what you are teaching, the lead is purely there to stop them wandering off, not to guide them at all. BCs are super smart and learn with hardly any repetitions compared to other breeds so try to never teach them something you didn't mean to as it is harder to undo than to do it right first.

I have never had a bitey BC baby as when they first try it around 5 weeks, I scruff them like their mother would and growl at them and I have never had one need more than two scruffs. I consider biting feet to be very dangerous as it is so easy to step or fall onto a puppy that is attacking your shoes or ankles. As soon as the puppy goes for you ankles grab him by the scruff, not too hard and push him to the ground while growling at him as if you are really angry with him and hold him there for at least a minute until he starts to squirm. Let him know in no uncertain terms that the behaviour is not acceptable. Borders instinctively want to please you so most given this treatment get the message very quickly and don't want you to be angry with them again.

Teaching any new thing must be done with all positive training with lots of rewards to shape behaviour. Any negativity will set them back as they really do want to do whatever you are trying to teach them. Stubbornness is not a Border trait at all. If they don't do what you want, you didn't explain it right so blame yourself as the trainer an work out a better way to get the right response. Teaching them not to display instinctive behaviour like biting though does require some negative reinforcement and I always stick to what their mums do to pull them into line. For most Borders a growl will suffice to let them know they are doing wrong and you can see them cringe in response.

Border puppies get full of energy at times every day and just have to act the fool and do zoomies when it happens. Let him be as crazy as he wants so long as he doesn't bite and when he has had a good run around, let him rest before starting any training. Also remember to praise and reward him for relaxing and lying still as that is a skill that active working dogs need to learn.