Getting a puppy

So I've never owned a dog, but I've been doing tons of research and plan on getting everything I need in the next day or so. I am asking for any suggestions on stuff for new owners and to also see about getting more male names added to my current list. I love sci-fi and action movies, and I love naming my animals after movie/tv show characters. Here's what I have so far!

P.S. He is a border collie/Aussie mix and here's a pic of him as well!

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Make sure you get a proper collar and leash to teach him to walk on. Retractable leashes don't teach them to walk next to you.

I picked out a harness and 5ft non retractable leash. How does that sound?


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Gorgeous little guy. A few names that come to mind are, Neo, Hugo Stiglitz, or Ripley. I realize Ripley is a girl in the movie but it could just as easily be a boy name and most people will remember Ripley while the male characters like Dallas, Ash, or Kane don't stick in the mind as much.

If he's young and still getting his shots, be very sure not to take him around in public, and try to keep him away from areas that other dogs frequent. A huge mistake that many first-time dog owners make is wanting to take their puppy around and show it off. If you haven't already, look up Parvovirus. There doesn't have to be a dog that's infected present for your pup to catch it - until he's older and has all of his shots, he's extremely vulnerable. Just being around where an infected dog has been can infect him, and it's a horrible, horrible disease. Also, neutering is a fantastic thing. It decreases the long-term health risks of your dog, and reduces the likelihood of behavior problems down the road.

Can't think of any names like that. I tend to wait until I have the animal, then see what name seems to fit them. My Aussie mix, Pooka, is a mischievous trouble-maker - just like the Pooka of Gaelic mythology. Mouse, my BC mix, squeaks a lot. My lab, Wiley, came pre-named from a rescue... well, he started out as Willy, but I didn't care for it.

You're in for quite an experience with that little guy! The best general advice I can give is to teach him what he should be doing rather than letting him have free reign with hopes of correcting what he shouldn't do. Dogs are very discerning, but awful at applying abstract thoughts. If he chews a shoe, and you scold him, he might think he can't chew that shoe, or he can't chew that shoe in the spot he was laying in when he was scolded, or (this is the worst) that he can't chew it in front of you - so he should hide and chew it in secret. It's MUCH easier to give him a chew toy and reward, reward, reward for using it.

You know the phrase "let sleeping dogs lie"? Yeah, that's because it was such hard work to get them there. And you have a million things to do that you couldn't do before because you had to have your full attention on the puppy. Aussies have TONS of energy. I am telling you this as an owner of a basset hound pup that runs me ragged. Make him earn everything he gets, and play with him until he passes out cold. For example, instead of giving him food in a bowl, get a toy that he has to roll around to release kibble. Another option is to portion off his regular meal, and then use that time to train him instead of feeding him dinner and then training with treats. Dogs get worn out by mental exercise like they do with physical exercise, so don't skimp on working his puppy brain.

As far as resources go, check out kikopup on Youtube. She's got tons of training videos up that are very helpful and easy to learn.

Name ideas:
Ridley (Ridley Scott)
Lowry (Sam Lowry from Brazil)
Hal (HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey)

Best of luck with your new puppy! It's such a frustrating experience, but you'll feel the rewards of a good dog who loves you in spades.

Thanks for all the advice guys, keep it coming!! Also, the pictures got mixed up and this is really himhttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12...bb9b784702.jpg


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After raising several puppies the best advice I can give you is to be patient, buy yourself a good crate, and triple the amount of time that you originally thought that you would spend taking care of the dog. Your pup is an extremely cute, but very high energy breed. Be prepared to spend a lot of time exercising your dog. As others have said, wait until your dog is fully vaccinated before going to dog parks etc. However, it is extremely important to socialize your pup early on to other dogs, other people, and all the sights and sounds of the world. There are many puppy socialization classes in most cities, as well as meet ups and group events for new puppy owners. You will do yourself a huge favor by getting your dog socialized at an early age, and you will avoid aggression and other issues down the road. Make sure your puppy gets to hear cars, go for rides, meet children and see things outside of your home. Use the crate for potty training, there are many 'how to' websites on the internet regarding this. Most importantly just love your little pup. Dogs are pack animals and they need to feel part of a group. Spoil them with attention, and realize that in the first year of their life they do not know the rules, and any issue that they have is YOUR fault, as you have not taught them yet. Most importantly have fun. Raising a puppy is definitely an incredible experience.

All right so I've got pretty much everything that I need I just have to get the heartworm medication and some flea stuff and I'm set. By the way I should've let you all know I do have a little knowledge on dogs as I have been around them a lot my life I just never owned my own. I did get a pretty decent size crate it will do him good for several months until I can upgrade him to a bigger crate. Other than that I appreciate all the input there are a few things herethat I did not know so everything is definitely appreciated. I am so excited it's probably going to be next week because she just took them away from the mother yesterday and they are going to be nine weeks next week.


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I second what a few have said, get a good leash, and walk him regularly, aside from his "play" exercise. If you don't teach him to "walk" with you when he's young, you'll regret it. Also, if he will be an inside dog, don't give him table/people food. You'll want to. Try to fight that urge. If not, you'll end up with a 5 year old dog that will sit and beg anytime he sees someone with food. Extra annoying when you have guests or children over. Some breeds are worse than others about this, but it's better to just let them eat their food and you eat yours. :)

Good luck. Be patient. Dogs are fun, and emotionally very rewarding. You'll experience a love you never knew was possible. There is just great bond you can have with a dog. They love unconditionally. But at the same time, there will be days you will get frustrated to (or maybe beyond) your breaking point. Your dog will likely make you very angry at some point. Try to just walk away, cool off, and then deal with what issues may have caused this (Unless there is an immediate safety issue, of course). Don't reprimand out of anger.


Enjoy... you have an amazing future ahead of you with that cute little pup! :)

When my Aussie mix was a pup, I used to take her down to the beach - there was a five mile no-leash section where I lived at the time. By the time she was a year old, the only way to tire her out at all was to sit on the tailgate of the truck while a friend was driving... I used a long leash, to control where she was, but if she dropped back it was dropped immediately. No pressure to force her to run. She'd run for at least two of those five miles at a time, at over fifteen miles per hour, and without the leash she'd have been out-running the truck. She learned to stay right between my feet off the back end of it. When she got tired, she'd slow down, I'd have him stop the truck, she'd jump up in the back - and five minutes later be ready to run again.

Just a warning about the energy level to expect!

I'm actually not a fan of crates for training puppies, mainly because I've known too many people who abuse the convenience of the crate and leave their dog in it too much. I house trained my girl by taking her to bed with me every night, and getting up every two hours night and day to take her outside. She's extremely well house broken now. At seven years old, people still think she's a puppy, she's so energetic and outgoing.

I have 2 border Aussies ! They are wonderful dogs!! Also a toy Aussie [emoji4]
Blu
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Beau and Bella
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Here he is, sleeping and awake lol

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Caspian

If he's young and still getting his shots, be very sure not to take him around in public, and try to keep him away from areas that other dogs frequent. A huge mistake that many first-time dog owners make is wanting to take their puppy around and show it off. If you haven't already, look up Parvovirus. There doesn't have to be a dog that's infected present for your pup to catch it - until he's older and has all of his shots, he's extremely vulnerable. Just being around where an infected dog has been can infect him, and it's a horrible, horrible disease. Also, neutering is a fantastic thing. It decreases the long-term health risks of your dog, and reduces the likelihood of behavior problems down the road.

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I second this. But once he has his shots take him out in public. You want to make sure he's properly socialized- both with people and other dogs. It helps down the road. I'd recommend signing up for a puppy training class- not so much for training as for socialization. Congrats on your new puppy!:D

The risk of parvo, and the need for early socialization can be really hard to balance. What I have done for my puppies (foster and personal) is taken a tarp to my local coffee shop, placed it in a corner and with my puppy on a leash and harness, sat there for a couple hours at a time with a baggy of treats. The puppy can't get off the tarp and is still being exposed to various stimuli at an age where they aren't so fearful of new things. I've done this with a shih-tzu mix, a min-pin mix, a pitbull, and an english shepherd/cattle dog mix. They all ended up very open to new experiences as adults. I will admit, it's easier to do with a smaller dog, but I still did it with the ACD mix. It's not just people and dogs that are important to socialise to, it's objects and sounds. Motorcycles, backfiring cars, hats, umbrellas, bikes, skateboards, strollers, wheelchairs, canes... Because my puppies got exposure to motorcycles and other loud sounds, they never had issue with thunder or fireworks.

People will want to come up and pet your puppy. As long as they had a couple shots, I would first if they had any dogs or been near any dogs recently. If the answer is yes, ask if they're fully vaccinated. If the answer to that is 'no', they didn't get to touch my dog. If the answer was yes, I'd let them pet, but not give treats. If the answer to being near dogs question was no, they could give a treat.

I also did this in an area with a *really* low incidence rate of parvo. I happen to live in that area, but I would have traveled if I'd had to.

Puppy classes are a great idea, and allow your dog to interact with other well cared for and healthy dogs. Socialization is incredibly important, and should be one of your paramount concerns right now. After substantial socialization my lab isn't afraid of a single thing. He will sit next to me while I fire off a full clip from an assault rifle and not even flinch.

I cant state enough how important the crate is for a young dog. It helps give them a space that's theirs to feel safe, and is a very effective training tool. Obviously you don't want to leave them in there past the appropriate amount of time. I let my dog sleep in bed with me since he was a puppy, but used the crate during the day while I was away. He loved his crate and would go in there on his own. Dogs still have wolf-like tendencies and enjoy having a 'den' to go to.

He's a great pup, he's 95% potty trained and has done very well away from his siblings and mother.


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Glad to hear he is doing well. I saw you were looking at getting a retractable leash at some point. DO NOT DO IT. Those things can fail and if they do you all of a sudden have a dog on a 20+ft lead. They are banned at AKC events and many dog parks or events open to the public will have slip leads to give to ppl who bring dogs with those things. If I sound like an ass I am sorry but every time I see someone with a dog on a retractable lead I cringe.

What a cute puppy! Border collies and aussies are both very energetic, but smart breeds, so good luck with that! What everyone said so far is really great. In general, just remember to keep things fun! If your dog ever does something you don't want, don't just teach him/her what not to do. You should teach them what to do INSTEAD, to redirect their attention/energy onto something else. Often times, without that redirection, they don't know what they're doing wrong or what they SHOULD be doing instead. Dog parks and touch and go, and while they can be fun for an adult dog, they aren't really good places to socialize a puppy. Start loose leash walking from the start, and ALWAYS make recall SUPER EXCITING AND REWARDING. A solid recall is one of the most important, if not the most important, things your dog can learn.

Also avoid any dominance theories or alpha theories (including Cesar Millan). These theories are wrong and outdated. Kikopup and Training Positive (tab289) are good youtubers to look at if you need training or behavior help.