Getting a puppy

[Caspian]

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.

[KDB86]

I have 2 border Aussies ! They are wonderful dogs!! Also a toy Aussie
Blu

Beau and Bella



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[hypnotixdmp]

Here he is, sleeping and awake lol







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[Timelugia]

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.

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!

[Spiritserpents]

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.

[JoshSloane]

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.

[hypnotixdmp]

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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[ScottyDsntKnow]

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.

[fireflii]

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.