New Puppy

[Johnnalyn]

Hello everyone! I've posted here before but I wouldn't really call myself a regular...

My mom just brought home a new puppy (border collie, Australian shepherd, heeler mix with both parents working cattle dogs) he's 6 weeks old as of Sunday and he's already trying to herd our 11 year old Pomeranian.

My mom has tasked me with training because she wants the dog to be well behaved, very obedient, a good running/hiking partner, and "bonded" to her. I've never raised a puppy before so I have no idea where to even start to get the puppy off to a good start. I know that he will need a ton of socialization and desensitizing to things like cars, bikes, skateboards, joggers, etc. since he obviously has strong herding instincts. My question is where do I start? What would you guys do to get the puppy set up for a good start?

[Shalista]

Well that sounds like a barrel of energy better you than me

Well I'm no behaviorist but whats throwing up a flag for me is that your mom wants the dog to be bonded to HER but YOU'RE doing all the training. You're mom is going to have to be super involved in the dog's life (walks, play time, training time, and feeding time) if she wants the dog to be bonded to her. From the sound of it it's probably going to fall for you instead of her if you're the one doing all the training. you can't train a bond for a dog, a dog will invest it's trust and love in you if your work with it. You can't train that.

[Johnnalyn]

Oh I know right? Haha I think she is more asking me to make her a plan she can follow to get her those results.

She's asking me because I've done a bunch of research a few years back on dog training and I was very passionate about it before I went to college. I just have never had any experiences with puppies so I'm not sure exactly how we can best set up the puppy for success.

I think she wants some sort of checklist and timeframe on what to do and how.

[Shalista]

oh ma gurd! it's tots adorbs! so tiny in its big comfy bed <3

[Johnnalyn]

I know! He actually has his own tiny bed but he stole our husky's bed while she was out.

[Erica]

Dunbar's "Before and After You Get Your Puppy" are always my first recommendation for new puppy owners! They're not too long, and contain easy-to-follow, important information. There's not a topic that comes up early on that they don't cover! Obviously feel free to ask here if you have any questions, but those should give you somewhere to start from.

He is adorable, and will be quite the dog when he grows up I bet!

[Johnnalyn]

Thank you Erica! I'll definitely check that out! I hope we can mold him to be a great dog. I hear both wonderful and horrible stories about herding breeds as pets. I've always wanted a border collie when I was younger because I loved their intelligence and train ability. I certainly was surprised that my mom brought one home though!

[JudyN]

Awwwww.....

I also like The Puppy Primer by Patricia McConnell. Personally I fund Ian Dunbar a little military and disciplined in his approach. Errorless housetraining, 100 people visiting the house in the first few weeks, and not a single piece of footwear or table leg ever being chewed was never going to happen in this household That's not to say that it isn't a great approach that gives great results - just that if you're happier with a more relaxed approach then you won't produce an incontinent monster because he had a few accidents on the carpet and destroyed your cushion when your back was turned.

Having said that, I'm guessing that it's important to channel all that intelligence and energy in appropriate ways so he doesn't invent his own ways of following his instincts.

[Suzette]

I basically followed Ian Dunbar's Before and After You Get Your Puppy, but I agree with you Judy it was a bit too rigid for me exactly as written. So I simply "toned it down" to make it a reasonable fit for us. It really is a great resource when you temper it with a bit more of a relaxed state of mind and use it as a guideline but not a rigid set of must-do rules - at least that's what worked for me and Piper.

Johnnalyn, your puppy is adorable! Have fun with him - puppyhood seems to last forever, then all of a sudden you wake up one day and your 'puppy' is going on six years old. (Yes, my Piper turns SIX this year!)

[Shalista]

I think Bax is going on.... five? it can't be O.o i remember eagerly waiting for him to turn two and mellow a bit

Your puppy is adorable Johnnalyn but i do NOT miss Bax's puppy days. At all.

[emmabeth]

Dunbars guide is written with the rather wealthy end of San Fran clients, who will get a puppy and go out to work etc whatever you tell them.....

First things first - for bonding, happy nights and everyone getting sleep and fast toilet training, pup sleeps in Moms room, she can have pup on the bed if she won't squash him or beside the bed in a box or a crate, whatever suits everyone really.

Then any time pup stirs, out he goes to potty with minimal fuss, ideally before he's even properly awake, and then back to bed.

Usually within around 16 weeks you can move the pup to where you finally want them to sleep, if you want to.

The next thing I prioritise, is 'how does a puppy initiate communication with person' and this for me is the sit in front of the owner - its unobtrusive, its polite and if a puppy learns fast that sitting in front of their person is the key to starting games, asking to go out etc etc, then you can avoid a lot of frustration and stress.

much of the puppy biting, zooming and other annoying puppy behaviours come from an imbalance between physical and mental exercise and a lack of knowledge in how to communicate with a person. It is hard to balance physical vs mental exercise with a pup as they are growing so fast and learning so much thats going to change from day to day, but ensuring they can communicate REALLY helps.

[Johnnalyn]

Thank you all for your responses! I showed my mom Dunbar's book. She said she couldn't keep reading it because it was too nagative and made her feel like we've already failed in raising the puppy because he's already been in our home for a week and had accidents in the house several times. She asked if I could just read it and give her the highlights.

Currently he's sleeping on my mom's bed at night and he's had free run of the house since we've brought him home. So far, he hasn't chewed on anything he's not supposed to. He much prefers our other dogs' toys and food to his own though. The cat tolerates him but won't let the puppy chase him. He will quietly curl up next to my mom when she is on the computer and sleep. I like Dunbar's ideas but I'm not sure how we could modify them so that everyone is happy with them.

[Johnnalyn]

Oh by the way, what would you guys suggest for leash training? He hates the leash right now. Immediately when you put it on him he rolls on his back and chews it. We put a tiny cat leash on him so it's not heavy. I want to make sure he walks very well on leash as my mom wants to be able to walk him and run with him off leash eventually.

[Johnnalyn]

Uh oh, we had our first incident. The husky has been very inquisitive towards the puppy since he arrived and she is very vocal in play and kind of rough but has never shown any aggression towards any dog.

Tonight I was working with the husky in my room and I gave her the treat. The puppy then came in and was trying to take the treat right from under her nose and she gave a little growl so I moved the puppy away from her while she ate. The puppy immediately ran over to her food bowl and she snapped at him. I think she got him a little bit because blood was drawn somewhere. We looked him over and found a tiny speck of blood on his paw but no more came out. The blood might have been from Yumie (our husky), we aren't sure. The transaction happened so fast and it was over in a second.
Not sure what to think of this because she's never shown any food aggression or aggression towards other dogs. She's generally a pretty confident dog. She's played with him fine since he's been here, albeit a little obsessively following him and sniffing him and tiny mouthing. In the future I will make sure the puppy is no where near or can get near when I have treats with Yumie.

I'm worried this will traumatize him with other dogs. What should we do?

[Nettle]

This isn't aggression - it's communication. She is telling pup to keep away from her food. That's the only way she can do it. Good owner you for committing to ensuring treats and food bowl are never in a position of contention. Also add another water bowl to the room to avoid water-guarding. Same with beds - always have one more bed than you have dogs. Even if it is cute when they snuggle up together, they won't always want to, and as these are both strong-minded types, you need to avoid any chance of conflict.