Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
1) Get you some sheep
2) Allow them to scatter
3) Stand back
In the event sheep are unavailable, you may substitute random birds, local children, dust bunnies, or errant pieces of furniture.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie: we named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
Meaning no disrespect, but you should have worked this out before you got a dog. You might find that border collies, while wonderful animals, are not suited to your life-style; and if you neglect Molly and she becomes neurotic, then you'd be guilty of abuse. I really hope that you're up to this challenge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by addabox
1) Get you some sheep
2) Allow them to scatter
3) Stand back
In the event sheep are unavailable, you may substitute random birds, local children, dust bunnies, or errant pieces of furniture.
My mother was raising a Border Collie - Labrador cross about ten years ago (to be a certified assistance dog). We also got two kittens at about the same time. Beamish used to herd the cats. A couple of kittens would go a long way to keep your Molly entertained (and the kittens will be entertained as well). The down-side is that two kittens and a dog may destroy your house (but not much more than a toddler would).
However, I'm afraid that Border Collies are hard to keep as pets. It's much easier to keep a retriever happy by just taking them to the park and throwing a ball around, but herding dogs are not so simple. The best place to get advice about how to keep them happy would be to talk to the breeder from whom you bought the dog.
My mother was raising a Border Collie - Labrador cross about ten years ago (to be a certified assistance dog).
That is a combination that scares the crap out of me: a really smart dog that will refuse to do some complicated task it knows how to do unless there is a treat involved.
I've been dog-sitting a couple of 80-lb labs for the past week while a friend is off having a baby. These labs are horrible. Horrible. Fantastic nature. Smart. But they are spoiled rotten and refuse to behave. I was raised with dogs of all kinds, and I refuse to have dogs disobey me, but these two are seriously testing my patience. When I dog-sit for them, sometimes for a few weeks at a stretch, I'll have them fetching and dropping and minding by the end. Next time? Start from square one.
What gets me, though, is that I think these labs would gnaw off a leg so long as there was a treat involved.
Quote:
We also got two kittens at about the same time. Beamish used to herd the cats. A couple of kittens would go a long way to keep your Molly entertained (and the kittens will be entertained as well). The down-side is that two kittens and a dog may destroy your house (but not much more than a toddler would).
We have two cats who seem to be taking this pup's presence remarkably well. If she herds them around the house, that's fine by me. We also have a 17-year-old umbrella cockatoo. We have yet to see how that's going to work out.
Quote:
However, I'm afraid that Border Collies are hard to keep as pets. It's much easier to keep a retriever happy by just taking them to the park and throwing a ball around, but herding dogs are not so simple. The best place to get advice about how to keep them happy would be to talk to the breeder from whom you bought the dog.
I've heard that most of these work dogs (e.g. border collies and Australian shepherds) can be difficult pets, but I've honestly always thought that a chunk of that was the owners just being bad with dogs; that is, if you don't spend time with your dog, of course it's going to be a problem.
My plan for this dog is to basically give it a lot of stuff to do. We live right on a huge park and right off of an enormous network of hiking trails that I use regularly, so if you see me on one of those amazing dog tricks shows with the dog diving off a waterfall, catching a frisbee in mid-air, then landing on the owner's back, that'll be me.
We also have a large number of friends with dogs (mostly labs), and we're planning to integrate this one into those "packs" as much as we can.
Heh. Right now we're working on her apparent fear of surfaces that are not grass. She doesn't like ceilings, either.
awwww....
wait. what?
(apparently you need to mentally challenge your new pup -- have him read Heidegger and Plato and come up with a thesis on being that is different then the forms and, well, whatever it is that Heidegger actually proposed).
(apparently you need to mentally challenge your new pup -- have him read Heidegger and Plato and come up with a thesis on being that is different then the forms and, well, whatever it is that Heidegger actually proposed).
Dude. Heidegger and Plato would've had a fistfight.
But I think I can read her big chunks of Poetry, Language, Thought. I love it when Heidegger talks about the thingly nature of the thing.
Heh. Right now, we are working on the following commands:
Wake up!
and
STOP HERDING ME!
She slept through the night last night and finally woke up about 5:30 this morning. I took her for a walk around the block and the entire time she tried to herd me.
Although she's too young for leash training now, she's going to be dragging one around for a while to get used to the feeling.
Heh. Right now, we are working on the following commands:
Wake up!
and
STOP HERDING ME!
She slept through the night last night and finally woke up about 5:30 this morning. I took her for a walk around the block and the entire time she tried to herd me.
Although she's too young for leash training now, she's going to be dragging one around for a while to get used to the feeling.
That herding instinct comes from dog ancestors, the wolves, chasing game. All dogs are derived from wolves.
If you can, find a film called, "The Wolf in Your Living Room." It explains why dogs do the things they do. For example, a dog will turn in a circle before lying down - the wolf trampled grass before lying down.
My daughter's Havanese pup goes through about a book a week (shreds them). Since I don't speak 'dog', I don't know if she's assimilating the information from the books or not. However, the paperbacks are a lot cheaper than furniture.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
As long as you give her plenty of attention you will be fine. Border Collies do instinctively herd, so make sure you train her well around cars etc. They need plenty of exercise and they love to play. They are exceptionally sensitive dogs so make sure you're consistent with your affection too. Other than that, you'll be fine. They are great around kids, they learn very quickly and when trained properly are very obedient things.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
How do your parents and in-laws feel about your decision to put off having kids?
Comments
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
Cute pup! Makes you want to say, "AAAAAAWWWW"
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
1) Get you some sheep
2) Allow them to scatter
3) Stand back
In the event sheep are unavailable, you may substitute random birds, local children, dust bunnies, or errant pieces of furniture.
1) Get you some sheep
2) Allow them to scatter
3) Stand back
In the event sheep are unavailable, you may substitute random birds, local children, dust bunnies, or errant pieces of furniture.
That cracked me up. I wish I'd said that.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie: we named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
Meaning no disrespect, but you should have worked this out before you got a dog. You might find that border collies, while wonderful animals, are not suited to your life-style; and if you neglect Molly and she becomes neurotic, then you'd be guilty of abuse. I really hope that you're up to this challenge.
1) Get you some sheep
2) Allow them to scatter
3) Stand back
In the event sheep are unavailable, you may substitute random birds, local children, dust bunnies, or errant pieces of furniture.
My mother was raising a Border Collie - Labrador cross about ten years ago (to be a certified assistance dog). We also got two kittens at about the same time. Beamish used to herd the cats. A couple of kittens would go a long way to keep your Molly entertained (and the kittens will be entertained as well). The down-side is that two kittens and a dog may destroy your house (but not much more than a toddler would).
However, I'm afraid that Border Collies are hard to keep as pets. It's much easier to keep a retriever happy by just taking them to the park and throwing a ball around, but herding dogs are not so simple. The best place to get advice about how to keep them happy would be to talk to the breeder from whom you bought the dog.
My mother was raising a Border Collie - Labrador cross about ten years ago (to be a certified assistance dog).
That is a combination that scares the crap out of me: a really smart dog that will refuse to do some complicated task it knows how to do unless there is a treat involved.
I've been dog-sitting a couple of 80-lb labs for the past week while a friend is off having a baby. These labs are horrible. Horrible. Fantastic nature. Smart. But they are spoiled rotten and refuse to behave. I was raised with dogs of all kinds, and I refuse to have dogs disobey me, but these two are seriously testing my patience. When I dog-sit for them, sometimes for a few weeks at a stretch, I'll have them fetching and dropping and minding by the end. Next time? Start from square one.
What gets me, though, is that I think these labs would gnaw off a leg so long as there was a treat involved.
We also got two kittens at about the same time. Beamish used to herd the cats. A couple of kittens would go a long way to keep your Molly entertained (and the kittens will be entertained as well). The down-side is that two kittens and a dog may destroy your house (but not much more than a toddler would).
We have two cats who seem to be taking this pup's presence remarkably well. If she herds them around the house, that's fine by me. We also have a 17-year-old umbrella cockatoo. We have yet to see how that's going to work out.
However, I'm afraid that Border Collies are hard to keep as pets. It's much easier to keep a retriever happy by just taking them to the park and throwing a ball around, but herding dogs are not so simple. The best place to get advice about how to keep them happy would be to talk to the breeder from whom you bought the dog.
I've heard that most of these work dogs (e.g. border collies and Australian shepherds) can be difficult pets, but I've honestly always thought that a chunk of that was the owners just being bad with dogs; that is, if you don't spend time with your dog, of course it's going to be a problem.
My plan for this dog is to basically give it a lot of stuff to do. We live right on a huge park and right off of an enormous network of hiking trails that I use regularly, so if you see me on one of those amazing dog tricks shows with the dog diving off a waterfall, catching a frisbee in mid-air, then landing on the owner's back, that'll be me.
We also have a large number of friends with dogs (mostly labs), and we're planning to integrate this one into those "packs" as much as we can.
Heh. Right now we're working on her apparent fear of surfaces that are not grass. She doesn't like ceilings, either.
awwww....
wait. what?
(apparently you need to mentally challenge your new pup -- have him read Heidegger and Plato and come up with a thesis on being that is different then the forms and, well, whatever it is that Heidegger actually proposed).
awwww....
wait. what?
(apparently you need to mentally challenge your new pup -- have him read Heidegger and Plato and come up with a thesis on being that is different then the forms and, well, whatever it is that Heidegger actually proposed).
Dude. Heidegger and Plato would've had a fistfight.
But I think I can read her big chunks of Poetry, Language, Thought. I love it when Heidegger talks about the thingly nature of the thing.
Dude. Heidegger and Plato would've had a fistfight.
But I think I can read her big chunks of Poetry, Language, Thought. I love it when Heidegger talks about the thingly nature of the thing.
That kind of indulgence will just leave Molly weak minded.
Insist that she read her own philosophy, and that she be prepared to defend her choices.
Use treats if you must.
Bear in mind that the breed tends toward analytical materialism.
Wake up!
and
STOP HERDING ME!
She slept through the night last night and finally woke up about 5:30 this morning. I took her for a walk around the block and the entire time she tried to herd me.
Although she's too young for leash training now, she's going to be dragging one around for a while to get used to the feeling.
I hope you have time to spend with Molly. She looks like a great little pup.
Heh. Right now, we are working on the following commands:
Wake up!
and
STOP HERDING ME!
She slept through the night last night and finally woke up about 5:30 this morning. I took her for a walk around the block and the entire time she tried to herd me.
Although she's too young for leash training now, she's going to be dragging one around for a while to get used to the feeling.
That herding instinct comes from dog ancestors, the wolves, chasing game. All dogs are derived from wolves.
If you can, find a film called, "The Wolf in Your Living Room." It explains why dogs do the things they do. For example, a dog will turn in a circle before lying down - the wolf trampled grass before lying down.
Suggestions please. edit: Never mind. I went back to Flickr and figured it out. Thanks.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
As long as you give her plenty of attention you will be fine. Border Collies do instinctively herd, so make sure you train her well around cars etc. They need plenty of exercise and they love to play. They are exceptionally sensitive dogs so make sure you're consistent with your affection too. Other than that, you'll be fine. They are great around kids, they learn very quickly and when trained properly are very obedient things.
Oh, congrats by the way. She looks lovely.
Today my wife and I picked up a 7 week old border collie:
We named her Molly.
I know that they're very, very smart. And I know that they need lots of tasks, so any advice about owning one in a non-working environment would be much appreciated.
How do your parents and in-laws feel about your decision to put off having kids?
How do your parents and in-laws feel about your decision to put off having kids?
My mother called her her grand-dog.
We have a 17-year-old umbrella cockatoo that is our perpetual 2-year-old, so kids have never particularly been in the offing.
My daughter's dog. I don't know why it's called a Havanese. I also do not know how to size a picture.
Suggestions please. edit: Never mind. I went back to Flickr and figured it out. Thanks.
I'm not gonna ask what that green thing is, because it looks like it might be something dirty.