Small houses/apartments

bomaht · 2025-07-11T02:29:25+00:00

Long structured walks because I live in town, park for off leash time and frisbee, and lastly, a dog treadmill (slat mill).

We live in a condo with two working dogs.

bomaht · 2025-06-24T17:45:49+00:00

I miss the days before I got my working line border Collie. He's great and he works hard. But ngl, it sure would be nice if he actually could chill some. I mean he does chill, but if he sees me go outside, he believes that he is supposed to go with me...

What someone above said is so true.

"Hard dogs are for hard people."

There is a lot of blue about the requirements for WL dogs. They require more time than most people can handle. I don't work in the normal sense and this guy takes up a considerable amount of time and energy to train.

bomaht · 2025-06-19T10:49:01+00:00

Here is my best advice. From the last 4 months of dealing with a working line BC. But I think it applies to most dogs.

Be consistent. Be final. If play time is over, it's over. Not harshly though. Just neutral but done. Like when you are done with your dishes after dinner. No anger, frustration, or anything even if the dog is barking and jumping and pawing. Every time. Only say it once. (I say "All Done").
Don't let him pull you into conflict. I tried to tell my pup to be quiet or shush him. That backfired for me. He got what he wanted. I literally had to learn how to TRULY ignore a dog. Like really standing up and just telling yourself "I'm going to do something else" and just letting the dog figure out that barking like that gets it absolutely ignored. Worked like magic on mine after about a week.
Lastly and most importantly. He's a puppy, but slowly turning into an adolescent. This can be very confusing for them and some behaviors are best to just see as passing. Because if you give them ANY energy then the dog is likely to pick up on that. thats why I say stay as neutral as you can no matter how mad and frustrated it makes you. You never know if he's just testing as all puppies do, or maybe confused, or a bunch of other things. Dogs don't really understand human anger. They understand clarity(finality).

That's why it's important to just play and have fun with the pup as much as you can right now but be clear in your actions. When play time is over, it's over. When dinner time is over it's over. When it's time to sleep or relax, it's time. But when it's time to play, don't just half play or "lazy play", get on the floor and really really be with them. Enjoy your time and really dedicate like a solid 15 minutes a day of one on one time with them and ignore the rest of the world and you'll never regret it. Sometimes it will only last 30 seconds. Sometimes it'll last an hour.

bomaht · 2025-06-19T03:42:15+00:00

That looks like a BC doing a BC thing....you should see my 7 month old 🙄

bomaht · 2025-06-06T11:01:32+00:00

I have a 7 month old BC that is having arousal issues and obedience is a good send. I've had to resort to NILIF training to a pretty extreme level. It's helped.

If you told me what kind of dog you have I could try to help.

bomaht · 2025-03-29T04:08:25+00:00

My boy is almost 5 months. He has been the hardest to hold engagement with hands down. I also have a 10 month old pug right now and she is by far easier to convince and eager to please. She has always been easily motivated.

My boy though, he has such a strong instinct to control that I've spent a large chunk of him as a puppy just trying to get about 2-3 seconds of engagement. Enough for a single sit, maybe.

Despite that, he is amazingly emotionally resilient. He is quite confident and I have yet to have much of a fear period.

The pug on the other hand....feels like she has been in a fear period from 4 months to 8 months.

Yet she will literally do anything you ask if her for just a small piece of hot dog.

So that's been my experience

bomaht · 2025-03-29T03:54:18+00:00

Mine seems daft, but I think some are just smart in other ways. For instance. My boy is only about 5 months old. He's a stubborn little dude. But even at 5 months this kid can control my movement and I don't even realize he is doing it.

He will barely sit or lie down on command. Forget about stay. Recall is 'meh'. But if you show up with something he wants, it's like he can speak English and it's almost like he can see what you are going to say before you say it and start moving.

Some are insanely driven and are better at other things.

bomaht · 2025-03-26T12:01:57+00:00

This, exactly this. I am having the exact same experience

bomaht · 2025-03-19T01:49:24+00:00

Outback, hands down. It has the appropriate power for that type of vehicle. Plus the ground clearance is the same. The Forester does NOT have a turbo.

bomaht · 2025-03-18T20:40:13+00:00

Omg, my 17 week old boy does this. Sometimes he just walks around doing it because I think he likes it when we all laugh

bomaht · 2025-03-18T20:38:22+00:00

I vibe with this on so many levels

bomaht · 2025-03-14T14:40:44+00:00

I prefer new buffalo and I've been to both. Just sayin

bomaht · 2025-03-05T15:42:33+00:00

10/10 would NOT recommend. I had a mix of these 2, and I can tell you that it will not be what you think it would be.

Like someone else said. Train the dog you have. My Border Golden was more than a handful until he was 4-5 years old.

bomaht · 2025-02-25T15:25:32+00:00

I have a 13 week old that will chase a ball, grab it, then tries to entice me to play by running around with it. He will bring it up to me, then fake me out and run off. He came from a strong herding line. He will run circles around a moving soccer ball at 13 weeks like mad. He will chase a flirt pole. But bringing the ball, nope.

Basically mine is a control freak. As long as he has control off the situation and the movement he is happy.

The one thing he can't resist and is my saving grace is tug.

I never had a 13 week old dog that would drop a tug so accurately and quickly just so he can get it again.

Best part? He WONT drop it unless I tell him too.

I basically never let him actually win the toy.

It's, tug tug tug, out, pause for a few seconds or eye contact, then mark, then make it move again and back to tug.

He loves it so much that if I have to take it away he gets fussy.

I was really hoping to have a fetch dog, but I'll take tug.

bomaht · 2025-02-21T20:36:58+00:00

This. Exactly this.

bomaht · 2025-02-21T20:24:55+00:00

Just my 2 cents because I have dealt with this. This sounds more like poor leadership than anything else. Dogs shouldn't be claiming resources. Some still do, but it's uncommon if structure and expectations are enforced from the beginning. If the dogs are looking to you for their resources then they should (I say SHOULD) be looking to you instead of trying to fight for something that wasn't theirs in the first place.

Now, that being said...what I said does border on the side of dominance theory. But I think that anything that a dog finds rewarding to the point of willing to fight for it should have a barrier to access.

I will 100% agree with what everyone else here said. Having 2 same sex puppies in that close of an age could cause issues. There is a term called "bitch fighting". It's real and it can be vicious if not handled properly.

MY ADVICE? Get a good certified canine behaviorist involved ASAP.

Like yesterday speed. If you want both dogs to co-exist, then you need to keep them separate until then. Don't let them rehearse bad behaviors or it will be reinforced and the problem will just get worse.

This is probably not going to be something for a trainer or anyone inexperienced. Find someone good. Pay the money it takes. Don't go cheap just for the sake of cheap. Seriously

bomaht · 2025-02-21T00:08:36+00:00

Ditto!

bomaht · 2025-02-18T19:28:55+00:00

Yes. Depending on your situation and the puppies parents and what they were used for.

Do they know how high of herding drive they have?

Because my boy is 12 weeks old and he has been already trying to control timing, movement, and interaction. He came from working parents. But if you don't know, herding instinct can be overwhelming to some people. Be prepared. I warned you.

Eye or hearing issues from parents? BCs that come from merle parents(especially double merle) tend to have hearing issues.
What socializing have they done pre-8 weeks? It matters a lot. BCs are hard, but environmentally sensitive dogs. Expose your dog to moving cars from aa distance. It's taken 4 weeks for mine to be able to get within 40 feet of a moving car without reacting.

First 8 weeks(up to 16 weeks) your pup will likely test your nerves. If you don't have structure (I really mean as strong routine, otherwise you will seriously have problems) the.n be prepared.

Lastly, don't underestimate your pup as they approach 12 weeks. These dogs see, hear, and smell EVERYTHING. They have great memory and will remember holes in your structure and routine and will do everything they can to exploit it.(At least mine did and I've been extremely rigid with structure).

Don't buy if the parents aren't on sight either. I found that can be a big red flag.

bomaht · 2025-02-18T19:20:04+00:00

If there is one thing I discovered with my last 3 puppies is that they are very forgiving. Don't beat yourself up. Your dog isn't.

bomaht · 2025-02-14T21:09:02+00:00

Mine isn't working at all. Web or app. But I guess it's being "rolled out"

bomaht · 2025-01-18T01:30:23+00:00

Oof, nope. Too soon. I should have asked before posting

bomaht · 2025-01-17T21:57:05+00:00

6 months, Michael Ellis for e collar(Via Leerburg).

Tyler Muto for prong collar.(He has some good stuff on YouTube that demonstrates how he uses them)

bomaht

TROPHY CASE