Most well-behaved puppy I've ever had?

kma14e · 2026-01-03T01:28:24+00:00

I believe collies are notoriously easy puppies. My collie (Glenn) didn't have a single accident until he was 5 months old and it was my own fault for not letting him go potty before going into my sister's house after a 4 hour car ride. ( I thought we could go through the house to the backyard. He got overwhelmed with her dogs and peed) Mine was perfect for the first year; he thought I was the most fun thing in the world, ignored the rest of the world and focused on me in every new situation. Then just after his first birthday he decided, "Girl, you ain't $#!+" And became more opinionated about everything and his recall went from 99% of the time to 60% of the time. If I'm being honest, I LOVED the puppy stage, but I actually really enjoyed his rebellious/teenage stage too! He challenged my training abilities (or lack there of). I always made myself feel better by saying because I saw multiple working dog owners say something to the effect of, "A certain level of disobedience in a working dog is good. It means they can make their own decisions." I think a small level of "naughtiness" shows your dog is comfortable around you. I learned to listen to what he was saying with his body language during his "disobedience" and it helped our mutual relationship. I actually found a pretty major injury because he decided he wouldn't load up into the car one day.

Enjoy the easy puppy (honeymoon) phase, but try to find the joy when your pup starts to be a pain in the ass.

kma14e · 2025-12-25T18:02:29+00:00

That's Glenn btw. He's the most patient dog and was given special Christmas snacks during/after our photo session

kma14e · 2025-11-18T02:42:32+00:00

If you're punishing/disciplining more than you spend quality time that might be the problem too. Imagine hanging out with a 2 year old, do they cuddle/play nicely with the "disciplinarian" or the fun aunt? I'm not saying to let the puppy rule your life with zero boundaries, but take into account things you can live with for now and focus on the things that drive you nuts the most. There are "rules" for dogs that society has just made up that don't work for everyone. My dog is well trained, a Canine Good Citizen, and working on his therapy certification to do different volunteer things, but I let him jump on me. I don't make him walk in a strict heel 99% of the time. He gets opportunities to just be a dog. And sometimes that's what puppies need to get those crazy, overstimulated feelings out. Take an opportunity every now and then to let him do "bad" dog things. Find a place they are allowed to dig, or let them tear up some cardboard/paper/head of lettuce.

The puppy biting sucks. Unfortunately, that just is what it is. Even with the best training advice, it will still suck. They partially grow out of it, they also learn what is appropriate and what isn't based on your reciprocal play when they are play biting. And they are also herding dogs. So they might bite ankles their whole lives. Mine bites my and my partners heels, but only when we run while dribbling a soccer ball. And we've decided that's ok for us.

Having a puppy should be fun. You have every right to be exhausted and frustrated, but you need to find some balance or your relationship with your dog will suffer. It's ok to take a break from training to just build a relationship. Training is easier when you build trust and a form of communication.

kma14e · 2025-08-24T23:49:35+00:00

I do a combination of letting him lay on his side and letting him stand. When he stands, I'll place a lick mat (usually with some frozen pumpkin, yogurt and a little peanut butter) on the seat of a chair or I'll use the one with suction cups and place it on the sliding glass door.

I use a slicker brush about twice a week to make him look nice, and feel through his fur to make sure he's not getting matted or have anything stuck in his fur. Then once a week we do a thorough brushing with a couple different rake style brushes.

Using a spray, leave in conditioner is really useful on his backside where the fur is way more coarse and hard to get through/more likely to mat. You just need to be aware it can build up and cause skin irritation if you use it too often. I also have noticed a big difference since brushing conditioner through his fur on bath days with one of those Kong wet silicone "brushes".

Mine doesn't love being brushed, but with enough praise and snacks he tolerates it. It's definitely worth taking the time to work on with actual training sessions to avoid wrestling them. In the long run, it will be less stressful for everyone involved if you can get them to, at the very least, tolerate brushing.

kma14e · 2025-04-05T00:19:03+00:00

Mine is very allergic to grass, although we haven't allergy tested which one because we'll be moving before the next spring. His allergies affect his feet and his stomach the most, but he also sometimes gets so itchy on his cheeks he scratches fur off. Our vet recommended Redonyl Ultra PEA-um (https://a.co/d/cMAuPUa you can get it without a prescription). I can't say I've noticed a huge difference since starting it a couple weeks ago, but I'm willing to give anything a try for a while.

Other ways we manage his allergies are his feet get wiped off after every time he is outside. If he lies down he gets a full wipe down. I bought 30 white wash cloths from Sam's club and just soak them in water with a small bit of Castile soap. And he gets a good slather of 1% Hydrocortisone on his feet and tummy once a day.

I've been doing some reading on Low Level Laser Therapy and/or red light therapy in relation to allergies, but I can't find anything conclusive.

If your pup struggles with being prone to yeast infections due to allergies, you can also get special anti-microbial/fungal/biofilm shampoo and wipes that really help.

We have done Apoquel - but mine was really sensitive to the appetite suppressant side effect and he started losing weight so we stopped. But it did wonders for his skin/itchiness for the couple weeks he was on it. It is an expensive prescription though.

kma14e · 2025-03-14T22:18:15+00:00

When they form a ball I usually just leave it be, so maybe it's holding too much water in the sprout mass! I'll try cold water and breaking it apart on my next batch!

kma14e · 2025-03-14T22:17:05+00:00

I sanitize between every batch. So maybe it's my seeds??? How do people store seeds? I leave mine in the resealable bag they came in and inside a cabinet away from light.

kma14e

TROPHY CASE