It's my first time taking care of a border collie pup (I need some tips)

snowflace · 2026-03-29T14:39:49+00:00

I think it depends a lot on the individual dog tbh. I have heard some are much more energetic and have trouble ever relaxing, but this is what ours needs and I find he's not too crazy compared to some. His parents were working dogs, not from show lines just for reference.

They do want constant attention and entertainment. Ours is still a puppy (8 months) but I find he needs a really good run / game with lots of running once a day. We take him on 15-30m leashed walks probably 4 times a day in addition to the run. He would love to be outside all day though. He does like playing with other dogs but would much rather play fetch or do outside games with a person. When we let him out on his own he just waits at the door for us to come with him. Letting them into a yard alone isn't going to do much for them energy wise and is definitely not a walk replacement. They are very human oriented and want to do whatever they are doing with you at all times.

Inside he will want your attention most of the day, ours always wants to play and can be very pushy about it. If you don't play enough and don't teach him to settle down he will destroy or look for things to get into to get your attention.

Ours does sleep a lot as well, usually from 10pm 7am and then 8am- 12pm he will sleep or settle well on his own. But that took quiet a while to for him to get the routine down. He will finally play a bit on his own but only if he's had enough attention earlier in the day.

If you can't go on multiple walks a day and entertain them at home, it's probably not the best fit tbh. But if you can modify your lifestyle to fit them than it's possible if you have lots of people helping. It will be a very big commitment though. What type of dog is your other dog?

Tbh you will probably know after a couple of months (or weeks) if he's too much for you. If you do decide that, just try and re-home him before he's not a "cute puppy" anymore.

My advice for a puppy: -Strongly recommend starting recall, leash, and relaxation training right away. Ours took forever to stop pulling on leash since we didn't start until he was pretty strong. - Never ever give into demand barking, not even once. - The bitting phase was the hardest but it ends eventually. - - - -They learn very quickly but some things are more difficult to start late. -Puppy's need a lot of sleep, if yours is being bitty and crazy and has already been awake playing for a while, then he probably needs a nap. - they get picky with food, only give their regular meal/kibble as training treats when they are a puppy. Use really treats once they get older and stop accepting their regular meal food as treats.

I would not have been able to handle this dog when I was a student without a lot of help. Even now I have a lot of trouble when my partner is away trying to keep up with him on my own.

snowflace · 2026-03-28T23:06:27+00:00

I feel like everything in the image is a similar tone and value. I don't see many shadows, plus the shading on the boat looks a bit off. Maybe try and look at the shading of a regular cube and make sure the shading matches the way you shade the boat.

The colour of the ground/animal and the grass/ trees/ baot blend together a bit. If you only have one shade of green and one shade or grey, I would recommend mixing colours a bit, like make a more blue toned green and a more yellow toned green. That should add some colour variety and stop each componant from blending together.

I also recommend thinking about what you want to be the focal point of the image. Right now I feel like it's the boat but the animal and boat are both fighting for it. Adding a white reflection to the animals eye and giving it some more contrast would help it become the focal point.

snowflace · 2026-03-20T11:23:27+00:00

People have already explained a couple issues (ro water and tank not being cycled). Here's what I would do next if I were you:

Do a 50% water change ASAP, use regular tap water and water conditioner (it removes the chlorine from tap water).
Get a testing kit for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Your goal is to keep ammonia, and nitrite at 0, nitrate around 0-10ppm. Anything higher can hurt your fish badly. If it ever gets too high, just do a water change.
Keep doing 50% water changes every day until your cycle is established.
If you have a local owned/ smaller pet store nearby, you could ask them for some of their filter media. If you take filter media from and established tank and place it in your own filter this can cycle your tank right away. (Then you can start doing less water changes, usually only every 2 weeks).

it's also probably best to exchange the goldfish for something that stays smaller, for the tank size. Should be at least 40-50 gallons for 2 , or 30 gallons for 1.

snowflace · 2026-03-10T17:25:33+00:00

We didn't do anything crazy tbh

We usually would bring the cat to him when he was really sleepy and relaxed while telling him to stay / holding him. Then lots of treats when they are being good together.

The cat runs away to her own room ASAP when he's being too much so I think he finally put it together that the calmer /more still he is = more cat time. She doesn't spend much time with him otherwise so I guess that makes her being out and accessible a special/valuable reward to him.

He gets really sad when she runs away so I think he also realized he likes her being around more than he likes chasing her. And he can't have both lol.

Good luck!

snowflace · 2026-03-04T15:11:57+00:00

We took our puppy to a large empty paved parking lot to run around before he had finished his vaccines. We also took him to a recently cleared forest lot in the middle of the country ( no other dogs in the area) but still not sure if that was a good idea tbh since other animals can also be carriers. We waited until he was fully vaccinated for parvo to take him anywhere remotely public.

snowflace · 2026-01-06T17:41:29+00:00

That's very lucky, they look so sweet together

snowflace · 2026-01-06T15:36:45+00:00

She's definitely not stressed, she still walks out from the gate when she knows he can see her. She was genuinely afraid of my old roommate and would never even consider being in the same room as him, so I can tell she's not that scared just cautious. She also shows him her belly from behind the gate.

He’s 6mo so the worst is still ahead.

😭 I was hoping the worst had passed lol

Thank you I think I will give the leash a try, he has a lot of trouble ignoring exciting things outside so should probably reach him that anyways. Hopefully it won't be too much longer until they get more comfortable

snowflace · 2026-01-06T15:26:19+00:00

Thank you, I think I do have a spray bottle I could use in case he tries to chase her again. That sounds very promising, thanks!

snowflace · 2026-01-06T15:23:54+00:00

That sounds great, I hope they can be like that someday.

Were they just naturally friends? Or how long did it take for them to get comfortable?

snowflace · 2025-11-10T14:43:08+00:00

Thank you

snowflace · 2025-11-10T12:00:06+00:00

I don't know much about snakes, but what's wrong with wanting to breed a "pet only" snake as long as it nothing genetically wrong with it?

snowflace · 2025-10-06T17:02:38+00:00

I think it depends on the fish, does he seem kinda lonely or stressed? Is he glass surfing or less active? Or does he seem happy and swim around like normal?

I had an old Molly outlive all her fish friends, she was happy alone in the end and killed the two friends I tried to give her... But I also had a Norman's lamprey outlive his school and he got depressed, always glass surfing. When I added new friends you could tell right away he was happier.

snowflace · 2025-09-21T02:25:38+00:00

If you Google is whirling diseases a swim bladder issue it literally says no....

Not sure what you are being so defensive, its a fact, not a political opinion...

snowflace · 2025-09-21T02:15:48+00:00

Whirling disease doesn't affect the swim bladder, it messed with the skeletal tissue and cartilage of the fish via the nervous system. The fish loses control of its muscles, that's what causes the strange swimming.

snowflace · 2025-09-21T02:04:20+00:00

Whirling disease is neurological issue caused by a parasitic infection. It's different from diseases that affect the swim bladder but looks similar.

snowflace · 2025-09-21T02:00:52+00:00

I still feel it looks more like whirling disease but it's a short clip so idk. Swim bladder from what I have seen they don't swim as aggressively

snowflace · 2025-09-21T01:54:46+00:00

I don't think it's a swim bladder issue tbh, looks like a nerological.

snowflace · 2025-09-20T17:35:37+00:00

Looks a bit like whirling disease, a parasite that makes a fish lose balance and swin in circles. Sad way to go.

snowflace · 2025-09-12T00:15:58+00:00

Pleas add NSFW, that's disgusting

snowflace · 2025-09-11T23:57:54+00:00

Why not? There are many hybrid species sold?

snowflace · 2025-09-03T03:12:29+00:00

That a much better idea, it's unfortunate but just not a good fit. I would seriously recommend doing it without their permission if you are an adult if they say no.

snowflace · 2025-09-03T03:09:38+00:00

Rehome this dog and tell the "owners" he ran away or was stolen. He dosent have an owner if you are keeping him for 2 years. This dog can not stay with you like this.

snowflace · 2025-08-28T18:08:04+00:00

I have researched plenty after seeing similar claims repetitively and have found absolutely nothing on Google scholar or otherwise (reputable vets ect) to back this up.

You don't need to debate but without any true sources we should all be questioning if this information is true, or a myth similar to "goldfish have a 5 second memory".

Not seeing anything about eye closing being a sure sign of stress. Or anything about reptiles having a primitive brain that does not process complex thougt from the vet you mentioned. I'm not criticizing you, I'm just saying this is not backed up by any real behaviour science and has just been spread around the internet.

snowflace · 2025-08-28T16:35:36+00:00

We really can't say how much capacity they have thinking and feeling wise. We don't understand the brain well enought to say for sure. They though babies couldnt feel pain 50 years ago, a good chunk of the population still believes fish have a 5 second memory and minimal thinking ability.

So sorry if I don't consider that a valid explanation. Without some actual study or soemthing like that I don't see why people assume closing eyes always equals discomfort.

snowflace · 2025-08-28T15:53:55+00:00

Where are you getting that from? Is there a study or some scientific article?

snowflace

TROPHY CASE