Please Help? I Am Worried Sick? Is My Border Collie Ok?

[Neigh55]

Hello, thank you very much for reading this. I have had a 7 week Border Collie puppy for a week now, (I got him when he was 6 weeks). So far he is absolutely gorgeous and I love him very much. I work as a teacher and I have to work for about 8 hours. For the past week (the five days I have been working) he has spent the day in my laundry. I have left him in a crate with a warm, snuggly bed (with the crate door OPEN), food and water, newspaper and pee pads (I am currently toilet training him on the pee pads) and plenty of kongs, socks and chew toys. Every day I have come home, I have snuck in the front door and he has NOT been whining or complaining at all. In fact, he's mostly been sleeping. I have been trying to come home at recess or lunch to give him fresh air, fresh water and a quick snuggle. I am not able to give him a proper walk while I am working because I do not have any relatives or friends near me, and I only see my daughter once a fortnight. I understand when he gets older I will need to exercise him alot, so luckily I have a large park pretty much two steps down my street where I would be happy to walk/run/train him for 2 hours every afternoon. I do not have any other pets. I have a medium sized yard, but it is not completely fenced up (although I could work on that) and I wouldn't be comfortable letting him roam around at such a young age. I will try to move into a slightly larger yard and possibly get a new pup for company in about 6 months. When I come home, I give him alot of love and cuddles! He is so adorable! I have been reading some things online about how damaging it is to leave a Border Collie alone for so long, and I have had trouble sleeping and I have been absolutely worried sick about him. I just need someone to tell me that he will be fine and what I'm doing is not cruel. Please no rude or harsh comments, I really need someone to calm me down. Thankyou very much for your reply.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Neigh55

[Simply Grand]

Plenty of people raise pups while working full time BUT it means you have to be really dedicated to your dog ALL the rest of the time :) I'd definitely work on getting your yard fully secure ASAP (you'll need good, high fencing, BCs can jump ) so he can be outside pretty soon. You probably need to do lots of little mental stimulation training sessions, starting from now and will need to give him more and more as he grows up.

a good training school would be great for you but seeing as he's so young (still too young to be away from mum and litter actually) you'll need to be very, very careful where you take him until his vaccinations are complete.

[LisaCC]

You will get varying opinions here.

I'm guessing you mean 7 weeks not 7 months?

I don't think the puppy is left alone for too long. Many people successfully raise puppies while working full time.

But I do think the situation is less than ideal. It's a long time to be locked up in a laundry and possibly again at night. I would be fixing your fence asap, making it safe and escape proof, or erect a dog run.

A backyard is much more interesting than a laundry.

I would advise not adding a second puppy until this puppy is fully mature and trained well.

If he is only 7 weeks, you shouldn't be walking him anyway as he isn't up to date with his vaccinations, but what kind of exercise and mental stimulation do you give him when you are home?

Edited July 20, 2014 by LisaCC

[Neigh55]

Plenty of people raise pups while working full time BUT it means you have to be really dedicated to your dog ALL the rest of the time :) I'd definitely work on getting your yard fully secure ASAP (you'll need good, high fencing, BCs can jump ) so he can be outside pretty soon. You probably need to do lots of little mental stimulation training sessions, starting from now and will need to give him more and more as he grows up.

a good training school would be great for you but seeing as he's so young (still too young to be away from mum and litter actually) you'll need to be very, very careful where you take him until his vaccinations are complete.

I will most definitely dedicate lots of time to the little pup :) I will try to fix my yard as soon as possible as well. I will take him to puppy pre school every Sunday after he has had his vaccinations. Thankyou very much for your reply :)

[piper]

You will get varying opinions here.

I'm guessing you mean 7 weeks not 7 months?

I don't think the puppy is left alone for too long. Many people successfully raise puppies while working full time.

But I do think the situation is less than ideal. It's a long time to be locked up in a laundry and possibly again at night. I would be fixing your fence asap, making it safe and escape proof, or erect a dog run.

A backyard is much more interesting than a laundry.

I would advise not adding a second puppy until this puppy is fully mature and trained well.

If he is only 7 weeks, you shouldn't be walking him anyway as he isn't up to date with his vaccinations, but what kind of exercise and mental stimulation do you give him when you are home?

Ditto to all of this.

It depends on the border collie but their energy levels vary. The most important thing is mental stimulation. Lots of training games (short, fun sessions with high levels of rewards - basic behaviours, tricks, hide and seek - anything to keep the mind occupied) with you when you are home and also spending most of that time with you. I would even have the crate in your room at night. Dogs are pack animals and as your puppy is spending lots of time alone during the day, you need to balance that out by spending as much time as is possible with the puppy when you are home.

[Neigh55]

You will get varying opinions here.

I'm guessing you mean 7 weeks not 7 months?

I don't think the puppy is left alone for too long. Many people successfully raise puppies while working full time.

But I do think the situation is less than ideal. It's a long time to be locked up in a laundry and possibly again at night. I would be fixing your fence asap, making it safe and escape proof, or erect a dog run.

A backyard is much more interesting than a laundry.

I would advise not adding a second puppy until this puppy is fully mature and trained well.

If he is only 7 weeks, you shouldn't be walking him anyway as he isn't up to date with his vaccinations, but what kind of exercise and mental stimulation do you give him when you are home?

I understand this is a long time to spend in a laundry. At the moment he sleeps in his crate next to my bed. When should I let him in the backyard during the day? Thank you for the advice about the second puppy. Yes, sorry, I meant I will take him for walks when he is older. When I am home, I play tug of war and run around with him to exercise (because he is so young) and I have already trained him to sit and I will be very persistent in training him tricks :)

[silentchild]

I just wanted to commend you for thinking about your pup and coming here for advice. You sound like an owner who cares about your dog very much and that can only be a good thing. :) Plenty of dogs have been raised in much worse conditions than yours. Breath, relax, and enjoy your pup. You will find plenty of good advice in these forums.

[LisaCC]

That's great that he is in your room at night.

I would be putting him in the back yard as soon as you have made it safe and secure. Yes he probably will still sleep most the time, but he will have lots more room to have a play by himself and stretch those growing legs of his.

Tug of war is great, if he really loves it you can use it to train too. I've trained my boy using tug as a reward as he likes it more than food

Just remember when he starts loosing teeth to be very careful with the tugging (around 4-6 months), it can loosen the teeth prematurely.

You can do things with his meals for some mental stimulation too, like putting it in some boxes you don't mind being ripped up.

[Neigh55]

That's great that he is in your room at night.

I would be putting him in the back yard as soon as you have made it safe and secure. Yes he probably will still sleep most the time, but he will have lots more room to have a play by himself and stretch those growing legs of his.

Tug of war is great, if he really loves it you can use it to train too. I've trained my boy using tug as a reward as he likes it more than food

Just remember when he starts loosing teeth to be very careful with the tugging (around 4-6 months), it can loosen the teeth prematurely.

You can do things with his meals for some mental stimulation too, like putting it in some boxes you don't mind being ripped up.

I will really try to fence up the yard ASAP so he will be able to roam around. Yes, I think Bobby likes to play more than treats as well! Haha :) Thank you very much for the advice about the tug of war. I was not aware of that at all! So I'm guessing Border Collies like lots of mind games? I will research and provide him with heaps of little tricks. (This is my first Border Collie). Thankyou very much for your advice, you have been very kind and helpful :)

[Neigh55]

I just wanted to commend you for thinking about your pup and coming here for advice. You sound like an owner who cares about your dog very much and that can only be a good thing. :) Plenty of dogs have been raised in much worse conditions than yours. Breath, relax, and enjoy your pup. You will find plenty of good advice in these forums.

Thankyou very much for your kindness. I am starting to relax a little bit from all these positive comments. I truly believe my puppy is the best dog in the world! I can't wait for the wonderful times we will have together :)

[Simply Grand]

Great idea :) teaching new tricks is excellent mental stimulation, and fun for both of you. You can start teaching him to walk nicely on a leash around your house and yard from now too.

[Neigh55]

Great idea :) teaching new tricks is excellent mental stimulation, and fun for both of you. You can start teaching him to walk nicely on a leash around your house and yard from now too.

Yes, he is most definitely a very good listener!

I have tried to walk him around on a leash outside but he jumps around and pulls back on it... any ideas?

[Neigh55]

You will get varying opinions here.

I'm guessing you mean 7 weeks not 7 months?

I don't think the puppy is left alone for too long. Many people successfully raise puppies while working full time.

But I do think the situation is less than ideal. It's a long time to be locked up in a laundry and possibly again at night. I would be fixing your fence asap, making it safe and escape proof, or erect a dog run.

A backyard is much more interesting than a laundry.

I would advise not adding a second puppy until this puppy is fully mature and trained well.

If he is only 7 weeks, you shouldn't be walking him anyway as he isn't up to date with his vaccinations, but what kind of exercise and mental stimulation do you give him when you are home?

Ditto to all of this.

It depends on the border collie but their energy levels vary. The most important thing is mental stimulation. Lots of training games (short, fun sessions with high levels of rewards - basic behaviours, tricks, hide and seek - anything to keep the mind occupied) with you when you are home and also spending most of that time with you. I would even have the crate in your room at night. Dogs are pack animals and as your puppy is spending lots of time alone during the day, you need to balance that out by spending as much time as is possible with the puppy when you are home.

I will really try to put alot of effort into mental stimulation. Thankyou for your reply :)

[LisaCC]

You have a very smart breed! Working dog puppies can pick things up really quickly. I found it difficult to think of new things to do with my Aussie (another smart working breed) to keep him interested. I would invest in a "clicker" and a few puppy books focusing on clicker training. You can teach them some really cool things

One of the first games I taught my pup, was to target a mug coaster with his paw. I taught "shake" first then put the coaster in my hand and slowly moved it to the ground and different places. Soon I could move the coaster and send him too it and he would come running back to me for a treat. Eventually I was able to hide the coaster somewhere in the house and he would go find it

Really great way to play hide and seek inside on rainy days

If you go to the "Training/ Obedience/ Dog Sports" threads, you should be able to find some talk on tricks that might give you some good ideas if you get stuck.

Edited July 20, 2014 by LisaCC

[Neigh55]

You have a very smart breed! Working dog puppies can pick things up really quickly. I found it difficult to think of new things to do with my Aussie (another smart working breed) to keep him interested. I would invest in a "clicker" and a few puppy books focusing on clicker training. You can teach them some really cool things

One of the first games I taught my pup, was to target a mug coaster with his paw. I taught "shake" first then put the coaster in my hand and slowly moved it to the ground and different places. Soon I could move the coaster and send him too it and he would come running back to me for a treat. Eventually I was able to hide the coaster somewhere in the house and he would go find it

Really great way to play hide and seek inside on rainy days

If you go to the "Training/ Obedience/ Dog Sports" threads, you should be able to find some talk on tricks that might give you some good ideas if you get stuck.

Thankyou, I will try and find a clicker in my nearest pet store. That sounds really cool! I never thought an animal could be so smart and responsive. I am really looking forward to spending alot of time teaching him tricks! I really appreciate the time you have put into helping me. I feel alot more confident in myself and I think I will raise a beautiful, kind dog :)

[piper]

These are some good links to get you started. I was going to suggest clicker training as well - great for getting puppies thinking.

http://www.clickertr...ted?source=hpsb

And some wonderful how to videos and great trick ideas https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Edited July 20, 2014 by piper

[Esky the husky]

Kikopup

https://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup

Watch and learn :)

Oh snap Piper!

Edited July 20, 2014 by Esky the husky

[Tassie]

Long time Border Collie person here , and I would echo the comments about the importance of mental stimulation and spending time interacting with/ 'working' with the person. When you think what this breed was bred for, you will see that doing 'stuff' with their person was really their primary function. And some days in a farm situation, they would not be working - would be spending most of the day in their yard. For our urban Border Collies, if we can't provide their original work for them, they are very happy to accept substitutes - many of us here do a variety of dog performance sports with out dogs - obedience, Rally O, agility, tracking, Dances with Dogs. Trick training is fine too - anything to help build that bond between dog and person, and help keep that Border Collie brain ticking and occupied.

People get hung up on the exercise needs of Border Collies, but really, while they do need a reasonable amount of exercise, if you don't do the mental exercise as well, all you end up with is a very fit bored Border Collie - not something you want to have .

For the leash training, it's often good to hust let the puppy trail the leash while he wanders round (in a safe area of course) - you can pick it up loosely and follow him around, then drop it again - rinse and repeat - gradually putting a little bit more pressure on him. They will play with their leashes and try chewing on them, but you can usually distract them pretty easily, and they give up doing that after a while. A good trick is to use the leash to get the puppy to somewhere where he wants to be - e.g.. to his food bowl - then he will be focussing on getting there rather than on the leash.

Getting the fence fixed is one of your priorities at this stage - even just so that you can use the yard safely for training and playing.

[juice]

Perhaps I am missing something here, but is no one concerned he was taken away at 6 weeks? thought that was illegal?

How often is he being fed?

[Agility Dogs]

Perhaps I am missing something here, but is no one concerned he was taken away at 6 weeks? thought that was illegal?

How often is he being fed?

I don't think it is illegal, it might be against guidelines though. Having said that I wouldn't be too concerned by it. I have three BC's.

Two of them came to us from their breeders at 12 weeks, one of them came to me from a pet shop at 6 weeks. While there is no way that I will ever source pups from anywhere other than a breeder again (for whole variety of reasons) I can honestly say that while all three of my dogs are amazing if I could clone one of their temperaments/dog to dog interaction and general demeanour it would be the one from the pet shop.

I'm not saying it is ideal or even desirable that puppies are taken from their mum earlier than 8 weeks just that the OP should not worry too much if their pup is doing fine.