I wrote this a couple of weeks ago but have since been receiving a number of emails regarding behavior concerns, I hope this helps :)
I just want to share my thoughts regarding this early puppy stage of our Bordoodle’s life (I’ll share my experiences regarding Border Collies at a later time). I know at this moment you all have discovered for yourselves the extra demands to our lives that we have intentionally brought into our homes :). I too made the decision to keep one of the Bordoodles in order to better understand the breed. I did not decide to cross our BC with a poodle because of the popularity of the breed. This SHOULD NEVER be a reason to breed any dog. Many individuals that contact me want a BC but do not have the stamina to handle the breed. Thus I made the decision to cross the two breeds. I have now discovered the Bordoodle has a lot of BC traits. We plan to genetically test Olivia this week to determine the percentage of each breed she carries. This will assist us in how we should move forward with this combination or perhaps not offer the Bordoodle in our future breeding program.
This brings me to my blog post. Here are a few helpful tips on how to manage certain behaviors or training tips for success.
• Please be patient with puppy.
• Never train puppy when you cannot devote a set amount of time for the training. Be there mentally and attention should be on puppy
• Do not overfeed or overwater puppy before going to bed. This will just create frustration and confusion for puppy and yourself.
• Make sure to reward puppy with positive reinforcement (i.e., treats, praise)
• Don’t focus on the negative and don’t yell at puppy’s mistakes. I make loud clapping sounds with my hands or stomp if I’m standing up in order to get her attention and then redirect her to an acceptable toy to chew on instead of my shoe or Gil’s ankles. Many times I will call her name too but not in frustration <this is difficult to do and does take practice>
• When puppy frustrates you, stop and take a deep breath, I do this often to regroup
Keep in mind they’re puppies and need our loving attention. Also, they never asked to come into our homes; they were invited.
I read a wonderful line in a book by Patricia McConnell Ph.D. “Don’t get a puppy if you don’t want a dog.”