*exercise .. substitute the morning walk for morning exercise .. fetch .. the idea is to get him running back and forth until his level of alertness is noticeably lower
*he's capable of walking for 40-45 mins .. becareful though of having him run at this stage because the movement of running beside us is too repetitive, that said if he's running around on his own in a park in a natural way that's good because he's using a range of muscles
*leash .. she recommends using two to start .. one short with a regular collar for safety and the second is a rope one, she had a 27 foot one, with an industrial clasp, and she placed this one high on the dog's neck .. why? .. because it is easier to initiate a fast response to correct behavior and then release the line so it's loose again .. it should be a very fast action ..
*walking .. we want him to walk behind the knee on whichever side of you that he is walking .. the second leash can be clipped to a belt loop (for safety if he slips off the rope one)
*when correcting using a sharp, consistent 'Tsk' sound .. the intent is to later be able to use that sound alone to initiate a correction, especially if the dog is off the leash
*using a crate for a required nap is good .. at times when she is on a movie set with a dog, the dog would spend most of a 14-hour day in a crate in order to relax
*using a crate in the car is good .. it allows you to open the windows especially when the weather is warmer and you need to nip into the store etc
*using a cover over the crate is good .. it allows you to walk up and give a fast shake to the crate to settle him down if necessary .. the benefit is that he can't anticipate your move
*using a shake can or spray bottle can be effective in distracting and/or breaking a habit before it becomes ingrained .. such as digging in the garden/yard .. but the key is to be selective in its use and hide the can/bottle from the dog so he doesn't see it as a game and doesn't realize that it is coming from you .. the idea is to break the habit/snap the dog out of it before he starts to think what he is doing is 'fun'
*walking/jumping up .. scoot your legs/body away when/if he tries to jump up .. don't give him a chance to touch you .. it a dominance issue and needs to be nipped in the bud
*for nipping/biting .. use a fast and fairly tight pinch on the upper jaw/gums/teeth to make it clear that the action is unacceptable .. he will give a yelp .. that tells you that he gets the point
*some slight/easy mouthing is OK but it must be clear to the dog what is easy, and what is not acceptable .. most pups determine the right level of pressure by playing with other pups/dogs
*a submissive dog is a relaxed dog
*toilet training .. use a command like 'time for a break' to signal time to pee .. and immediately praise when he pees (don't wait for him to return to where you are and sit because he could confuse the intent of the praise) .. focus the peeing in a designated area and have him on the leash while doing so ..
*always supervise him, keep him within sight while inside the restricted area of the house at this stage and when he starts to pee, startle him with a clap of your hands and a stern yell.. then take him outside to his pee area immediately .. by startling him he may stop peeing before he's finished which gives you the chance to remind him where his spot is and then praise him when he does pee outside ..
*using food to reward is good but don't go overboard with it .. the idea is to create behavior that does not require food rewards ..
*in using the sit command .. follow it with 'OK' to let him know it's Ok to start moving again after an appropriate time .. that's important so that he learns to sit and won't be distracted into moving until he receives the command, OK, to do so
*border collies .. tend to nip .. tend to bark .. both issues need to be curbed early so they don't become habits .. expect him to continue to test through the eighth month .. the degree of testing will depend on the effectiveness of our level of correcting
*sound .. sharp clap of the hands and simple word can be very effective in making it clear that something is unacceptable such as jumping up on a couch etc
pup of 12 weeks should be exposed to 12 different things .. people, dogs, ground surfaces .. expose him to as much as you can at this early stage of his life
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