Puppies

Hey guys. I don't pop back down here very often anymore (because I'd never get anything done!), but I'm looking for advice.

My boyfriend and I are very seriously considering picking up a puppy tomorrow. We went today and met a couple, and there's one in particular we're considering, a lab/border collie mix.

Thing is, after I got home, I started doing some research on the breeds. Labs are all around great, and border collies are supposed to be brilliant, but I also read that they're herding dogs and thus not good to have around small kids. Everything I see about the mix says family friendly, but I've seen a lot of comments about the herding instinct as well.

I don't have kids yet, but I'm hoping to, and I really don't want to get a puppy that might prove to be a danger to children. I'm under the impression that the herding behavior can be very traumatizing to kids and that sometimes the dogs can nip and bite. I've never had a dog do this (though I did have a friend with a terrier who did this), and while we're both pretty dedicated about training, I want to make sure I've really thought this through before we make the decision.

I'm wondering if anyone here has a herding breed and what type of experiences anyone might have had. I'm also wondering if there are techniques to discourage the behavior. I've read that because it's an instinct it can't be "trained out," and with puppies there's no real way of knowing until it's older what it will be like.

The reason we're considering now is because he's a student and I'm a teacher, so we're both going to be having a lot of extra time for about five or six weeks. I'm also around a lot, and while I'll have class a couple of times a week and I go to practice (~1 1/2 hours) a couple of times a week, but I should be able to walk them daily and spend a lot of time training.

I do worry about energy levels, but I've heard that this mix is less crazy than a purebred border collie, so that's good. They're still active, but I'd like to have a dog I can run with when he's older (I do this with my current dog) so I think I can handle it.

We're still considering, but we'll see.

Our current dog is very similar. We often say that she's too smart for her own good. She's also a chewer and has eaten the most ridiculous things, but we've learned to keep anything she might want up really high and after a lot of training she only chews her toys.

We went back to the Humane Society today and checked out a couple of the other pups they had. One was just fantastic, a three-month-old pointer, but she was actually more energetic and hyper than the other, not to mention a fair size bigger and thus harder to keep penned.

We ended up deciding on the lab/collie mix. He's a total sweetheart, and my other dog is super excited (almost too excited) to have a baby in the house. She keeps wanting to play, but we're trying to keep them mostly separated for now because she's so excited we're afraid she'll hurt the puppy on accident.

Anyway, I just thought I'd show a picture, and thanks again for the thoughts and advice everyone. We put a lot of thought into this, and we're big on mental stimulation as well as physical so I'm hoping this all goes great. Let me introduce Genghis Khan (Genji for short).



It's not the best picture but he doesn't sit still often, at least not unless he's curled up onto my lap. I'm currently his safe zone, so to speak, so he's spending a lot of time there.

I'd actually seriously considered an older one of the same breed. He was very shy and insecure and nervous. Also very calm (around us, but probably because he was shy), but when we spoke to the people about training and how we thought an older one would be easier, they actually suggested that the younger they are the easier they are to train because you don't have to undo any already learned bad behavior.

It made sense, and I was a little concerned that my current dog would be a little too aggressive (she's a sweetie but loves to play and let you know what she wants) for someone so nervous. One of my main reasons is because I wanted my dog to have a playmate. She's so social and just loves being around other animals. She's been thrilled so far. Honestly, I'm also just loving having a puppy. I haven't gotten to have an actual puppy in over ten years.

Thanks, guys. I'm super impressed so far. He hasn't had an accident since right after we brought him home. That's over 24 hours and we just got him yesterday. He even whined at the door to go out earlier!

My older dog is loving having a puppy around.

I'm loving it. I've wanted one for a really long time now but it just hasn't been feasible.