my guy (3.5 years old) got diagnosed with epilepsy this year, and we started him on phenobarbital earlier this month when keppra still had episodes popping up every 14 days. his face has been extra itchy during the initial adjustment, a potential symptom we hadn't been aware of, and this guy is slapping hands and nosing thighs and pulling every trick in the book to get as many headscritches as possible.

y'all understand better than anybody how bossy and demanding this breed can be in the first place, so please sympathize with the early-onset carpal tunnel i'll be diagnosed with soon after pulling 40+ hour weeks at my new scratch-scratch-scratch job.

I woke him up, and he was not pleased.

Took her to the local pumpkin patch and got some cute pictures

This is Watson, he’s 9 and still very much crazy when it comes to one particular toy. Wanna guess which one? 😂 show me your border collies with their focused stare

My little guy has a delicate stomach, it seems. The BC we had before him lived to 16 years and ate Acana kibble without issue. It seems to be giving him diarrhea :( He does eat the one with grains, as I know grain free is a poor choice for dogs.

Woud love to know what everyone is feeding their dogs. Jack is only 8 months old so is still on puppy chow.

Edit to add: jury is out on whether grain free is actually a poor choice or not but my vet told me to avoid it

Me and my girlfriend got a border collie mix rescue pup of about 10/11 weeks about 10 days ago. He was a bundle of joy at the shelter and so loving, he definitely won us over there. We had both read up about border collies going into this, but I’m almost wishing we got something like a lab/golden. Besides family dogs growing up, we’re first time dog/puppy owners and I just can’t shake the feeling that we’re not experienced enough for a border collie. We’re both active and can easily meet the physical exercise needs. I’m excited to spend time with him playing different active frisbee/herding games or even getting into agility with him. I’m just worried that we’re not going to be able to handle the anxiety/neuroticness that comes with the breed.

He ate two big chunks of a lick mat, and we had to take him to the vet to induce vomiting. The vet said he showed signs of fear and tried to bite the vet team as they were giving him a shot to induce vomiting. This didn’t make me feel better. He sometimes is fearful on our adventures outside, but generally ok, I thought. I try to take him out 1-2 times a day to something like a cafe or outside bar/patio near our apt, car rides, etc to socialize him. I reinforce whenever he sits and is calm with treats, but he gets insanely excited to meet other people when they walk by so that’s been a challenge. (Our local vet recommended this, she prioritized socialization before full vaccination status, but avoid dog parks/pet stores and other very high dog traffic areas).

I work from home and I am not particularly busy at the moment, so I’m able to spend lots of time with the puppy. We’re crate training and enforcing naps so he sleeps 16-18 hours a day, which isnt going too well because he often won’t sleep. Sometimes he keeps barking to get out of the crate. I try not to reward this but I’m worried of bothering my apartment neighbors.

We’ve been buying tons of enrichment puzzles/feeding toys since we got him. We’ve been feeding him 3 meals a day, all with puzzles or wrapped and knotted in towel(s) so he has to sniff out all the food. The 4th meal is fed as training food through the day. We try to give him something like a frozen Kong/lick mat/pupsicle before naps/dinner. And obviously doing several short 5 min training sessions throughout the day with treats/kibble- he has sit and come learned, and showing good impulse control with wait, but we’re working on down. He’s pretty awful on the leash at the moment though.

Potty training is actually going quite well for 10 days home. He’s signaled a few times by the door to go out and poop the past 2-3 days.

Besides that, he is insane. Again, the crate training isn’t going too well. He isn’t showing any signs he can settle on his own, besides sometimes on our balcony on his bed in the sun. I try to reward that but then he’s crazy again. He is insanely observant. I have never seen a dog so in tune with every movement you ever make. I breathe wrong and he is staring at me again. I have to crate him in a different room with a fan on for him to rest while I work otherwise he won’t wind down. He pretty much whines anytime we’re not giving him attention. He is non stop biting us. He won’t stop chewing anything he can get his mouth on despite redirection to bones/toys.

We’re trying to do everything we can to give him a great life but I just don’t know if we’re doing anything wrong. We’re trying our best to socialize him the next 4 weeks before that critical window ends. And we’re trying to tire his brain out by giving him lots of enrichment toys and training sessions. But he still is just a mad man. If anyone has any advice for us regarding this breed I would really appreciate it because I am worried we’re not going to be able to handle him.

Best Friend Vibes 🖤🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍💯🔥

We recently acquired a Border Collie called Benny a little more than 7 months ago, which ended up being a complete suprise since I had never had one! He was an accident because I had no idea he even was a Border Collie mix when I got him, However, I quickly learned that the dog was a little bit more than I expected, and quickly had to adjust my life. Within that span of 7 months I've created a schedule, that I would love for some advice on since I'm not sure if its the absolute best, I take him on moderate walks, some around my block and a long one around 40-ish min long (let me know if it needs to be longer) take him on a couple hikes a month, and hes found a spot he really likes on top of his crate, next to a window that I'm trying to teach him "spot," on. He has a lot of energy, something I'm still trying to counter. He is able to play by himself sometimes, like with a ball, chasing after it after pushing it. I take him to a field and throw a ball every morning, and tug of war with him a lot. I'm not sure if this is enough exercise for him though, so please let me know. The mental stimulation part was also new to me, but he gets a new bone taken from one of my local butcher shops every 2-3 days, and every other day he gets one of those puzzle balls with the treats inside. Im still learning and know I'm not doing everything right, but hes a sweet and intelligent dog and I want to give him a good life. We live in an upstairs apartment tho, so any suggestions of a backyard are a no-go.

Every single item, including the one where a stranger walks up with a cane. 8 months ago she hid under the bed when the doorbell rang.

She came from a farm that couldn't keep her, very shy and very intense.

what worked tbh: - tons of sniffing walks before any "training" - a trainer who used tiny steps for the stranger stuff - herding balls in the backyard to tire out her brain - treats. so many treats, in evrey pocket

I made a little celebration video for the trainer, real clips from the test plus an intro where her adoption photo slowly turns into her now, done on dreamina. the trainer posted it on her page.

next is agility. any bc owners have tips for a dog that gets way too excited on equipment?

Halloween parade

Hi everyone!
I have a 6-month-old male Border Collie puppy. I got him with a huge amount of determination — I did a lot of research beforehand and mentally prepared myself because I knew they need a lot of both mental and physical stimulation.
I have a lot of patience, but I feel like I’m starting to run out of it.
If we don’t even take into account the fact that he barks at basically anything that moves and pulls on the leash (both of which we are currently working on — I know herding breeds can be difficult), the biggest problem is that I simply cannot have any calm physical contact with him.
I can barely pet him without him immediately trying to bite my hands, arms, or even my face. Cuddling is basically impossible. Even when we’re playing in the yard, he will often ignore the toy and go straight for my hands instead. It is incredibly frustrating.
What makes it even harder is that he is extremely intelligent. He learns things incredibly quickly and seems to understand exactly what I don’t want him to do, yet he still does them.
He also eats EVERYTHING. I mean absolutely everything — socks, pieces of fabric, random things he finds, literally anything he can get into his mouth and swallow. If he manages to pick something up, he usually runs away with it and tries to swallow it before I can even get to him. At that point, getting him to come back to me or drop it feels almost impossible.
Lately he has also started barking constantly whenever I need to do housework. I put him in a separate puppy-proofed area with toys so I can get things done, but he will just stand there and bark and bark. What’s interesting is that if I leave the room, he usually stops barking and settles down. But as long as he can see me, he keeps barking.
It’s becoming incredibly exhausting.
I’m also struggling with bonding with him. I absolutely love him and I genuinely enjoy spending time with him, and we play together a lot. But when I try to pet him, he bites. When I want to cuddle with him, he can’t seem to settle for even a minute — he gets up, destroys things, bites, barks, etc.
Walks are also difficult because of the pulling and barking, and of course the constant scavenging and trying to eat things makes them even more stressful.
At this point, I feel like he is starting to completely take over my life. I’ve cried because of him more than once recently, and I can feel myself becoming genuinely depressed and overwhelmed by the situation.
And the worst part is that I really do love him. I love spending time with him, we play a lot, he gets plenty of mental stimulation, and we go for walks in the morning and evening. So I honestly don’t think the problem is that he isn’t getting enough exercise or enrichment.
I’ve only really started feeling completely overwhelmed by him over the past few weeks. Especially when I see other Border Collie puppies who seem so much easier and better behaved, while I feel like I’m putting so much time and effort into making sure mine turns out well… and honestly, I see almost no results. It feels like he mostly does the exact things I don’t want him to do.
I really don’t want this period of feeling depressed and overwhelmed to change our relationship. I love him so much, but there is just so much frustration and tension building up inside me right now, and I don’t really know what to do with it.
Has anyone else had an experience like this? Did you ever feel like you were doing everything you could with your Border Collie puppy and still felt like absolutely nothing was working? Does it get better?

Afternoon all (I live in the UK lol), I need some encouragement please. I've an 8 month male BC and boy am I going through adolescence with him lol I'm very active with his training though, I have a private trainer who helps me with the heel work, I do a lot of obedience at home and incorporate it into our walks too when he's getting overwhelmed to try ground him and bring his attention back to me but he's started being reactive to dogs on our walks. He lunges and barks but me and his dog walker believe it's more lead frustration paired with wanting to play. He goes on pack walks with her 3 times a week to help get some of his energy out that I currently can't because his recall with me isn't there yet and he's so friendly and playful with the other dogs. Part of me hopes this is a fear period and he will come out of this and I kind of just want you all to agree and not tell me all the horror stories 😅 currently on our walks I will only go places I know I can give us space if we see a dog. I also take plenty high value treats with me and his favourite toy so if we do see one, I can reward for giving me attention. This currently sometimes works and sometimes doesn't depending if I catch it in time or how he is feeling that day (whether over tired etc etc).

I am so worried he's going to turn reactive but my whole heart hopes he comes out of this positively and I'm trying my absolute best to ensure this is what happens.

Buenas tardes! Tengo un cachorro de 7 meses border collie macho, desde pequeño tenía muchas diarreas y después de tantas pruebas han dado con lo que tiene con una ecografía especial.

Diagnóstico: tiene barro en la vesícula.

Nos ha dicho que es una enfermedad que tendrá para siempre y que por tanto, tendremos que darle una pastilla al día para el resto de su vida para que su cuerpo actúe con normalidad y por tanto, las heces las haga bien.

A alguien más le ha pasado algo parecido?

Saludos! 🫂

Hi all, I have a just over 2 year old rescue dog (we think part border collie). She is the strangest and funniest girl. We have been having some newish issues overnight and wondering if anyone has an advice? An overview of nighttime set ups below.

From when we got her around 3 months to about 13 months old she slept in her crate in my room

At about 13 months she started pulling into her living room crate (same size as her upstairs one) so I just let her sleep in her crate downstairs. I did end up getting her a really large 48 inch crate downstairs, she is only 40 lbs so it’s big for her.

About a month ago at about 2 years old, she started crying in her crate downstairs overnight. We thought she probably wanted to sleep on the couch as we had been letting her stay out when we are gone during the day and she had been perfect. So we cleaned up the downstairs (gate at the bottom of the stairs) and let her free roam downstairs overnight. This worked well for about 2 weeks.

Now she has started alert barking overnight and waking us up. She hardly alert barks during the day, and when she does we say “thank you” and she quiets right down. But with us upstairs the alert barking overnight is getting worse. I tried putting her back into her crate in the living room but now she is panting and crying all night.

What do you think are good next steps?? Thinking of moving her giant crate up to my room again, but I don’t want her panting and crying all night. Wondering if free roam in the bedroom would be better? I would prefer her not in bed with me, but she isn’t cuddly so she would probably sleep at the end of the bed.. any advice is welcome!!