Benji is a puppy I share with my fiancee. He is a Border Collie and Australian cattledog mix and is 8 weeks old now. I bought him without doing my research on the ACD breed though I had done research on the border collie before. I think everything happens for a reason and Benji was meant to be our dog. We have had Benji now for 6 days and have detected a lot of issues. From day one we realized he will grow to be a large dog and secondly, he is headstrong and difficult to train which is why I started this blog to document and help navigate the murky waters of training a dog like Benji.
ACD dogs are canines that work hard. They are work dogs who spend 10-12 hours a day working, usually herding cattle. ACD dogs are headstrong, active and agile. WIKIPEDIA says working collies (Benji) is able to run all day and has great stamina and extreme energy. They are also extremely intelligent and highly motivated to work. Since Benji is half border collie, he is not just bred to be a working dog. As a (half) border collie, he is gentle enough to be a companion and pet.
Benji has recently been separated from his mother and littermates so he suffers from separation anxiety which is difficult to deal with, at times. My number one step after housebreaking him is to treat his separation anxiety. Since he is a new pup I have been home with him 24/7 but now I have realized he has separation anxiety I have to address it and many articles online have been helpful. He tends to bark (extremely loudly) waking up every dog on our street and squeal loudly until we come back to him. If he is not crated or in a blocked off area, he is by my feet constantly and will even sleep on my feet if I stay still. I want to teach him independence and confidence, and that I--his pack leader--will return!
Like most pups, Benji is still being housebroken but he really enjoys peeing on carpets. Especially our brand new ones. Working on his housebreaking skills is number one on our list for sake of our furniture but he has been OK with going outside--I don't wait long for him to do something.
Benji is a biter. He could be just teething but he is quick to snap at a face or hand and uses his teeth on any and everything. I am a bit worried he will bite something and harm himself and I try to get him to bite his toys and not people or innappropriate things like wires--or the TV!
Benji has tons of energy. He is not old enough to go for walks yet since he's not fully vaccinated and the ground is covered in snow, but I plan to tire the heck out of him and enroll him in some kind of energetic dog classes like agility to give him mental and physical stimulation. I wanted a bigger dog so I would have a companion to run/hike/swim with and I know Benji will love those things. He is also going to be pretty big, so keeping him tired means he'll be at my feet when we return home. That's important!
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