How hard is it to train a smooth collie puppy?
We are getting our first puppy named Gaia in 2 weeks. She will be 8 weeks when we get her.
We never had a dog before, we have 2 kids aged 10 and 7, and 4 cats.
How hard is it to train a smooth collie puppy? How many hours a day would she need our full attention?
I read Easy peasy puppy squeezy and some other books about puppy training and socialization to prepare for it. I plan to take time off for the first week or two. I work from home mostly.
I read on r/puppy101 that some people have serious puppy blues and mental health issues in the process. How common is that?
What are the worst things I should expect?
Thank you!
u/changing_moon — 15 days ago
Introducing smooth collie puppy to our 4 cats
I posted here a month ago about considering getting a smooth collie puppy.
It is happening! Gaia is joining our family in July!
I am reading a lot about puppy training but I wasn't able to find much about introduction to cats.
Those, who had cats before getting your puppy - how did you introduce them?
Thank you for all recommendations!
u/changing_moon — 22 days ago
▲ 10 r/Collie
Considering getting a smooth collie puppy - is it a good fit for us and what should I know / be prepared for?
We are considering getting a Smooth collie puppy - a female.
We have never owned a dog before. We currently have four indoor cats, all rescues — two senior cats (14 years old) and two younger ones (4 years old). We live in a house with a good size yard and have two daughters aged 7 and 10.
We are looking for a family companion that would:
- be social and family-oriented,
- narurally stay close to the family, especially the children,
- enjoy playing with kids,
- be easy to train,
- have a confident and stable temperament (not to be fearful or very anxious)
- not have a strong prey drive (we would not want the dog chasing our cats or even outdoor cats who visit our yard),
- and ideally have a good “off switch” indoors.
We are not looking for a hyperactive dog, but also not a couch potato. My husband or myself are usually at home even during workdays for most part of the day, and we spend most of our free time outside in the garden with the children. The dog would live indoors with us as part of the family — we do not plan to leave it alone outside in the yard.
Health and temperament are extremely important to us.
Would a smooth collie be a good fit for our family?
What should I know / be prepared for?
u/changing_moon — 2 months ago