[dreamlessleep]

Howdy all! :wave: My pup Harper Lee is a blue heeler/border collie mix, a tad over 4 months, and a real beauty. Growing up in a rural area with tons of room for our dogs to roam means I'm experiencing challenges that come with a working dog in the city. Challenges are good and I don't regret bringing Harper into my home for a second. Because I moved to the city, I didn't want to force a dog to live in a cramped and tiny apartment, so it's been about 13 years since I last had a canine companion of my own. It's like it's all brand new again, but fortunately my pup is whip smart and learns super quickly. She already knows sit, wait, high five, shake, roll over, and we're halfway to bang-your-dead. Her smarts coupled with an independent nature can sometimes be tough, so from time to time a little guidance would be appreciated. Especially from those who have the same breeds.

 

[sassafras]

I have an Alaskan husky from working lines in the city, so I can empathize. A fenced yard helps, another dog to play with in the fenced yard helps even more (I have multiple dogs myself but a friend or neighbor works, too).

Physical exercise - walks, obviously. At her age you don't want to start out here, but shoot for working towards 45-60 minutes of walking a day if possible as she matures. For some dogs, two shorter walks work better than one longer walk. If her personality is suited to it (not all dogs' are) and there is one available to you, consider a dog park but be careful, a lot of kind of dumb people go to dog parks who let their dogs behave inappropriately. My recommendation is to stick to off peak hours (weekday mid-mornings are the quietest around here). If you don't have a dog park in your area or if it's not an environment you want to be in, try setting up smaller play dates with friends' or neighbors' dogs in a safe fenced area.

Also for a dog who is and will be so smart, a lot of mental exercise is a must. Consider things like trick training or agility if classes are available in your area as well as traditional obedience. Read about a style of training called "shaping" - a lot of dogs LOVE this style of learning where they offer behaviors and do the mental gymnastics to figure out what you want instead of being formally taught. Consider fun things like Rally obedience, or, if it's your thing, competitive obedience. You would be amazed at the types of things that a lot of training clubs offer these days. Just browsing around this site, particularly the sports subforum, you'll find a lot of ideas of things you can do with your dog.

Also, if it is possible to participate in activities your dog was "meant" to do, it can be a real life-saver in my experience. For me, that's urban mushing. For you, that might mean some herding classes but I don't know how available or how affordable they will be for you. You could always bike or bikejor with her even if she doesn't want to pull, the running is good exercise for any dog, not just northern breeds.

 

[Vicky88]

Hello and welcome, would love to see some pics, and see what your dog looks like, Holly is a BC and yes they are very clever and active, not sure if Blue Heeler's are or not, never had one and don't know anyone that has.

 

[dreamlessleep]

Thanks for the suggestions, sassafras. I plan on looking into agility training.

 

[dreamlessleep]

Thanks for the welcome, Vicky88. I just uploaded a small album of pics of Harper.