New Pup: Half-BlueHeeler & Quarter JackRussel/RatTerrier

Got a new, young, furry love in your life? This is the place for you to ask all of your questions-big or small! Just remember that you are receiving advice from other dog owners and lovers... not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a vet or behaviorist! Most important is to remember to have fun with your new fur baby.

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Abbey

Feisty- Girl

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 1:06pm PST


	A good read for newbie puppy owners: Before and After You Get Your Puppy. Some good, solid info on socializing and training puppies. This is a mix of intense, high energy, high prey drive breeds with a definite possibility of developing dog aggression at maturity. I have no issue with keeping dogs, even high energy dogs, in an apartment; and while walks are great, this dog is likely going to need WAY more than walks. Find a good training group and start taking classes, when your pup hits adolescence you will seriously be grateful to have that resource available to you!

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Dr. Watson

Not a wiener- dawg!

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 1:52pm PST


	My red heeler/pit mix needed incredibly long walks twice a day, tore up all toys except the black kong, jumped fences, and required extensive socialization to get along with both other dogs and people. She also wants to chase things, so she can only spend off-leash time in my backyard and at the dog park, where she does have friends. She has been quite a lot to deal with. The saving grace, lol, of cattle dogs is that they are very clever and agile. One of the smartest breeds, it is often said. (No offense meant to any other breeds.) So get her involved in obedience right away. Herding might be great for her, but I don't know if you will find any around your area. Agility might be your best bet, given her mix she is a NATURAL. And socialize, socialize, socialize.

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UCH Onyx TT

Do you even- lift?

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 2:29pm PST


	As others said, you didn't mention how old she is. The young puppy stage, pre-six months, is not the most difficult part of most puppyhoods. The adolescent phase where their energy goes through the roof, everything you taught them seem to drop out of their head, and they become willful and often destructive is the stage where most people start to wonder what they've gotten themselves into. Definitely keep up with the daily training through adolescence, even if it's just reviewing known commands, as obedience is going to be very important for a dog like that. Agree with looking into an obedience class to enroll in. Doing a sit in the calm, relatively distraction free environmental where she lives is much different than doing it in a strange area with 15 other dogs. Sports would be a very good thing for this dog as they offer both physical exercise and mental stimulation, and teach impulse control. This mix is likely to yield a dog with demanding exercise requirements, high prey drive, and possible dog aggression at maturity. Like Charlie said, I wouldn't leave her alone with any other pets, even if she seems great with them. And do socialize as much as you can, keeping in mind that socialize doesn't just mean introducing her to other dogs. Take her as many places as you can, around as many kinds of people (age, ethnicity, handicapped, wearing strange hats, using umbrellas, ect.), animals, onto different surfaces, expose her to crowds and loud/strange noises, ect. Basically you want to teach her what normal is, so she can be calm in new environments. Socialize as much as possible, but also recognize the power of genetics, in that even with proper socialization with other dogs, she may still end up dog aggressive by the time she turns two. So again, not a dog I would leave unsupervised with other dogs. I don't have a problem with keeping most any breed in an apartment if done correctly. It's not necessarily ideal, but it can be done with a dedicated owner. As others have said, walks aren't going to meet this dog's needs for long. I'd start looking into places you can take her where she can safely run off lead and consider biking/rollerblading with her when she's done growing. Good luck.

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Tyler

Whippy- The- Whipador

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 3:22pm PST


	Great to hear everything is going well, Guest. Like everyone has said just continue her training and socialization and be prepared and ready for what adolescence brings. And as Charlie said, do create a profile for her so we can all see her!

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Colt

A cute little- devil.

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 5:41pm PST


	Congratulations on your new puppy! I don't know much about either breed. I've met only one heeler in my life and he was a sweetheart and very well-trained and socialized, but he got a LOT of exercise and playtime and i'm sure that helped. Do you know any of the owners of the other heelers personally? If so, they might be helpful. Good luck and yes, you should make him a profile!

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Jackson Tan

Lad about town

Barked: Tue Feb 5, '13 11:40pm PST


	I would also like to see pics! I'm happy to hear things are going well so far, just be aware everything can go to pot once the breed hits that buthead teenager stage. Hard breeds seem to forget everything at about a year lol. Rat terriers are one of the 'softer' terriers so perhaps Kuma is showing some rattie traits too, which might make her easier to handle as she matures.

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Kuma

It's Puppy-Town,- to you.

Barked: Sun Feb 17, '13 12:46pm PST


	Kuma's puppy page has been created etc. Enjoy. Training update: Clicker training & Tricks are going well. She now does LeaveIt with toys, and any objects at all. She understands "no bite" as well, when she gets too mouthy (although she's still a puppy and is teetching), because sometimes puppy teeth are a bit too sharp for our human skin. She learned her first big-dog agility trick last week: From sitting/standing, she will jump onto my knee, then from my knee to the toy in my hand. She also jumps over my hand/leg, both versions with "Up". She practices twice a day, and learned that when we stop walking, she will stop and sit as well. That one didn't take long at all. Her blue heeler personality is powerfully smart and responds amazing to the clicker. She had her first puppy playdate with my sisters dogs, an old female RatTerrier/Jackrussel named Shumai and her son Jack/Rat/Chihuahua named Macko. Macko was super possessive of toys we brought, so his interaction was limited. Shumai had both her eyes removed a few years ago due to a disease, and she turned out to be Kuma's playmate. Shumai walked around looking for Kuma, while Kuma ran around to her butt and barked/surprised her. I think Shumai is a good mother, and realized she was dealing with a puppy--- pretty cool. Macko seemed jealous, and competitive with Kuma so I didn't allow him to interact much with her in order to avoid a negative mindset. That's all for now.

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Lenny

Lenny -The- Wrecking Ball

Barked: Sun Feb 17, '13 2:50pm PST


	Glad everything is going well with your pup! Definitely all the training will help keep such an active/intelligent puppy from behaving too badly. But I won't be surprised when she hits that teenage stage that things get tough... but we've all been there and if you lay a good foundation now hopefully some of that can be a little easier. I would be careful though with agility tricks that involve jumping, especially in such a young puppy. While their joints are forming you want to limit the stress on them. There are tons of tricks you can teach her that involve little to no stress on her body but still really work her mind. I love the trick book called 101 Dog Tricks by the woman who handles the Weim Chelsea. Tons of VERY cool tricks some very easy and some more complicated, but a majority of them require little to no stress on the dog's body/joints and so would be great for your puppy. And a lot would be helpful in leading up to agility training for when she's older too.

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Sabi

When the night- closes in I will- be there

Barked: Sun Feb 17, '13 4:14pm PST


	Kuma you are cutie I see trouble in that sweet puppy face.

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Kuma

It's Puppy-Town,- to you.

Barked: Sat Feb 23, '13 5:22pm PST


	Thanks for the insight on her joints! I'll definitely keep that in mind. My dad has 2 english bulldogs, and the poor pups have had to do some robot-hips surgeries. He also said to cool it with the jumping until later on. So Kuma is on some Pet Tinic liquid vitamins, which I assume will help out with joint formation etc. I've slowed down with any jumping etc, and have moved on to other types of training. She learned "Down" and also "No Bite"(which is tough since she's still young..... and I read a lot of other people having issues with ACD/mixes as pups too; then Sabi says to stick with one method so as not to confuse the dog. Good Advice!)