Border Collie Puppies - Need advice

Labs are a great intoduction to BCs. As puppies labs are very high enerygy dogs and mellow out as they get older. Imagind you labs as puppies but never mellow out and you have something similar to a BC.

If anything I've learned from my BC mix is that if you don't give a BC something to do then they will find something to do on their own. I always make shure Giz has toys, I like the ones that are games like a ball that rolls and despenses treats. They are very smart you you constinity need to challenge them. I'm taking mine to obedience training which has greatly taught me how to handel a BC. I'm hoping to do agility soom which is perfect for BCs.

The heel nipping is their instinct to herd, and it is part of the breed-at 7 weeks, you are dealing with puppies playing, and alot of their play mimics the work they are expected to do as adults.  With time, they should model the behaviors of the other dogs in your home pack.  Right now, they probably clan pretty closely together, because being taken from their mother this early is pretty overwhelming.  All puppies this young go through bursts of energy followed by quiet naps.  The biggest issue is that they don't play to roughly with the other dogs and upset the older dogs.  I have found that the older dogs will do alot to socialize the younger ones as far as what is acceptable to the household, but patience levels differs among individual dogs and breeds. 
 
Also, at 7 weeks, they have just really found their voices and they are thrilled with their ability to make noise-it is still a novelty, and one that they may very well use inappropriately.  If my pups are too yappy, I will gently, but firmly hold their mouths closed while I quietly tell them to hush.  If you yell at them, at this point, they think you are playing the noise game with them.  You might find it good to keep them separately housed while they are this young, so that they bond more fully with you as pack leader rather than clinging to one another.  Take them out to play one at a time, and for potty calls too.  With sibling dogs, I have seen mirror behaviors, and if one is misbehaving the other follows suit.  This way, they each learn what you expect independently of one another.  Do any of your other dogs seem to be really interested in the pups-that one may become your great ally in socializing them.  I had a brittany spaniel who was a whiz at potty training, because she refused to let them back in the house until they had done the necessary outside, and she was even known to grab them by the scruff and drag them out if they were sniffing about as if to mess inside.  At 7 weeks, their bladder control is measured in
increments of about an hour.  If they have been playing hard and stop, chances are they will pee, and if they have been sound asleep and wake up, chances are they will pee, and if they eat or drink anything at all, they will pee.  If they become alarmed, startled, frightened, excited, well, you guessed it......  This might be a good time to consider a doggie door if you don't already have one.
 
I don't know if you are a person who feeds on a schedule or free feeds, but as far as training any dog, schedule feeding is the way to go, because the dog looks to you as the alpha, the controller of food, and that makes them more responsive.  It is also easier to insure that they are getting proper nutrition and calories, because you know exactly how much they consumed.  It also makes it easier to house train, because if you know when and how much went in, you have a pretty good idea how much needs to come out and when it should be passing.
 
Good luck with your little "twins".  You will certainly be doggy busy for several months to come
 
 

I firmly disagree with holding a pups mouth shut for any reason, gently or otherwise.
 
I have bred, and I foster, so raising whole litters of pups at a time is old hat to me.    Never have I held mouths shut either for puppy nipping or making noise.  One thing I find VERY effective if the noise level gets too high is to whisper....that or sing a song....they quiet VERY quickly cuz they wanna know what mom is saying.....

I can't really think of anything specific that you need to know for a border collie puppy this young. 
 
The nipping is a pain isn't it?  I have a 12 week old puppy now that instead of going for ankles goes for knees.  Yelping "ouch" usually works well.  I also make a point of keeping moving and walking right thru puppies when they start with that behavior.  I'm not saying to step on them or hurt them but sort of knocking them out of the way really works.  I want them to learn to stay out of my way when I am moving and when the figure that out a lot of the nipping behavior tends to go away.  That said, I have many pairs of pants with teeth holes in them!
 
Re: barking.  I start really young teaching pups a "quiet" command and I do hold their mouths closed when they get yappy.  It's done gently and it works well for me. 
 
The thing about border collies is that they tend to learn bad things just as quickly as they learn good things.  And raising 2 siblings of any breed is tough to do properly so I'd start now with crating them separately and giving them separate playtimes with you and with the other dogs.  Not that they can't spend time together but I would limit it quite a bit.  You said that they get yappy when they are trying to entice the other to play or when they want a toy that the other one has.  Giving them playtime apart will both help them bond to you and curb the barking behavior because they won't have their sibling to bark at and if they bark at you for a toy you are there to correct them right away.
 
Good luck with them!
 

I don't know if you are a person who feeds on a schedule or free feeds, but as far as training any dog, schedule feeding is the way to go, because the dog looks to you as the alpha, the controller of food, and that makes them more responsive. It is also easier to insure that they are getting proper nutrition and calories, because you know exactly how much they consumed. It also makes it easier to house train, because if you know when and how much went in, you have a pretty good idea how much needs to come out and when it should be passing.

 
Yes, we feed the puppies on a schedule - it really does make it easier to house train.  Especially when you know that 20 -30 minutes after eatting, they must go out.  We also keep an eye on when they drink.  They've done fairly well with the house training. 
 

Do any of your other dogs seem to be really interested in the pups-that one may become your great ally in socializing them. 

 
The dogs have varying degrees in their interest.  Shadow, the oldest male dog, doesn't particularly care for puppies.  He does think it is his job to protect the yard more strenuously when we have puppies.  He takes his role as  protector quite seriously.  
 
Layla, the oldest female dog, is the clearly established alpha dog.  Somehow even the puppies know that she is the dog alpha (the people of course are the real alphas)...little Maggie will roll over or lift her leg a little when she approaches Layla, so that Layla can smell her if she wants to.  She doesn't do that for either Chloe or Harley, the other two (females now 2 and a half years old).  Layla has never bitten them or hurt them in anyway, but she can intimidate them with a stare and body posture, I guess.  They really like her though.  (She wasn't thrilled when they tried to nurse from her).  Layla's main concerns with the puppies are that they know she is the alpha (she spent months making Chloe and Harley roll over for her - and there have been no big fights with the dogs, and they did not challenge her as they grew older), and she doesn't like to them to lay too roughly - if anyone cries, she makes them both stop playing. 
 
Harley likes to follow them around and will let them give her a little kiss.  She likes to watch them and tries to mimic Layla's behavior.  When Layla makes Maggie roll over and smells her, Harley comes over and sort of smells her too, kind of watching what Layla does.
 
Chloe has decided to accept the puppies - she hated them at first and was very very pouty.  She wouldn't touch a toy they played with or be in the same room.  She'd run off and pout.  Well, she's slowly come around, and now thinks they should play with her.  But they're sort of afraid to play with her.
 

One thing I find VERY effective if the noise level gets too high is to whisper....that or sing a song....they quiet VERY quickly cuz they wanna know what mom is saying.....

I'll have to try the singing.  Whispering makes Chloe and Harley bark - especially Chloe which then sets off Harley.  They seem to think it means there is danger.   I don't know...I've actually been trying to get them used to it, and then are beginning to relax alittle about whispering, but they still bark a bit. 
 
All of our dogs have been litter mates (Shadow & Layla, Chloe & Harley, and now Baxter & Maggie).  We've never really kept any of them separated, but have had no problems with them bonding with us.  Everyone has a special person in the family.  If Chloe was anymore bonded with me, she'd have to be surgically attached.  Though thankfully as she is getting older, she will go upstairs if she wants to sleep or she'll go off a little to do her own thing - but she always has to know where I am at all times or she pouts.  I was a little worried, but she's able to be on her own more now.  Though I can see how separating them would help with the barking...
 

The heel nipping is their instinct to herd, and it is part of the breed-at 7 weeks, you are dealing with puppies playing, and alot of their play mimics the work they are expected to do as adults.  With time, they should model the behaviors of the other dogs in your home pack.  Right now, they probably clan pretty closely together, because being taken from their mother this early is pretty overwhelming.

 
That's good to know.  I was a little concerned about training them not to do that.  I don't want them to be herding the kids too much when they get older. (Right now, the kids are always supervised around the puppies).   As puppies, it is annoying, but as full grown dogs, it would be bad. 
 

 

ORIGINAL: nikki4

The heel nipping is their instinct to herd, and it is part of the breed-at 7 weeks, you are dealing with puppies playing, and alot of their play mimics the work they are expected to do as adults.  With time, they should model the behaviors of the other dogs in your home pack.  Right now, they probably clan pretty closely together, because being taken from their mother this early is pretty overwhelming.

That's good to know.  I was a little concerned about training them not to do that.  I don't want them to be herding the kids too much when they get older. (Right now, the kids are always supervised around the puppies).   As puppies, it is annoying, but as full grown dogs, it would be bad. 

 
I think that their heel nipping is more of reflection of their prey drive, not herding.  Certainly prey drive is a good part of herding behavior, but nipping is not "herding" and just as the border collie "eye" has different degrees of strength or weakness, so does prey drive.  I disagree with the idea that over time they will model their behavior on the rest of the pack.  These are dogs that have been bred for their working ability and spending time with dogs that are not border collies will not suppress these instincts.  I'd be more inclined to expect that unless you start teaching them now what is and is not acceptable, you're bound to end up with 2 adult border collies who are working your other dogs and you and your children.  It's not pleasant to live with a dog like that, much less two of them, and it's at this point that many border collies end up in rescue.  (Note: I'm not saying that you will end up getting rid of them by any means)