Zero is our sweet Border Collie puppy. We’ve had him for just over a year and it has been a crazy, active year. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I did not understand what people meant when they said that some dogs are “high energy” breeds. I didn’t grow up raising dogs but I’ve always loved the ones that I come in contact with. Zero comes from farming, or working stock. His parents are herders and they live on a farm. He comes from a long line of workers and “good boys”.
Since getting Zero in February 2019 I have learned exactly what high energy means when it comes to dogs. High energy means after-bath zoomies that entail running full speed up and down the house for a half hour. High energy is going on a 3.5 mile run and still wanting to play a never ending game of fetch when we get back. High energy is leading the way on a trail in the mountains for 5 miles up and 5 miles back without missing a step. High energy is being left without supervision in the yard for five minutes and digging a hole twice your size. Zero is a whirlwind of activity when he’s feeling active, but as soon as it’s time to rest and hang out, he’s the first one on the bed and is ready snuggle on up to you. He’s hard to keep up with some days but I love him. He’s sweet. He’s goofy. He’s loving. And he’s always so forgiving and happy to see me. Everyone should have the opportunity to have a Zero in their life at some point. High energy or not, he’s one of the best things that ever happened to me.
Border Collies and other active breeds are notorious for being high energy but they’re also a dream to train (at least Zero is). Don’t get me wrong, Zero has his bad habits, but I’ve trained him myself since day 1 and he honestly does so well. We get compliments on every single walk that we go on these days. So, without further chit chat, here’s some things you’re gonna want if you have a high energy dog. I’ll include some links of products I liked. (This is 100% not sponsored. I don’t have the clout for that. These are just my tried and true products.)
- Training Treats. This is a must. Especially with border collies. Zero has to be trained every single day or his little brain decides that commands don’t matter. I often bring treats on our walks and we’ll do some outdoor training while we are out, then I will spend about 10 minutes working on some other tricks while we’re at home sometime in the evening. At just over a year old, Zero has a reputation of being an incredibly good boy on our walking route and I trained him all myself. We like to get the “mini” treats because they’re less calories, they cost less, they’re easy to stick in pockets and I don’t feel bad about giving Zero a decent amount when I’m training him. These are our favorite brands.
2. Oatmeal doggy shampoo. I don’t know about anybody else, but the air is dry where we live and Zero never drinks as much water as I wish he did. We leave his bowl constantly filled and fresh throughout the day but he’s a busybody. Since the day we got him, he has had dandruff. I don’t know how to fix but I do know that the oatmeal shampoo for dogs helps. We bought one bottle of it when we got Zero and we still have that same bottle over a year later. Zero gets a bath about once a month or whenever he decides to be rude and roll in strange smelling poop. We really like the John Paul Oatmeal shampoo but I’m sure anything else will work too. Like I said, this stuff has lasted us forever and a little goes a long way.
3. Nyla chew bones. Okay, this one is important. Zero used to wreck his stuffies, his bed, his blankets, his “chew toys” and just about anything else he could get his little paws on. Some of this was pure puppyhood, some of it was teething and some was being he needed something to chew on and his “high chewer” toys just weren’t cutting it. We got him some ~fancy~ nyla bacon flavored chew bones for Christmas this last year and we’ve never looked back. We’ve only given him one of the bones and almost 5 months later despite daily abuse it is still going strong! We love them!
4. Jogging harness and hands-free leash. This right here is my saving grace. I am not even kidding. Mitch and I are big runners/bikers/hikers. We love to be outdoors and we love to be active. We also like to take pictures, drink water, touch plants, carry toys, text on the phone, map our runs and do literally any other thing with our hands. I cannot even describe to you the struggle I used to face daily on runs and walks trying to keep Zero from pulling this way and that while I start my running app, changed my music or carried a full doggy-poop bag. I also used to walk A LOT of dogs and this saved my life. Get one. I’m serious. You will not regret it.
5. Gentle Head leader. Zero is a puller. I will admit it. I have tried literally every trick I can find aside from enrolling him in a training class to curb this behavior. Literally everything! After trying all the training tricks we moved on to leashes and halters. We tried a no-pull harness which failed miserably (though we do still use it for running and hiking), a regular collar, a prong collar and finally the gentle lead. The prong collar was the next best thing for stopping Zero from pulling but honestly, once he got used to the sensation around his neck, he still pulled as much as he could physically stand. The head lead uses pressure points on their snouts to stop them from pulling. I’ve seen a marked improvement in Zero since we got this. He hasn’t quite gotten used to having something on his face, but his behavior on the leash is so much better that I almost cried the first time I used it! And on the plus side, there is not risk of us hurting his throat like we might if he was pulling on a regular collar.
6. Dog travel Kit. Okay, I’ll be honest, You don’t absolutely NEED one of these but this has been amazing to have. I LOVE my travel kit. My friend gifted this to me after dog-sitting for us and it made me realize that carrying my dogs stuff all over town in plastic grocery sacks is all fine and dandy, but it is most definitely not the best way to live. The travel that we have comes with four different small pockets located on the outside of the carrier, one pockets on the inside and one large compartment that is sectioned into two parts. I am able to store Zero’s food and toys in the deeper sectioned parts, his grooming supplies in the upper inside pocket and collapsible water bowls that come with the carrier in one of the smaller pockets. That leaves three other pockets for whatever else I need! This is not only great for traveling, dog-sitting or day trips, it’s also good for just consolidating your dogs things in your home.
7. Fetch Stick. I don’t know what else to call these things but they are genius. I suck at throwing toys. I’m not kidding, my release timing is so bad that Mitch makes fun of me on the daily for it. I am the CEO of throwing a ball at the ground three feet in front of me when I intended that sucker to go for miles. This is an amazing invention for people like me and dogs that like to run far.
8. Frisbee. Zero could run after one of these for hours. He loves them and his jumps are insane.
9. Chicken Enzyme Toothpaste. Listen, your dogs breath stinks. My dog’s breath stinks. But more than that, dogs teeth can get plaque, gingivitis and other issues just like human teeth can. Take good care of your doggos mouth. They deserve it and no, those dental treats are not cutting it. Zero LOVES getting his teeth brushed. We’ve been brushing his teeth since he was tiny. We just use a normal tooth brush and a tiny dollop of chicken enzyme toothpaste. Wash your hands after you’re done or else you’ll smell chicken forever (not that I know from experience 😉
10. Poop bags. Pretty self explanatory for why. You never know when your dog is gonna go. But please, please always pick up after your pet. Especially around water sources.
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful adventure this week!
-Mindy 🙂
M+M Adventures 