Puppy's personality

[StillAliveish]

We've got a springer spaniel X border collie pup. He's currently 11 weeks. I know it's not an exact science but I'm curious which traits he's inherited from his parent breeds and when we'll see his true personality (obviously we have a big hand in this from a nurture perspective!) At the moment he just feels like a normal puppy- a bundle of energy, learning new things everyday, loves playing with the children, meeting new people etc. but when will we see his inherited traits coming through?

Likely the traits of being bonkers, high energy, loving, loyal, possibly reactive, prone to separation anxiety

Also v smart but v trainable

@Veterinari He's definitely smart and learns very quickly (but maybe everyone thinks their dog is a genius!) He's awaiting his second jabs so has only met one other dog so far. I've been wary of how he might mix with other dogs, given his breeds, so we've booked a behaviourist to see him once he can go out properly. She's going to bring her stooge dog to meet him

He's definitely high energy! About twice a day he does laps of the garden with his ball in his mouth!

Hi OP, it's great that you've booked a behaviourist!

I would do some preventative training (of both the puppy and your kids) to prevent resource guarding, in case he’s inherited that Spaniel trait. Please don’t listen to any advice that says that you need to stick your hand in his bowl or remove it from him whilst he’s eating!

From the collie side, I would be wary that he could become ball obsessed so would encourage him to play with a variety of different toys, including food toys and tug toys. I would initiate all interactive games, especially fetch, and would use a cue to give him a clear signal that playtime is over, such as Finished or Enough. That way he learns early on that staring obsessively at a ball won’t get you to start throwing it for him. I would clicker train him so that I could reward him for calmly looking at, then looking away from, moving objects, such as children, bikes and cars (anything he could potentially try and herd). I would also give him lots of positive association with handling, especially around his ears if he has Spaniel ears that are prone to ear infections.

I would teach a settle early on, as he’s a mix of breeds that struggle to switch off.

Because he’s a mix of breeds that, in my experience, both have a tendency to pull, I would focus on lose lead walking right from the start, but not at the expense of socialising him; I would carry him/have him on a lose longline whilst socialising him so that he doesn't get to practice pulling to get where he wants.

I would also do some work to prevent noise sensitivity in case he’s inherited that collie trait. I would play recordings of sounds (fireworks, babies crying, roadworks etc.) initially at low volume whilst feeding him high value treats, and gradually increase the volume at a pace that he’s comfortable with.

I always briefly note puppy personality for my own interest at each vaccination, and often see a change at the last vacc which we do at 16 weeks. I see lots of border collies and a typical dingo-looking South African traditional dog type, both of which breeds are inclined to anxiety. I often note 8 weeks sweet, 12 weeks sweet, 16 weeks notably nervy.