Our first Border Collie, Duncan, taught us a lot about what to avoid with the next ones.
He would obsess on balls (go figure, a Border Collie obsessed with balls). We had to pick them up to get him to relax; or do anything else (including eat). We would put them on a book shelf. He knew where it was and would stand against the shelf to knock it off the shelf. We placed a mouse trap on the shelf to teach him not to push on the shelf. He learned to stand on his hind legs without touching the shelf.
He taught us that you never threw a toy (rock, stick, etc) for him. We could bring home a new toy and he would happily play with it on his own. If we tossed it once he would no longer play with it on his own; he always wanted us to toss it for him.
