Working with the Border Collie

The Border Collie is one of the most trainable dogs in the World today; however they can also be one of the most unbalanced.

I say they can be one of the most unbalanced types, as we are now seeing more and more working line Border Collies being kept as household pets.

Requiring a considerable amount of daily physical exercise and mental stimulation, the Border Collie is not for the novice dog owner.

Although the primary role of the Border Collie is that of a livestock herding dog, this type of breed is becoming increasingly popular for other purposes. Due to their working heritage, Border Collies are very demanding, playful, and energetic.

Murphy is a rescue Collie and due to a small number of behaviours that have concerned his owner he has come in to me for a few days, to be assessed and trained.

One of the prime reasons we see for the Border Collie being re homed is their unsuitability for many families lifestyle.

This can be due to lack of time spent with this intelligent breed of dog.  Their high energy levels and drive can also be too much to cope with for some owners, particularly where there are small children, small animals and other dogs involved.

They have such a strong instinct to herd, which in turn can cause an almost obsessive type behavioural issue. This instinct has been bred into them for hundreds of years and is still their class one working role outside of being a pet dog.

Murphy’s issue is based upon his insecurity with other dogs while he is playing or walking with his owner. Having assessed his behaviour we have moved forward now and are able to walk him with and around dogs he is unfamiliar with.

Three days is not long enough to truly change any dog’s behaviour, we can however get to the foundation and set the first behavioural building blocks.

It is all about time now for Murphy and with a new regime being set which includes a dog walker and the occasional group walk this foundation will remain solid.