Border Collie Training & Behaviour

SPECIALIST BORDER COLLIE TRAINER & BEHAVIOURIST

As the only ABTC-registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB) and Animal Training Instructor (ATI) specialising in border collies, I teach caregivers how to prevent border collie behaviour problems from developing AND how to resolve or reduce any problem behaviours that caregivers are struggling with.  Trainers and behaviourists who don't have this knowledge and experience may struggle.  For example, many non-specialist trainers and behaviourists tend to class many behaviours as "herding" which usually isn't the case.   Successful border collie training involves a thorough knowledge and understanding of the emotions and motivations causing the problem behaviour in order to resolve it.

What were collies bred for?

Border collies have been bred to work sheep on expansive areas of grazing land, usually with one person, in the quiet coutryside environment.  They would meet a handful of people, and didn't need to be good at socialising with other dogs or strangers.  They needed movement-sensitive eyesight and sensitive hearing to be able to spot sheep across the hillsides and hear shepherds' whistles clearly despite often working at distance.  Border collies also needed to be able to work independently from their handler, knowing instinctively what to do when out of sight of the shepherd.  And, most importantly, they needed a powerful desire to collect sheep and bring them back to the handler.

Movement-sensitive eyesight

All these things that made them great sheepdogs can make life away from farms and sheep very difficult for some border collies.  Their movement-sensitive sight means that they are drawn to movement - which can contribure to a range of problem behaviours.  It also means that they can quickly become obsessed with more abstract movement such as shadows, lights or reflections.  I specialise in resolving this behaviour and you can read more about it in my shadow chasing blog posts.

Sound sensitivity

A border collie's sensitive hearing means that some collies find loud traffic absolutely terrifying, and most car-chasing collies start off being very fearful of cars.  They may also react strangely to certain sounds, such as sneezes, coughs, mobile phone noises and even some words.  I've completed extensive research about sound sensitivity in collies and can help.  Find out more in this blog post about sound sensitivity in collies.

Impulsivity

When sheep break free from the flock, collies need to be able to react quickly to move them back into the group.  A good collie will do this even before they are asked.  They also need to be able to work independently, out of sight of the shepherd.  An impulsive collie will control the flock better, so they were przied and bred from.  This impulsivity means that collies can get themselves into dificulty in pet homes, acting before they think.

Why do some border collies become aggressive and reactive?

Border collies have not traditionally been bred to be very social with people or other dogs (unlike gundogs, for example). Adolescent border collies can start to become fearful of strangers and may decide that they no longer want to interact with either dogs or people, which, if not handled correctly, can lead to lead reactivity and aggression.
Too many collies are labelled "dominant" or "disobedient" when in reality they are worried, not sure what to do and shut down.

Raising a border collie is not easy!

Many people buy collie puppies in the false belief that it will be easy, but on the whole, raising a border collie puppy is exhausting, often demoralising and hard work. BUT, if you know what you need to be training, how to do it, what is normal and what isn't, it all becomes a lot easier. And once they reach about 18 - 24 months old, they are an absolute joy to own, but ONLY if you have the knowledge to understand them and have successfully navigated them through all the things that can go wrong.