WHY DO I NEED A SPECIALIST BORDER COLLIE TRAINER?
Border collies, because of how they have been bred for so many generations, are very different from other breeds of dog, and not all trainers understand this. And if they do understand, they often don't know how to train them. Successful border collie training involves working with collies' natural behaviours rather than trying to suppress them.
What were collies bred for?
Border collies have been bred for generations to work sheep, working outdoors on grazing land, usually with one person, in the peace and quiet of the countryside. They lived on quiet farms, met a handful of people, and didn't need to be good at socialising with other dogs or strangers. They needed movement-sensitive sight to be able to see moving sheep a long way away and sensitive hearing to be able to hear shepherds' whistles clearly despite often working at distance. Border collies also needed to be able to work independently from their handler, knowing what to do when out of sight of the shepherd. And, most importantly, they needed a powerful desire to find sheep, get to the other side of them to stop them moving away, 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 moving objects - making cars, bikes, joggers, and children a conflicting mix of desire to chase and frustration because they are not allowed to. It also means that they can quickly become obsessed with more abstract movement such as shadows, lights or reflections.
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.
Herding and nipping behaviour
Some border collies don't just want to control movement by chasing, they have to. It's not something that they can control or turn off. And if sheep refused to move or walked too slowly, collies that were able to nip at the heels of sheep were prized and used for breeding because it made the shepherd's life easier. This nipping behaviour, once so prized on farms, becomes disastrous when dogs follow their instincts and want to move children, other dogs, joggers or cyclists.
Why do some border collies become aggressive and reactive?
Because they have not traditionally been bred to be very social with people or other dogs, their natural puppy confidence and inquisitiveness may start to wear off at around 12 months old. Adolescent border collies can start to become fearful of strangers and may decide that they no longer want to interact with other dogs, which, if not handled correctly, can lead to lead reactivity and aggression.
To complicate things even further, many border collies are incredibly sensitive, picking up on how their owners are feeling and reading their body language all the time. Too many collies are labelled "dominant" or "disobedient" when in reality they are worried, not sure what to do and shut down. And if a scared dog is treated as a "dominant" dog then it may well become aggressive.
Is raising a border collie puppy and adolescent 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 12 - 18 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.
