Rachel Rodgers
The secret of border collie puppy toilet training is to take your puppy out whenever he needs to go to the toilet. For an 8-12 week old puppy, this will be: after waking after eating after every play session every half an hour while they are awake every time they stop doing something suddenly and … Read more
One of the biggest causes of border collie guarding behaviour or running off with stolen items in collie puppies is when owners worry too much about what their puppies are picking up. There is a lot of information and owner anecdotes online that can scare us into thinking that all sorts of things could be … Read more
Today I did something stupid. It was one of those times when you realise that it’s not the best thing to be doing and you know it might end badly but you choose to do it anyway and just hope! It relates to Flo, my three year old lockdown puppy, who can be anxious, particularly … Read more
Border collie aggressive behaviour is one of the most frequent behaviour problems that I am asked about, but there is rarely one cause or one training plan that fits all collies. Aggressive behaviour generally includes growling, barking, lunging, snarling, nipping, snapping or biting. As behaviourists, we always need to find out why the dog is … Read more
The ladder of aggression, first created by Kandal Shepherd, is a great tool for summarising how a dog’s behaviour changes from mild concern to bite. On the right hand side of the image are a series of behaviours, ranging from the bottom of the diagram in greeen to the top of the diagram in red, … Read more
Play biting is a really common, very painful issue for many border collie puppy owners. Ozzy is now 14 weeks old and his puppy biting is, at times, especially when he’s tired and needs to sleep, quite painful. One of the most common questions I am asked by puppy owners is “How do I stop … Read more
As a behaviourist, the possibility of pain is always on my list as a potential cause of, or contributing factor towards, behavioural problems. In the last week alone, I have seen two examples of border collies belonging to friends with severe pain or discomfort, showing hardly any signs that anything was physically wrong. And the … Read more
Border collie puppy socialisation. What does this mean? It means taking puppies out and about and exposing them to sights and sounds at an intensity and proximity with which they can cope, and feel happy and relaxed while experiencing the new environment. Ozzy here is listening and watching the children playing, squealing and running, but … Read more
Border collie adolescence is the cause of over 90% of my behaviour consultations, which tells you how challenging this part of raising a collie can be! Their problem behaviours range from aggression to owners, strangers or other dogs, to shadow chasing, chasing vehicles, lack of recall, pulling on the lead or sound fears and phobias, … Read more
Why do collies chase cars and other vehicles? Having worked with many border collie car chasers over the last few years, it’s my belief that this behaviour is most often initiated by fear and frustration. Border collies that chase vehicles often are taken too near to busy roads when they are puppies and are terrified … Read more