As a behaviourist seeing some of the worst behaviour cases, often those who have been to trainers first who have been unable to help, many of the collies I see are eventually diagnosed as being in pain. When a dog’s behaviour is intense, inconsistent, or occurs without any external cause, we always need to consider … Read more
Vet checks for your collie! Very often in online articles or in social media groups, we are advised to get our dog “vet checked”. But often, we aren’t sure what might be wrong. Our dog might seem physically fine, but be behaving in a way that indicates they could be experiencing discomfort, so it’s difficult … Read more
One very good way of stopping your border collie barking is to use a no-attention discriminative stimulus. This can help dogs who bark and whine for attention and become very frustrated or anxious when their behaviour doesn’t result in the anticipated reward. Their anticipated reward could be being thrown a toy, being stroked, or even … 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
Merlin is a very handsome male collie who was 18 months old when I first started working with him. Merlin’s owners first contacted me just after an incident in which he bit his owner’s hand so badly that he needed hospital treatment. They had completely lost trust in him and weren’t sure what else … Read more
I’m often asked how long before a border collie puppy stops biting! People are disappointed and frustrated that their cute border collie puppy bites a LOT and makes everyone’s life difficult. It REALLY hurts and it’s disappointing that your cute puppy feels more like a monster. I’ve been there!! It’s unfortunately a VERY common … Read more
Why is my border collie jumping up? Border collies are very attached to their owners, and when they first see us, it’s a natural instinct to want to jump up. This can cause problems, particularly when it’s wet and muddy. Or when your dog jumps all over guests in your home so that they feel … Read more
Contrary to expectations, border collie puppies tend to be a bit nervous of other larger animals, especially horses, cows and, surprisingly, sheep. The first few times they encounter them they may be alarmed to see a much larger animal, that does not appear to communicate in dog language, which may cause them to hide, back … Read more
Is your border collie resource guarding stolen items: stealing items and running off, then getting defensive when you try and take these items away? This is known as resource guarding and may occur alongside similar resource guarding related to food, treats or proximity to the dog’s owner, particularly the owner that controls most of the … Read more