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So, for the latest update on Matilda – the main focus over the last few weeks has been getting her out to see people, children, traffic and other dogs, and starting to lay down some of the life skills we’ll be relying on later. On the whole, she’s doing really well out and about, and … Read more

If you’re currently searching for a border collie puppy, you’ll already know how hard it is to find one that’s genuinely, thoroughly health tested. I found this out the hard way myself. I’ve been looking for a puppy since March, and what started as a straightforward search turned into months of research, disappointment, and a … Read more

There is a lot of confusion around what can cause traffic chasing in border collies.  Many behaviourists, trainers, and owners still believe it is caused by the instinct to herd, rather than it being a fear-based behaviour.  This confusion often means that owners are given the wrong advice about how to help their collie overcome … Read more

Border collies are consistently over-represented in cases of car chasing, traffic fixation and lunging at moving vehicles (Cooper et al., 2024). Typically, the behaviour is often described as hypervigilance and fixation, followed by barking, lunging, spinning, and—if opportunity allows—chasing. This behaviour presents substantial welfare and safety risks, including injury or death of the dog, risk … Read more

This muzzle training guide is for dogs that already have an aversion to the muzzle as well as dogs that are completely new to muzzle training.  With dogs that are already very fearful of the muzzle, we start training with a cardboard cup, just to get them used to putting their nose inside something, then … Read more

  A clicker or marker word are what’s known as bridging stimuli – they bridge the gap between the dog doing something right and getting a treat. Dogs very quickly learn that when they hear the click or marker word, whatever they were doing at that exact moment is the right thing, and that a … Read more

One of the most successful training techniques when working with collies with behaviour problems, is to focus on what your collie is doing right, rather than what they are doing wrong. Living with a Border Collie often means managing behaviours like not being able to settle, wanting to play all the time, watching for passers-by, … Read more

As a behaviourist, I am trained to recognise the behavioural symptoms of border collies in pain or discomfort, and I can work with owners and vets to get better outcomes for any animal that could be in pain. But so often, when I can see signs of pain or discomfort in a collie I am … Read more

When discussing anti anxiety meds for dogs with owners, some may be keen to give it a go, others are a little more wary and some owners absolutely do not want to use it. As a dog owner myself, I completely understand this concern about what we are putting in our dog’s bodies and how … Read more