Border collies are fantastic dogs, and can make great companions, but there are often very difficult behaviours to navigate from puppyhood through adolescence and on to early adulthood, often as late as 3 years old. They can become aroused by different things to other breeds, mostly focused around movement. Border collie jumping and biting behaviour … Read more
Border collies and Christmas: One of the busiest times of year for me is after Christmas, and a lot of this is due to aggression incidents that happened over the Christmas period. There are many things that can cause stress and anxiety for your collie over Christmas, so it’s important to be aware of these … 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 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
“Border collie suddenly aggressive” is a very highly searched term on Google and unfortunately aggressive behaviour is a common problem within the breed. There are many reasons why a border collie would suddenly become aggressive, and techniques for helping the dog to overcome its aggressive behaviour will vary according to what is causing it. It’s … Read more
With Christmas approaching, it’s important to remember that for dogs, and for sensitive border collies in particular, all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, can be a VERY stressful time. Unfamiliar people coming and going, the different food smells, the noises, the Christmas tree (and all the new rules about not touching it), presents, and … Read more
If your dog is refusing to get in the car, then the chances are that he is afraid of car travel for some reason. However, it’s important to rule out any other issues such as motion sickness or pain, so always ask your vet to check him over to rule these out. Dogs with certain … Read more
Border collies have a strong predatory instinct, and it’s this drive that makes them ideal for herding sheep. They rarely actually kill the chased object, they don’t have the final “kill” element of the predatory response – they are more driven to stop movement. When first introduced to sheep, most border collies will instinctively hold … Read more