Can border collies be friendly?

[Dona Worry]

And yes, they can be friendly and love to greet and be petted! A good border collie is the best dog in the world!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thank you, is your Aussie friendly now? As in, would she be able to go to new places without being fearful? Just wondering what to expect! We tried to socialise ours but she didn't really respond. every time we tried to make her face her fears she just resumed the same behaviour! I will keep trying to build her confidence though

The results from proper socializing sometimes doesn't show until the dog is fully mature after 2 year. Putting down good ground work when they are young always pays off. Often when pups reach the age of 7-9 months they suddenly start to act up or differently as they are approaching puberty. I always say there's a reason the pounds are full of dog that are that age.

I always continue on and get through that teenager phase. So are worse than others. I remain calm, and continue on. Addressing problems that need it and ignoring those that don't. Fearful behaviors should mostly be ignored or redirected .Does she like a tennis ball? Or a certain toy?

My Australian shepherd is now 13 years old and is my most confident dog. She isn't afraid of anything. She sure was afraid of everything when younger, but now is quite bold in her old age.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Did obedience classes help your dog? because my family were a bit doubtful, because I wasn't sure whether obedience classes would just teach her to sit and lie and paw and stuff which she can already do? So anybody who went to obedience classes please tell me whether it helped?

I feel they help because they're exposing the dog to learning behaviors somewhere other than the comfort of home. I have no problem training my dogs at home, but I want them to learn to listen to commands in all situations, regardless if other dogs or people are around, along with the sounds and sights of a store or a street. Plus a good dog trainer will watch the dog's body language for cues that maybe you're not aware of, during training exercises, and may be able to offer additional tips for your particular situation.

As far as the collar, if you don't want a choke/prong type, at least use a martingale collar (the types they use on sighthounds) or a harness and make sure it's fitted right. My male dog used to slip his collar but switching to martingale style fixed it.

 

[NushLovesChicks]

Ok, I'll look into the collar, we've organised our dog to have puppy classes next month! We also got he an ADAPTIL collar. Has anybody heard of this? I think its helping!

 

[Melky]

I would make sure you have completed basic obedience training. But training is a lifetime and you use the tools you learned so you know how to communicate with your dog. You can do one on one training or group. I did one on one with my dog and she is wonderful, outgoing dog. But I took her out to petco and petsmart shopping with me as a pup and to my mother's house for early socialization. After her spay and rabies we went to off leash park and I took treats so she can learn to socialize with others. I take my dog to dog festivals like paws in the park each year and festivals that allow dogs there for socialization. I also took her to our dog pool here in winter to teach her swimming in a safe warm environment before going on the lake with us kayaking and paddle boarding. If on lake use life vest with handle and D ring. I attach a leash for safety if need to pull in cuz dogs get tired too. As a result she loves going out with us. She goes for daily walks which is important for exercise and socialization. I take her to dog charity walks usually a mile long for fun and socialization. I keep treats in my pocket so whenever she wants to be interested in something else too much, I call her back to me with "here" and treat her for focusing on me. This helps them focus on walk and you. Some things you can train out of a dog and some things will just be that dog's personality and you learn to work around it. Some things are just owner adjustment and but always make sure events are a positive experience. Give lots of praise and some treats for behavior you want to see. Wean treats away and provide praise. If dog fails without treats go back to treats. Because you want to create positive experiences for the dog to overcome the fear. Keep doing till dog reliably completes task successfully. I don't pay to take my dog to dog agility if too expensive for you. You can just purchase a cheap play kit (Chewys) on line or make your own in backyard a tunnel to overcome small spaces, a weaving pole set to learn quick transitions, and jumping hoop or adjustable bar for positive ways to include jumping in their life versus on people. Jumping on people a no no! Use one word commands are best! Make ramp to climb up and down that is stable. Develop your dogs vocabulary! If you notice fearful behavior don't force but coax and treat with praise for overcoming it. They eventually learn to get over most of that the more positive experiences they have. Playing games at home with your dog with treats will build confidence in the dog. I do all these things. Some games to build confidence could be stack folded towels with treats hidden in layers, use baby pool with pit balls to hide treats in, use muffin tin with tennis balls over some holes with hidden treats let them find treats on own etc. Play fetch frequently as it helps them learn in fun way to respond to owner when called-Good recall skills! Learn sit and stay for at least a full minute work up to it in time to build attention span. She can only come when called for treat. Start with reasonable time and build. By a year they should be able to sit and stay for a full minute and only come when called. Always provide treat and praise initially. When practicing new skills do at least 10 reps once or twice a day till completes successfully. Use these fun games and skills each week to reinforce training. If unsuccessful don't give up just go back a step to what she completes successfully and keep building. For example: first time with tunnel she may just sniff opening, keep treating and praising for interest. Next step have person at each end and put treat in middle of tunnel so each time she has to go further to get treat. Person at other end should call dog when ready so dog knows when and right direction. Lastly put treat at end of tunnel so knows has to go all the way through. Sometimes you have to do it in stages when dogs are unsure. It is better to end on a success and not complete whole task then end without completing anything successfully so you reinforce the right idea to the dog! Never provide a treat if they don't complete even one task. Just say no, no too bad! Repeat command! Keeping working on it. Remember training is a lifetime and dogs need positive stimulation and positive experiences. I think day care is fine if it is a positive experience because it will teach her how to interact with other dogs. Good Luck and Hopefully this gets better for you! You have to be consistent and confident with your dog too or nothing changes.

 

[Melky]

Sorry last post was sooo long but it is a good read!

 

[NushLovesChicks]

Thank you for all the information! I'll will keep persisting with the training. In fact, we went on a day trip to a very rural area and she was surprisingly good! All these methods seem to be working!

 

[Melky]

I love dog friendly places and parks. Glad it’s working out for you, yeah!

 

[Brahmb]

The main reason I got ducks!

My Border Collie, Hurricane, is a totally friendly and social animal. She is so social, I’m afraid she’d walk away with a total stranger. Anyway, she needed a job, so I have her watch my ducks. We’re working on herding. She herds aggressively, as she is young yet. However, if I tell her to “watch the ducks” she’ll there like in the picture above for hours on end watching them. Your dog is provably an exception, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be trained differently. Just offering anecdotal proof that BCs are indeed friendly.

 

[Sylv]

My 2 border collies were very outgoing, friendly and soft mouthed. I have lost them both now to old age sadly but they were lovely dogs. They did go to obedience classes but they were used as scapegoats for more agressive dogs so I gave that up. They had some training for sheep too but our sheep come when called anyway so they weren't really needed for that. Ben always thought he knew better than me but was polite about it, Alfie thought life was one big laugh and did as he was told and laughed even more if Ben was reprimanded. I have a Leonberger puppy now, he is only 9 and a bit weeks old so a bit early to tell what he will be like but he is confident and thinks everyone loves him, which he seems to be right about.