Border Collies

[kian]

Welcome, she is doll!

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

She is a darling. You should post in the Introduction Section so everyone can meet and greet you properly.

[boredcollie]

Wjohnsonfarm, your baby girl has similar markings to my own BC, and I therefore pronounce her to be extra beautiful.

My Chessie is a very complicated dog, even by BC standards, and the challenges she presents could fill a book. I have chosen just one of them to ask for input on:

She loves riding in the car--any car, anyONE'S car (she will hop inside any car she sees if the door is open and expect the person to take her someplace)--but her car manners are dreadful even now, 6 years into it, and the worst of it is that she viciously "attacks" the seatbelts. She attacks them as you turn the ignition, or as you reach to buckle up, or as you raise or lower windows. Sometimes she attacks them without any cue.

Our last car's seat belts were completely destroyed. She is now working on the belts in the new car. Here are the things we have done to stop this behavior:

1. "NO!" (Damage already inflicted.)
2. Grab collar and yank away. (Goes to bite other seatbelt.)
3. Spray water on her face. (Husband's idea. Ridiculous.)
4. Spray bitter apple on belts. (Desire to bite seatbelts stronger than dislike of bitter apple.)
5. Distract her with treats. (Treats expensive.)
6. "LIE DOWN!" (Pretends not to understand familiar command.)
7. "SIT!" (See above.)
8. Smack butt. (Extremely high pain threshold.)
9. "NO! NO! NO!" (I'm sorry. I do not hear you.)
10. All of the above, simultaneously. (This seatbelt must be taught a lesson, and I am the dog to do it.)

I have had reasonable success using treats (#5) and instructing her to "watch my hand". She will watch my hand even when I have no treats, and it breaks the behavior, at least temporarily. But my husband refuses to cooperate with this for reasons only he understands, and the seat belts will be destroyed soon enough and we'll fail inspection. And he will manage to make it be my fault, but that's a topic for a different sort of website.

I also want Chessie to lie down and behave and not bark at people and lots of other basic good-car-dog stuff, but right now it's the seatbelt shredding that absolutely MUST STOP. Has anybody dealt with this problem or a similar one? Using a muzzle won't stop the behavior, though it might spare the seatbelts. I want her to LEARN that this specific behavior is unacceptable to me, and I am not getting through to her so far. Any advice greatly appreciated.

(BTW, she has been doing this since she was tiny. I can't recall the first time it happened, but she was probably about 3-4 months old. I don't recall any precipitating factor.)

[ChippersMommy]

Hey everyone, my name is Maggie, I just saw this forum on the sidebar and though I'd join, sorry to just barge on in.

My dog Chipper is a BC mix, so he doesn't really have the Border personality. He actually has a medium energy level and is pretty laid back, so we can just play around the yard one day and go hike a mountain the next. He has a pretty high prey drive, but that also is just the Sibe in him as well.

He is very protective over us and if there are people moving around a lot, he will chase after them and try to nip at their heels at times. And like Chessie, he LOVES riding in the car. Any car door open that he sees, Chipper will just hop on in.
He is also terrified of thunder like many collies, but I think that is also because of his past before we adopted him. He sure has a Border side though.

He is a fetch master and loves to do little agility courses I make for him and tear up frisbees. And boy does he herd. Our chickens go straight back into their coop when he comes outside. Also, Chipper is quite the smartypants. He is such a witty boy and gets in trouble all the time. We have started train him off-leash, and it's going wonderfully, except for when he sees another dog. By the way, he just turned two so he's a young adult, and we got him in December.

However, many Border mixes are totally different from him. My friend was watching someone's dog and I went with her to walk the dog. She looked exactly like my own pup, so I thought that maybe they would be similar on the inside as well. Not true at all. That dog was a fireball who bit me twice when we were playing and jumped around (improper training was probably a factor). She was a hyper, super-playful dog who was 5 years old. So it is true, they do not slow down a bit with age.

I really wouldn't recommend getting a Border as your first dog, or if you are not an extremely active person that runs 10 miles a day and would do agility or something with the dog. I find that most BCs need a job to do, or they will go crazy.
This was probably totally random to what you guys were already talking about, sorry if it was! I think I'll stick to this thread though, seems nice

One last question: how are your BCs around other dogs? My dog does this weird thing when we're on a walk and another dog is approaching, he will start "stalking" the other dog until they meet. He is also pretty guarded and cautious around dogs he doesn't know (he also wasn't properly socialized as a puppy), and will feed off their behavior. If they're too rambunctious he will get irritated. My friend has a Border/Rat terrier mix that does the stalking thing as well.

[Kasey Kahne9's mom]

We have had Kasey, a BC/Shepherd mix for 6 yrs and just got a puppy of the same mix. Kasey whacks the little guy around quite a bit, but Chopper gives as good as he gets, and Kasey is a much happier dog for having a companion and has stopped chewing his feet so much. He is very attentive to the puppy's needs, and was very careful of him when he was tiny.
Our fence is 4 ft high, and Kasey could jump it anytime, but won't. He won't even leave the unfenced front yard without his leash. We hope our little Chopper will do the same.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Since this is a "Breed Specific" thread, both of the above two threads belong in the "Breeds & Mixes" Section.

This section is designed to talk about specific character traits known to a specific breed. If one has a Mixed Breed dog, they can consult this thread for information regarding part of their dog's DNA. Since mixing breeds does not have consistent results, the information found in this thread is helpful perhaps in understanding certain character traits that might be found in a Mixed Breed dog.

To discuss one's particular dog, and its varying traits, that would be best in the Breeds & Mixes Section.

I hope this is helpful.

[BeckyD]

We recently adopted a border collie puppy. She is adorable (and she knows it). We are having some "potty training" Issues though and were wondering if there's anybody out there that can help us with some "suggestions/hints"... She does pretty good going out side and doing her duty. But sometimes after she's done she will turn around and come back into the house and pee on the floor (mostly the carpet). We've blocked off the living room to the dogs access (we have 3 other dogs in the house) unless we are in there with them. Is there anything I can do to cease her from this habit? :cry:

[RubyJeansMom]

Becky, Here is the link to Houstraining 101, hopefully you will find the answers to your question here.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6565

[kian]

Becky do check out the link!

Boredcollie let me know if come around again.

[BeckyD]

Ty for the "housetraining 101" I will keep you posted on if it works for her. I am sure it will. It's just getting the two of us (my husband and I) to do the same thing... Thanks again!!!

[wyorancher]

I had a border collie. A dog like buddy only comes once in a lifetime. He was an abused dog that showed up on our door step. We had him for 8 years. He had a very large vocabulary and when you weren't talking he could read your mind. Sometimes it was a little erie because he was so very smart. Buddy had seizures for 5 years and finally went to dog heaven a short time ago. During his last days he was losing comprehension of what was going on and didn't understand some of his commands. I miss Buddy. Buddy went every where with me. If I had to leave him for any reason he never caused a problem but would never eat or drink when we were gone. We have a new dog now, Jake. He is starting to do fine but will never be able to replace Buddy.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Buddy must have been very smart to select you as his Human! ♥

That is a lovely photo. Border Collies do so well on Farms or Ranches. They love to work and "help" and as you said, they seem to be able to read one's thoughts.

Thank you for paying homage to your Buddy! I'm sure you miss him still. Bless you both!

[kian]

I love the picture of Buddy on the tractor! Very nice tractor by the way. Great life he had with you, it is hard to lose such a wonderful companion. He was smart to go your doorstep and bless you for giving him a job and a great life.

[wyorancher]

I posted some pictures in the album. Buddy, a border collie mix, never missed an opportunity to ride in the tractor, in the swather, or in the PU. Buddy was a very busy dog. Always had to be doing something. A lot different than our ACD that, as I type, is sleeping by the computer desk in the middle of the day.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]