Any tips for a collie gratefully received. Am about to pick up a 9 month old as a rehome from somewhere he doesn't get walked at all. I'm figuring he'll need a little while to build his strength and things. But any advice or knowledge would be nice. when to start running, how to stop him chasing sheep, etc.
He'll be joining my existing rescue mutt who is settled in and she is likely to take charge.
I know maybe this should go into training...
'Normal' people are the ones you don't know very well.
Don't leave anything within chewing distance unless you do not mind the teeth mark look - tables, chairs, usually they are not too fussy
Are they a bit like pork scratchings?Originally Posted by mountain bag
9 months is fine for running, just be careful and build up slowly.
Sort the sheep thing ASAP. Collie's are smart and want to obey, we just did it by positive reinforcement and some severe telling off, and walking them on leads through sheep and saying well done if they didn't respond. Then if they did look, telling them off. Has worked for all the dog in our family apart from one of the collies who came at 15 months already a chaser.
I used a ball to distract our collie from sheep. Start playing with it a distance away from them, but in sight, and gradually, over days/weeks move a bit closer - not close enough to spook the sheep, though!
Then, when you DO get close to sheep, show him the ball, and it should keep his mind off the sheep. Once he's walked past them, let him have a play for a bit.
Hope this helps...
Read and digest this and anything else you can find :-
http://www.bordercollierescue.org/br...ppyAdvice.html
Ours (as in avatar ) came from a rescue home and had several psycological issues that needed a lot of hard work and patience to resolve them.
Border collies if trained properly make marvellous companions, but remember they are essentially working dogs that like to think for themselves as well as work to command and as long as you can keep them mentally and physically contented then you will have a great companion.
As to chasing sheep a lot will depend on how strong the dogs Latent instincts to work are, as to whether or not you will be able to supress them or not.
We built our dog up gradually to run distances but she had to be taught all the basics like how to get over stiles, through kissing gates, that water and becks were not something to be afraid of, in fact everthing away from tarmac appeared to be alien to her, she now happily covers 30 + miles and enjoys everything from bannana - malt bread when we stop for lunch.
I base the above on my experiences alone and i am not by any means an expert, but it`s fair to say a collie will not be content with a quick walk round the block morning and evening and left to it`s own devices for the rest of the day.
If you are unable to devote time, energy and patience to it then a collie is the wrong animal for you and you should look else where.
Good luck
The older I get the Faster I was
Ours also teach us a lesson. If we do dare go out without them for a run there's normally some damage - bins up ended etc, to let us know we were out of order. Yet leave them to go shopping and they'll sleep peacefully. Collies are very obedient but do have revenge streaks in them if they feel hard done by - which for a collie means only one walk a day. They are also creatures of routine and expect life to be same day after day, well ours are..
and dont forget ...they're bonkers..well pure breds are..so they make ideal ultra runners..the further the better..so long as you keep feeding them en route..bit like the owners i guess
And also like people they were not designed to cover large distances on Tarmac ( not just collies but other breed of dog for that matter), otherwise like us joint and other injuries will occur.
Like Ian says they are creatures of routine, and yes they do like to try and get one over on you but that is part of the fun of collie ownership
Last edited by JohnK; 03-12-2009 at 12:00 PM.
The older I get the Faster I was
thanks for the tips.
He'll be rescue dog number two in the household, so I'd like to think I've got some experience and patients. My ground floor is currently being cleared of any chewable material which I care about. Last time round I lost several pairs of shoes, a pair of glasses and a mobile phone. The most expensive piece of furniture in the lounge is the dog bed - everything else has been second hand cheap/free.
The reason I worry for the chasing thing is dog number 1 (the lass in my avatar) is prone to hunting everything - squirrels, rabbits and mice being particularly effective favourites. Hence new pup is going to have some bad influences. She is getting better with not chasing sheep. If not I'll take her back to the patterdale ones which were 'hard as' and wanting a fight - Derbyshire sheep just run which isn't great.
He is going to need building up as he hasn't really been walked - pads and muscles. I'll be careful about that, dog number 1 learned the hard way not to jump off blindly walls/cliffs so I'm hoping that lesson will be passed on. But it sounds like he should be fine to come along on the running once he is built up.
I understand the nature of the collie and their needs on both energy and mental stimulation. I'm hoping in that regard I'm far better than his current owners. My current dog gets about 2 hours a day walking time (its quite expensive in shoe leather!) I'm hoping they'll be good for each other - one runs off and one is likely to collect - the ying and yang of life.
Right, thanks for the more reading material to get my head around.
'Normal' people are the ones you don't know very well.
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