She is a great dog, very smart, sweet disposition etc.
The only problem is, she herds everything and everyone. She reminds me a lot of the blue and red heelers I knew when I lived out in Wyoming.
Now, I know this is 'normal' behavior in some dogs, but she is kind of rough on our older dog and too domineering for our neurotic dog.
Since this seems to be in her DNA, I am having a hard time breaking her of it. She is quite stubborn!
Any advice?
Posted by kgg (Member # 5867) on :
I would look for a person who works with dogs, like a dog trainer. Perhaps your vet has someone to recommend? Even if it is in her nature there are probably things that can be done that a trainer would know about.
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
kgg, I think you are right. She is a handful. I was hoping I could do this myself without having to pay someone to help me.
Posted by treeinatree (Member # 38613) on :
If you can teach her some herding related commands, you can have more of an on/off switch for it.
Posted by Dogsandcats (Member # 28544) on :
If you check community centers, they sometimes offer group classes. Although that might not be the right thing to do....your doggie would have everyone running laps..
I looked on line but didn't find a great link.
Ask your vet for ideas or a name of someone who isn't pricey.
Good luck!!
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
Thanks everybody for the advice.
Posted by healthywealthywise (Member # 8595) on :
With our new pup, this ebook has been a godsend! I hope the link works for you? Not sure if it helps w/herding but still has a lot of good info pet owners should read.
randi was a very very active puppy. we always made sure she had treats that she could chew on.
also we used off to spray on shoes and cords so she wouldn't chew them. worked.
and labs are notorious for eating, ummm, poop. we had to dump pepper on the piles. and we cleaned the cat litter box several times a day.
whew, that was no fun, but she grew out of it.
we just kept her so active she was exhausted by the time she went to bed.
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
healthywealthy, thanks for the links. I just skimmed them for now, but will take a closer look tomorrow when my eyes are not so tired.
randi, wearing them out is a great idea. Only, problem is, she wears me out long before she is worn out.
She would be great at that agility training stuff, but I have no clue on how to train a dog to do that.
I do think it would be fun to try it tho'.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
The second link was very interesting, healthy/wealthy!
I wish I could have taken my border collie to agility training. They started classes in my area right about the time my dog passed away.
Posted by linky123 (Member # 19974) on :
tutu, I know how much you must miss her. Border Collies are the dog of choice for the agility type stuff aren't they?
They are so smart.
Posted by nefferdun (Member # 20157) on :
We adopted a border collie but she is the one getting mauled by our mastiff/lab puppy. The collie is very sensitive and sweet. She loves to play ball so that might help your dog settle more and take away some of that energy.
Our puppy was mauling the cats, eating poop and jumping on people scratching and biting them. I got a training collar for him. It was the only way to keep him from hurting us. The collars have a pager that sends out a vibration.
The electric stimulation goes from 0 to 127. Usually the vibrator is all I need to remind him to stop doing what he is doing. I have used the shock set at 30 a few times when he is biting the collie and won't stop. He just shakes his head, looks at me and then quits.
I can take him on walks off leash and he is very good, not eating horse poop and coming when called. It really has made a difference.
It can be a dangerous tool, not to be used in anger. I tried clicker training first and that made no impression at all. I feel this is the best way to protect my cats and the collie, who is older, as well as company that come over from being jumped on, bitten and scratched. He is a very big dog.
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