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My Border Collie is typical of her breed, she likes to round thing up, she wears circles in the lawn because she tries to round up the guinea pig and she does the same with my mum's tortoise. Has anyone ever managed to stop a Border Collie from doing this?
I had a dog named Nikita that I believe was a Border Collie mix and she did the same thing. I don't know that you can really stop this behavior very much because this breed was bred to round up livestock.
It's what Border Collies do. Your only hope is more exercise. I had a client one time that had a hearding dog X who was a terror unless she got to run 2 hours a day. I mean RUN ... not a walk around the block. Your dog needs to run.
I'd say combined with constructive physical exercise you also need to work your border collie mentally. Collies can run and run for hours but many times it will not tire them out - they are bred for working all day. Mental stimulation [obediance training and agility] is far more tiring than just running IMO, but this is a side point. As for the chasing element you need to teach your girl a 'down' command when something exciting is in view. Again think about how collies herd sheep, no matter how exciting it is, the dog is still able to lie down and move away from the sheep when asked to do so.
The way I taught my collie to go down was to put him in a harness and attach a long line to the harness. He has an excellent 'down' command anyway and he loves to fetch his tennis ball, so, I threw a ball a little way out and as he ran to fetch it I called 'down' - ofcourse the first time he ignored me, so I tugged on the harness and repeated the 'down' command. Collies are very intelligent dogs, I only had to do this a 2-3 times with Jakey and he learnt.
Yes she gets plenty of exercise (the vet actually cautioned me about too much exercise) and we do try to keep her mentally stimulated with lots of things to do and new things to learn, my son (16) is fantastic with her and they spend a lot of time together. She loves ball games, but she prefers to play with a football not a tennis ball. I think we just have to accept her natural desire to round up the guinea pig!
LOL. If she's anything like my Nikita was, herding makes her feel important. So don't try to take away her reason for being,lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by kernow
I think your collie rounding up a guinea pig would get quite a few hits on youtube! Sounds very cute! Like stephanie I would suggest agility or an interactive game from a dog supply store.
I think the guinea pig telling the dog off would be even funnier, she is a very assertive guinea pig and she doesn't like being told what to do.
LOL...that would be a RIOT, kernow. Maybe your guinea pig will put your border collie in her place soon!Quote:
Originally Posted by kernow
Let her be as long as the other animals aren't in danger from her 'herding'. That's who she is; it's natural.
It may well be natural, BUT I have to disagree - YOU need to be in control of her herding instincts. It may seem funny her rounding up a guinea pig - although I pity the poor guinea pig - it wouldn't be so 'funny' if she then decided to round up small children or cars or bikes would it? As your collie has a strong herding instinct is there any way you can work with her constructively - sheep trialling for instance?Quote:
Originally Posted by Orrymain
I think that is good advice, if she is doing no harm just treat it as part of her personalityQuote:
Originally Posted by Orrymain
I don't know what area you live in or if it is an option but have you heard of Trieball. It would be a fun way for you and your dog to meet that herding instinct in a more controlled way. She may be a champion!
stephanie, she doesn't have any desire to herd children, she only does it with small animals. She is terrified of sheep, that is why she was re-homed, she was a useless sheepdog. The guinea pig is not timid, she may be small but she has a big attitude and she tells Meg off if she bothers her.
PetParent, thanks for the info, I have never heard of Trieball, but I will find out more.