The bordercollietrainer BBCC

The bordercollietrainer BBCC THE BORDER COLLIE TRAINER is a kind, modern and passionate trainer. I believe that border collies deserve the best training. No harsh or aversive methods....ever

I train with fun, collie specific activities and exercises.

So much sense in one post ! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18y9btkVza/?mibextid=wwXIfr
09/04/2025

So much sense in one post ! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18y9btkVza/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Dogs behave the way they do for many reasons. They don’t act out of stubbornness or a desire to be ‘naughty,’ nor do they try to take control to be the 'pack leader.' Old myths and outdated training approaches harm their well-being and strain the bond between dogs and their caregivers.

🧬 A dog’s breed and genetics shape certain behavioural traits. Genetic predispositions and breed-specific tendencies play a role. Some breeds lean toward behaviours like herding, hunting, or guarding.

The neonatal period and the environment a dog grows up in can impact and influence their emotional responses. Early socialisation period—appropriately exposing puppies using reward-based methods to diverse people, animals, and settings during their key developmental window—builds confidence and shapes emotional regulation, adaptive behaviours, social skills, and reduces fear or aggression later on.

Overstimulation triggers unwanted behaviours by overwhelming a dogs senses. Not enough sleep, loud noises, crowds, or constant busy activity can lead to hyperactivity or erratic/impulsive responses. For example, a dog might jump, bark, or pull on the leash when flooded with too much daily input.

Past experiences and learned consequences shape behaviour. Trauma, especially, can spark fear, anxiety, or aggression.

How caregivers interact and guide their dogs shape their emotional responses and behaviours. Empathy, prevention (environmental management), consistency, and positive reinforcement methods build a more stable and confident dog. Punitive correction-based and intimidation methods can create unpredictability, confusion, and fear, which may lead to aggressive defensive responses.

A dogs health—physical and mental—affects their behaviour. Pain, illness, or discomfort can shift how they act.

Emotions that cause distress, like fear, anxiety, or excessive excitement, drive behaviour or a ‘lack thereof.’ Responses are instinctive and depend on how the dog perceives a threat. They might react defensively (fight), flee to hide (flight), freeze in place, or fawn by showing submissive, appeasing behaviours to de-escalate conflict—like excessive licking or cowering. Some may shut down entirely into learned helplessness after prolonged stress, while others display excessive, out-of-context behaviours (fidgeting), like random ge***al checks, eating grass, scratching, or ‘shaking off.

Unmet mental or physical needs lead to frustration and destruction. A dog with pent-up energy or boredom might chew furniture, dig up the yard, or bark nonstop to release stress.

Diet influences behaviour, too. High-quality nutrition supports steady energy, good mood, and well-being. Poor food choices can cause irritability, hyperactivity, or gut issues.

As dogs age, canine cognitive decline can set in as well as the loss of hearing or eyesight. These changes can lead to increased confusion, disorientation, and altered social interactions in older dogs.

Every dog is unique, and behaviour varies within context, experiences, breeds, and life stages. Dogs express needs, emotions, and intentions through body language, vocalizations, and other signals. Reading these cues gives you insight into their behaviour and how they are feeling, which can help you prevent unwanted situations from happening or help you adjust your approach to challenges.

I’m not humanising dogs—they are sentient beings with emotions (Cambridge Declaration, 2012). Their feelings and needs may not be as layered as ours, but they’re real!

Thanks for reading and learning more about them🐾💜

Another Sunday , another wonderful team begin their Sheepballs ® journey. Today we discussed the special traits of the b...
06/04/2025

Another Sunday , another wonderful team begin their Sheepballs ® journey.
Today we discussed the special traits of the border collie, how we use their skills to improve the quality of time we spend working together, how to start to understand why our collies need to control movement in the environment and then we went to work with my dogs and sheep !!
The teams all have homework to practice and a new enthusiasm to see their collies behave like collies 🎉🎉
Fancy joining us ???
Check the website for more information.
‘ my collie is more chilled at home ‘
‘My collie is easier to walk’
‘ My collie looks to me for what to do next’
All comments from my students, along with
‘My collie absolutely loves Sheepballs ®’
www.thebordercollietrainer.org

Today we had our very first lamb.
01/04/2025

Today we had our very first lamb.

26/03/2025

Border collies
I need lungers, barkers, nippers, chasers and herders !!!
If you’ve got a border collie that does any of these then I have a great activity to help you all . Of course all collies and other herding breeds are welcome too 😃.
Is Sheepballs ® a ball game.
No!
Well technically it’s an activity that uses balls …. But a game ??? Not for your hard working, driven collie.
Come and learn how to harness rather than squash that incredible talent your collie has.
Instead of dreading walks you can learn to love the time together.
If you are committed to helping your collie cope with life challenges then sign up here.
The courses always fill up so don’t miss out.
Read more about it all on the website and get booked in …. See you soon
Thebordercollietrainer.org

🐑🐑⚽️⚽️Sheepballs® course ⚽️⚽️🐑🐑New dates are available Each course is a 4 week block Sundays April 6th, 13th, 27th May 1...
22/03/2025

🐑🐑⚽️⚽️Sheepballs® course ⚽️⚽️🐑🐑

New dates are available
Each course is a 4 week block

Sundays April 6th, 13th, 27th May 11th
10.30 start

Thursdays April 17th, 24th, May 8th, 15th
6.15 start

If you’ve got a collie or a similar breed come and learn this amazing way to give your dog the best satisfaction.
Car chasers, lungers, pullers and barkers all welcome !!!
Safe and secure environment to work in.

My students say

🐑I've had collies all my life but have learnt so much in these lessons.

⚽️Alison attention to detail is superb. If you listen carefully and take on board her advice, it works!

🐑My dogs have gone from being unsure to absolutely loving this new game.

⚽️Thank you Alison. Sheepballs has enriched our lives with collies, even more!

Book here ⏬️⏬️⏬️

Welcome To The Best Border Collie Club BASED IN NORTH NORFOLK AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE A little bit about me & my border collies. I am Alison, aka The Border Collie Trainer I have trained border collies to top flight national agility competition standards, to find missing people, to find tiny items i...

New  Sheepballs ® dates are up Click the link to book your space . Thursday evenings OR Sunday mornings. Your booking wi...
18/03/2025

New Sheepballs ® dates are up
Click the link to book your space .
Thursday evenings OR Sunday mornings.
Your booking will be for either Thursday or Sunday.

SHEEPBALLS® INTRODUCTION COURSE Sunday mornings 10.30 - 12.00 This is a 4 week course Thursday evenings 6.15 - 7.45 This is a 4 week course Based at NR11 and NR10, full address and directions are sent with email confirmation . Cost £85 per dog for  4 x 90 minute sessions The payment covers al...

If you’re wondering about the benefits of Sheepballs ® for you and your collie here’s what one of our current students h...
18/03/2025

If you’re wondering about the benefits of
Sheepballs ® for you and your collie here’s what one of our current students has said …

“Life with our Border Collie Wesley hasn’t been the easiest, we’ve had behavioural issues with him from a very young age.
Since starting the Sheepballs course with Alison, we have a much better understanding of how and why Border Collies behave in the way that they do, which in turn has given us a different perspective on Wesley’s behaviour and this understanding helps us respond accordingly.

Alison is brilliant and very knowledgeable about Border Collies and gives great advice about what you can do to help your Border Collie. She never gives you information you don’t need and tailors her advice depending on the Border Collie she’s working with at that time.

We have noticed a huge change in Wesley’s behaviour since starting the course. He seems much more content at home and is seeking out much more affection from us. On walks, we do still have a little ‘reactivity’ however this is much more manageable than previously. We don’t walk him as often as we used to, because he’s getting the mental stimulation, he needs from the Sheepballs game, which we play with him as much as we can.

Wesley absolutely loves playing Sheepballs, and would play all day long if he could. When we are playing Sheepballs with other distractions around, he is only focused on the task in hand and not other dogs, cars etc., which is something he struggles with on walks.

All in all, it’s been a really positive experience for us and Wesley. Would recommend for anyone with Collies 😊”

Check out the website this week for more dates www.thebordercollietrainer.org

The whole training package is available always in my online school … info on the website too 🐾😁

Give your collie the gift of Sheepballs ®New course dates will be  open for booking on the website this week Don’t miss ...
17/03/2025

Give your collie the gift of Sheepballs ®

New course dates will be open for booking on the website this week

Don’t miss out !

We are looking forward to the next meeting in our Sheepballs ® course . I’m excited to hear how much fun the handlers ar...
07/03/2025

We are looking forward to the next meeting in our Sheepballs ® course . I’m excited to hear how much fun the handlers are having, how much they are learning about their collie and how amazing they are finding the experience of watching their collies be real working dogs.

If you’re interested to learn more please drop us a message via the website…. New courses coming very soon.
You can be added to the waiting list 🐑🐾🐑

Welcome To The Best Border Collie Club BASED IN NORTH NORFOLK AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE A little bit about me & my border collies. I am Alison, aka The Border Collie Trainer I have trained border collies to top flight national agility competition standards, to find missing people, to find tiny items i...

Hits the nail on the head…. As always https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18Sdi7pzKV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
06/03/2025

Hits the nail on the head…. As always https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18Sdi7pzKV/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Becoming the best handler and partner for your dog starts with one powerful foundation—believing in yourself.

While believing in your dog is easy, self acceptance can be difficult, especially in the face of adversity.
Setbacks in training are inevitable; it’s how you handle those moments that will define your partnership.

Your wins won't shape you as a trainer; what you overcome empowers your development, resilience, integrity, and confidence far more than any victory ever could.
Part of believing in yourself is self-acceptance. It includes not being preoccupied with what others think or say about you and letting go of expectations.

Fear of failure is probably the number 1 obstacle we see for dog/handler teams but I believe it’s important to normalize fear. It’s ok to be afraid,
‘courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s being afraid and doing it anyway’
How you rise is far more important than the fall.
—You become what you practice and rehearse. Consistent good habits lead to mastery and confidence.

Honest assessment of both yourself and your dog provide a roadmap for improvement. This clarity gives you direction and the ability to improve with purpose.
Everyone wants to do well, but some don’t want to hear that it takes time, often years of study and dedication, to be successful. It’s the work that leads to the results.

Developing self-belief includes focusing on the process, not the outcome.
Embrace that you may need to improve and change…
Humans are the only beings that can be different tomorrow, simply by making the decision to do so; an amazing opportunity.

Follow a proven methodology and believe in it.
Believe in doing the work.
Believe there is not one definition of success.
Believe in your partnership with your dog.
Believe in yourself—

macraway.com

Feeling fabulous! Today we started a new course of Sheepballs ®. 5 new teams learning lots about what makes their collie...
16/02/2025

Feeling fabulous! Today we started a new course of Sheepballs ®.
5 new teams learning lots about what makes their collie happy, learning why collies do what they do and learning to give their collies the best life .
Fancy joining us ? Pop to the website to find out more .

Welcome To The Best Border Collie Club BASED IN NORTH NORFOLK AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE A little bit about me & my border collies. I am Alison, aka The Border Collie Trainer I have trained border collies to top flight national agility competition standards, to find missing people, to find tiny items i...

Just leaving this here …. Once again … perfectly written 👏👏🐑🐾👏👏https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15dEhTUbFL/?mibextid=wwX...
12/02/2025

Just leaving this here …. Once again … perfectly written 👏👏🐑🐾👏👏

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15dEhTUbFL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

One of the most powerful steps you can take as a trainer is to change your mindset from,
‘How can I get my dog to do it’ to
‘How can I get my dog to Want to do it’—

Stress for dogs, often comes from the teacher, not the task.
For some dogs, the resentment for the phase of work that was forced upon them, stays with them and could have been avoided if the handler had changed their approach.
For example, if you make a new concept difficult, even inadvertently, such as,
having expectations of how quickly your dog should learn, how proficient he should be, the wrong set-up
or if you try to force behavior, it could be that you are creating the stress that your dog then associates with that task.
—At the onset of training, it’s extremely important to differentiate, is the training issue one you can change VS. is it a genetic predisposition, that you can improve and manage but not organically alter.

Trying to force a dog to ‘push through’ an issue that stems from their genetics (ie too much eye, inherently wide, inherently fearful etc) is almost always to the detriment of the dog.
Instead, this is when you need knowledge and experience to help your dog or the self awareness to seek help from an expert.

Just like people, dogs can get bored when you do the same thing too often,
frustrated when it’s too arduous or disheartened when too often being told ‘you’re wrong’.

Instead of trying to accelerate your dogs training timeline, focus on your consistency, development and improvement as a teacher.
It's your continuous effort to adjust to your dogs response and body language that will help your dog become the best he can be.
Handlers sometimes find themselves waiting...for the day when they, win the competition, succeed at “X” , are acknowledged by their peers, or other.
Don’t let the pursuit of tomorrow diminish the joy of today, for you or your dog.
macraeway.com


Yes!!! Partnering is our aim 😁https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16FemTqk1K/?mibextid=wwXIfr
06/02/2025

Yes!!! Partnering is our aim 😁

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16FemTqk1K/?mibextid=wwXIfr

There is a saying, every time you point a finger, 3 fingers are pointing back at you…I believe this is especially true in dog training.
Trainers sometimes get caught up in their own expectations and if they don’t have positive results, it’s a shortcoming of their dog.
They put their desire and vision of success, ahead of how their individual dog needs to work to be his or her best.
Their dog—‘didn’t have enough drive, a “good dog” should be able to handle my pressure, he never liked to do X’, etc.
But more often than not, it was the method and how they executed it that never gave their dog a chance.

When agenda or ego guides the training, it can lead to shortcuts and bullying.
Dogs can be trained successfully with many different styles and techniques but there is a huge difference between a dog that has been trained with the focus on correction,
versus dogs taught with a constructive, adaptable ideology taking into account individual amount of desire, eye, excitability, maturity, feel, etc.

When the work is enjoyable and intuitive, it becomes your dogs idea to want to please.
This is true both when training young dogs and when competing at trials.
When conditions are hot, humid or difficult and you need your dog to try, dogs that are mentally invested are the ones who give their heart.
You can just train or you can partner.
macraeway.com


Collies…. Ball mad often … This made me chuckle
05/02/2025

Collies…. Ball mad often …
This made me chuckle

SHEEPBALLS !!! Harness that ball obsession!! Sheepballs ® is here! I’m running a set of workshops starting soon . If you...
05/02/2025

SHEEPBALLS !!!
Harness that ball obsession!!

Sheepballs ® is here!
I’m running a set of workshops starting soon .
If you’ve got a border collie or a close cousin type breed, this is for you .
Does your collie love to control moving objects?
Does your collie seem to have boundless energy?
Would you love more connection with your collie out in the big wide world of excitement?
Check out the website for the details and to book your space .
www.thebordercollietrainer.org

Address

Ingworth
Norwich
NR11

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 8:45am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 8:45am - 6:30pm
Thursday 8:45am - 6:30pm
Friday 8:45am - 6:45pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm

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