Finnario FarmCollies

02/09/2023

Listen to Sean, Lads n Lassies.

USEFUL JOBS FOR COLLIES NO.3: Collecting firewood

02/07/2023

Sean again.

02/03/2023

Listen to Sean; Don't do it!!!

BRINGING THE BOYS HOME! Sean the sheepdog writes: “As you know, poor old Sean had a ‘sickie’ day off yesterday, due to his ‘mind-blowingly insane idea’ (Boss’s words) to eat a kilo of sheep nuts, with explosive results. So while I was off, the ram boys Daft Nigel and his mate Maurice (swarthy guy on the right here, can’t miss him) ONLY thought they’d sneak down the pub for a cheeky swift one! The VERY IDEA that they could sneak into MY LOCAL, order a couple of halves plus cheese and onion crisps and NO ONE NOTICE HOW LITTLE THEY KNEW ABOUT DARTS! Leaving aside the fact that they look like sheep. Well of course it was only seconds before they got busted. Even worse, it was the Missus, plus Pip and my Belle here who had to go and bring them home again. And you can tell from their faces how excited they were about that, when they should have been at taekwondo instead.”

01/31/2023

Dear Diary:

IF BORDER COLLIES COULD WRITE THEIR OWN TEENAGE DIARIES...

01/18/2023

MOre advice from Sean.

WE ARE re-running this feature by our breed expert on misdirected working instinct, and chase behaviour, in the Border collie, for newer followers or anyone who may have missed it:

MISDIRECTED CHASE BEHAVIOUR IN THE BORDER COLLIE

In the past I have tried to better explain what 'working instinct' really is in the Border collie; namely, a stronger and more genetically enhanced desire to eye, stalk, chase and herd or otherwise control moving things. And when these skills are in harmony with the purpose they were designed for – i.e. managing livestock – it is a truly beautiful thing to see, as viewers of our sheepdog videos on this page will know.

However, what some owners won't always realise is that this ‘working instinct’ - if not compulsion – in collies will not be exclusively reserved for livestock. It may be directed at absolutely anything that moves. In other words it is the INSTINCT in the dog to chase moving things that is most critical, and not the TARGET the dog subsequently chooses to direct it upon. Which, in the absence of aforementioned livestock, can become anything from traffic, trains, birds and cyclists or runners to leaves, water or shadows.

In a working environment, a shepherd will not only introduce a dog to sheep when they are still very young, to ensure they become their chosen moving target to eye/chase/herd etc., but they will also put in the necessary training required to control the dog's movements towards, or around, the sheep. Including the speed and direction at which they approach them, stopping them and/or dropping them in a 'down' to the ground when necessary, or calling them off the sheep and back to them.

LOSING CONTROL OF THE CHASE INSTINCT
What can so often go wrong with pet collies, is that the dog is not deliberately trained on to the 'right' moving target - like a ball, in the absence of livestock - to work and fixate on more exclusively when young, or given the right level of control training that a sheepdog would get to better check their approach towards moving things. Meaning not only that the dog's chase instincts escape, instead, on to all manner of other less appropriate moving things, but once this happens you have no way of being better able to stop it. And a collie may only need to chase 'wrong' things of this kind a few times in order to begin ingraining a progressively more addictive habit.

The control training required means exercises like 'DOWN ON THE MOVE' - where you drop your dog into a down when they are running towards a chase object - and also the 'MID-CHASE RECALL', where you not only drop your dog into a down as they are running towards something, but then immediately recall the dog back to you. I work on all these exercises with my own dogs from a very young age, and you may usually need to begin training them with your dog on a long line before they become more reliable. When well taught, however, they really provide you with the basic brakes and steering on your dog.

Ongoing ‘focus’ training – where the dog is continually taught to return its focus to you on command – can also be vital for collies to better control chase behaviour.

THE GOLDEN SECOND
Too often owners may also miss that 'golden second' just before a dog is about to chase something, and they are still able to stop them if they intervene quickly enough with DOWN and WAIT commands (providing of course your dog has already been taught these). So instead the dog has greater time to lock on to the chase target ahead, and once they have become more fully committed to a chase, and/or you have no better training in place at this point to stop them, it is too late.

Sometimes things that move but also make a far louder noise - like traffic and trains - can bring more defensive chasing behaviours in dogs, because they unnerve them, and their default behaviour when anxious/frightened is to go on the attack. Interestingly, I have also found in my own experience that collies who are exposed to things like loud traffic and trains when they are really young - i.e. as young as four or five weeks old - do not become traffic or train chasers in later life. So this is something breeders might bear in mind. I take my own puppies out daily to see trains/traffic/dustcarts etc. from around a month old, carrying them in my arms. And none of them ever became traffic chasers, despite having past relatives who were.

So basically we can see that by replicating the way a shepherd would work with a sheepdog - i.e. making sure the most appropriate moving/fixation target was picked for a dog early on, and then getting in place all the right training to control the dog's movements round this - we have the best chance of controlling our own collie's chase drives, too.

Meanwhile, anyone who wants to know far more about the kind of control, focus and anti-chase, training I have outlined for collies in this feature will find it covered in the SECOND book in my BORDER COLLIES: A BREED APART trilogy (RED COVER), which also explains how you can redirect a dog off a 'wrong' chase target, and on to a more suitable one you can better control - like a ball: https://performancedog.co.uk/.../border-collies-a-breed.../
And in the USA from: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and https://www.cleanrun.com/
In Canada from https://www.4mymerles.com/product-category/books/ And in Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/
All text © Carol Price 2023

01/13/2023

Peace in the valley; keep your solutions simple.

TODAY OUR BREED EXPERT LOOKS at the important subject of resource guarding behaviour in BCs

FOOD AND RESOURCE GUARDING/AGGRESSION IN BORDER
COLLIES

Collies who react aggressively to keep some more 'prized' resource for themselves - be this food, treats, toys, or something they have taken or 'stolen' - can be very difficult to live with, depending on how severe the aggression gets, and who in particular it tends to be aimed at; i.e. other dogs or people, or even owners.

There is no doubt in my mind that the strength of this impulse can be inherently genetic in dogs. In that dogs will either have a predisposition to behave more aggressively around resources, or they won't. Though it can also be greatly exacerbated or escalated through the way owners handle it (more on this later). It is not just a problem that can be found in collies. It can be found in all breeds - even those not otherwise thought to have aggressive tendencies. In certain breeding lines of Golden retriever or Cocker spaniel today, for instance, food or resource aggression has become a pretty serious problem.

Like so many genetically related behavioural issues found in dogs today, their incidence could be significantly reduced if the selection of the temperament of dogs chosen for breeding was far more scrupulous and better researched (in terms of what past or even current problems have been seen in any dogs directly related to them) and taken a lot more seriously. Especially given how devastating the later repercussions can sometimes be for both dogs and their owners when more challenging flaws in temperament get passed down to yet another generation instead.

EARLY SIGNS
In any litter of young puppies, often around the time they are being weaned on to more solid food, which they will share together, the pup with potential future food aggression issues tends to be the one who begins growling or snapping if another puppy edges too close to them when feeding. A wise breeder at this point promptly removes that aggressive puppy from collective feeding with the others, and begins feeding it separately in a special way (again, outlined a bit later). If only to stop the habit becoming more ingrained in young dogs through being consistently rewarded – i.e. other pups backing off food when aggression is shown. It also prevents feelings of greater threat or anxiety being experienced around food by pups who are bullied by more aggressive ones.

As humans we may see eating with others as a civilised process with more set social etiquettes. But for dogs it can be very different. And many, instead, will instinctively expect it to be a highly competitive process, where anything you cannot hold on to will get taken by others. It is this primal, utterly instinctive fear that flicks the switch on the equally instinctive aggression that goes with it. And it is not a reaction, either, that a dog can always more consciously control.

It is the belief, however, that a dog is more consciously choosing to be nastier, or more challenging, aggression wise, around their food bowl or toys, or bed, or anything else they feel compelled to try to guard in this way, that so often makes the problem escalate. For owners may try to challenge the dog back, in a more hostile way, or grab away his guarded item in retaliation for his/her aggression. Or they may try to more forcefully remove from a dog something he or she has taken and wants to keep for themselves. All this does is ramp up in the dog's mind the true level of threat others pose around his/her 'stuff', and make them even keener to guard it next time.

WHAT TO DO
If you have a dog who shows aggression around a food bowl for the first time, what you should really do is back off and leave it and not force any bigger confrontation. Then resolve for ever more that your dog will not be fed this way again. Instead put your dog's empty food bowl on the floor and ask them to sit. Then place one piece of food in it for them to eat. Praise them for eating this without any hostility. Then move on to the next bit of food and the next, one bit at a time, praising your dog each time for showing no hostility.

If there are any even vague signs of hostility, simply stop feeding your dog immediately. Wait until the next mealtime to repeat this process. Eventually your dog should learn that not only are you a rewarding, rather than more threatening, presence around their bowl, but the more well behaved they are when you feed them, the more they get to eat. Dogs who ever show aggression to other dogs when eating should also always be fed somewhere else, away from them, on their own.

When it comes to other things like toys, bones, or sofas a dog may try to guard aggressively from others, the question has to be asked as to why you would continue allowing any dog access to these flashpoint items at will, when you do not have to. For no dog can guard what they are not allowed access to. This can also include more strategic bits of territory around the home like doorways, halls, or the top of the stairs.

Teaching a collie a proper 'give' command (as outlined in BOOK TWO of my BREED APART trilogy – ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS & LEARNING) can also take all the heat out of them returning something to you on request and, once again, prevent so many of the more unnecessary confrontations that can arise between owner and dog, and become more serious over time. Owners might also not be aware that they, themselves, can represent one of the most valuable resources in any dog's life, and as such, their dog may try to take ownership of them on this basis, and try to prevent other people (including other household members) or dogs getting near you. You must see this for exactly what it is, and not a dog simply being more 'protective' or 'jealous'.

This feature has only been able to touch the surface of resource guarding in dogs, why it occurs and what you should do about it. However food, resource and territorial guarding issues in collies are covered more fully in BOOKS TWO (ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS & LEARNING - red cover) and THREE (BEHAVIOUR - INSIGHTS, ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS - green cover) of my BORDER COLLIES: A BREED APART trilogy:
https://performancedog.co.uk/product-category/books-and-dvds/authors/carol-price/
And in the USA via: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and https://www.cleanrun.com/
And in Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/
All text © Carol Price 2023

01/11/2023

Done both. The former beats the hell out of the latter.

01/09/2023

You gotta have more... !

I SPEAK MY TRUTH!: Bryn the sheepdog writes: “It has been a long time coming, but finally I have found the courage (plus right Netflix deal) to share with you the story of my nightmare life, constantly in the shadow of my fellow ‘brother’ sheepdog, Sean, who always gets all the attention, never approves of my choice of girlfriend – including his OWN MISSUS! – and bosses me around. I will NEVER forgive him for once taking the only unbroken Bonio out of a box in 2017, getting all the fancier sheep gigs, or calling me ‘silly wee pup’ when I was a wee pup. There are so many other DEVASTATING ‘truth bombs’ I could reveal to you, that will shatter Prince Sean’s ‘great guy’ image FOREVER, and which I might be able to remember again, once they have offered me a bit more dosh.”

01/08/2023

Sean!

NEWSFLASH!!! 💥💥💥Sean the sheepdog writes: “Have just has my wee lad Ean, in Germany, SOBBING down the phone because – would you believe it – his ears have just got STOLEN AGAIN! Not long after I bought him new ones. What is going on over there, and why can’t they catch these HEINOUS CRIMINALS?! Yet another thing now for The Bank of Dad to stick on the credit card, after the ruinously expensive Christmas I have just had. The insurance company also not being too helpful. Give you a taste: ‘It’s probably best Sir if your son doesn’t keep taking his ears with him when he goes out.’ See what I mean? RUBBISH!”

01/08/2023

Some collie and border collie traits are mimicked in Humans? Read on:

TODAY OUR BREED EXPERT explores the extent to which Border collies could be more autistic in their whole mental processing and behaviour:

BORDER COLLIES AND THE MORE AUTISTIC MIND

For the greater part of my life I have owned, lived and worked with Border collies, and striven to get to the heart of not just what makes them tick as dogs, but also makes them so different, in so many ways, to any other breed. And of particular fascination to me, always, was why dogs who could be so supremely intelligent and rewarding to own as companions could also be so psychologically complex, and prone to such a wide range of different obsessions, neuroses and anxieties, linked to their surrounding sensory and social world.

Collectively, and when exhibited in more extreme forms, such traits have long given the Border collie a reputation as a 'problem pet'. And also the breed - according to some pet insurance surveys - most likely to be referred to behaviourists with some kind of more serious psychological issue. It is common for them to be written off as mad, bad, or otherwise mentally unhinged. Whereas I tend to see them as just about the most fundamentally misunderstood dog breed on earth, whose main challenge in life is simply finding owners who can both better understand, and live with, their more unique type of canine mind.

MORE AUTISTIC THINKING AND TRAITS IN COLLIES
Those of you familiar with my books on the breed will be aware of how I came to the conclusion that Border collies have characteristics and traits often quite similar to those found in autistic humans. Which better explains everything from their more widespread sensory and social issues to their exceptional intelligence, particularly concerning feats of memory. Collies, much like ‘autistic savants’ in the human population, are capable of memorising huge amounts of information in a specific field, of a kind that would defeat many of their fellow canine peers– like the names of vast numbers of toys, or a wealth of different human words or commands.

Of course such seemingly ‘autistic’ characteristics found in dogs, or collies more specifically, cannot not be more directly compared to those found in human autism (which remains an infinitely more complex mental condition). How they originate, or are displayed, is likely to be something far more species-specific. But at the same time it is remarkable how many key traits of autism found in people can also be mirrored in Border collies.

To name just some of these: Tendencies towards more obsessive/ritualistic patterns of behaviour; intense focus on singular items; Hyperactivity; Hypersensitivity to sound, movement, light and touch; Noise phobias and phobias about specific mechanical devices; Fear or dislike of any change in routine and a greater desire for 'sameness’; Self-stimulatory behaviours; Anxiety disorders; Higher social anxiety or reserve; Problems with social recognition and connection; Higher need for control and obsession WITH control; More reactive/explosive patterns of aggression, which may often seem harder to better predict or contain.

What I have also found is that people with a more personal, or lengthy, experience of human autism themselves can often more immediately recognise the symptomatic parallels in their dogs.

HOW DID COLLIES BECOME A MORE ‘AUTISTIC’ BREED?
Of course no one went out of their way to make Border collies a more autistic type of dog or breed, in its thinking, behaviour or basic mental outlook, or are likely to have even considered this possibility over a century or more back in their basic genetic foundation. Not least because autism wasn’t even recognised as a condition in humans then.

It is something far more likely to have happened by accident than design, in that many of the qualities that made collies the best sheepdogs – like a more obsessive and compulsive mind, readily focused on a singular task, higher sensory awareness, sensitivity and reactivity, and a willingness to repeat the same endless rituals of behaviour (eye, stalk, chase, herd) again and again with no other more tangible reward in this for the dog, other than the repetition of the ritual itself – can be recognised as more autistic qualities, too.

GREATER INSIGHT
The possibility that dogs – and more specifically collies – could have a more autistic way of thinking, behaving or perceiving their surrounding world has been, to me, a vital tool in better understanding them more generally as a breed. Along with the realisation that dogs cannot just be seen, or judged, in terms of the ways they do, or do not, meet our expectations of their behaviour. They, too, may have their own inner mental vulnerabilities, struggles or challenges that drive them more blindly to do certain things, or which stand in the way of them acting any differently. And until we can work out what these are, and why, we cannot hope to lead better lives with them.

People who also ask, not unreasonably, what actual 'scientific evidence' proves that autism of any kind can exist in dogs may not be aware that there is still no scientific evidence - by way of any more incontrovertible test or scan - that proves autism exists in humans either.

And more than 70 years after psychiatrist Leo Kanner first identified the phenomenon of 'autism' in children, it remains a condition predominantly diagnosed via observing, in individuals, a set series of mental traits and behaviours which autistics commonly share, and then placing them on a spectrum of lesser or greater severity.

I see collies in the same way, and with their own spectrum of more species-specific autistic functioning or behaviour, that can vary from the mild or even negligible to the more extreme. And the more extreme the dog, the more issues they will always have and the harder they will be to live with. Owners can so often – and so unfairly - be blamed for having dogs like these, when the problem really began with the kind of mind the dog was born with.

Meanwhile anyone wanting to know far more about the ‘autistic’ nature of collies, and how this may affect all elements of their daily lives, management and training will find this covered more extensively in my BORDER COLLIES: A BREED APART trilogy of books. Links to where you can get them here:
All titles: https://performancedog.co.uk/product-category/books-and-dvds/authors/carol-price/
And in the USA via: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and https://www.cleanrun.com/
And in Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/
All text © Carol Price 2023

01/05/2023

Outside Newberg, OR.
Thanks Cyril

01/04/2023

Helping.

01/01/2023

Here's general information regarding upcoming events, herding lessons & evaluations, and agility classes. If you have questions about services at Fido's Farm or upcoming events, please send a message to [email protected]
Thank you!
_________________________________________

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fido’s Farm Sheepdog Trials 2022-23
Feb. 24-26 (Entries open Jan. 30-Feb. 3)
March 24-26 (Entries open Feb. 27-March 3)
April 28-30 (Entries open April 3-7)
May 26-28 (Entries open May 1-5)
Entry form -https://www.wastockdoghandlers.org/_files/ugd/364f05_a54c8f7d2e7140af88bf6110394b96ab.pdf

_________________________________________

HERDING LESSONS & EVALUATIONS
Herding lessons with Corinne Berg, Ron Fischer, or Heidi Hansen are $55 (30 min.). A herding evaluation is $60. To sign up for herding lessons or evaluations, please email [email protected]
_________________________________________

Agility students - Classes resume Wednesday, January 4. *** WATCH FACEBOOK FOR NOTICES OF WEATHER RELATED CANCELLATIONS ***

AGILITY CLASSES
$100 for 5 classes
Drop-in single class $25
4H students $15
Contact Corinne by email, [email protected], or phone 253-219-9193 to join. Pre-Agility and Intermediate Handling are ongoing. You are welcome to join at anytime.

Wednesdays
Pre-Agility 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Advanced 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Sundays
Pre-Agility 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Intermediate Handling 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Advanced Handling 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
4H Agility Students are welcome to attend any class
Notice to our agility students: It is important that you and your dog arrive in plenty of time to be ready for your class when it begins. We recommend that you be here at least 10 minutes early giving yourself time to potty your dog and sign in. In order to be sure we can start on-time, we will not be able to admit latecomers to the 9:30 pre-agility or 10:30 Intermediate class on Sunday mornings.

12/28/2022

Thank you Steffi!!

12/28/2022

Thank you Diane!

12/19/2022

Psst! It's an elevated bed!

STILL OUT IN THE COLD! Sean the sheepdog writes: “So it’s day 10 now of me having to sleep in the barn with the ram boys, after the missus chucked me out the house for having an affair with Pip. And no sign yet of her position softening. The good news is The Boss thought she’d give me a 'proper’ bed'. The bad news is Daft Nigel thought it was a trampoline. So when I came back from work he and his even dafter mate Big Wayne had already hammered the life out of the springs. Now all I’d really love is a nice heated blanket to go on top. But The Boss says she doesn’t ‘trust any of us with electrics.’ Not after Nigel blew up our telly.”

12/18/2022

Smartest dog in the world?

In 2014, 60 Minutes first attempted to answer the age-old question: does your dog really love you? "60 Minutes" is the most successful te...

12/16/2022

12/15/2022

:-0

12/11/2022

The majestic Collie, thanks to a hundred years as a pop-culture star, is among the world’s most recognizable and beloved dog breeds.

Why do you love the breed?

12/11/2022

Based on dogs' behavior it seems that dogs can tell if humans are sick. Dogs' ability to read behavior and sense of smell confirms this.

12/11/2022

Full Show from the 2022 LEAP Agility Club. Filmed live from West Springfield, MA on Saturday November 26, 2022.

12/11/2022

11/22/2022

11/16/2022

Please read and share, help Massimo find his forever home!

11/16/2022

Agreed!

ALL AFLOAT! We know how many collies seem to enjoy life on the water, and that includes Maxine Adrian-Fleet’s Jack here, on the family’s narrowboat, based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. “Jack came to us at 16 months old,” says Maxine, “and took to it immediately. He loves to run up and down the tow paths and snooze in the sun. And regular weekends on the Shropshire Union Canal are his idea of bliss!”

11/16/2022

🐶 Happy Sunday from GenSolDx.com!

11/10/2022

Sheep whisperer.

TODAY, SEAN IS IN LISTENING MODE! Sean the sheepdog writes: “Now, so many of you have asked – and may have regretted doing so – ‘Sean, how come you have this magical, masterful way with the woollies – surely it can’t just be the scary eyes, which none of them can see when you are about a mile behind them up a hill?’ (Well, may have exaggerated a bit there). So will tell you. Inbetween just shoving them down hills and through gates, I do lots of sessions of Sheep Counselling! Ask them about their various little ‘life’ issues or problems, then try to stay awake as they tell me. Take Big Brenda here. She’s not so scary when you get to know her. Turns out she had really over-achieving parents with bigger dreams for her than ending up in a muddy field in Cumbria. But couldn’t we all say the same! MY dad wanted me to be a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force. Look how that turned out.”

11/10/2022

Thinking about a new puppy?

Whole Dog Journal‘s mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on dog food, training, behavior, health, and more.

11/09/2022

I have to admit that I didn’t make these Breath Freshening Dog Treats {Homemade Grain-Free Greenies} for our beloved dog, Hercules. I made these for my little sister, Bella. Hercules doesn’t have bad breath and honestly he has never even had a “Greenie” dog treat, but he was more than glad t...

11/09/2022

GOT A MORE ‘EXCITABLE’ OR LESS RESPONSIVE BC?
Our breed expert Carol Price revisits the important subject of impulse control in BCs, what it is, and why it matters so much

IMPULSE CONTROL – AND THE EFFECT IT HAS ON YOUR DOG'S BEHAVIOUR

Today I would like to cover, once more, the subject of impulse control in Border collies and the crucial effect it can have on your dog’s daily behaviour; i.e. everything from their levels of reactivity, to their ability to better respond to different commands in training, or ‘hold’ them more successfully in their heads.

WHAT IS IMPULSE CONTROL?
What do we really mean when we talk about levels of ‘impulse control’ in a dog? It’s basically how well or not a dog can stop thoughts or impulses in their brains turning into more immediate – or extreme - physical reactions. The lower the levels of impulse control in a dog, the more likely you are to have one who will do things like bark, whine, spin, pace or run up and down or lunge out when faced with relatively little external provocation, in the way of a sensory stimulus, or emotions like frustration, excitement or anxiety. Dogs like these may also have greater trouble responding to commands that demand a more immediate halt to their movement (down/sit and wait, lie down) and/or holding that halted movement for a longer period of time.

Border collies will so often be called more reactive and excitable dogs, when really they are just dogs genetically wired to have far faster – and more prolonged - physical responses to sources of mental or sensory stimulation; such as light, sound, movement or any more sudden perception of threat. All of which can prove invaluable in their livestock working role but potentially more problematic in a pet or domestic environment, if this kind of mental functioning in the dog is not better managed, or understood.

WORKING DOGS
Optimum impulse control is actually pretty critical in a working dog. And when you see a good sheepdog working – including those belonging to our resident shepherd Cathy Cassie, whose videos we regularly post on this page – you will notice that they are not highly excitable, barking, spinning messes, but calm, thinking, highly focused individuals, seeming totally in command of both their thought processes and physical movements.

Much of this will be down to excellent training, as well as the dog having a naturally higher ability to better control their own physical responses and movements. Additionally, not everyone will appreciate the constant mental challenge that goes on between sheepdog and handler to keep livestock controlled without greater conflict or chaos ensuing. For the handler has to keep sufficient pressure on the dog to better control or inhibit their movements around livestock, while the dog is simultaneously being pulled by their own impulses to react in a more assertive or even predatory way.

It is thus this ideal balance of the dog’s individual levels of impulse control, plus the quality of their training and handling, that keeps everything magically working together.

WHY DO SOME DOGS HAVE WORSE IMPULSE CONTROL THAN OTHERS?
There is no doubt in my mind that some collies naturally have better – or worse – levels of impulse control than others, which is likely to have some genetic root. And the same poorer impulse control issues that make them more challenging pets also tend to make them less suitable sheepdogs, too, in terms of their generally more hot headed approach to life, and greater resistance to having their movements or stronger internal impulses better controlled.

That said, however, sometimes collies just have poorer impulse control because no one has ever taught them to think or act any differently, or understood how critically this mental ability, or lack of it, can influence their wider behaviour.

It is also always possible to teach any dog of any age to have progressively better impulse control, with the right training. Which includes the dog having to consistently exert some halt on their movement/emotional state (e.g. lie down, wait, quiet) before having access to anything in life they find rewarding, be this a meal, walk, toy or game. Or before getting out of a car when you go for a walk. Then you gradually build up the amount of time the dog has to sustain a more controlled mental/physical state before being rewarded. Regular training like this can do so much to ‘cool’ down the collie brain, and make it ever more responsive to your commands.

THE WIDER PICTURE
At the same time you also have to look at all the other external factors, in your dog’s life, that could be contributing to their inner mental stress, which in turn will also undermine their levels of impulse control and reactivity. These include more persistent sources of sensory overload (particularly noise or movement), different social phobias or anxieties, insufficient daily physical/mental exercise, some source of ongoing physical pain or discomfort and any more sudden disruption to their normal daily living routines.

Ultimately, the more you work at teaching dogs better impulse control, the less excitable and reactive they can become in many other areas of their lives, too. Conversely, the less impulse control training a collie gets, the ever more reactive and excitable a dog they may become, because they lack the ability to know how to be anything else.

The specific exercises you will need to teach your dog better impulse control, as well as a far more comprehensive look at this whole subject in collies, appear in BOOK TWO (red cover) of my BORDER COLLIES:A BREED APART trilogy, entitled ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS & LEARNING: https://performancedog.co.uk/.../border-collies-a-breed.../
And in the USA via: https://www.dogwise.com/ #

All text © Carol Price 2022