Finding ‘jobs’ for collie in prep for new baby

Buy them both a decent running buggy? Train the dog well enough and she won't let him sneak out of the house without the baby.

Our previous dog was a waggy fool in comparison 😂 But clever comes at a price - clever dogs really do constantly need things to do and things to think about! Or they do things you don't want them to do and think about things that make them anxious.

Also, treat trails in the house, put treats in boxes, bags etc that she has to work to get to or roll them in a towel.

Opening and closing doors. Turning on lights (if she is tall enough). Fetching things for you. Taking things out of the washing machine. Putting her toys away. Lots of stuff online about how to train these things - I had a rottie who could do all of them and collies in general are dogs who love learning.

She is beautiful and obviously very clever.

Our DDog (different breed) took about a year to understand the word "treat" 🤦‍♀️

She is a very lovely looking Dog but not blessed with much brain power unfortunately

Awwww I've got a lab collie cross too 😍 and although she is very chill and lab-like in many ways, she definitely needs Things To Think About and can run Very Extremely Fast when she feels like it 🤣

Scent work is a good shout and easy enough to work on in the house.

We also do lots of sit and wait on walks, we throw a ball and get her to wait before she chases it (as a result she has really good impulse control!) and play hide and seek with her too, either by us hiding or by hiding a toy.

She knows lots of toys by their name and can find and fetch the right one from a pile or from behind the sofa so that's another one you can work on inside the house.

Obligatory pictures please @Sep88 and @Cece92

Maybe sheep aren't needed. My DN's DDog lines up all DC up in the garden then looks very pleased with himself

When u had my first my DSis' DDog decided his job was looking after the baby and letting us know if LO needed anything

Are you getting one of those pushchairs they you can run with so that when LO is a bit older, with better neck control, you can send all three of them out for a run?

Forreals. A collie absolutely 100% does need a job, or bad things happen.

I have a border collie. Totally agree tire her out mentally if you can. Think about when you do this though. My dog works outside and does not work inside. On walks she is v switched on and wants to do things. We use the ball as a reward for other tasks like basic agility, walking to heel, good behavior in stressful situations (she isn't great near roads etc). So ball is a treat not a job. The job is being a really good girl and doing everything she is told on cue. We don't do rally obedience but it's worth reading up on it as the basic principles of teaching a dog to do various tasks at pace with lots of praise for doing well are a great way to make a walk challenging. Just asking for regular down stays at a distance and releasing before she is allowed the ball exercises the working urge.

Making walks more demanding keeps her more chilled in the house. I don't train her much in the house as if I did that would be a work place and she would expect the same kind of attention at home. Home is for chilling. You don't want her following you to the toilet when you are sleep deprived and carrying a newborn. Nip that in the bud now.

It's great yours isn't a herder. All of ours have been and have been round kids. Herding isn't inherently dangerous round kids in a well trained dog. They need to know stalking and herding are behaviors they do when told to (sheep balls and Frisbee are great for this) or will be called away from (this isn't hard to train, just interrupt as soon as they start to focus with a ball or treat etc until they get the message that paying attention to you is more rewarding than herding alone). I mention this because sometimes dogs get protective of the baby members of the family. If you see this start training a focus on you straight away and it should be fine. Things go wrong round collies and kids when people think it's cute that the dog watches the kid so closely, leave them to it, and as soon as the child starts toddling the dog starts trying to round it up.

Your DH needs a good running push chair and a guide to all local trails where he can run with baby and dog. If he likes biking too then there are running push chairs that double as trailers.

I'd teach the dog as if it were an assistance dog. So yes, teach the dog to put the washing in the washing machine, teach her to pass the remote control, pull your socks off, fetch your slippers, pull the door shut, open the door etc. then the dog can be helpful as well as stay occupied. Obviously this takes a while but you could certainly make a start.

Not all dogs slobber , it’s breed specific . A collie/ lab just picking up a cloth will not leave it covered in drool and the baby is living in a house with a dog and ‘dog’ gets everywhere so it makes no difference .

And get dog slobber over all the baby stuff? Gross.

Aaaaaaand this is why so many dogs end up in rescues because people who clearly know very little think they know much more. A collie, a very well known working breed, does need a ‘job’ or they can go absolutely crazy.

Do you scatter feed? That’s a good way to occupy the nose and mind for a few minutes.
I’d be mindful of teaching him an ‘off’ for ‘guiding’ you to the toilet etc. you don’t want him becoming too much with the baby when they’re toddling.

I don't have any advice re. the dog.

For your DH, make sure he knows that you each need to have equal amounts of downtime. He gets his run, but then you get your time too. If he can run with the dog before work he can tire the dog out so it's easier for you in the day and also means he can be home in the evening to help with the witching hour. Babies are generally more amenable in the morning than the evening.

How to say you're not a collie owner without saying you're not a collie owner.

Collies and to some extent labs do need to work - it’s bred into them 😁

I'm dog sitting a collie and have been teaching him to 'find the treats' I hide them round the room and he has to sniff them out. He also has to 'wait' outside the door while I hide them. He's picking it up but not quite as good at it as a foodie retriever I've had before who got it very quickly and from then on would arrive and immediately sniff all round the house to see if there were any out!

I had Australian Shepherds for years. They are similar in intelligence to collies, and have all loved sniffing activities. Using their nose it mentally stimulating for them and they get tired from it, and it really easy for the owner to set up, and then you just sit and watch them do their thing!

Start off with finding treats, make them harder to find after a while including hiding them above ground level. Gradually you can move to finding things based on your scent. I had a special teaspoon that I rubbed in my hands and hid around the garden. When they get more advances, they can find specific scents hidden among others. You can train your dog to find mushrooms too (if you pick them yourself).

Could you get a small flock of sheep?

My friend's collie blend was taught to take items of clothing etc and put them into a wash basket. You could also try training her to fetch specific things you might want when the baby comes. Could she learn to fetch a water bottle or a muslin?

Ignore the idiot who underestimated the intelligence and needs of a collie.
I second the scent work games, there are kits on Amazon which are pretty good to pair with you tube videos. You get magnetic scent boxes which you could hide in the garden or house and will really make him use his brain.
also scatter feeding is a good use of time. Teaching games like hand touch, get in the box, back leg awareness can all tire out a busy dog and there are loads of videos to help you get started.

Working dogs absolutely do need jobs or they become destructive.

If she has the lab love of food, and she eats kibble, buy a Kong Wobbler and feed her all or part of her meal in it

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/kongs/kong/183622?variantId=183622.0&utm_source=microsoft&utm_medium=microsoft_pmax&utm_campaign=580135230&utm_term=183622.0&utm_content=580135230&utm_id=580135230_580135230&mkt_source=2200967&activeVariant=183622.0

Teach her the names of her toys and get her to bring them to you / put them in her toy box on command.

Teach her to help you load the washing machine

When your baby is a little older ( with an immune system) , teach her to pick up things baby drops .

Keep training exercises - stay - while you leave the room with baby , reward if she waits; lie down, fetch etc.

i have 2 labs, these are all within there range . Collie brain will be sharper and will probably learn the above with ease .

@MinnieBalloon showing they know zero about dog ownership!