Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Atypical collie

59 replies

MrsAntiSocial · 06/02/2021 21:31

Have hijacked another thread but it needs its own really..

I have a collie.

Its always said these dogs need a job, they need mental stimulation/brain games and this will leave the collie calm and satisfied.

This isn’t the case for mine!

When I try and do some training she gets super excited and rapidly goes through all the tricks she knows.
Although she is very clever I have to be very careful training her because if I don’t give her the treat (because she hasn’t done what was desired) she gets annoyed and frustrated.

When it comes to games, again, she is very easily frustrated/stressed.
Take the commonly recommended asking for a stay, hiding a ball or treat (where can see) and release, she will run like a lunatic to the ball or treat, repeat a few times then no longer wants to search.
She just wants to be given the treats or play with the ball and will start whining and grumbling if I hide it.

I tried a game where you put food under cups and move them.
She selects the correct cup each time but after a few goes she starts getting cross, angrily bashing the cups sending them flying.
She’ll start crunching the cups if I continue.
She just wants to eat the treats, not find them under cups!

Or tidying up toys.
She will put the toy in the box then immediately take it back out and throw it at me for a game. For every single toy.
Dear god the rage if asked to just put them away in the box.
She grumbles/growls and whines and picks them up really angrily and literally throws them into the box.

Fetching objects; she knows what most things are.
Told you she was clever Wink
I can ask her to get me something or point at it if she doesn’t know it by name and she’ll do it once, possibly twice then the grumbling starts...

If something she wants is stuck, she’ll try a few times then stare at me, the object, me, the object until I get it for her.

She loves a walk and will walk/run for miles but so called ‘brain work’ seems to really piss her off..?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
24
Flamerouge · 08/02/2021 12:49

@Popsy321 I know you're right - it's just difficult living with a dog who wants to go out on walks, but who when you get them out on walks reacts in this way! Half the time I don't know what to do for the best. If we don't take him out he'll spend all day trying to herd us in to taking him for a walk. And as we are WFH it makes it very hard to ignore him.

I do understand what you're saying and it's exactly what the behaviourist we consulted said. It's just trying to find places where he can view his triggers at a safe distance - and however well I plan for it, I can't control everything in an environment. As I said earlier in the thread, I can have a good walk with him where we do a bit of exposure and it goes well, but then something will suddenly trigger him in the last five minutes.

Tomorrow and Weds he has secure fields booked for his walks. I'd like to say that will give him a complete break from walk stress while still giving him some exercise, but he also reacts to things when he is in the car, too. So it's very difficult to see where we go from here. In the medium-term we are going to move somewhere a lot quieter, so I guess it's a case of not letting things get any worse while we sort that.

Scoobydoobydoo · 08/02/2021 15:26

@Flamerouge
you sound like such a lovely dog owner perfect to take on a rescue.
I really hope things turn out well for you and your lovely collie.
I am not a dog owner but look after a borrowed dog a few days every week who shows so much of the reactive behaviour you talk about.
Lunging at cars/motorbikes/skateboarders(!) especially on rainy days.
Based on advice from dohgouse, I thought of driving him to quieter roads when it is raining only to realise he hates the windscreen wiper!!
Though he isn't ours we love having him and spend a lot of time on this board looking for advice.

I hope things settle for you and your dog enjoys his walks.

tabulahrasa · 08/02/2021 15:36

“I can't control everything in an environment.”

Trying to train for behavioural issues while on walks is horrendous, you spend weeks finding just the right spot to stand for a bit that you can watch things from beyond their threshold distance and also move if something heads your way and then next time you go there’s suddenly someone on a blooming dirt bike or you get a run of, it’s ok he’s friendly owners where you can’t outwalk their dog because it’s so far away from them...

I used to walk in the middle of the night a lot tbh.

“but he also reacts to things when he is in the car, too“

Can you put him in the boot and blanket it off so he can’t see?

Flamerouge · 08/02/2021 16:53

@tabulahrasa I think ultimately I need to change my car. It's a Golf so currently he can't really go in the boot. I want to change it anyway to something more suitable... new house and new car are in order!

I bought some blackout screens on Amazon (very thin mesh) but he can see dogs/people coming through my windscreen so it doesn't really work. He is better if my partner is in the car with me as then he can give him treats/encourage him to be quiet, but obviously I can't do that when I'm driving.

@Scoobydoobydoo thank you! I really do want the best for him. I think sometimes it's hard because you have idealistic ideas about having a dog (me, that is, not you!) - that you can just pop a lead on them anytime anyplace and have a lovely enjoyable walk. And so far that's not been my experience. But, as my dog walker reminded me you have to accept the dog in front of you and deal with it. It's just tricky right now.

I am laughing in sympathy at your windscreen wiper dilemma. It's exactly the type of problem I have!

Saying all this he has been a really good boy mostly today. No nipping and herding and not much barking at the door, either. Perhaps there is hope!

It's soooooo good to hear from other wayward collie owners. I feel like this is the side of them that no one ever talks about. Super, super smart, and lovely dogs, but so highly strung! I am the same, naturally Wink, so I have to work hard on being calm myself. We'll get there. Once I've bought a tank to transport him in and an underground bunker for us to live in...

I will keep spending time on this board, too, as it is really helpful. Thanks all!

LittleBoPeep95 · 08/02/2021 17:10

you sound like such a lovely dog owner perfect to take on a rescue.
I really hope things turn out well for you and your lovely collie.

I agree! Please keep us updated with how your training goes @Flamerouge. Does he enjoy the snow? I love that picture of him :)

Here's a snowy picture of mine from this morning :)

Atypical collie
Flamerouge · 08/02/2021 17:12

@LittleBoPeep95 absolutely gorgeous! Here’s my snow-monster. And yes, will keep you updated. I’ll even start my own thread this time! 🤣🤣

Atypical collie
LittleBoPeep95 · 08/02/2021 17:14

Yours is absolutely stunning too, I've never seen a mostly black collie before, and I just LOVE his big ears! Don't suppose you are in the North East are you?

Flamerouge · 08/02/2021 17:16

@LittleBoPeep95 in the busy, busy south-east, I'm afraid.

Yes - he is mostly black, bar his front left foot which is sort of harlequin-style, a bit like a clown! He has a bit of white on his chest as well. And I love his ears, too... all the better to hear a pin drop and become hysterical at it... Grin

Flamerouge · 08/02/2021 17:18

PS my partner insisted we have him DNA tested. We're waiting on the results. We joke that he looks a quarter collie, a quarter belligerent goat, and a quarter alligator (big teeth!). When we first got him his bark sounded like a deranged otter, so presumably that's the final quarter...

New posts on this thread. Refresh page