Collie / Labrador cross being a terror when walking with the kids!

[Broceliande]

We have a six month old border collie / black lab cross, who we have had since 9 weeks. We love him to bits, he's great with the kids, chilled out at home and no problems with most aspects of training, but we are really struggling with walks at the moment!

DH usually takes him for his daily walk, and although he can get overexcited initially (and would love to greet strangers with greater enthusiasm than he is allowed ) he is pretty good now, but when me and the kids try to join DH on a weekend he loses his head completely, tugging / biting on the lead and leaping about, trying to get closer to the kids, particularly if they run ahead. When I walk behind DH with the kids he is slightly more settled.

So as not to drip feed, a few weeks ago he started testing the boundaries with his recall, which until then had been pretty good, so we have been keeping him on the lead and DH is working on that separately. I'm not sure if this is related as we have always had the same issue when walking on the lead; when when off the lead with the kids he tends to run ahead with them, darting around and between them in what seems to be a relaxed, playful sort of way (frequently bounding off to investigate something in the bushes etc). I have wondered if it is herding behaviour but I'm no expert. He's our first dog, although I was around purebred border collies quite a lot when I was younger - he looks more like them than a lab but on balance he seems more like a lab in temperament.

Sorry for the essay... obviously we are also researching ourselves and will contact a trainer if all else fails, but I'd be really grateful for any advice from some more experienced owners!

We have a 10 month old and have exactly the same issue. He is just so excited when out with the kids. His recall went terrible and is slowly improving and he is much better with the kids when he is off the lead. I'm hoping it is an excitable stage he will grow out of.

Oh that's reassuring, thanks! DH has been joking that he's just being a teenager and he'll grow out of it if we keep chugging on with the training, but I miss our lovely family walks, especially as it's one of the few nice things we can do in bloody lockdown (he also looks much older than his age so I'm a bit paranoid that people are judging us for having an embarrassingly ill-trained adult dog )

It's absolutely herding behaviour. They like to keep everyone together. I know a collie who like to herd people up when they're in different rooms 🤣

I've no real advice but @PollyRoulson is excellent with collies - I'm sure she can give you some pointers!

I immediately thought it sounds like he is herding. I imagine you would need to speak to a collie expert to find out how to deal with it.

"When I walk behind DH with the kids he is slightly more settled."

On our family walks with small children in tow, DH also stayed ahead whilst training our puppy too. If the children run in front it is just utter carnage and the puppy can't concentrate on heel work. We make sure to always stay behind.

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Thanks everyone; we do walk behind, but the kids have always been used to running ahead which adds another layer of whinging of course. I'm going to look into herding behaviour and training around that. He did go through a stage of being awful on the lead, even when walking solo, to the extent that DH was the only one who could walk him as he's quite big and very strong! He's much better now on solo walks (we've also switched to a harness which is easier on my shoulder sockets when he sees a dog he wants to play with!)

I'm really looking forward to getting to recall back on track, as when he's lose on an open field he's like a zephyr when he runs, almost skimming the ground -- it's beautiful

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I do think there is a lot to be said for the herding instinct. When we are out with GCS, our terrier will not move away from them. She is to old to get excited, but definitely keeps them together. If they go in to the playground, where she is not allowed, she refuses to move until they are back with

With you puppy it is just excitement and immaturity. Just patience and continue with the training.

I have a collie/husky cross and she is the same and is 11! She hates the kids being in front. She likes to keep her people close and be the first to face any problems!

Might be herding but herding behaviour tends to be head down shoulders up and then lots of stillness followed by chase.

It sounds from what you say just great fun to be with the children. I expect if you were to run about and laugh and talk in high pitched voices your dog would do the same to you. Children and dogs know how to have fun

If it is not herding at times this might be fine to let this happen , if the dog if just running with the children and will not knock them over or is not getting too over excited.

If the dog is getting over aroused then you need to rethink.

Focus and focus and focus is what you need to develop and with collies this is usually pretty easy - they love to be focussedd and working whatever they are doing!

Are there games you can play with the children and the dog so it is a bit more structured than just chasing around?

Could you get the children to hide behind trees and then send him off to find them.

Could you be in a triangle shape and call him to each of you in turn and reward with the best treat ever.

Could the children hide toys for him to find in the woods

Could you hide bits of food for him to find.

By filling his time with "jobs" he will be tired and relaxed feel fufilled and less likely to just be so manic.

However he is a teenager and the best thing is to keep his mind busy during this time up the training but maybe make it even easier for him to succeed and this too will pass.

Think it’s partly the teenage phase puppies go through too. They do calm down.

All the collies I've known (lots, I'm from the Highlands) including my own collies, have always rounded everyone up on a walk. They like to be out at the front of the pack, so just ahead of your kids, if the pack is all moving in the same direction. If the pack goes in two different directions, they run between one and the other, back and forth, until the distance becomes too great, then stick with one element of the pack but keep looking back for the rest of the pack.
Obviously you can't generalise about an entire breed, and this can be managed with training. Current Ddog looks horrified if some people go off in a different direction and tries to follow, but her recall is sufficient to keep her where you want her to be.
To solve your immediate problem, either give the lead to the kids, or ask them to walk behind you. But if you want to actually fix the behaviour, have you tried heel training? Ie actively tell him what you do want him to do. It's a temporary issue anyway; once his recall is good you can just let him run ahead with the kids.
Of course if this is lab behaviour causing it, I've no idea what to suggest, don't know much about labs Joys of mongrels! But well done for getting one, I love dogs that aren't bred for looks, so much more chilled out :)