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| Image Credit: VintageGal Tumblr |
More specifically, training my exuberant border collie, Polly.
Polly the Border Collie
We got Polly through an incredibly nice family on Freecycle. They loved her dearly, and did a wonderful job training her in the basics, like crate training, sit, shake, lay down, etc. They had to rehome her because she needed a ton of attention and room to run (and boy can she run) and I happen to have three kids, a stay at home hubs and an eight acre farm. Perfect fit!
She's made a great companion to our elderly rescue pitt mix, Tye. They immediately bonded, and are nearly inseparable - even sleeping in the same crate sometimes, almost bending the laws of physics. We weren't sure how she'd behave around little ones, and I'm happy to say that she and Tavin, my 15 month-old, are also good buddies. She always tries to get him to play tug of war with her rope and it's amazing how gentle she is with him - nothing like she plays with us bigger folks. They're the same age, though, so maybe they relate better.
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| Photo Credit: Etsy |
But Polly's got some behavior issues. It's my fault, since she's our family dog but officially mine, and I just haven't had time to work on her training. She chews things up (whatever she can get her spotty little paws on, but her favorites are baby food jar lids and stretchy winter gloves), does not come when called, and has backslid quite a bit on her basic training.
Oh, and there was that one time with the Sunday ham on the counter... but I don't really blame her. That was one delicious ham.
Love that dog a lot, and I owe it to her to train her so she doesn't eat something nasty, run away and meet up with some neighborhood coyotes, or allow us to go broke buying replacement winter gloves.
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| Photo Credit: Dogco |
First and foremost, them purebred border collies is smart.
They're enthusiastic, energetic, flexible, eager to please and hard workers, too. Border collies are the dogs you see on TV whipping in and out of obstacles in agility races, leaping six feet straight vertical to catch Frisbees and nipping at the heels of unruly sheep to get them to go where shepherds want them to be.
On the flipside, they get bored easily. They need activity. Like, bad. Or they'll find something to keep themselves busy. Plus, they have a real deep-seated need for your approval, and might get a little neurotic and develop a doggie complex that involves winter gloves if you don't give them a chance to earn it.
Polly's not a purebred border collie, even though she looks like one. But she seems to think she is. She's bright and athletic and carries all those other stellar (and not-so stellar) traits that her blueblooded cousins have, so I'm going to train her like she's papered and pedigreed.
Yeah, I sounded all confident there, didn't I? Well, unfortunately, I'm not. I've never trained a dog. Tye the Rescue Pitt-Mutt, 85 lbs. in his prime, only ever listened to my husband and bossed me around relentlessly until he finally stopped (probably out of pity) when he turned around 10 years old. And I can't afford obedience school.
Establish a Goal
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| Image Credit: 123RF |
My goal is to end up with a canine farmhand. Well-adjusted, obedient, happy, busy and one who can trail along behind me, off-leash when I do the chores. (We tried that last one already, actually, except on-leash, the first week Polly came to live with us. It was a bad scene, since I found out when I filled the chicken waterer that water hoses freak her out.) Plus we're going to be getting critters like goats, and some livestock guardian and herding - not hassling - behavior would be good.
List of Basic Dog Training Commands
So I did all kinds of research and came up with a list of the basics I want Polly to know.
Here it is, along with links to pages explaining how to train your dog to do them. (These are all from the About.com Dogs site, and written by Amy Bender. This site had some great info on basic commands, and easy-to-understand instructions.)
- Emergency Recall - Not the same as "come," but used when you need your dog to drop what she's doing and go to you right that second. To be used sparingly.
- Look - Pulls your dog's attention to you.
- With Me - I'm looking forward to this one. I've been dragged all over our field by Polly and I'd like to be able to enjoy our walks without spraining something. Note to self: buy 6' leash and harness or Martingale collar.
- Leave It - Don't touch that glove.
- Drop It - Important when your dog has a dead squirrel in it's mouth. Ask me how I know.
- Sit - She's got this one down, but reinforcement won't hurt.
- Lie Down - Polly knows this one, too, but doesn't always choose to do it.
- Stay - Again, she knows this one but obeys it only intermittently. Reinforce!
Border Collie Training Language
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| CAF Jenna Wogenrich's Gibson (Image Credit: CAF) |
Border collies get tricky if you want them to be trained in the traditional way because there's different language involved. For example, the items above don't all use the same verbal commands for the actions they're associated with.
You can find the language for some border collie-specific commands at Wellscroft Farm. My favorite is "That'll do," probably because awesome blogger, Jenna at Cold Antler Farm, says that all the time in reference to her border collie, Gibson (pictured).
You can find the language for some border collie-specific commands at Wellscroft Farm. My favorite is "That'll do," probably because awesome blogger, Jenna at Cold Antler Farm, says that all the time in reference to her border collie, Gibson (pictured).
Further Resources on Border Collie Training
I'm going to start with the commands listed above, with a couple modifications in language to stick to more traditional border collie training, and once that's done, I'm sure I'll have another lengthy post on the more advanced stuff. If you have a border collie, though, and want to read all you can, check out some of these sites:
Loved this site - it gave me great insight into Polly's head. Be sure to read about your dog's secret fear of everything grizzly.
Talk about a wunderdog.
More about sheepdog terminology.
If you've trained a border collie and have tips for me, I welcome them. Or if you're new at it, too, and have met with pitfalls or triumphs, I'd also love to know what worked or didn't work for you and your dog!
We love Border Collies at our house.
ReplyDeleteWe have three right now.
Our first rescue was a Border Collie. My daughter showed her at fair, she helped me with sheep and she was the best dog.
Tag was the first one we got as a puppy (he is 5 now) I wanted to take him back after having him 4 weeks...he was such a stinker. BUT after a lot of advice from the trainer we got him from he has turned out to be quite the gentleman :)
The other two we have are about 9 months. They are starting obedience training and agility this month. My youngest two are showing them at fair.
They all have their peculiar behaviors but I wouldn't trade them for anything. Keeping them busy is definately key and with two 12 year olds that is not a problem.
We have some simple agility equipment to burn off some of that BC energy.
I think agility is great for dogs to be active, helps them focus and helps them build confidence if they have some issues.
We use the "leave it" and "that'll" do commands.
If we had a problem with them ignoring us we would use a ball (they love to play) or a treat (they love to eat) and use that as a reward for coming when called. We just worked on it everyday until they get to the point they would come even if they really don't want to.
Good luck with your training!!
Sandra - thanks for your comment! I love Polly, and can see having more border collies in the future. She's a pip! I may look into buying or building some simple agility equipment once we get the basics down. This weekend was focused on reinstating some basics, like sit, down, "gentle" (she sometimes gets careless grabbing treats), and down. I'll keep working on recall with treats - she's super food-motivated. Thanks again for your awesome input! :)
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