sean mac

Jin is about a year old now. I can't believe how fast he's matured. Even at this young age he's turned out to be a serious guard dog. Around strangers he has to be handled like a malanois. He's gentle as a lamb to me and the kids and most people when he gets to know them. I just have to keep a close eye on him, no roaming about unatended etc..

My neighbour has a collie that looks a lot like yours, same markings and also has that same full of beans look in his eyes. I was going to take mine to obedience classes and the trainer told me to bring a pocket full of his favourite treats and because of that I never took him because I don't like it when a dog becomes food motivated. In the absence of work as a reward I think collies like interaction and play so much they don't need food rewards. Maybe try and replace the food reward he's always looking for with a tennis ball fetch or a game of tug of war(if you do that with him). That's what I use as treats for mine. As far as the strangers that's not a horribly bad problem, probably embarrassing and annoying but could be worse. My dog doesn't like strangers at all, to the point where a total stranger could not pet him safely and to me that's a worse problem. Maybe a bit of dog whisperer type training with having a visitor come to the door and owning the space around the door or something, you can find loads of those on youtube. But he'll probably settle down with time. But I'm not an expert at all so don't quote me.

two steps ahead and 180 ok thanks. good idea. thanks

That's the kind of stuff Jin does. Jin will play with me and the kids that's it. Anyone else he just ignores. If someone he doesn't know walks towards the kids quickly they get stopped, like you mentioned Sunday did, with the eye and a growl. Once he gets to know someone he's happy to see them and lets them play away with the kids but he still stays aloof. But with the lawn guy he cranked it up a level.

also what is the optimal length and frequency for training sessions with a 10old bc.

Hey anyone on here have a bc with really strong guarding instincts? It took me by surprise at first but Jin gave himself the job of guarding the house and the kids. The kids were playing in the backyard and I was looking out through the kitchen window. The guy that cuts the lawn opened the gate and went in the back really quickly. He was moving really quickly to get his job done, the guy is kind of sneaky wears a hoody etc.. Holy crap... Jin went full mallinois on him until he went back on the other side of the fence. This is not something that I am encouraging. I didn't have enough control of him in the above situation. So I am working on training him with more obedience and with more focus on me. Here's what I'm doing so far with him. Sit, stay, come with hand signals or verbal, he's good with all these. Lie down (not great sometimes) Fetch, gimme(drop). Walks on lead very well. Walks off lead well. Recall good. But he stays about 10 yards ahead of me, which is my mistake as I've let him do this since he was a pup. So I'm working on getting him to walk to heel off lead. Any tips on this? Steadiness with cows and sheep. Getting better but not 100% by far. I'm training him one thing at a time. The thing I'm working on right now is lie down, getting that more solid then it's going to be walk to heel off lead. There are some trials nearby next weekend I'm going to take him to have a look.

I'm not the guy to give adivce to you on this. I never would take the pleasure of chasing a hare or rabbit away from any dog. I let mine run away on them when he's in a safe open space. Dogs have no problem learning that they are permitted to chase a hare but not a cat or chicken.

that dvd looks really good. I'm sure I've messed up a bit with jin as he's my first collie so that would be the dvd for me. Anyway I'm going to take him to some trials that are happening nearby in a couple weeks.

That's a nice wee pup. I always thought small dogs had their advantages too.

Yes loggerboots we're in Ireland and thanks. But yeah the part of Donegal I live in looks like scotland. I have a photography site you can see more of it if at if you like: http://www.donegalimage.com/

I get asked a lot if he is trained by farmers. he would have a lot of work and I would be popular with the neighbors. But when I see him chase cows or sheep I just think how the hell would I ever get him to go right or left or lay down, he's just going mental.

guess again...

thanks.

yeah called him off some loose sheep today as well. bloody things are all over these days. He still gave them a good chase before he came back. Also I saw something that really baffled me. I was throwing his ball to him the other day. It went over the fence into the field next door. The sheep had just been moved out of it. He actually knew of a gap in under the fence and went in to look for the ball. He's living beside sheep the whole time, literally within 10 feet of a field full of them that he can get into and he doesn't. I just didn't know what to make of that one.

Thanks for the replies. I feel lucky to have him, he's also a responsibility. To be honest he's turning out to be a serious dog.

thanks.

He is turning out well eh. What do you's think?

sorry I thought those would load automatically here they are now.

Went for a walk up in the bog today. Took my camera along. http://www.donegalimage.com/images/525.jpg http://www.donegalimage.com/images/527.jpg I taught him to jump fences so we can hike anywhere. http://www.donegalimage.com/images/528.jpg http://www.donegalimage.com/images/529.jpg http://www.donegalimage.com/images/530.jpg Old guy that was training his dog up there with the cows. I learned something watching them.

if she has a lot of visitors it would be good to get the dog relaxed with people now.

See what happens, maybe your dog will understand that a baby is delicate and needs to be treated gently and guarded as mine has done with my daughter. I have an almost five year old daughter and a 9 year old son. My bc is still young and was raised around my kids from a pup. From the first my daughter and him took to each other. He is gentle around her and guards her very protectively. She is troubled and difficult sometimes having gone through a divorce and all but being around the dog calms her so much when she is upset or moody. And the dog is pushy a lot of the time but when he's with her he's also calm and gentle. I let them play alone together, he just sort of sits down beside her and moves slowly and obeys her commands. But I don't let him play alone with my son, the both of them play to rough together and when thats done a couple times it seems to be hard to break the habbit. He tries to herd him and hes nipped him so you have to keep a close eye on what kind of relationship he has with the baby.

Jin is doing pretty good. He likes playing tricks on me and the kids he likes hiding and stealing small personal belongings, he is great a pick pocket. Out of the three of us him and my 5 year old daughter have the most special bond. They are both difficult sometimes but when they get together they become calm. He is gentle as a lamb with her and guards her. He still plays too rough with my 9 year old son but my son plays too rough with him. He is not friendly to strangers especially if the kids are around. He is hard to handle sometimes but that comes with his type of strong personality which I like. He is well behaived most of the time. Also a very good looking and fit dog with a big blocky head on him. Walking him where there are loose sheep is a pain in the ass as I noted in another thread. He'll sit down watch my neighbour drive his cattle with total focus. I often think it's a waste such a dog won't get a chance to work properly because his drive is so high.

doing better again. patience was good advice. called him off a loose sheep the last day.

Ok...a teenager with an epiphany ... I guess have to think about this a bit. If he was magically transformed into a worker tomorrow than there would be work for him helping the neighbours out with sheep and cattle. But there's no way they're going to let me train him on their stock so it would be a real stretch to say that it would be possible. It might be wishful thinking but it would be cool. Besides the fact I've never worked a collie in my life and I wouldn't know where to start. A few farmers that have seen him seem to admire him. I asked one of them about maybe teaching him to work and what was involved, he said that I would need to be out with him everyday basically. . Anyway thanks this is just what I needed to know really.