Salty the bordercollie

Ok thank you for all your thoughts and suggestions!

Yes the ‘I’m doing training right now ‘ might work, so many times I say sorry my dog isn’t good with unfamiliar dogs and the owner just lets their dog run up anyway!! So annoying! Yes Salty doesn’t seem to like any dogs She doesn’t know in her space , she only snaps after she has had a chance to sniff the other dogs face, I am trying to not let her get this close as from a distance she is quite fine

Ok thank you, last question.. when walking on lead around town I have been giving her a lead correction and saying ‘ah’ when she starts to focus on a dog across the road and keep her walking do you think this is the right thing to do? Or am I creating a negative association with the presence of the other dog ? Thank you for all the advice , I live in an area where there’s lots of dogs around town and at the beach so it’s been stressful the last few months making sure she gets enough exercise.

Yes thank you you are right , I think she is rushing to greet to seek information then decides uh ah no way !

Yup this sounds like my girl Salty. She’s actually quite a sensitive little soul but yes reacts quickly! Thank you for the advice, salty isn’t good driven at all esp when out and about but I will try use the ball as she LOVES it, and will not bother with on lead greetings. Do you think I should give her a chance to meet other dogs off lead that she might get along with or just keep our distance? Your girl Molly is a beauty, thank you for sharing her story!

Hello I have got some great advice from this forum before so hoping someone might have a suggestion for my girl Salty. She is 18months old, I have had her since 8 weeks. We have had a few issues with her since she was about 5 months old, she had poor impulse control according to the trainer which has her chasing lots of things - joggers, bikes, cars. This thankfully has gotten a LOT better as she doesn’t lunge on lead and can walk next to the road now. We have her on a long line when we are out somewhere where there may be bikes or cars so she does not have the opportunity to chase. She is also far less reactive as she has gotten older to other things that she used to not be able to stand like the vacuum, broom and lawn mower. all this is great and at home she is a lovely dog, very obedient and gentle natured. At dog school on the weekend she is also very good. However every time we are out walking when we run into another dog she will snap at them. This is on and off lead. But I haven’t had her off lead much at all lately as I’m trying to not let her interact with the other dogs. This is hard sometimes as other dog owners let there dog approach even when I say she doesn’t like unfamiliar dogs and try to move her away. Am I doing the right thing by not letting her interact with the other dogs? I don’t want her to be able to reinforce the snapping behaviour by allowing it to happen. I’m struggling as it’s difficult to walk her without coming across other dogs, when I see them I put her on lead and try to move her away but often the other dogs are off lead and run up to her. Which always ends badly. Also when having to walk past other dogs on lead on a path Salty will strain the lead trying to get to the other dog but once she meets the dog she goes from looking friendly and interested to snapping very quickly. She doesn’t growl or give many warning signs. I have tried to give her a lead correction and keep walking but she seems to get tunnel vision on the other dog. I have introduced her to a couple of friends friendly dogs in backyards where she might feel safer in both cases she was very snappy and snarly and we tried letting them say hello quickly then rewarding when she did not react etc and eventually they would play like they were best friends?! Once she knows the dog she is fine. I don’t mind if she doesn’t want to play with every dog I understand she is not going to like them all, but it would be nice if she could just say hello and keep walking without the bad interaction. She tends to go from fine to snappy and crazy in a split second. I have had someone suggest she may be protective of her space and me, but I’m not sure this is the problem. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you bc boards! claire and Salty

Sorry if I wasn’t clear , I was hoping to hear from others if their bc had modeled behaviours from older dogs, as I’ve noticed Salty doing it a lot with my friends dog that I’m looking after while she is away. We are not getting another dog! Just my observations from salty spending time with this other bc name is Sunday who is a year older than our girl Salty. I feel that her spending time with other dogs in a backyard playing is teaching her a lot more than quick interactions with other dogs down the street or at the beach and also building her confidence. I have also noticed when out on lead walks Salty doesn’t pay as much attention to cars going past as Sunday doesn’t react at all. Salty has started to model this when on lead. But I agree with everyone it’s not always good behaviours that she will copy for example Sunday likes the bite the hose! We are keeping on with all the training and practicing the three P’s for the impulse control and reactive behaviours. She’s definitely come a long way in the last 6 months.

Yes I wasn’t saying we were getting another dog hoping to fix any problems with Salty. One is enough for now!! She’s just starting to chill out a little now and has come a long way from when she was around 5months and super reactive. I can see how modelling behaviour from other dogs could work either way, Thank you for the helpful response

Yes this is what I meant! Thank you for clarifying!! I’m just looking after a friends older and not so reactive bc while she is away. Salty still is attending dog school once a week to reinforce training. I was trying to find some articles and came across some stuff around allelomimetic behaviours but thought it was worth asking some other bc/dog people about this! Thanks for the helpful response

Haha yes I agree! We are not getting another dog (yet). But I’ve been looking after a friends bc while she has been away and noticed Salty imitating her good and bad behaviours! But this has been especially helpful on lead walks as Salty is very interested in cars and Sunday (friends bc) isn’t. I’ve been watching her look at the cars then at Sunday and Sunday hasn’t taken any notice then Salty loses interest. Interesting to observe

Does anyone feel that having another slightly older border collie for my girl Salty who is 1.5 years old now to hang out with and play with will be of benefit? I’ve been minding a friends bc who’s also a girl 3 years old while she’s away and they have been playing and playing and I’ve noticed Salty looks to her when on walks for direction at times. I feel like this has huge benefits for some of her behaviour issues which are mostly impulse control related. I wasn’t sure if bc often model behaviour from others? Claire and Salty

Thank you both I have read the thread about Fern. Will have a look for that book also!

Hi there, after some advice for our 16 month old female BC. I wrote on here a little while ago as Salty was getting nippy with other dogs down at the beach and it seems she has a strong predatory drive which we have been working on tirelessly!! She has been going really well and slowly losing interest in chasing things (bikes, joggers and cars) when we are out on our adventures and we have been able to shift her focus onto the ball which is really helpful but unfortunately she seems to be getting worse with interactions with other dogs. We are really limited with the places we can take her at the moment as she will often stalk small dogs on lead and the majority of the time with other dogs she tries to snap at them. We are trying to keep interactions short and sweet and the lead nice and loose but she is continually starting a tiff with other dogs and I'm worried. It's really stressful taking her out and about on walks and we aren't taking her to any beaches where there are other dogs until we can get his under control. She still gets along with dogs she has known since she was a puppy, this behaviour seems to be with unfamiliar dogs. Does anyone have any advice that could help? She is a big sweetheart at home and doing really well at dog school on the weekends but when we are out walking she seems to take on a different personality. I am feeling a little disheartened as I love her a great deal and am trying to do the best I can for her. Thanks in advance to anyone reading this Claire and Salty x

Thank you for the response. Yes Salty is now at the stage where she often looks to me for direction when a bike, car or other distraction approaches. Which is a great improvement, the three P’s are paying off!! We’re not at the stage where I trust her off lead but I do believe we will get there. Thanks for your input to the chat.

Thank you!! Yes I will, thanks again for the feedback.

Yes I will check out the threads around predatory behaviour, thank you !!

Thank you so much for the reply, yes we are on a long line now!!! At least you are starting early with your pup , Salty has definitely stopped lunging and slowly losing interest in the cars on walks But it did take time. All the best with your pup who I’m sure is also beautiful!!

Great advice thank you yes we let her off lead when she was a puppy thinking it was good for her to be able to get exercise. We should have done what we are doing now initially with the long line etc. good point about the self rewarding behaviour. Thank you so much for the advice .

Yes thank you for the responses!! Wow I thought the chasing cars and bikes etc was her trying to round them up, I must have read that wrong somewhere!! I have tried to curb the chasing cars, bikes etc and she’s now at the stage where she doesn’t lunge on lead but if she’s off lead and one goes past she locks on and goes for it. Very nerve tracking behaviour!! The ball, frisbee, high value treats etc are no match for the fast moving objects... she will always come back but after she’s run off , is she thinking she’s doing a good job by chasing these things away? Salty doesn’t chase other dogs just to be clear on that part!! Yes I think you’re right in regards to her not being corrected by another dog when she’s displaying bad dog behaviour, playing too ruff and not backing off when the other dog has obviously had enough. Maybe she needs to be regulated a few times to understand it’s not ‘fun’. I also agree with the breedist comment, as she’s getting older she has definitely only got time for other working breeds where as when she was a puppy she would play with anyone. I’ve been taking her to a dog trainer since she started the car chasing at around 5 months, she has said that changing a dogs personality is very hard and going to the beach with all different dog personalities is difficult to come out with no problems. I understand Salty is also still quite young so I’m hoping if I keep on with the training and socialisation on lead she might improve over time. I just thought asking some other people on this forum might shed some light on our situation from fellow bc lovers. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

Hi there, just wanting some help or tips about my girl Salty. She’s 14months old, was spayed after her first heat at around 8months old. She has been taken to the beach and socialised with lots of different types of dogs when a puppy. The dog beach is quite busy with a lot of people dogs , bikes, etc. Salty would go pretty crazy when off lead as expected. But at around 6months old started to bully other dogs when she was all amped up, initially small dogs. she’s never hurt another dog but doesn’t back down when the other dog is saying no and creates a lot of noise, snapping etc and it seems like she’s being a bully. This has slowly gotten worse and she now gets in a tiff pretty much every time, so we stopped taking her. Have been trying on lead walks keeping her calm to continue socialising her through adolescence but she now snaps at every second dog!! I am very disheartened. have been reading lots of articles, trying to work out what I’m doing wrong. I take her to K9 training every Sunday for extra socialisation and training where she is fine but won’t play with dogs afterwards. I can never have her off lead at the moment and I’m becoming an anxious dog owner it’s horrible. She also chases cars, bikes, birds anything that moves fast she wants to chase ! I understand this is the herding instinct but I feel like other bc owners I speak to have this under control, Im trying positive reinforcement training but she’s seriously very stubborn. Could this be some adolescent phase or is she being protective? Spoilt? Please help!! I love my Salty pup so much.