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We've just picked up a 4 month old Collie, anyone point the way to a good book for training? Or possibly videos.
We don't have the cash spare at the moment for classes so looking for some reading material.
https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/
Loads of resources and Beverley is great if you do need to speak to someone in person
You can't post a puppy thread without pictures and a name.
Time, patience, praise and treats has always worked for us
Fin says Hi
I have no idea how to post a pic, but her name is Poppy.
Not sure how to get the actual image on here but that's her
She looks lovely 👍
Lovely pup.
Right click your picture and copy image address. Click IMG above and paste the copied address into the box, followed by the image description.
Cracking pup, lovely colour 👍
Ollie says Hi 🤪, he had his first birthday last week and got his nuts chopped off the day after.. 🙄
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Mrs Fiend says hi
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Try
https://www.dingbattdogtraining.co.uk/blog
Good excuse for a dog pic
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Cheers guys, I'll try to remember how to post a pic👍
She's a good pup so far, we just want to make sure we go in the right direction. Never had a pup before, only older dogs.
Collies are clever.
They like watching countryfile, and they pick up tips from there.
No matter how frustrating a puppy can be, just remember positive reinforcement is the way to go. Avoid getting angry with them if you can. You chose them, they didn’t choose you.
She looks a beauty.
The only advice I have is they're usually quite easy to bribe with tasty treats.
Good luck.
Billy says hi. Small gains through repetition and positive reinforcement as above are the key. Billy is a stubborn nightmare and only just getting to the point that he’ll do what you say. It takes time and there isn’t a shortcut in my limited experience.
Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy Paperback by Steve Mann has worked really well for me. Very positive approach. Mine has really good socialisation and recall now. Never done classes.
At 4 months socialise, socialise, socialise. I concentrated on having a happy well adjusted dog, the training followed much easier.
Its all about the time you put in as well
Daisy 6 months (dog number 3) says Hi!
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If you can, try to find an enclosed field when they are young/haven’t been outside much/can’t run too fast and let them off lead - they are more inclined to follow you as part of the pack than simply run off. You can also practise some recall. We’ve done this with our dogs and it works better than leaving them on the lead too long and then at 6 months, letting the lead go and they zoom off with excitement.
Don't run her too much while she's young (year 1 I'd say - but research it) or you'll knacker her shoulders - especially downhill.
Ours is a dog and he needed to know who was boss. We set clear boundaries - not allowed upstairs, on furniture or near us when we're eating. I'll get hate for this, but they need to know they are dogs. Ours used to bite the kids and my wife, but hasn't since it bit me and I pinned him to the floor by his neck. He fought for 30 seconds and then relaxed, and has never done it since. We'd done the treats, positive re-inforcement and 'clicker' things. They are much happier and more well behaved when they are clear on boundaries - much like humans really. Lots of strokes, especially at bedtime - but make sure she has 'her bed' somewhere sensible - kitchen, porch, utility room.
Decent, dry biscuit type food - not gooey meat. Rotten teeth are another big issue with collies.
All just my opinion (as an owner of two very well behaved, happy collies).
Don’t run her too much while she’s young (year 1 I’d say – but research it) or you’ll knacker her shoulders – especially downhill.
Ours is a dog and he needed to know who was boss. We set clear boundaries – not allowed upstairs, on furniture or near us when we’re eating. I’ll get hate for this, but they need to know they are dogs. Ours used to bite the kids and my wife, but hasn’t since it bit me and I pinned him to the floor by his neck. He fought for 30 seconds and then relaxed, and has never done it since. We’d done the treats, positive re-inforcement and ‘clicker’ things. They are much happier and more well behaved when they are clear on boundaries – much like humans really. Lots of strokes, especially at bedtime – but make sure she has ‘her bed’ somewhere sensible – kitchen, porch, utility room.
Decent, dry biscuit type food – not gooey meat. Rotten teeth are another big issue with collies.
All just my opinion (as an owner of two very well behaved, happy collies).
Yikes. From advocating the dominance down to sh*t dietary advice in one post.
"The act of holding a dog down forcibly as a correction is generally called the "dominance down." It is inappropriate, ethologically absurd, and completely counterproductive when interacting with dogs. In a nutshell — don't do it. Ever."
"A common myth we frequently hear is that dry food cleans your pet's teeth. Unfortunately, this is simply false. Eating kibble does not keep your pet's teeth clean, no more than us eating potato chips to keep our teeth clean."
"Raw meaty bones (by that, I mean raw bones that still have meat on them) contain a lot of different nutrients, but they are primarily comprised of calcium and phosphorous. Calcium in particular is essential for strong teeth and bones, not to mention muscle contraction (for example, the pumping of the heart), blood clotting, nerve impulse transmission, and more."
As I said, my opinion/experience. We're on our second collie and both have been well behaved, sociable, loving, healthy and never any trouble with other dogs.
My one show of dominnce was in response to him trying to bite me. He's never done it since. We didn't systematically bully into behaving.
Thanks for your unreferenced feedback though.
🙂
Double yikes at boxelder's post. Please don't do that, OP.
As I said, my opinion/experience.
It was your dog who experienced fear and confusion.
Thanks for your unreferenced feedback though.
It's an internet forum, not a peer reviewed submission. I'd quite happily share some references with you, but I'd doubt you'd follow up on them.
In addition to my post above (it is a really good book!) a 10 mt long lead and reading up how to use it has been a godsend.
I tend to ignore any comments about "pack animals" etc. Me and my dogs have always been a team. If she bit someone I would be horrified, so I completely understand Boxelders reaction but then Collies can be quite nippy along with being the Einstien of the dog world.
A good bit of advise I was given was when anything goes wrong, and it will, Mine was Daisy running across the park to say hello to some toddlers. Is to draw a line under what happened and make a new plan. eg my solution was she stayed on the long lead which calmed her down and I just removed 1-2ft off it each week.
Henry says hi. This outfit absolutely nothing to do with me I hasten to add.
I could try to give you training advice, but he's a Cockerpoo. You can call his name 10 or more times in the same room and he apparently won't hear you, but will sense cheese coming out of the fridge from anywhere in the house.
He's on raw food by the way, doesn't need much of it and appears to be thriving, (although that could be the cheddar top-ups) 🤣
Bodie says Hi! He mouths as part of play and we always have a cool down after some excitement where it's a fuss not mouth time. We have the cleanest ears in Ipswich as a result. (Clean here is relative)
On the training front tone of voice is usually enough after a few months. Only the biter required showing once that trying to bite my face off was a very bad idea indeed!
You can call his name 10 or more times in the same room and he apparently won’t hear you, but will sense cheese coming out of the fridge from anywhere in the house.
Plus one, ours is just the same.
Double yikes at boxelder’s post.
Re-reading my post, I agree - "yikes' might well be justified. I was being lazy and not really responding to the OP which asked for links to books/videos.
We used a couple of books and my wife watched videos (it was her first puppy, whereas I grew up in a household with dogs always around).
I lazily just fired off some things to avoid - the running, feeding advice etc - instead of offering some considered recommendations. Every dog, owner and situation is different. Our collies have both been male and as such have tried to assert themselves which can be dangerous, especially around kids. I'm not advocating bullying the dog at all - but they can't be reasoned with and need to know immediately that they have done something wrong. Bitches are much less likely to be aggressive IME.
@houndlegs - enjoy the challenge and takes bits of advice from various sources that you find useful. My comment about dried food isn't "sh*t dietary advice" and I'm sure that you'll find a good quality dried food is what is recommended for the bulk of her diet. I don't remember claiming that it kept their teeth clean. Bones tend to give our dog the wild sh1tes, so we avoid providing them.
Hope she doesn't chew too many of your shoes to bits.
You have a collie and just to strike a realistic note, chances are you're going encounter problems of some kind at some point, especially if you can't go to classes, agility, flyball, stuff like that.
You're going to need a lot of patience and consistency, as has been said. Because you have a collie, you're going to need all of that x100, in my experience, and a clear, planned training strategy in mind ideally before your first walk together, plus a degree in psychology (dog and human would be ideal).
Collies are awesome dogs.
Are you really sure you can't scrape the pennies up for classes? The benefits are massive, and may save you more than you spend if you end up needing to see a behaviourist down the line. (Not saying this is inevitable, but with a high-performance and intelligent creature like a collie, it's unfortunately very common and almost breed-typical if early training opportunities are not caught more or less immediately.)
Another one for your reading list, some really nice tips and approaches in here: https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/pet-books/easy-peasy-puppy-squeezy/9781788701600.html?CAWELAID=720011340002694711&gclid=CjwKCAjwn8SLBhAyEiwAHNTJbc3MQpl_Se7AQ4HmSxsx2ZXaKsvRtkarpo9ksSzUpIpRn-qjPX44HRoCAoMQAvD_BwE
I have nothing to offer. 9 month old (almost) mental working cocker spaniel is the most tiring and challenging thing ever. Still waiting for the nice moments of owning a dog.
You'll need the patience of a saint. Actually, a bus load of saints.
Good luck.
. I don’t remember claiming that it kept their teeth clean.
........though there I go, mentioning rotten teeth.....
Dentistix!
I have nothing to offer. 9 month old (almost) mental working cocker spaniel is the most tiring and challenging thing ever. Still waiting for the nice moments of owning a dog.
You'll get there.
For what it's worth, we were (very very nearly) in the pits of despair with our lurcher pup at 9 months, and finding her very difficult to like at times.
She's 11 months now, and at some point (although I think coinciding with her first season) she suddenly became calm* and lovely, and great to be around. (I realise I am tempting fate massively, here.)
Keep with it, stay calm, try to stay friends, and I am sure it will come good. Very best of luck from me and Muffin!
* this is relative
thats the book I recommended up thread. Good isnt it!
Ah sorry, didn't notice you'd already mentioned it. Yeah, the Den Wizard is practically a family member in our house now 🙂
We have the Happy Puppy Handbook and Total Recall by Pippa Martinson, but the cost of training classes has been one of the cheaper aspects of puppy ownership tbh!
We have a 5 month old lab so different challenges to a collie
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Such as avoiding getting dragged under a bus for a chip!
Good excuse for a Pupdate
From this
To this! 5 and a half months and just the best boy
Such as avoiding getting dragged under a bus for a chip
She's not actually very food motivated for a lab, she is desperate to be everyone's friend though - dogs and people alike.
She’s not actually very food motivated for a lab
I'd send that back as severely broken then! 🙂
Doubtless she has other ways of keeping you on your toes.
OP, I'd have look to see if there are any breed specific training books as they might cater more to breed specific traits. I got one from my breed club.
If you are interested in diet (which can massively impact behaviour), then there is a brilliant book called Feeding Dogs by Dr Conor Brady.
Other than that, have patience and enjoy the ride.
My two say hello!
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……..though there I go, mentioning rotten teeth…..
Dentistix!
The biggest ingredient in Dentastix is cereal (corn or wheat) carbohydrates which a dogs body turns in to sugar which can lead to poor dental health. The very thing they are meant to prevent.
5 month old Working Cocker here, plenty of good advice above...we read loads before she arrived, lots of it was conflicting and sometimes difficult to decide which way to go.
We're probably bundling through really and I'm sure we've made mistakes along the way, but with lots of perseverence and consistency she eventually picks things up...some things sooner than others, but it's an absolute joy watching her trying to work things out!
We've done clicker training for three recalls for Henry (5.5mo cocker and our third). The single most important one being "Middle" where Henry will return and sit under the legs#. He always gets liver cake for that. Out trainer said this was the best for lead attachment. Another is "touch" put your hand out for his nose to touch on recall. Also rewarded. Whilst it is easy to criticize, I think @boxelder is not wrong. Dogs are always trying to assert their position in the family. A single act of dominance to tell them it's not acceptable is required. Henry doesn't pester me for food or bite me. Mrs TiRed's clothing tells another story. A well-trained dog is a happy dog. It just takes time and effort. And liver cake.
#That being said Henry disgraced himself chasing a moving golf ball this morning on the course off the lead. A first time!
9 month old (almost) mental working cocker spaniel
The Ferraris of the dog world! Go fast or sleep.
Another is “touch” put your hand out for his nose to touch on recall. Also rewarded
Works really well on Murphy. Inside. But when this dog goes outside, zero anything. No recall, no manors, no nothing. Walking him is a nightmare, his pulling is horrendous and the various methods that have been worked on for every single walk have yielded no results. He does not ignore any dogs, in fact he will want to go to every dog he sees and nothing that I do will stop him or get him away. No high value treats, no whistle, no nothing. There have been too many stressful and embarrassing incidents already that I hate walking him. It's so demoralising. He is nice to be around. When he's sleeping or exhausted.