Your Border Collie puppy is very intelligent and it will learn fairly quickly. Just as quickly as it learns good manners, your pup can learn behavior that is impossible to live with. Things like barking, digging, chewing, and boredom can all lead to destructive behaviour from your dog. And, most of the time, you have only yourself to blame....

You need to watch when you praise and reward. How often have you comforted your dog by saying ‘it’s okay’ when your dog is barking for no apparent reason? Or patted your dog as it jumped all over you, while at the same time telling it to get down? Or you have rescued the ball 20 odd times from under the couch every time your dog barks in the last hour?

Can you see a pattern here? The bad behaviour is rewarded on one hand, and on the other you are trying to tell your Border Collie to do something else. Mixed messages are being sent. This confuses your dog so it continues to do what it gets rewarded for.

The most important thing to remember, above all else, is consistency. A lack of consistency is the single biggest mistake you can make when training your Border Collie. For example, begging for food when you eat is a behaviour you do not want in your dog. If you want your dog to stop begging, then you have to stop feeding it while you are eating. If one of the children or your partner is slipping it food under the table, no wonder your Border Collie sits there begging for food.

Another thing, do not expect your dog to think, feel or act like a human. It is a dog and does not think the same way we do. Learning about and understanding your dog’s behaviour will also help you in your training together.

Barking that Drives you Crazy

Bark, bark, bark. Your dog is driving your crazy. You are at your wits end and do not know what to do to stop it. And, you just cannot work out why your dog is barking so much.

Your Border Collie barks to tell you something. You just need to work out what your dog is saying. If it seems to be nothing, divert its attention.

Some breeds tend to bark more than others. And, while some barking is normal, such as when visitors arrive, unnecessary barking is irritating for you and anyone that can hear it. Some of the things your Border Collie may be trying to tell you when it barks include:

• it hears something
• it wants to be let out
• it needs to play or exercise
• it wants your attention
• it has been left at home alone for too long

Your dog may have an empty water bowl or want to go out. If you think this is the case, call your dog and ask it to sit. Praise the behaviour and then fill the water bowl or let your dog out. By doing this you are not encouraging your dog’s excessive barking or rewarding the barking but still giving your dog what it needs.

Some Border Collies bark just because they can, after all they are working dogs. Here is something to try next time your dog is barking for no apparent reason:

Step 1. Use the word ‘quiet’ in a firm tone when your dog barks for no reason.

Step 2. If your dog stops barking reward and praise.

Step 3. If your Border Collie does not stop, put on the lead and call it to you. Move away from whatever it is barking at and get its attention on you. The instant your dog looks at you, praise and reward.

Step 4. When your dog stops barking, ask it to sit or lie down beside you and praise the good behavior if it sits quietly.

Techniques to help your Border Collie Stop Barking

There are many reasons why your Border Collie will bark, here are some techniques to help you stop the barking:

• If your dog is barking madly at passersby, get out a spray bottle filled with water. When it barks, say ‘quiet’. If it does not stop, squirt it with the water. It will get a surprise and distract it. When it is distracted from barking, call your dog to you and reward and praise when it comes.
• If your Border Collie pup tends to bark when left alone, try leaving the radio on for company.
• Make sure your Border Collie pup get plenty of daily exercise. A tired dog does not have the energy to bark.

Make sure you correct unwanted barking when it happens. Correcting your dog for barking while you are out will make no sense to your dog. It has forgotten all about and you were not home. If you have to catch your dog in the act.

When correcting barking behaviour, use a calm firm voice to help your dog listen. Yelling or a high pitched voice will make your dog think you are joining in and make them bark more.

Does your Border Collie Beg?

Dogs beg because we have taught them begging works. Your dog begs for your attention, food, and anything else they might want by just giving you that ‘sad-eyed, hopeful look’. The look you find so difficult to resist. Now begging has become a habit how do you break it?

Begging is a learned behaviour and you and your family have taught your dog how to do it by simply responding and rewarding the behaviour. If you give your dog whatever it wants or needs every time it barks, whines, or paws you, you are simply teaching it the behaviour works.

What are you doing when you slip your dog a bit of food because it sits there with big sad eyes watching you eat? How can you expect your dog to understand when the next time you say no when it whines for food when you eat? If you are inconsistent with your expectations, you only confuse your dog.

If your Border Collie puppy does not get what it wants, it soon stops displaying the unrewarding behaviour.

To break your puppy’s habit of begging:

• never feed your dog while you are eating
• do not allow anyone to feed your Border Collie dog from the table
• do not feed your dog in the same area you eat in
• if your dog whines for no particular reason ignore it

Always feed your dog after you and your household eats. Pack leaders always eat first. If your dog continues to beg for food, put it outside at mealtimes.

Again, consistency is the key. If you give in out of frustration after your dog’s persistent begging for an hour, what do you think you teach it? You teach it if it begs for long enough you eventually give in. Your dog is training you again.

Think of the situation as you would a child that nags its parents until it gets what it wants. If that child’s parents never give in, then the child will not bother nagging. It is only the child that has learned that by constant nagging they eventually get what they want that will keep up the pressure until they succeed. This is the same for your dog.

Train your dog to fit into to your household and always praise and reward good behaviour.

Bored Border Collies become Destructive

A bored Border Collie is a dog that will become destructive. Border Collie’s are not a breed you can leave in the backyard day after day without exercise and mental stimulation. If your Border Collie gets bored, and you ignore its needs, it will find inventive ways to amuse themselves, and that will cost you money and drive you crazy.

When a Border Collie dog is bored it will:

• dig up your garden and under fences trying to get out
• jump or climb fences
• bark, whine and do anything it can to attract your attention
• chew anything and everything in sight
• pull the washing off the line
• annoy other animals in your household
• continually lose its ball so you have to retrieve it
• chew or lick themselves

If your dog is bored, here are some things to help relieve its boredom:

• take your Border Collie along when you go out whenever you can
• teach your dog a new trick each month (this is a simple, fun way to spend some time together)
• make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise
• have a hidden stash of toys so you can rotate the toys every few days
• play with your dog

If your Border Collie has a well-balanced lifestyle, with plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, it is unlikely to develop irritating behaving.

At night, after a long day, you may not feel like a high energy game of fetch or a walk, but you can still stimulate your Border Collie. Do things with your dog such as have it bring you its toys or do its repertoire of tricks for treats. Spend some time working on a new trick. Have your dog keep you company as you lockup for the night before going to bed.

Problems with Chewing

Chewing is typical in most puppies, and Border Collies chew too. It becomes a problem if they chew electrical cords, shoes, plants, and anything else left in their path. If you are not careful, you can find your prized possession reduced to shreds when your back is turned.

Stopping your Border Collie puppy from chewing should be simple. The best way to prevent unwanted chewing is to distract its attention when you catch it in the act.

While chewing is normal behaviour, it is not normal when it is destructive. Some of the reasons a Border Collie chews include:

• stress
• teething when they are a puppy
• for something to do
• it likes to chew

To change the behaviour, make sure you have some good chew toys on hand and when your dog chews something that is off limits:

1. Distract it with an ‘oi’ or ‘no’ in a deep, firm voice. This sound will remind your puppy of its mother’s growl, and it will take notice.
2. If your dog responds by looking at you, reward it with a chew toy.
3. When you see your Border Collie chewing one of its toys, praise it so it knows what things it is allowed to chew.
4. Make sure your dog always has access to chew toys as this will distract it from chewing other things. If your Border Collie starts to chew a forbidden item, say ‘oi’ and give it a chew toy and praise it when it chews on the toy instead. This helps your Border Collie puppy identify the difference between what it can and cannot chew.
5. When your Border Collie is young, make sure anything that is attractive to your puppy is out of harm’s way. Limit your puppy’s access to the rest of the house by closing doors until it is old enough to know the rules and you can trust it.
6. Exercise your dog more and increase your training to exercise your Border Collie puppy’s mind.
7. Put your dog outside when you are not at home with a few toys to keep it occupied.

If your Border Collie dog is chewing you out of house and home, here are some techniques to keep in mind:

• Make sure your Border Collie has a lot of great chew toys.
• Supervise your dog and make sure it gets plenty of exercise and attention.
• If you catch your Border Collie chewing up your valuable leather couch, stay calm and use the technique in step 4 of the above list.
• It is natural behaviour for a Border Collie pup or dog to chew. Do not blame the dog for its natural instinct. It is your responsibility to teach it what it can chew and what if forbidden.

Border Collies can Dig to China

Border Collies can be diggers, and it is either a characteristic or a learned behaviour. You dog may also be bored and be trying to dig under the fences in search of more interesting things to do. Often this is a sign your Border Collie’s needs are not being met and it needs more attention or exercise.

To work out why your Border Collie is digging consider where it digs, when it digs (is it only when you are out), and the result. There are many reasons why your dog is digging:

• burying something
• chasing bugs or other animals
• chasing a scent
• a hole is cooling to lie in when it is hot
• boredom
• releasing energy

If your Border Collie dog’s digging is driving you insane and your garden is looking worse for wear, there are a few ways to deal with the situation to get a good result. Here are some tips to help you manage a digging problem:

• When it is hot, make sure your Border Collie has plenty of fresh water and a shady place to rest. If you are at home, bring it inside into the cool of the house.
• When you find a hole freshly dug by your proud Border Collie, bury some of its faeces below the surface as you fill it up. This should discourage your dog from digging there again if it finds it.
• If you catch your dog in the middle of digging to China, give it a sharp ‘oi’ or ‘leave it’ and call it to you. Praise your dog for coming. By doing this, you have effectively distracted your dog’s attention, ignored the unwanted behaviour and rewarded the good behaviour.
• Leaving your dog alone for too long will invite digging out of boredom or loneliness. If you do this, you are in danger of finding your beautiful garden all dug up, and a happy, dirty dog.
• Lots of your attention and exercise will tire out your Border Collie and it will be too tired to dig.
• Give your dog its very own digging spot. Build it a sandbox or get a child’s plastic pool and fill it with sand or soil. Bury some treats and toys in it and your Border Collie has its very own treasure trove to dig in.

The key things to remember when dealing with digging behaviour include:

• exercise, exercise, exercise
• spend as much time with your Border Collie as possible
• redirect your dog’s behaviour
• do not punish your Border Collie when you find a hole as your dog will have no idea what you are talking about