Many different species of dogs scratch the grass or dirt after urinating in a specific area. Many people believe they are trying to cover up their pee. Contrary to what many believe research indicates they could be doing a couple of things. Border Collies and dogs have scent glands on the soles of their feet. They could be trying to add additional scents to the ground for the next passerby to smell.
This could be used to show dominance or just used for marking their territory. If you have ever noticed in many instances your dog will urinate in the same locations. Another theory for scratching the ground is making visual markings to make other dogs aware that it’s their territory. Not a whole lot of research has been done but with the little that has been these theories are the information which is being speculated.
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hello – i hope you can help us – we are experienced dog owners. we had a black lab (hunter) for 10 years that we trained & was very well behaved, even around cats, although that took a bit of training. we just got a new puppy (kya) from a prison. she is a border collie/lab mix. they say she’s a year old, but i think she’s younger based on teeth that appear to have recently emerged from the gums. anyway, it seems that none of our training tactics that worked with hunter work with kya, except the walking training. with that she improves every day. what i’m most concerned about is that she hyper-focuses on any living thing that moves, ie., cats, squirrels, rabbits, kids on skateboards, kids on bikes, horses, etc. she isn’t interested in frisbees or toys of any kind. we’ve tried making her lay down & let the cats come over & investigate her – she shakes like a leaf & then when she’s allowed to get up after she relaxes & seems submissive she gets up & goes after them. we’re using a light choke collar so we give that a quick jerk & say “no cat” that doesn’t work either. the cats have scratched her but she is undeterred. when we’re petting her she is constantly looking for the cats. we have to keep her on leash constantly otherwise she’ll either run off or run after something. she tries to bite the cats & horses. we took her to the dog park & she got along fine, & then went after a friend’s dog today. i’m at a loss – ADVICE PLEASE!!!
Hello Christina and sorry for the delay in reply. I hate to state the obvious but it sounds as if your collie’s first year which is very important lacked major discipline and training. Was your collie turned over to a shelter originally? Currently I would try and start with basic introductions and principals. Try socializing your collie with felines while she is leashed and praise her when she behaves with treats and positive reinforcement. When she loses focus use a stern command to catch her attention. Instinctively Border collie’s want to herd and if nothing has intervened to teach her what is right and wrong then she doesn’t know any better. You say that she doesn’t respond to toys? What is her reaction when you throw a ball or Frisbee?
I have a 6yr. Old border collie. I have him since he was an 8week old puppy. When I got him I also had an older border collie. Both males, they never had any problems getting along. At 12 years my older one started having seizures and needed to be put to sleep. For about 8 months we just had the one. Then I got another border puppy at 6 weeks old. My older one took a little time getting used to the pup but they have done ok after a couple of weeks. Time has passed and now the pup is 2 and my older one I had neutered because of some growling and snapping issues toward the younger one. The neutering hasn’t seemed to help that issue either and now he, the older one, growls and snaps at us certain times of the day when we go to pet him. We have never treated our dogs with anything but love and affection. They are very spoiled but in a good way. They are both very obedient dogs, except for that one problem with the older one. The younger one never growls back he just walks away when he is growled or snapped at. I don’t understand why he does this. Have any ideas?
our border collie that we took in at 8 months,and is now 3 years old exhibits all the same traits as KYA and does not care a hoot about frisbees or tennis balls.We have just started a agility training and Rocky instictively does the exercises with a minimum of prodding. Rocky received “praise training” for two weeks when he was a year old and that helped his social growth.but that is a foundation and must be constantly reinforced.
Hi, I have two border collie puppies (14 months) and i want to teach them to do some jobs. I’ve recently started TTouch with them, but if i even go near a lead they go hide under the couch and sulk. it took a trip to the vet to get them to walk with them on. we also have problems with the more dominant one, Coco, trying to wriggle out of both his harness and choke chain every time we go on walks to go attack ther dogs in neighbouring houses. he especially hates Jack Russels and German Shephards.
Any ideas on how to get him to stop without having to pay incredibly high rates for puppy socialization courses we cant afford?
i have a border collie spitz mix who had the same problems. i used cesar milan’s technique and my dog learned very quickly. cesar is very good with border collies. your dog fixates on visual treats. go to an isolates area and introduce a stimulus only when the dog is calm and submissive. if the dog tries to chase or gets excited then jerk the leash lightly with choker while making tsk sound or use a clicker. if the dog does, not respond then touch the hayld the dog down until it calms down. my dog won’t play with toys but i found out he is nuts about water. he loves to jump in the ocean to fetch tennis balls. watch out though cuz your dog might get water i,toxication from consuming too much water or even drown. my dog only goes into water up to his belly. this is a good substitute for herding for my dog.
Yes, praise training is important and must be done with consistency. Border collies respond well to this type of training.
Great advice Jeremy! There is no one way to train a Border Collie, each dog has their own personality and working to find what works best for your specific dog goes a long way.
i believe that a border collie should have only one owner ,this dogs are like having a 5 year old for a long time,they need to have that leadership,so you have to become there pack leader,if not this is what happens, because you have not handled the dog since it was just a pup he has no authority figure so hes defenetly taking over and thinks hes the boss. defenetly the colar is not going to help because they are sensitive and the major one is that he will be crazy hyper because its cross with a lab. labs dont start coming down until they are 5 yrs old.
my advice is find that voice and you have to be the dominating one or he will never listen. also they say that border collies may not be trusted with non canine animals
hope this helps good luck