 Barked: Sun Mar 1, '09 6:33am PST | |
 | |  | | Hi everyone!
I am new to the group and glad to be here! My Phoebe is a Border Collie mix (probably Lab), but the BC heavily dominates... she will be 3 years old soon.
We are working diligently on training. We've had a lot of disappointing experiences, so are a bit behind. Mostly it was just not having a trainer who understands border collies, and many of their methods didn't work with her or completely traumatized her. We were kicked out of doggy school twice for her "excitability". It took awhile for me to stop feeling like a failed dog owner. Reading more about training border collies (not just breed info :-p) has helped. We've had a lot of luck with clicker training, and she is really becoming a nicely trained companion 
She LOVES training, very happy and excited to do training sessions. But now that we are getting better (I understand her, she finally understands me!) I am wanting to give her a "job" to do. She is mellow at times but also has the boundless energy and can go go go for hours. She does get into mischief only because she's too smart for her own good. Nothing serious, but annoying all the same. I know she is bored... bored, bored, bored and long walks are just not engaging enough for her anymore.
I need inexpensive, easily accessible activity ideas we can do for FUN. Something we can put into our routine once or twice a week (more if accessible enough) that will give her confidence and a feeling of accomplishing something so she doesn't feel the need to find a job on her own. Something that we can work on and turn into a "hobby" of sorts, but it will be more of her "job"....
I know frisbee is a great activity for BC's .... but I have no idea how to train her to do that... I've tried fetch (ball), but I think she thinks it's "ball race" and the objective is to run faster than the ball.... In 3 years she has not returned the ball to me once. I usually end up fetching it :-p .
I know she'd love actual herding, but I'm wary to try that unless I can know more about it, and it's costs ($)... Mostly wary because we've worked REALLY hard to remove the herding behaviors (she used to be really bad with herding people, even strangers while on walks!).... The risk that herding would bring those behaviors back might be a misconception on my part, so educate me
I have also tried letting her run beside me while I bike... that doesn't work so well, I don't think she really enjoys it. I enjoy it, she doesn't. She likes to run fast but isn't keen on large fast moving objects. She LOVES the park and interacting, that's why I'm gravitating toward activities...
Sorry this was so long!  .... any suggestions?
Thanks!
-Phoebe's Mom |  |  | |  |
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