newbie

[DebC]

Hello! I am new to this, we have a BC named Bocephus (Bo, for short). He is our first border collie - and I say first because I know someday we will have another!! He is just a great dog! However, he has a habit of chasing bikes/joggers that go by our house. The solution so far has been to keep an eye out, and if we see someone we have him lay down and stay (with one hand hovering over his collar!). But this only works if we are not caught by surprise. I am really afraid that he will get hit - once he focuses, that's it, off he goes. He has never bitten or jumped up, seems more interested in barking - probably thinks he's defending us? He is 10 monthes old, and has been fixed. I hate to have to keep him tied up when we are in the yard. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[SoloRiver]

I think what you are doing is basically the right thing to do, with the [possible] exceptions of

 

(a) is he being rewarded for lying down and staying?

 

( you MUST not be taken by surprise

 

© there MUST be no way that he can escape and be hit (and yes, that will require tying, tethering, or a long line)

 

What I would do is train him to recognize a bike/jogger as a cue for a behavior rather than a target to be chased. Have him lie down EVERY time one goes by (it may help to recruit friends to set him up, and it may take a while) and when he complies, reward the hell out of him with whatever he likes best (ball, toy, liverwurst, whatever). What you want him to think when he sees a target is not "Chase that!" but "Hit the floor."

[JackoDog]

"probably thinks he's defending us?"

 

Nope, he's herding them. Just wait until you take him for a bike ride and he tries to herd YOU while you're on your bike!

 

I just want to ditto what Solo said - you absolutely MUST keep him contained - tether him to you, put him on a tie out, keep him in a fenced area, whatever. Just make sure he can't get away, and throw a puppy party when he lies down and doesn't chase the car/bike/jogger.

[DebC]

Thanks for the ideas! I do talk to him constantly while he is 'down' - good boy, that's it, etc. I also give him a 'cookie' when the bike/person is out of sight. I keep a pocketful of 'cookies' when we are outside. I have thought of having my younger son (age 12) ride his bike in the driveway (back of house, away from road) and keep Bo in the 'down/stay' - sort of conditioning him. It sounds like that might be helpful? Also, I have started putting him on his chain if I can't keep him next to me. He actually doesn't seem to mind as long as one of us is outside, too.

[CLW]

Make sure to give him the cookies while he's lying down and the bike is passing by. Reward the heck out of him while he's doing the desired behavior for quite some time so that he associates lying down/bikes/yummy treats together. Then, gradually start to offer the treat a little more randomly but this should be until he's realiably lying down as soon as he sees a bike. Also, at the beginning stage of this I'd make sure he was on a leash or a long line so that if he decides to break his stay you won't lose him. Have you thought about taking him to an obedience class? Maybe one that uses clickers? This would be a great behavior to train with a clicker.

[DebC]

I would love to take him to obedience training - I know he would pick it up quickly. I think my sons would benefit, too!! LOL I found that if I snap my fingers, or clap it breaks his attention from the 'object' and puts it back to me. I have not heard of clicker training - sounds like it would be similar?

[JackoDog]

I agree with CLW - reward reward reward while he's doing the appropriate behavior. Something that I learned from our trainer is that it's not enough to talk and say "that's a good boy" - you have to get really excited and animated. I jump up and down, clap my hands and exclaim "oh my goodness, you're such a good boy, aren't you? Wow, I am so impressed with you! You are just the best dog ever" and on and on. The dog LOVES it (but he loves food even more so there are always treats with this praise). As he is learning, the praise dwindles, so now when we tell him to sit and we're in the house where he is 100% reliable at doing it he usually gets a "good boy!" and that's it. But in the beginning we had major puppy parties even for the seemingly minor things.

 

Clicker training is where you use a clicker to "mark" or reward the behavior you want. It's instant feedback for the dog that he is doing what you wanted. For instance, you say "sit." As soon as his butt hits the floor you click, then praise as you give the treat. The click is the mark, the praise is the bridge, the treat is the reward. You can do the same thing with a word - we use "Yes" instead of a clicker because Jacko doesn't like the clicker, and it's a pain to have another thing to carry around all the time.

 

Oh, and something else our trainer told us, which has helped save on calories for the dog and money for us, is to just give small pieces of treats- like dime size or smaller - for rewards. I've noticed that it's easier for the dog to chew and swallow quickly, and it keeps him coming back for more.

 

And yes, obedience class is awesome! The first night we went was humans only, as kind of an orientation, and I swear that one night was worth the money we paid (about $100). She taught us about time outs which have been awesome for our dog and have helped him learn so much faster. You can look at www.apdt.com for positive reward trainers in your area.

[Maralynn]

Oh, and something else our trainer told us, which has helped save on calories for the dog and money for us, is to just give small pieces of treats- like dime size or smaller - for rewards. I've noticed that it's easier for the dog to chew and swallow quickly, and it keeps him coming back for more.

I jsut want to second this piece of advice! I'll use really tiny (1/4" cubes), but really yummy treats. Things like string cheese, hot dog bits, cooked meat (a bit messy).That way you can feed 5 or 6 in a row, keeping your dog focused on you while the biker passes your house.

 

Good luck - and keep us posted on your progress!

[DebC]

Thank you so much for the link to apdt.com!

I have several names, so now I can start to do some calling/research. I will definitely keep you posted on our progress. This seems like such a nice site, everyone is friendly. It is great to be able to get suggestions from other owners.

Speaking of saving money - can you guess what Bo's favorite treat is? A piece of ice!!! He can hear anyone going into the freezer, and is right there waiting for his treat! If I can figure out how to do it, I would like to post his picture. Somtimes I swear he is laughing!

[Ruger's Dad]

Ruger does not chase bikes, cars, dogs or people walking by the house. He is not quite a year and a half old. The number one thing you need to do is walk your dog. As you encounter cars, bikes, joggers either pay them no attention or teach him to get off the road to respect them. You need to show him you are in charge and that chasing is totally unacceptable.

 

Both our dogs are out in the front yard a lot. There is a lot of activity because the neighborhood kids have a basketball hoop across the street. It took several months before I trusted Ruger. That trust only came about by walking several times a week and showing him that I gave cars and joggers the road. Of course, cats are a different story depending if they have claws or not.