A lot of questions about my border collie

[ColliesRock]

At the end of August of 2013 me and my parents went to the Help Shelter. We found Kadey,out border collie who was AWESOME! So nice,listened,and sweet. We played with her about 30 minutes in the shelter yard,then adopted her a week later after she got spayed. So....

 

We adopted her and she is way different than she was at the shelter. She does things she knows she isn't supposed to,she runs you over,but she is still really nice. Here are some things she does.....

 

Poops in the house sometimes (she is 5 YEARS old,but she doesn't poop in the cage,and doesn't pee on he house)

 

If you are walking in the house,she runs you over

 

When you let her outside she turns right around and lays down...she is so LAZY! If you keep her outside for 5 hours straight she will lay at the back door the whole time :/

 

She won't listen to my mom and dad,but will listen to me (if my mom and dad they to get her out of the cage,she won't come)

 

So....does anyone know why she is doing this....it's driving me crazy,and my mom gets mad when she poops in the house

 

The picture is her....and she is fat I know I'm going to run with her ALOT when school is out

 

Thanks!

[G. Festerling]

No one knows "why" she does it. No one was there when she grew up.

 

But, best guess...she has never learned how to behave properly.

 

The good news...you can work with her, i.e. train her and make her even more lovelier!

 

The bad news...you have to work with her, i.e. train her as she won't do it herself.

 

All of the above are simple fixes with some time. Others will give you more info on how.

 

As far as her being lazy, if she is fat and been in the shelter, she may simply be out of shape. She could also be a lower drive type dog. But it maybe a good idea to get a blood panel done and make sure she is all clear in the health area. And then, off to conditioning with you two and training. Play, play, play and enjoy the process. So many great approaches for training that will make it fun!

[Shetlander]

Welcome and thanks for adopting your pretty girl. It sounds like she hasn't had much training, rather than deliberately doing things she knows she shouldn't. If she is pooping in the house, she is not fully housebroken. I would put her on a schedule of frequent trips outside. Go with her so you can praise her when she poops where you want her to. Don't let her go off by herself in the house where she can poop without being seen. And don't let her free feed, but give her one or two meals a day which will make her elimination patterns more predictable.

 

Border Collies need not just physical exercise, but mental stimulation as well. I would work on basic commands and tricks. Teach her names of toys. Have her play search for a toy or person. Border Collies are also very person centered dogs and do best with dog centered people. She is not being lazy when she lies by the door for five hours. She wants to be with her people. She is bored. Be happy she lies there rather than digging, escaping (to get lost or hit by a car), barking or eating something that makes her sick. Go outside with her. Praise her for pooping there. Play with her. Train her. When you are ready to go inside, take her with you.

 

Ask your parents to give her a small treat when they send her to her crate. That often helps diminish the negative aspect of going to a crate. It really sounds like Kadey needs more attention, fun training, mental stimulation, structure (for potty training) and possibly more exercise. She does not need to be put out in the yard to self-exercise or entertain herself. She wants attention and companionship. She sounds like a perfectly nice dog who needs help learning what is expected of her and who wants more interaction with her people. Border Collies do best when actively included in their people's lives. They tend to have a lot of energy and like to do things ---with their people. They can be a little high maintenance, but when they get what they need, they are fabulous companions.

 

Good luck with your girl and please don't think she is being "bad" on purpose. She just needs some training and extra attention.

[waffles]

If she is doing it then chances are she doesn't know she shouldnt. How has he been taught not to jump on you?

 

When she is outside by herself what is she expected to do all alone? She isn't lazy, she just wants you to go out and play with her and interact with her. Most collies in general want to be with their people and aren't always good at entertaining themselves constructively. I would suggest going out with her and playing, go for a walk, do some trick training etc. what type of exercise does she get now?

 

The pooping is all about prevention. The more she does it the more she will do it. Keep her confined or with you and get her on a potty schedule.

 

She's very pretty!

[ColliesRock]

Ok thanks everyone!' I'll do that after basketball practice today!

[G. Festerling]

Oh and by the way....she is a beauty and a lucky one to have found a person committed to her!

[Root Beer]

 

When you let her outside she turns right around and lays down...she is so LAZY! If you keep her outside for 5 hours straight she will lay at the back door the whole time :/

 

 

LOL!! This isn't laziness. This is typical of a lot of Border Collies. She is waiting for you to come out and do something with her.

 

My Border Collie, Dean, the least lazy dog on the planet, will do this. He does not entertain himself outside by himself! He waits at the gate for me to come out and be out there with him! I wouldn't leave him out there for hours on end, but sometimes he is waiting for me for about 15 or 20 minutes in nice weather. He just waits. My Speedy did the same thing, although he would eventually go find something to roll in if he finally decided I must not be coming.

 

It was a very good thing once. Our side door can be problematic and one day when I left for work, I guess it didn't close properly. Dean and our mutt-girl, Maddie went right out the door at some point during the day. Maddie tripped the lights fantastic and ate about 5 pounds of cow manure in the neighboring cow pastures. When one of the neighbors spotted her and brought her home, she found Dean just waiting outside by the door!! It was funny the way she said it! "He was just laying there . . . staring . . .!!" I had to laugh because I know how strange that must have seemed, but it is what he will do. (I am MUCH more careful with the door ever since).

 

Of course this isn't going to be universal, but it's not an uncommon thing for Border Collies to do. It's not laziness.

[GentleLake]

 

 

We adopted her and she is way different than she was at the shelter. She does things she knows she isn't supposed to,she runs you over,but she is still really nice.

 

First off, many dogs, and especially many border collies, don't do well in shelters and don't reveal their true personalities there. It's not a natural environment and it affects their behavior. Even dogs fostered in homes, though, go through an adjustment period when they're adopted and often don't show their true temperaments for several weeks or several months after they've been adopted.

 

You say she does things she knows she isn't supposed to do? How does she know she isn't supposed to do these things? Have you taught her? If she's still doing them, then the answer to the last question is no.

 

Not even a nice dog is born knowing how to live in a home. The rules for dogs are different from the rules for people, so people have to teach the dogs what rules they want them to follow.

 

What I'd recommend is that you treat her just like she's a tiny puppy who's come into your home not knowing any of your rules. You need to teach her that going to the potty is a very good thing, and do everything you can to prevent her having accidents in the house. Every time she does it, it's reinforcing the behavior. So many regular trips outside and lots of praise when she goes. Take her outside, don't just put her out. How else will you be able to reinforce the desired behavior if you don't go with her?

 

I'd look into a good positive reinforcement based class to take her to to learn the basics of training manners. It'll be a good way to get started, to develop a common language between you and you'll learn how to make your expectations clear to her.

 

As for not exercising when you put her out, no surprise there. Many border collies do not self exercise. They're very interactive dogs; they want to do things with you. It's your responsibility to make sure she gets enough exercise. Don't wait till school is out, she needs regular exercise now. And she'll have to build up to running with you anyway. She's too out of shape now to do it.

 

Her weight needs to be managed by controlling the amount of food she eats. If she's too heavy, then cut back on her food. Plain and simple. Sedentary dogs especially don't need many calories because they're not burning them off. Border collies are easy keepers, meaning that even active ones often don't require as much food as some other dogs do to maintain good weight.

 

You've gotten some very good advice above, too, about having a vet check to make sure she's healthy. You might want to have a blood sample sent to Dr. Dodds at HemoPet to have her thyroid function checked. Hypothyriodism is rampant in dogs (and people) and can make it hard for a dog to loose weight.

 

Kudos to you for giving her a loving home and asking for advice. Put some time and effort into training her and feeding her properly and you'll soon have a happy, healthy dog who's a joy to live with.

 

Best wishes.

[Camden's Mom]

Congrats to you and your family for rescuing this little girl! She's super cute!

 

You've gotten great advice about potty training her. At first it might feel silly telling her what a "good girl!!" she is when she poops outside but it will help her understand that she's doing something you want her to do. It's just like any training, you gotta' let her know when she's doing the right thing. Border collies are normally very eager to please, I'm sure she'll pick it up fast!

 

Have fun with her, train her and play with her. Like others, my border collie just lays around when I'm not actively playing with him but he is most definitely NOT a lazy dog. He just wants to do stuff with me and I'm sure it's the same for your girl. Playing ball or frisbee is short sessions will tire her out and maybe she'll start to shed some of those extra pounds. Be careful, because she is overweight you don't want to just take her out for a really long run... you might have to gradually work her up to harder exercise!

 

I wanted to suggest a really fun game to play with her that will also help train her to always come to you when you call her. Your parents can play this game, too and it might help make her listen to them a bit better! So, here's the game:

 

Have a few yummy treats in your pocket. Call her name (or you can use a word like "come" or "here") and if she comes to you give her a treat! You and your mom and dad could do this in a circle int he backyard, taking turns calling her to each of you. If she's slow to come to you act funny, make silly noises, even run away from her trying to get her to chase you. Once she gets to you, even if she took a little longer then you'd have liked, throw a party! Tell her what a good girl she is and give her a treat. The idea is that you want coming to you (or your mom or dad) to always be a really, really good thing! She'll always want to come when you call her because you guys are always so much fun and always so happy to see her! It's a really great game for everyone, it helps her learn to come when called AND it'll probably give her a bit of a workout!

 

Have fun with her and thanks again for rescuing!

[sandysfarm]

she's beautiful!!

[D'Elle]

Thanks for adopting this cute dog.

I second what others have said: If she is doing something you do not like it is because you have not trained her not to do it. Please do not assume she "knows better".

She is fat, not lazy. she's out of shape, so start a walking/running program to get her into good shape. Just don't make her run a lot just at first, let her build up her strength as she takes the weight off.

Be gentle with her, let her learn in little steps.

My first border collie, who was massively energetic and loved to run more than anything, could spend the whole day outside on the ranch where we lived (2,000 acres surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of open land) and never leave the porch. *I* had to go outside with her and take her for a walk.......whereupon, when I released her, she would *then* go running off into the hills, not to return until dinner time. But I had to take her out first. Your dog just wants you to come outside and show her what to do for fun.

Try teaching her to fetch a ball or frisbee. Great way to get her some exercise even if you don't have the energy for a long walk or run.

good luck