New Member - Hi, looking for tips on our dog herding the kids

[HeatherKaufman2]

Hi everyone, I'm happy to have found this site! I hope it's okay to talk about Border Collie crosses.

I have a 1.5 year old female Border Collie/Aussie cross named Jet. We have had her for about 4 months now, her previous owner wasn't able to keep her and we adopted her from them. She is a wonderful, smart girl. Very submissive and sensitive to any reprimands. I have taken her to basic obedience and she is very good with come, sit, down and leave it...EXCEPT when my 10 yo twin boys come running thru the house and she goes into full herding mode. She jumps at them and does air bites clacking her teeth near them. She never bites just does this air jump and snap. If we say no firmly, she seems to get very upset and cowers, but then leaps back up and gets even more jumpy. I have found that redirecting her as soon as I see her start to think about going after them helps..."where's your bone, or lets get a snack" but I need some ideas on some better solutions. We also have horses and she really goes after them as well, she is very good at coming back to me when I say "leave it" or "no ponies" but as soon as she comes to me she turns around and goes after them again. Any suggestions?

[mum24dog]

I recall the young daughter of a friend getting bitten on the backside when running by an agility queue. She got no sympathy from her parents as she had been brought up to know better.

 

When you have dogs and children living together both need training and running around winding the dogs up is a no no for me. If your boys are going to do that your dog needs a quiet place to retreat to away from them. Life with a dog, especially one that is bred to respond to and to control movement, requires adjustment.

 

And a long line and plenty of recall training around the horses. Every time she gets to chase them makes it harder to break the habit.

[gcv-border]

Agree with above^^^

 

It may be harder to train your boys, but they are responsible for their actions and by extension, the dog's actions. They should not be allowed to run like banshees around the dog. If they do want to run around, just put Jet in a closed off room or a crate (preferably where she can not see them).

 

Also, since a horse kick can kill a dog, you are correct that Jet should not chase the horses. Recall training, LAT training, etc. The Control Unleashed book will be recommended by many here.

[GentleLake]

^^ Yep.

[Gideon's girl]

Get your boys involved in her training, one on one in an obedience class. That way they will have a better understanding of what she knows, what her limits are, and what they need to do to control her behavior.

[5Bordercollies]

My eldest bitch lost her right eye being kicked by a horse. Jess got kicked lights out just the week before that, same colt.

If your pup one day nips one of the kids too hard, they might end up fearing her, not something you want to happen, I'm sure.

[urge to herd]

What they said. You can also have your boys take turns feeding Jet, walking her, (even if it's just around your yard on a leash) and figuring out tricks that they can train her to do. They'll need to be supervised, of course, but you might create some great memories and it will better the relationships all around.

 

Control Unleashed is an excellent place to start. And thanks for taking Jet in - that's a good thing, there.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

[HeatherKaufman2]

Thanks everyone, I will definitely use your advice and have the boys work on their behavior as well. The Behavior Unleashed book sounds like a must read. Thank you! I will post of our progress. I will say that Jet did very well this morning when I let the horses out after a big rain and they all started rolling. Jet crouched outside the fence and I gave the cue I'm using "No ponies"...she stayed right where she was and just watched She got big praise after that one!

[GentleLake]