Collie Behaviour |
||
Even though the numbers of Border Collies being kept is increasing, they are becoming greatly outnumbered by those kept as working dogs. Out of all these pet Collies, a significant amount cause problems for their owners. However, many owners put up with minor problems because they love their dog and they believe that dealing and trying to cope with these problems is better compared to parting with their pet. The most common problems of pet Border Collies are rooted in the herding instinct. All Border Collies originate from working stock, therefore they all have the herding instinct; no exceptions. If a Border Collie has a strong chase instinct and it is not trained and worked to control this ability, the dog will chase anything that moves. The dog is likely to become frustrated and then develop even more behavioural problems that may also lead to aggression. This often means the dog has to be muzzled when it comes into contact with strangers. This solution is not ideal as it will only add to the dog's aggression, however it is necessary as if the dog is aggressive it could be taken away if it was reported by a stranger that it had attacked. |
Dominance- As a working dog, the Border Collie needs to think for itself. Because the breed's intelligence levels are so high, it may occasionally think that it knows better than the owner. If the handler does not address this problem straight away, the dog will naturally try to dominate and try to take over as the leader of the pack. Apply this to a Border Collie in a pet home The family is the pack- The dog is looking for its position in the pecking order and, being intelligent, will naturally and instinctively exploit any weakness to enhance its position. Children may be treated as the dog's litter mates to play with- but playing to a Collie is like 'training' to become the highest up of all the pack and to put itself higher up the pecking order. These situations are extremely common with Border Collies as pets and it is often mistaken as aggressive behaviour. Most of the time, though, these 'attacks' would not occur if the dog understood it's position in the family pecking order.
|
|
