This is my first post on here. I found this site a week ago and haven't anywhere near been through the whole thing. I have a 16mo. old Border Collie male. I got him in May. Apparently he was shy when he had to stand for exam and backed away from the judge. The breeder decided to give him some time to grow up before she found him a home. He has been to ob. class more recently than I have. Anyhow, he is getting much better around people he has never seen before. I see his confidence growing. He is swimming in the lake now. He had never seen 'big' water before. We also have horses and he is very good with them. No chasing or barking. He retrieves his floating air dog toy in the water. I plan to continue to go slow with him. He's the second BC I've had and they do tend to be on the shy side. At least mine were. Anyhow just wanted to say Howdy to all of you. My plan for this guy is basic dog ob. for me and him and see where we go from there. I enjoy training horses, dogs whatever. Are there any other Border Collie people out there? I hope to learn a lot from this board. My mantra for our equestrian center is "we believe in the ongoing education of horse and rider. You never stop learning." I can apply that to this as well. Thanks for having this board. It will be fun!
Diane Kaser
MI

 Quote: Diane Kaser

This is my first post on here. I found this site a week ago and haven't anywhere near been through the whole thing. I have a 16mo. old Border Collie male. ... He has been to ob. class more recently than I have. Anyhow, he is getting much better around people he has never seen before. ... My plan for this guy is basic dog ob. for me and him and see where we go from there. ... Are there any other Border Collie people out there? I hope to learn a lot from this board. ... It will be fun!
Diane Kaser
MI

I agree with you that it will be fun -- and motivational obedience training is a great confidence-builder and bond-strengthener.

These are some nice resources to start you out:


http://leerburg.com/markers.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/302.htm

http://leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

http://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm

Hi Diane,

I'm in MI and have two working Border Collies. 8 y/o Missy is my farm helper and really the most awesome dog I could ask for. I've also done some therapy dog work with her. 2 y/o Kipp is a working bred dog in training for SAR.

Shyness isn't nescesarily a BC thing, alot of it has to do with genetics and upbrining. Missy was extremely shy when I got her as a 3 y/o, but she had been under-socialized and over-corrected. She still has a few quirks, but now loves to go places, see people and do things with me. Positive reinforcement, and spending the first 6 months just building up a solid trusting relationship really helped her. She is a very earger to please and sensitive, so while I used corrections if needed, I had to be careful with them. A gruff "hey" was usually plenty.

Good luck!