Rounding up!

[Gemsy]

I have a problem with a collie (groan!) No he's a brilliant clever boy, but when we're out and about, he's obsessed with Floyd (my schnauzer). As soon as Didz (collie) is out of the van it's, "YAY WALK! Where's Floyd, I gotta catch Floyd!" If I let Didz out first he circles the van and all he cares about is where Floyd is. As soon as Floyd's out, he dives on his neck, in a playful way - it's all a big game of rounding up! His recall is good so I can distract him when he does it by calling him back, but as soon as he's back alongside Floyd again he can't resist that little nip to his neck. "Haha, I can still catch you!" I can see Floyd getting annoyed and I really want him to just tell him off, but Floyd is just too patient with his little brother from another mother! Any advice?

[SuzAndTheDiva]

yeah borrow Honey she dab hand at sorting collies out 

[wags]

ah let him join my lot what the hell one more herdie collie wont hurt 

[SuzAndTheDiva]

hahaha wags - sure this collie is part kelpie too? or huntaway cant remember is something like that 

[wags]

in that case im running away now

[Gemsy]

in that case im running away now

hahaha... don't blame you! He always barks at Floyd too, as if Floyd's not allowed more attention than him. When we're out, "sit" means "OOH what's Floyd going to get?" and "speak" means "I have to jump on Floyd again!"... it's a crazy obsession. But it's only when we're out, and he's on his case the whole time. I keep getting odd looks from people who think they're fighting!

[Val]

I don't think it's a crazy obsession to me it's part habit and part crutch, do you ever exercise and train him on his own
Val

in that case im running away now

hahaha... don't blame you! He always barks at Floyd too, as if Floyd's not allowed more attention than him. When we're out, "sit" means "OOH what's Floyd going to get?" and "speak" means "I have to jump on Floyd again!"... it's a crazy obsession. But it's only when we're out, and he's on his case the whole time. I keep getting odd looks from people who think they're fighting!

[wags]

see i have always believed that really herdie dogs need to herd but they need to know what is acceptable to herd and how much

if you watch my dogs its really clear

Oban herds Meg
Glen herds everyone
Cleo herds no one shes not in the least bit herdie

[justpetdogs]

A farmer took his Border Collie out with him one day to check on his flock.

"Go and count how many sheep I have.", he told the dog.

Off the Collie went, ran round the flock and back to the farmer.

"OK, how many sheep do I have?" asked the farmer.

"Ten.", said the Collie.

"What!  But I only bought nine!", replied the farmer.

"Ah!  I rounded them up!" replied the Collie.

   Sorry, couldn't resist! 

[Mudgie]

that made me chuckle    I know I need to get a life.

[SuzAndTheDiva]

hahahah brilliant 

[kizkiznobite]

what routine do you have in place for going hunting....who is in control of the hunt.....

[Gemsy]

I don't walk him on his own often at all, just a couple of times a week. But when Floyd's there it doesn't matter what other dogs are there, Floyd's all he cares about. It was almost a problem today 'cause Floyd snapped at him and Riley thought he was snapping at him so there was a bit of a disagreement. I'm a dog walker so always have different dogs with me and it's pretty much get out and run and get home, no real routine at all... which I realise could be part of my problem!

I also realised today that I need to work on his recall again.  So yeah... could possibly do with some advice of how to gain control of the hunt!

justpetdogs - that joke is great! I might stick that on my wall

[rooooooooby]

Hi,

you know what - this sounds scarily like the Mist / Will scenario and that definately *wasnt* herding ... are you sure you have the behaviour interpretation right ?

just a thought ....
i would be  if you were letting my dog do this as a client.  if you think about it from your clients point of view - you are letting this dog practice very unwanted behaviour and probably creating or certainly re-inforcing problems for the owner

you need to manage the hunt ALOT more effectively and until you have the skill to do this, i would reccommend that you dont take your dog (and possibly not other clients dogs either - depending on situation) on walks with the collie.

Claire.

[Gemsy]

Hi, I should really follow up my posts with a response... I can't believe I haven't been here since January and don't even know if you guys will remember me at all, let alone my problems haha! Claire, thank you for your advice, I know this was aaages ago... I should've made it clearer that the collie is my dog!

We have worked hard on this - we worked on keeping by my feet. Also, I taught him to actually 'get Floyd', i.e. put a cue to his favourite game... It's definitely not perfect (still some mad moments) but walks are a bit more controlled than they were, and the neck-nipping is no longer a problem at all