I got my border collie from a rescue centre 3months ago, I knew she was very timid and over the last 3months she has come a long way;however she has set backs everyday.
The slightest bang,rustle of a bag, noise on t.v etc she's running around in circles.She won't let me out of her sight and has recently started barking at night when I put her to bed in the kitchen.The latest thing is chasing cars and motorbikes-she actually lurches forward and tries to bite them....can anyone offer any advice as to why she is doing this and what I can do to re-assure her that she is ok and safe etc.She's approx 16months old and been in rescue centre for 12months of her life.

I'd apprciate any help and if anyone knows of any good dog training schools in cheshire/merseyside.
Thanks - Suzi

Hi Guest
Have a look on this site for clubs nears you

dog clubs

Alison:)

Hi,
She's probably doing this because she is programmed to herd things...anything that moves needs herding. That's waht has been bred intoborder collies for umpteen generations. How much exercise does she get (both physical and mental)?

mail me - i have excellent factsheets that I got sent from BCRescue - makes a lot of things clearer [email chloe@iscario.com]chloe[/email]

I have border collies and Cassie hates motor bikes and will go right down and as they go past try and grab them
you could try giving he a dog kong or something at night forher to ocupy herself as they get bored easily and there minds need to be worked. mine do agility and love it.
Have you thought about taking her to training classes to socialisewith other dogs and people which might help her
Good luck with her
Hannah

Crosskeys Books do Desensitation CD's for Fireworks, Thunderstorms and Traffics, I think the idea is that you play it quietly to start with and very gradually increase the volume into the dog is happy with the noise, presumably using postive training techniques and loads of yummy treats

I was going to suggest similar to chaliepud...

I would try desensitizing her to certain noises. You can buy various sound tapes or CD's.... Play them during the day, start quietly and eventually get louder. She will get used to those sounds so they dont startle her as much.

My girl was afraid of Thunder, and unfortunately she lives in AZ, so during Monsoon season we get a lot of very loud thunder storms. I bought a CD that had various storm sounds on it, and play them all the time. She barely flinches anymore when she hears thunder.

she/he might be scared or has had a bad past.if when it comes to you give him a biscuit.

The book "Understanding the Border Collie" by Carol Price goes into these sorts of problems.

Lindsay

Hi firstly collies are normally sensitatve to noise even when they aren't nervous and so the tapes that you can get are a good idea playing them very quietly to start with.Ignore her if she reacts to noise dont try and reassure her your just telling her its ok to be scared if you do.Carry on with whatever you were doing before she got upset if she ignores the noise then reward her by giving her some attention even just saying good girl and giving her a stroke will help her realise its ok.Also can you fit a door gate so that for short periods you can isolate her in another room she will still be able to see you and hopefully not become too stressed but will begin to learn its ok to be alone try it for short periods to start off with building it up as she becomes more confident that you arent going to disappear forever and also try to wait till shes queit before you go back to her.
Chasing cars and or motorbikes stems from a collies natural working instincts you would probably find that it extends to most fast moving objects.Try finding a seat beside abusy road and watch the traffic with her everytime a vehicle passes try to get her attention on you with a toy or atreat if she reacts to the car or bike tell her no and start again with the next one if she ignores the car and watches you or the treat go overboard with praise.It will seem like you are never going to get anywhere with her but gradually slowly but surely if you time this right she will forget about the traffic and her attention will be on you . Hope this helps Gillian