I hava an eight month old rough collie who is very timid about many things. He doesn't like going down a staircase, for instance, and sometimes he doesn't like coming UP a staircase. Yesterday evening we had a barbecue and, after a short time, he ran away to a corner to hide and he has been acting strangely all day today ..... shying at all sorts of things, hiding and refusing to come when called. He lives in a loving family who have always had dogs. We give him love, affection, ecouragement in all forms. But, so far, without lasting effect. We are beginning to think that we have a problem dog here. Any ideas anyone? Has anybody had the same sort of experiences with a collie?

a relatives grandmother has one like it, hes always been fearful, frightened of his own shadow, hes terrible to take out for walks, infact i think its now impossible-they too have had dogs all there lives, this dog is beautiful, !!!! but cant be very happy,

Hi Pete
Has your dog always been like this or has it come with age ?
The reason I ask is that dogs can become frightened of everday normal things at this age . In one of my Staffy books its called "Hidden Tiger" . And explains how things that never used to bother them suddenly become an issue . The issues should disappear if it is due to that .
There are timid dogs though just like there are timid people I suppose . Gus took a disliking to certain doorways believe it or not and wouldnt go through certain ones . It is best not to make an isuse of the problem - try to act quite normally as though nothing is wrong.
Good luck :)
Lel

Hi Peter
I have had Rough Colies for years We have 6 at the moment, Firstly they can be silly at times with stairs etc one of mine will go up and down no prob then one day she will refuse I had put a different curtain on the landing window!!! after a few days she went back to normal. Roughs will react to all sorts of strange things, won't walk past a tree because of a plastic bag hanging in it , or one of mine will jump over the lines on a sports hall floor, one even refused to come into the living room for a week after we got new chairs she stayed in the hall I just left the door open and ignored her and when she did come in I praised her she had a sniff at the chairs and must have decided they were ok because she laid down beside one. The best thing you could do is ignore the unwanted behaviour as much as possible.
With the barbecue I wonder if there may have been fire works going of some where that you may not have heard but your dog did, collies have very sensitive hearing and all mine are very nervous of fire works,one hates to go out for a walk when it is dark. We had fire works going off near us last week My collies were jumpy for a couple of days after. Don't comfort the dog when he is being timid as this will lead him to think this behaviour is ok My dogs have favorite toys, when your pup is hiding and refusing to come you, play with one of his toys but ignore the pup he should come too play because your having fun!! I would play with one of the other dogs but you may not have that option if he is an only dog. Hope things go well for you Roughs can be nuts but I love them
Sheila

We have 2 Rough Collies, the bitch is into everything, the dog WAS very, very timid until we got the bitch - now we think he feels he has to show he is the boss, although he isn't! It has taken much time and patience and when he shies away from something, we have even had to pick him up and take him to what is frightening him, just to show him all is well. Now he is much better although sometimes will still jump at his own shadow. All I can recommend is lots of love, reassurance and praise. Good luck.

Hi Peter,

Would echo everything Sheila said, Roughs can be wusses about some things, particularly floors, etc. Just one thing to consider though - hopefully your dog was eye tested as a puppy, and all was well? If not, and if you think he really does go beyond just being timid, might be an idea to get a specialist to check his eyes/sight just to rule out any problem there, as there can be breed issues. Let me know if you want further details, but hopefully he was tested by his breeder.

Marina :)