hi i was just wondering what to do to help my dog shes a rough collie and was mated last week.
iused to take her to training and always have her out about people but she is so scared of every thing that she see even people she now;s she well stand and bacrk or even try to run away from them im just glad that she is allways on her leash when she is out or she would b dead by now please help willing to try any thing

I'm sorry but i cannot believe you have bred from such a nervous animal
Archer

Is she nervous now after being bred, or do you mean she was nervous before?

Sadly it may be that the puppies also turn out to be nervous because of either genetic influence, or copying their dam's behaviour. For example if they see their mum acting scared, they may also learn to act scared.

If it is learnt behaviour from your collie rather than genetic( do you know what the parents/siblings were like?) then you have a chance with proactive habituation and socialisation programme if you take the advice of a reputable behaviourist to counteract the mums behaviour.

As for the mum, do you know why she is so nervous? Have you had her from a pup, and have you tried to socialise her when she was a youngster? :)

It may be possible to help her, but it will probably be a long haul.

Best wishes
Lindsay
X

my collie was not always like this, she was a happy dog.
i think its because she is separeted from my other dogs
because she was in season as 1 of my dogs are a male border collie so im
just wondering if thats y shes like this .well when i think off it thats her pack and
she has been away from them so she will be very funny by herself.
all my dogs are kept in my house not out side .
                     thank for everyones reply

So was she never walked on her own before her season?? You must have had to keep her seperated from the male on her previous seasons aswell.Only you know the truth and if your bitch is nervous it would be VERY irresponsible of you to let her have pups....a nervous dog is a recipe for diasater and WILL bite if pushed!! If your bitch is nervous how will you feel if these pups end up biting a child or at best in rescue centres because the owners can't cope with them??
Be honest with yourself.....PLEASE!!!  I know you've read things on here you don't wnt to hear but ITS THE TRUTH!!
Archer

I wish you luck palaminouk, really I do.

Me too Val

There are many Rough Collies who are nervous in temperament and IMO these should not be bred from, regardless of their quality.  In fact the Breed Standard specifically states "Temperament - Friendly disposition with no trace of nervousness or aggressiveness."
I certainly would NOT recommend that families bought puppies from a bitch with a nervous disposition.
I think that it would be responsible to consider if this pregnancy should continue, given that your bitch has such a serious fault against the Breed Standard. :(

I have to agree with Val on this one, if as I read it she was nervous before you mated her, then please reconsider letting this pregnancy go to full term.

It certainly wouldn't be fair to sell any ensuing puppies to family or pet homes.

In my opinion a nervous dog is far far worse than a bold dog.  Fear biting is a dreadful thing to cure, if it is possible.

If she has only been nervous since mating, then again it maybe her hormones bouncing about and will settle.

I ,like you thought the post meant that the nervousness is not a recent thing...

Hi paliaminouk,

Hopefully your post has been misconstrued and this behaviour has only emerged post-mating.  If so, it is probably just a hormonal "blip" but it might be safer to have her vet checked in case there is any underlying cause (such as pain from an infection).  

But like the others I can't help wondering if your bitch was like this before you bred her  

If so, you have taken on a huge responsibility as nervous mums will almost certainly affect the characters of their litter - regardless if her nerves are the result of nature or nurture.  If you go ahead with this you will need to seek advice on how best and at how early a stage you can separate the mum from her pups and then work hard yourself on ensuring they grow accustomed to as many "normal" situations and household noises as possible and of course get lots of interaction with humans of all ages, shapes and sizes this is no small undertaking as although this is needed with every litter, usually mum's calm reaction reassures young whelps - not puts them on edge :( so you will have a lot harder work ahead of you and for a longer time period.

Perhaps you can elaborate on your girl's situation - then more practical advice may be forthcoming.

Regards, Teri :)

Were you present when the dog was mated?  Was it handled sympathetically?

Has this behaviour only recently started? OR was she a nervous bitch to start with?  I grew up with a magnificent Rough collie who loved everybody, and it sadens me to hear the breed is being spoilt :(

That's the way it used to be 20 years ago Digger!  Unfortunately, it's not like that anymore!! :(

Val

Have to say how true unfortunately.   My mum and dad had Rough Collies over 25 years ago and what wonderful temperaments they had and boy could they move !  Then about 8 years ago someone bought a Rough Collie to our training club that was nasty, nervous, atrocious back end and then someone else came, the same again, and then another.   What has happened over the last 20 years ? 

I have met others that have wonderful temperaments and can move, but not many unfortunately.  I used to think that they were one of the best breeds in the world, unfortunately I don't feel this anymore.

Absolutely perrodeagua!  This board is a snapshot of what is going on in the big world!  You can see what's happening if you read the overwhelming lack of knowledge, as well as bad breeding practice.  I feel so sorry to the unsuspecting families who buy these badly bred pups, and don't get the friendly companions that they are expecting.  It's very sad :(

Maybe you can begin to understand why the family who are collecting their puppy in the morning are travelling from Cheshire to Somerset and have been waiting for 18 months for me to produce them a bitch puppy!  And guess what?  It's ONLY a pet!! :)

I have to say Val, knowing your dogs as I do, It will be a wonderful pet, a credit to the breed and worth the wait!

Best wishes, John

I don't know whether it's my memory playing tricks, but I'm sure I remember a Rough collie in the Borders who was a lot bigger than the ones I see at shows nowadays. I know they have a lot of coat which makes them look bigger than they actually are, but he was definitely noticeably taller than our dalmatian at the time, who was 24 inches tall. Have they generally shrunk? Some (especially the bitches) can only be distinguished from Shelties by their heads ..

He was a great dog though. Not a hint of nervousness.
:)

I must admit JG, they did seem bigger many years ago when I was a child. But then, I was quite a bit smaller then so they might have just APPEARED bigger ;)

Best wishes, John

You're right!!  The Breed Standard is 20"-22" for bitches and 22"-24" for dogs.  My bitches are 20" and they sometimes look huge compared to others in the ring!  Having travelled 408 miles each way for this stud dog, I'm hoping to increase the size a little in this litter!  But when temperament is a problem, and it is, size is a second consideration.

Shelties, on the other hand, have difficulty with size the other way!!  I have a friend who breeds Shelties and runs on the whole litter to see what size they will mature into, hoping for nothing toooooo big!

Your right! A friend of mine's Sheltie is almost up to Rough Collie size. She has packed up any idea of showing him and has started working up to obedience instead.

Best wishes, John

Like the others, as I understand your post she has always been nervous, not just suddenly become so. If so, you really should reconsider letting this possible pregnancy continue, because unsound temperament is very often genetic. What were her mother and litter-mates like temperamentally? Unfortunately a nervous dog often becomes a fear-biter, so I certainly wouldn't recommend any pups were placed in pet homes. Sorry that it's probably not what you want to hear.

A woman I know has a GSD...she brought it against my advice since the dam was fear aggressive. By the time the pups were 12 months old all but 2 out of the litter of 8aahd been PTS due to temperament problems.
Archer

My first dog was a classic example of early learned behaviour.  She was a Groenendael and naturally sensitive.  She was terrified of the vaccum cleaner.  On asking ehr breeder it turned out that they ahd a little Jack Russel socialisaed wit5h the pups, their dam was fine but he went Berserk when the Hoover came out, and all th4e pups foillowed him in behaviour.

I hope we haven't scared the original poster away.

What everyone is saying is totally true, but the best way to help the pups and bitch is surely to not look back with good old hindsight, but to work with what is happening now.....

Lindsay
X

Hi Lindsay.  I hope that OP is seriously considering if this pregnancy should be allowed to continue.  Sad, I know, but I think further ahead than the immediate situation.  My concerns are for the "normal" families who will buy these pups and end up with a liability rather than the asset to their family that they had hoped.
If the pups grow up with problems, we'll get more criticism about "what these show breeders have done to the breed" when if you read the posters previous posts, this bitch hasn't seen the ring but this is the second attempt to produce puppies!  Nervous temperament is completely against the Breed Standard, as I posted before.
And, of course, it's not happening to just MY breed!

<<<What everyone is saying is totally true, but the best way to help the pups and bitch is surely to not look back with good old hindsight, but to work with what is happening now.....>>>>

But the point is it is the future problems that we are trying to prevent....if these pups are born then this problem will only be multiplied 10x over in the future and then for eanc one of these pups that are used to breed multiplied again.

Archer

But no-one even waited to find out more from the OP or even when the dog started to get like this was my point :)

It was just assumed. Now the lady has returned and we know a little more.

Lindsay
X

well im sorry to tell all the bad minded people who condem me and my dog but she,s not usely
like this its been just recent.and she was breed from champion blood lines not just the dog next door
and so is the dog i bred her with.Also im from a big family their are 10siblings pluse me 2 off my own wain and 38 neices+nephews from 6mths-30 and my dog just loves children to bits infact she loves them all.
i have on other dog shes a collie x 13 yrs and i take all my dogs out together .
Well any way if i was a deap person and took every thing to heart i would never have came on her to ask questions because some of you,s are so bad minded about this that you don,t even given me a chance
about my dog and to think i would breed from her and sell pups to people who sometimes don,t even no enything about the breed.

I am sorry but a change in the normal routine might be expected to leave your bitch a bit puzzled, amybe a bit clingy or sad, but not terrified.  Terror would mean that she has an incorrect temperament or has been very badly brought up.

Giving birth can be frightening for a maiden bitch, and she will have to spend most of the first weeks with ehr new family away from her canine companions, and a normal well adjusted dog should be able to cope without terror.

If she is like this when her pups are born their temperaments may be ireversibly affected.

Sahe may have the best of pedigrees, and have parents with wonderful temperaments, and hers may be an accide3nt of cirvumstance, brain damage or whatever, but it 8s still very likely to impact on her pups.

I agree with Brainless, if this is new behaviour since being mated, then there has to be an underlying reason (i.e. that there is a nevous strak in the bloodline).

If she is like this now then how on earth is she going to cope with giving birth and being on her own with the pups for a few weeks.

Another question, if she was only mated last week, why are you taking her out on walks on the lead, this is time when her cervix is still open and consequently she is at risk of an infection entering the womb and causing infection!!

My advice would still be to end this pregnancy, as it obviously is not suiting this bitch to either be mated or to be in whelp, her temperament is not up to it.

A dog should be confident not shy or aggressive in any normal circumstances to be suitable breeding material....
Just because we have told you what you don't want to hear does not make us 'bad people'.
Archer

Sorry palaminouk but none of my bitches have been "so scared of every thing that she see even people she now;s" after being mated in the past 20+ years!  That is not a stable temperament regardless of her "champion blood lines"

Sorry palaminouk but none of my bitches have been "so scared of every thing that she see even people she now;s" after being mated in the past 20+ years!

I should have added - not would I expect them to be!!

couldent somthing of scared her recently ,mabe the stud hurt her?. its not impossible .  if that happened if thats the case thats not a fault in the line .its just fear of being hurt.  boy what replies , welcome to the forum

Again Lovelady this kind of fear would not be a noraml reaction for a bitch with a solid temperament.  Maiden bitches are often skittish, but soon calm down during a mating.  If as the poster says the stud was an experienced one, the mating would have been supervised properly.  I have attended all sorts of matings from very hands on ones in a large guarding breed to very natural one4s in my own breed, and even with my own bitch who decided she was not going to have any of it did I get a lasting fear reaction.  Temperament is one of the most important factors of all whn breeding and is overlooked/forgiven at our peril.  A breed I am very fond of has a clause in the standard that says they are wary of strangers.  This I beleive has been used as an excuse and the breed needs careful handling when young to have a well adjusted dog, sadly many new owners cannot cope with the demenads and end up with a very nervous anumal.  This then gets the breeds a bad reputaion and ultimately leads to it's demise unless breed lovers address the problem.

Lovelylady, even if a bitch dislikes a mating (and some do) it shouldn't leave her so terrified that she's scared of people she knows.

Hi i found out what happend to my dog .
i left her with a neighbour for a day and there was a big fight
with family and freind in wich my dog tryed to protect my neighbour
in with she bit one off them and they started to kick her then gave her a beaten so no wander she was going mad.she was ok when i was taking her to dog training also she just loved everyone
as she used to be very loveing around people no mater were i had her in the house or the park
so i will have to take it bit by bit to get her back to normal.

Well I do hope you have time to sort her out before pups are born, as the pups will notice her ear, and of course it will make prodpective owners understandably wary if she is off with them.

You are very lucky then that the person she bit did not report it to the police, as with DDA she probably wouldn't be with you now. Mind in my opinion no dog should bite!!

Surprised your neighbour didn't tell you immediately though!!!  Not quite the sort of person I would leave any of my dogs with.

As Brainless says you have lots of work to do between now and selling her pups, which may be very very difficult to do. 

Hey Mr.Tally man, tally me banana
Daylight come and I wanna go home"  :)