Eva our 13 wk old BC cowers from my dad, he has never hurt her in anyway but if he calls her she'll go to him but then then when he goes to stroke her or get her collar she cowers from him, he isnt brilliant with the dogs so i dont know if she can sense this. Is there a way we can encourage her to not cower. Shes great with strange men, women, kids, other dogs nothing normally phases her.

How about him giving her some treats (bribary i know) :) whilst sitting with her, maybe with you too?? Not sure if she would take to this, just a thought :) and gently talking to her??

You could try rubbing an item of your clothing or something with your scent onto his hands.

Don't confuse cowering with a reaction to a perceived threat ;) In dog body language it's her way of saying she recognises him as the adult male and she's  being polite.  Pups who aren't used to men often react this way, and while it's tempting to use treats and rewards to over come the behaviour, unless used very carefully, the dog will simply see this as rewarding the cowering behaviour.

Far better to ask your Dad to take an active part in her daily routine, so he becomes the provider of most of the good things in her life.  This will also help your Dad to relax around her as it gives him an alternative thing to do other than be intensively one to one with her, as in a fussing situation.

If she approached him cowering, I'd tell him to walk away from her.....  But at the same time, allow her to approach him in her own time, and not push her to interact with him, or reward her in anyway while she is behaving like this. Also make him aware of how his body language may be encouraging her to cower - ask him to drop his shouldars and to hunker down to say hello to her if possible, rather than bend over her as many people do - this is a potentially threatening postion for a dog to be in.  Also ask him not to look directly into her eyes, as this is also perceived as a canine threat.

HTH

The puppy needs to form a good association with having her collar touched.   First you and those she likes, practice taking her collar, from underneath, not over her head, at the exact same time you give her a treat.  Then those people she is not so confident with can do it too.   Collies are often hand shy and it could be she has prior negative experience whilst with breeder of being grabbed.  Never grab her until she is totally desensitised to it.