I walk a friends 1 year old border collie who is fine in the fields and along quiet tracks but when walking on roads near traffic he lunges at it barking and trying to get at it.

Does anyone know of a solution to stop him doing this or has anyone come across this situation before.  I have taken treats out to try and get his attention but he is so fixed on the cars going by.

Thanks.

Anne.

Hi there

I have a 4 month old GSd who also does the same, he is a nightmare.  I have tried everything with him to no avail.  Later this week his trainer is coming round, hopefully to try and resolve the problem, I dont know what tricks he has up his sleeve but I really hope it works.  Other than that he is very obedient, the usual sit, stand, stay etc., but all that goes out the window when he sees cars, I dont seem to exist.  Fingers crossed it works.  Pity you are not a member then I could keep you updated and let you know the outcome.

Hi

I have become a member as I am sure I will find the forum very useful.  If you would be willing to keep me updated on your GSD I would be very grateful as I am sure the answer is out there somewhere. 

Both my bcs did this especially when walking at night. Bicycles were another favourite. Nothing seemed to work but they seemed to pretty much grow out of it by the time they were 12 months. Don't know if it's the herding instinct or what. This seems to be a common problem in bc's.
Otherwise they are both very obedient, like you say in a field etc.

I think it is the herding instinct in BC's :D we have been lucky with Spice, she only barked at parked red cars in car parks? but she always chases my husband's works van when he is on sites,she even chews the bumper if he starts the engine before she is inside, so he won't drive off without her but she doesn't do it on the normal walks with us or with our own car.

We always took her to busy roads, with heavy traffic when she was very young and just stood watching the traffic with her, making her sit patiently and praising her for being 'good', possibly that 'paid off' and she can be walked off lead around traffic now quite safely, although we don't tend to do this very much!

Also she will run on the path with us on pushbikes, even if we are on the road and not try to 'herd' us or run in front of us just keeps pace alongside quite happily, although this took some time before she got the idea that we were not in a race :D

Jacqueline :)

Just had a dog pulling and lunging at a  car while out on a walk this afternoon, only this time he took me by surprise and hit the car. How the driver never ran him over  especially as he never stopped I don't know.At the last split second I managed to drag him back to stop him going under the front wheels and he then bounced off the side of the car. Anyway the dog is fine I have a badly sprained ankle but apart from that eveythings ok. I am now going to try him in a halti as he is so strong and I dont want this happening again.He is a rescue so I didn't find out until today that he did this.

If anyone's got a problem with collies and chasing, it may be helpful to get hold of Carol Price's "Understanding the border collie" , it's not expensive.

My Terv was very excited by bicycles and anything that moved. I used clicker and toy training to work on the problem, gradually desensitising over the weeks and setting up specific training sessions at least 3 times a week, and not letting her practice the behaviour in between those sessions. You start by being aware of the dog's critical distance - you want the dog noticing the car/bike/horse, but not reacting. You reward from there, and so on...I'm a bit too tired to go into it in detail, but that's the gist :)

Lindsay
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