Hi I seem to be asking all sorts of questions at the moment.. Poppy my six month old collie x Lab...goodness knows what else.we think a bit of Lurcher...we have had her nearly four months she was a perfect little pup no chewing, toilet trained really quickly not brilliant on the lead but ok ish....but now wow shes a horror on the lead well behaved most of the time at home and inside...but going for a walk has turned into a complete nightmare she's quite large and weighs about 14kg im only 5 1...and she nearly pulls me over sometimes we walk lovely for a little bit then she completely changes she leaps up to grab the leads handle snarling sometimes nipping me she has all her adult teeth now, it is quite painful i shout at her makes no difference, this is really upsetting.. eventually she gives up and goes back to being the loveable pup she can be i just don't know what to do please could some one help us...thankyou
Re: AT THE END OF MY TETHER...... have you been to puppy classes? if not it might be a good idea to start
Re: AT THE END OF MY TETHER...... Anything with a good dose of Collie in it, is going to need an awful lot of brain stimulation to keep it occupied and if it doesn't get it, it'll become frustrated and develop lots of nasty habits and possibly neurotic type behaviours. I would suggest you find yourself a good trainer, who is experienced with Collies and who uses positive training methods (not those Dominance Theory methods a certain Dog Whisperer uses) and get yourself along to classes as many times as you can a week. In between classes, you'll need to practise what you've learnt at home too. The combination of Collie, Lurcher and Labrador (with perhaps other breeds in there too) will give you a complex dog, but a dog which "should" be very trainable if you use the right techniques. A dog like that would probably excel at Agility or Flyball, so I'd say while you're looking for a trainer, I'd look for a club for one or both of those too. Collies are only happy when they are working, but thankfully you have a bit of other breeds in there too, which should allow you and the dog some down time, although you might need to teach the dog to settle if it is hyper at home. If it is very Collie-like it might have trouble switching off, even after being worked both physically and mentally. The dog is already showing signs of frustrated behaviour, so don't delay and wait until this develops into worse and worse behaviours. Get help now and start working that dog's brain. You'll be amazed how much you'll both get out of it in the long run.
Re: AT THE END OF MY TETHER...... Great advice from Jules. Also, do you have a clicker? And if so, have you tried teaching her anything using it? Teaching off lead heel with a clicker is a great way to establish a better way to walk along together. And Collies enjoy the mental stimulation of learning tricks. Pippa
Re: AT THE END OF MY TETHER...... My mum has a young border collie who was a total nightmare for several months. Pulled hard on the lead, would never come back when called, did not want to be petted or stroked... Mum thought for a while she couldnt keep her. Now at just over a year she is delightful. It took lots of finding out what interests her, training, playing of games - things where she had to use her brain, such as finding hidden toys, along with lots of exercise. Try to think like your dog - how can you keep her stimulated and interested? Classes and meeting with other dogs and their owners at a club like agility or similar will almost certainly help. Good luck - you can do it!!!
Re: AT THE END OF MY TETHER...... Lots of good advice, recommended reading and other links about Collies here.... http://www.wiccaweys.co.uk/start.html
