My 4 month border collie bitch has very strong herding instinct, And bites really hard.

I cant run near her nor can anyone else, Ive tried all sorts, I have taught her lots of tricks so far and we go on a few long walks a day, She also had food agression, I understand that this is probably a dominance issue, But I have done as much as I can think of to become the pack leader, She doesnt even seem to like to be stroked, Im starting to think that she dislikes me, I would very much appriciate some advice, What I would'nt like is people telling me that I should'nt have got a border collie, All I would like is some help, Thankyou :)

Asked by Darcy on Mar 13th 2013 in Behavior & Training


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Kali earned her wings 10/21/14

She's a working dog. With that said, i sounds like she will not be satisfied with being bored. She needs a job. You can enroll her in classes that teach agility, herding, nose-work or any other activity that make her use her mind. She can't help her activity level, it's instinct. Good Luck!

Kali earned her wings 10/21/14 answered on 3/13/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


How is she with other dogs? If she has no aggression with other dogs you can take her to the dog park and let the other dogs wear her out. She might like being petted when she passes out because she is so exhausted from the dog park. When my dog was younger he was so hyper and an hour or 2 at the dog park turned him into a sweet sleepy snuggle bunny.



I have an 8 month old mixed breed puppy who has a strong herding instinct. We have found that directing his attention to different tasks has mellowed him out. We got him a Kong food dispenser that he has to knock around to get his food out. As soon as his food is gone we remove his dish or the kong so that he can't "guard" it during the day. We also play hide and seek with him in the house and do at least 45-60 minutes of training broken up into small chunks throughout the day. He doesn't have to be physically exhausted to be tired. We spread his toys out around the house and he "herds" them back into his space. But we never leave them out for him to "guard" either. We usually only let him have them while we are actively playing so that he doesn't become too possessive. He goes for walks, less than 2 miles per day but the brain stimulation is what really helped with his herding problems.

Grover answered on 5/28/13. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer