Question on commands

[nancyweNW]

I have an 11-year-old border collie mix. I absolutely agree on using love to train. She respoinds pretty well when I tell her to "come". However, what do I use if she is doing something I don't want her to do. Such as, if she runs after a bike. (And yes, I've only had her for two years so we have some retraining to do). I want her to come because she wants to and associates it with something pleasurable. So what do I use when I want her to come to stop whatever the inappropriate behavior is?

[Ginger's Mom]

I am a little unsure from your post if this behavior is occuring on or off lead. If she is off lead, then I would suggest not taking her out off lead until she has a reliable recall in various situations. Keep her on lead, give the come command and treat or praise. When she is reliable at that wait until she is interested in something else (say sniffing a particular spot) call her to come then treat/praise. This can be done on a long lead, so you can correct if she does not come. Vary the situations when you call her to you, so she learns that responding to you is better than whatever she was doing before. If you are talking about her trying to chase a bike while on lead, what I would do is teach her what I want her to do or how I want her to behave, before she shows the unwanted behavior. For example, you see a bike coming down the street, before it even gets close enough for her to start pulling to try to chase it, you stand in front of her and tell her sit. You keep her attention and keep her in a sit until the bike goes by, you treat/praise/reward. It will take a several times to get her to stay seated quietly while the bike goes by. But rather than concentrating on the unwanted behavior (bike chasing) your are concentrating on the wanted behavior (sitting politely). You just must be awasre of your surroundings so that you can show her how to behave before the bike gets within chase distance. That would be my suggestion, but I am sure that there will be some other good or better ideas on here.

[rutylr]

I agree don't let her off if she is not 100% reliable.
My dogs have obed titles and I still don't let them off leash,unless I am in an building or fenced in area.
They are dogs and do dog things.If they are focused on something they are not going to listen to you.

[Giselle]

In your case, I would recommend using a distraction before using Come. Dogs with absolute bombproof recalls could perhaps be called off a bike or a rabbit with "Come". But most dogs need a distraction to pry their mind off the situation. In an ideal situation, say your pup is off-lead and she has just begun to chase the bicycle. Throw a can of pennies in her direction and in the split second that she pauses at the noise, command a "Come". The problem, however, is that we generally don't have quick enough reflexes. You could also use a VOG "NO!" or call her name, but I doubt the dog would even flick its head in your direction with these. Some people use electronic collars (both shock and citronella) to pause the dog and gain that bit of precious time to call the dog back. I don't have experience with either so I can't vouch or criticize them when used in this manner. However, I do agree with the others. Dogs who don't have very very reliable recalls generally shouldn't be let off-lead, especially where there are dangers like bikes and bunnies.

[nancyweNW]

Thanks for the suggestions. They say you can teach old dogs new tricks and I do believe that but I've got 9 years of behavior to overcome. She's my girl though and I love her to death.

[gardengirl]

I agree with the above posts about keeping her on leash, regardless of training or age. I recently fostered an 11 year old collie for a few months. She enjoyed constantly barking at the back fence at the dogs behind us, and also barked just for the heck of it.

For the fence problem, I showed her that if she got off the fence and ran to me, she got a big treat. She learned that very well. After a few days, all I had to do was clap my hands and she came running. However, sometimes she was just too much in the 'zone'. At those times, I went up to her and put a leash on her. Then I just kept her with me for the next 15 minutes or so and she was good - no barking. I praised her when she stopped barking and ignored the barking and redirected.

I used the leash in the house as well when she was in a barking mood. Although she was 11, she learned very well. For your dog, being a border collie, her instinct is really strong to chase. Keeping her on a leash around moving vehicles is the best thing to do.