Disobedient, Barking, Ignoring, Toys

[WilliamKey]

I was wondering if you could help us with about 5 issues we have at hand. We adopted a Collie in April who we were told was about 2 years old. We are his 4th home and do not know what training he's had or, what his life was before we took him in. All we do know is that the rescue that had him trained him to walk on a leash. He does that well and also knows his sit, down, stay and wait all on leash, which is what we have him trained to do so far. However the 4 items I have listed are driving us crazy. My wife and I both work so he is home alone most days for 7-8 hours. Sometimes we send him to play at doggie daycare when we know we both are working late. He is allowed to be loose in the house and is house broken, We haven't had but maybe a couple of incidents that can be chalked up to us not getting home to let him out fast enough.

 

1) Barking at everything he sees outside. We have full windows on both sides of our entrance door. When he sees someone walking their dog or any other animal in the yard he goes crazy with the barking. Sometimes we can get his attention and get him to come to us and we give him a treat when he does. Other times he ignores us.

 

2) Ignoring us when called or trying to get his attention. This seems to be an ongoing problem also.

 

3) Coming when called...we have trained him on this using treats but without treats or if there is another distraction he ignores us.

 

4) Bullying other dogs at the dog park. He plays rough at times with other dogs usually that are submissive. Sometimes to the point that the other dogs run from him trying to hide. He likes to chase, tackle and pin them down. His tail is wagging and he doesn't growl or snarl at them but he does bark at them and tries to intimidate them. He has been in doggie daycares and they say he plays fine with the other dogs but the area isn't as open as the park where he can run. This is where solving problem 3 would be a tremendous help.

 

5) Toys....he doesn't know how to play with any toys...any suggestions?

 

Thanks

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello WilliamKey,

 

Welcome to the forums.

As you may know already, border collies are wonderful dogs, but they need loads of exercise, training and mental stimulation. These dogs were bred to work very, very hard and they may take a compulsive edge to their favorite activities, and this may include as well activities that we may not be very fond off (barking at the doorbell, pacing herding bikes, cars etc). In order to help these dogs make good choices we must show them through absolute consistency alternate activities to engage in and make them far more rewarding. Here are some tips:

 

1) The issue of barking at everything outside. For this, you need to prevent rehearsal of the behavior when you are not home. If your dog is allowed to bark at stimuli when you are out and not bark when you are at home (when you work on distracting him, when you can), the behavior is put on a variable schedule and this means it will persist and become difficult to eradicate.

 

There are several options to prevent rehearsal when you are not home or when you are home but can't train him. One of them is placing window film on the windows so to make stimuli less salient. This may help in some cases to take the "edge off", although some dogs still bark due to noises or shadows.

 

Another option is to simply keep him away from the window area. This is the best options as dogs who are left alone often bark from insecurity or boredom (they find their own "job"). Less exposure to this "hot spot" often translates in a reduction of barking (out of sight, out of mind). Installing a baby gate to prevent access is an option or there are other means such as placing bulky items to block off access to the windows, at least until being trained to react less.

 

Then, when you are home and have time to train, you can allow him in the area, but you must keep him leashed and at a distance from the windows at first, so he doesn't have the choice to rush to the windows as he always has done. I am not sure if you tried working on "Look at That," it's a brain game meant to train dogs to react less to stimuli.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

 

You may also try training a "leave it" or "off" cue to remind your dog to stay away from the window area. With some dogs, I have found that placing myself in front of the windows, helps block them and remind the dog that the window area is off limits, at least until they learn to be less reactive. Caution though is needed. Some dogs are so aroused at triggers, that if you happen to touch them or interfere with their barking, they may snap or even bite. Having a professional help is always advised for safety and correct behavior modification implementation.

 

Here is the section on how to train "leave it." You may have to start training it with easy exercises like leaving an item on the floor, before progressing to leaving windows as there is a likely a very strong rehearsal history in approaching windows and barking at triggers.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

 

You can read more about a program to tackle "territorial barking" in this page, scroll down to the bottom where it says "Territoriality: Managing Behavior in Indoor Dogs."

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/other-triggers/

 

If your dog isn't responsive to you when he's so focused on windows, that is often a sign that he is over threshold. Creating more distance often helps. You can read about threshold levels here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Changing this type of behavior takes time (there's no quick fix), as the more the dog has practiced it in the past, the more it has established. It requires consistency and also tackling other aspects of the dog's life such as keeping them busy with brain games, lowering their anxiety if they are insecure, and giving them alternate "chores" to keep those working brains busy.

 

With providing more exercise and mental stimulation, preventing access to windows when not being actively trained (so to preventing rehearsal), training a solid "leave it" or "off" and training alternative behaviors (redirect to look at you, then perhaps progress to having him perform a few obedience exercises) and making these extra reinforcing (use high-value treats), the barking behavior targeted at the windows should reduce over time.

 

I will be tackling the other issues in the next few posts...

Edited November 27, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

2) Ignoring us when called or trying to get his attention. This seems to be an ongoing problem also.

 

There may be several reasons why this may take place. Here is a troubleshooting guide:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/ignoring-commands/

 

Often, a common reason for this is too many distractions and advancing into training too fast asking the dog to perform behaviors in a setting he is not yet ready for. Here is a little exercise: note down the times the dog hasn't paid attention and find what instead grabbed his attention. Then work on making yourself more interesting with whatever grabbed his attention. I will post in the next post an exercise I did with an issue I had with a dog ignoring me during recalls.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

3) Coming when called...we have trained him on this using treats but without treats or if there is another distraction he ignores us.

 

Distractions are a challenge, but they are great because they get us thinking on how we can overcome them. Here is a little story I think is worth sharing. When practicing recalls with a dog that had a very high-prey drive, I noticed that this dog stopped a few times midway to explore a bush. So I knew I had the work cut out for me. I had to figure out how to make myself more interesting than that bush.

 

I sat next to the bush, and rewarded all voluntary check-ins. In other words, every time he looked at more and came near me, I praised him and gave him 2-3 super high-value treats in a row. At the end of the session, he couldn't keep his eyes off of me. He just kept coming back to me more and more and the bush started becoming booooring.

 

In the next session, I started to add a little challenge. While the dog was sniffing around and not looking at me, I tossed a little rock in the middle of the bush. This excited him a lot at first as he rushed to investigate, but then he grew bored pretty quickly when he discovered there was no prey.

 

So he kept coming back to me as I was still in the game and far more interesting. After several rocks being tossed in the bush, he learned the bush was super boring and not worthy of attending to. Our next recalls were beautiful and the enthusiastic response made all the prior foundational work totally worthy.

 

I would not train without treats for now, especially since he has not attained a level of training that warrants that yet. You need the treats for now, to confirm in his mind that great things happen when he comes to you to increase the bond and to make you interesting and worthy paying attention to. Recall is the most important cue dogs need to learn and we can't get stingy on this one since it can be a life saver one day.

 

You may not want to show the treats in plain view (unless you are at the very initial stages of training), but hide them in your hand or pocket (or treat bag if you use one) and reward him lavishly for coming when called. Work in areas with little distractions and build up gradually. At home, you may find that kibble works fine, out in the yard, you may have to use higher-value treats, when he ignores a distraction, make sure you pay him high in doggy currency giving him several treats in a row so to leave a strong impact. Use a long-line in outdoor areas to keep him focused on you and less likely to ignore and take off. You can use the line to help your dog make good choices.

 

You may find this read helpful. Notice how it says" Once your dog’s behavior has a high history of continuous reinforcement and your dog performs the behavior fluently at least 80 percent of the time, even around distractions (this may take 1-2 months), then it’s time to move to a variable schedule. It’s important to not move from continuous to variable too quickly as that’s often when behaviors start breaking down.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-listens-treats/

Edited November 27, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

4) Bullying other dogs at the dog park. He plays rough at times with other dogs usually that are submissive. Sometimes to the point that the other dogs run from him trying to hide. He likes to chase, tackle and pin them down. His tail is wagging and he doesn't growl or snarl at them but he does bark at them and tries to intimidate them. He has been in doggie daycares and they say he plays fine with the other dogs but the area isn't as open as the park where he can run. This is where solving problem 3 would be a tremendous help.

 

While it is possible teach him a strong recall, we can't expect fast results there if the dog doesn't respond reliably in areas with lower distractions. If he blows you off at the dog park, then you risk "burning your recall" which means it starts becoming irrelevant just like birds chirping in the trees. To train a dog to come when called at the dog park, we are looking at an advanced level of impulse control as we need our dog to stop in his tracks when he's engaging in highly reinforcing behaviors. We better have something to offer that is worthy of stopping his play in his tracks, otherwise we risk turning into big party poopers who are not worthy attending to in the future. This can be problematic at dog parks, as food or toy rewards can trigger resource guarding and they are often even not allowed in several dog park facilities due to these liabilities.

 

Another option is teaching a time-out, but again things can get challenging at the park due to distance and distractions. This also requires impeccable timing. Therefore, time-outs are best taught initially in a more controlled setting. As soon as we notice the problematic behavior, we can pronounce a warning cue (said in tone that denotes a warning) such as "slow down! or "leave it!" If the warning cue is heeded, we can then follow up with a cheerful "good boy" that has ideally been previously conditioned at home with treats and that its positive association with treats is maintained on several trials. If the "slow down" or "leave him alone" warning is ignored, then you follow up with a "too bad" followed by a timely timeout.

 

The time-out may involve, removing the play mate and leaving the dog alone or removing the dog. Removing the dog by using collar grabs or other physical interruptions are prone to potential fallout and aversive side effects, that is, potential for creating wariness of hands and collar grabs or dogs who become difficult to handle and approach. Using food or a toy may work to help disengage, but once again only if there are no risks for resource guarding among the dogs. Some dog owners practice giving time-outs with a long line, to reel the dog in for the time-out, but this can be problematic as dogs get continuously tangled in the rope during play and this can cause dogs to become nervous and even fight.

 

Once in a time-out zone, the dog can be "cooled off" and regain composure by asking him a few sits and downs before returning him to play. You may have a need to do several strings of timeouts in a row in the initial stages, until the dog start realizing that he gets a warning every time he starts engaging in inappropriate play, and that if he persists, a timeout will always follow. At some point though, rep after rep, there are chances that several warning cues given with good timing will have him start self-interrupting on his own.

 

These methods are not very easy to implement and there may be risks too (hence why I always recommend a dog trainer/behavior professional to help out when working on behavior modification), but to sum it up, the best and safest way would be to skip the dog park altogether for now and restrict play to a handful of doggy friends. If your dog is engaging in bully behaviors, this is one of those cases where it may be just safer and better to have him stick to a few good doggy friends that are perfectly fine with his style of play and organize play dates with them. This is a better option than allowing him to rehearse bully behaviors at the dog park.

 

For some dogs, roughness and harassment of dogs who are non-consenting with certain play styles, can be reinforcing. Such dogs purposely seek out their targets and purposely designate their bully behavior towards them. If this sounds like him, consider that this can be greatly distressing to the harassed dog which may lead to snapping and fights and conditioned fear-related responses that may be difficult to overcome.

 

The advantage of limiting play to play dates with dog friends he plays well with is that your dog won't be harrasing anymore and you can relax knowing that all dogs are having fun (of course active monitoring is always needed!). With this one-on-one play in a backyard or other controlled setting, you also have more control over the situation and you are better able to coach your dog.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

5) Toys....he doesn't know how to play with any toys...any suggestions?

 

Being a border collie, perhaps your dog is looking for toys that are more fulfilling and keep his mind occupied. Interactive toys such as a Kong Wobbler or a Buster Cube may be more fun to play with compared to static toys he finds on the ground that are lifeless and don't provide rewards. Adding movement to toys may also revv some dogs up. Have you tried wiggling toys around, tossing them in the air or playing tug with him?

 

Many dogs like to play with elongated toys like those crafted by Critter Skinz. These are stuffless toys with squeakers (monitor your dog so he doesn't ingest the squeaker) that many dogs love to toss in the air, shake and carry around. A flirt pole may also be a good way to train him some impulse control. Wiggle it and practice "wait","take" and "drop its."

Edited November 27, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli