| COLLIE TRAINING |
| Welcome to |
| I cannot emphasize the importance of the following sentence enough. The more you do with your puppy during his first sixteen weeks of life, the better companion you will have. It is very important for his mental health, and yours! |
| TRAINING The most important thing you can do to be happy with your adult Collie, is to not allow your cute and small Collie puppy to do anything you won't tolerate from a big dog. ** The younger you begin working with your dog, the quicker he will be a well-behaved part of your life. If you do not want him on the furniture when he gets big, don't allow it now while he is little. If you do not want him to jump on you, your children and guests, don't allow him to do it now. The younger this is done, the easier on you, just because of his small size. It is not neccessary to scold or yell, just push him back so he is on the ground again, and again, and again until he stays there. He will get the message even though you have said nothing at all. Your community schools offer obedience classes, if you are interested in them. NEVER allow another person to work with your Collie, unless you are absolutely certain that person will not correct your Collie in a harsh manner. Watch your trainer, and if you are not pleased with the method of training, DO NOT allow him or her to correct your dog. Ask the trainer to show you with his own dog, or another person's dog. If the trainer asks you to do a harsh correction, tell him it is not your way, or that you have tried that numerous time before or whatever. Many trainers think Collies are being stubborn when they do not do what is being taught to them, but usually the Collie either doesn't understand the lesson yet, or is bored. When my Collies start getting bored, I will continue to work on the lesson for a few more minutes, but I will add short sprints that usually excite the dog, and make the training more fun for him, since you are running and playing with him. I try to get the desired training behavior & when I do, even if it is not perfect I praise lavishly and do another short sprint, ending with lots of praise and petting, telling them how perfect they are. COLLIES DO NOT RESPOND TO HARSH TREATMENT. There are a number of other breeds that are in no way as sensitive, nor as responsive as the Collie is. The Collie's sensitive nature comes from the same place that his strong sense of loyalty comes from. It should be cherished. If you have owned Collies before you understand this, if not you soon will. The best training is done by you, every day, at home. Just make this training a part of your life while he is small and by the time he is six months old, you will have a well behaved companion. Leaving your new dog completely to his own devices....allows him to learn nothing about living in your family. Our young puppies are kept up in their puppy area while we are gone. I get them out as a group, and individually, when I am home so they get used to our family routine. Our puppies stay inside so they can see and hear all that goes on in our household. So I can pet and talk to them all during the day. I am fortunate to be able to bring my dogs to work with me, which is fun for them and for me and any visitors. |
| A collie tip: Your Collie will also forgive you for mistakes in training, so don't be worried if you do something that doesn't work out like you expected, your Collie will work with you to get it right. |