If you have recently brought a Collie into your home, you will need to do some serious Collie Training if you have hopes of them rescuing you from danger like the famous “Lassie” did in the 1940s and 1950s.
What many people, especially in the United States, refer to as a “Collie” is actually a Rough Collie or Long-Haired Collie and should not be confused with Smooth-Haired Collies or Border Collies, which are different in both temperament and appearance.
Prior to being stars of film and television, Rough Collies were originally developed in Scotland for herding.
They gained incredible popularity with the “Lassie” novel, television serious, and movies of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
Collies are considered to be a very intelligent dog breed and can be trained to do a wide variety of things other than basic obedience training. While many Collie owners may be completely happy with a pet which only knows the basics, the extent of your Collie Training is really up to you.
Click Here To STOP Your Collie’s Behavior Problems
Collies are well suited for show as well as agility, obedience, and rally. They can also work as service and therapy dogs when properly trained. Your Collie is only limited by the training you give them. If you’d like to teach your pooch to rescue you from burning buildings, (like the Lassie dog on the television series), all you need to do is to train them properly according to their temperament and abilities.
Collies are generally not nervous or aggressive and are typically great with children as well as other pets. As with other dog breeds, it is important to socialize Collies while they are still young; but unlike many other breeds, the main objective of socializing Collies isn’t to avoid aggression but rather to help prevent shyness. Collies are known for being painfully shy around other dogs and people but with proper socialization while they are young, it should not be a problem. If you do have problems with shyness with an adult Collie, you may need to re-socialize them, but do so as slowly as possible for older dogs have a tougher time with socialization.
Because of their intelligence, Collies may become a bit high-strung or neurotic if they are not properly exercised and challenged mentally. Agility and other training can help keep them physically and mentally engaged and challenged which can help prevent destructive or other boredom based behaviors. Also, because they have been bred as herding dogs, they have a slight tendency to herd other pets or small children in the household.
- Establish boundaries early in order to prevent this instinct. Collies are well suited as family dogs and they enjoy human companionship immensely. They bond strongly with their family, but also generally love playing with other children, adults, and pets as well as long as they have been socialized to overcome their shyness.
Collies tend to be fairly vocal, like the majority of herding dogs, and will vocalize in order to alert their families to people or situations which they consider threatening. They are very rarely aggressive, even with strangers and respond best to gentle, positive reinforcement. In order to ensure that your relationship with your pet stays happy and healthy, Collie Training should focus on what they are doing right rather than punishing negative behaviors.
Click Here To STOP Your Collie’s Behavior Problems
Related Articles:
Border Collie Training
Crate Training Your Puppy
How to Stop Dog Aggression
Doberman Training
How To Stop a Dog Barking
Back to Home Page: Dog Obedience Training | Dog Training Tips
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
