HELP in training a border Collie

[sweetcanela]

Alright i have a golden retriever who i train with a clicker and she always on a role learning new things and offering new behaviours. so i think i am doing ok in training.

Now for my border collie he is 8 months old and a male and i been training him to sit and hes does good, lay, roll over and wait. When it comes to learning anything new he looks at me and lays down. I start with a glance at something and he looks at me and then flops down and lays. He more of the lazier border collie although when i take him to the park to play he will. Question is how can i get him to be more interested in training (i use hotdogs) like my golden retriver is when she see a clicker? I want him to be more out going. Any suggestions and thank in adavance.

 

[Jean Cote]

I have a question, do you train your dog using luring or only by shaping/clicker training?

Usually dogs get bored with their training when they are not successful, or unable to get the treat.

 

[stormi]

Like Jean said some dogs get bored quickly if they cant work out how to get the treat...they can also lose confidence really quickly.

Maybe he is offering the down because that has got him a reward in the past?

Some dogs learn better with things being a bit more manual. Like my puppy atm...she is not particularly interested in working things out for herself, but if I give her some guidance as to what I want, i.e. lure/reward she picks things up really quickly. Maybe your puppy would also prefer a more manual method of training? He might gain confidence from that too, which will make him more outgoing :dogsmile:

The other thing is that although hotdog sausages might be a high value reward for your goldie, they might not be for your collie? He might prefer a different treat or a game with a fleecy tug or a tennis ball?

Edited to add: You could also try a bit of gentle hands-on to help him understand the behaviour you are looking for. Try it on something easy, like lift his head...you will be able to tell very quickly if he will accept this sort of method!!! Remember to give him lots of praise if he allows you to position him where you would like him to be.

 

[sweetcanela]

hey stormi i did what you suggested. I put one paw on a box and i mix his clicks with treat and a carebear that my daughter and he was pawing the box like he knew what to do...it was amazing. He had so much energy it was great!!...he even offered 2 paws on the box which is where i was trying to get but he did within in minutes. He would also bring the bear and stand on the box as if he was telling me see I can do it...I was so proud of him. Thank you for the wonderful suggestion...I finally know what makes my dog tick.

 

[stormi]

Yeah!!! Thank you for posting that sweetcanela, really made me smile. I am so pleased you found something that works for your puppy and it's really good to hear he enjoyed his training session :dogsmile:

 

[leema]

Sounds like your BC thinks that the drop is the BEST behaviour and will get him reward everytime. I would try clicking before the drop happens, and also try the clicking games that have been suggested.

 

[snooks]

up ur rate of reinforcement and make things go faster between tasks. click treat 2x-3x more often, like every 3 steps for off leash heel. bam bam bam. if u keep a bc in its toes it will engage more. bc's are much higher energy than many goldens, tho my goldens are very high drive one gets bored easy. have 10 or so treats in ur hand and be pre-loaded to really whip them out. No fumbling for the bait bag. don't wait for that perfect sit....reset and then recue.

resets and higher rate and faster pace. i've never met a lazy bc, bored yes. hope that works, it did for my bored girl.