Wondering If Anyone Else Has Experienced This Problem With Their Border Collie.

Chet & Chris

New Member
Hi! Wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem with their border collie.
Since this morning he has 'shut down'....slinking away from us, hiding under the bed.
He won't even chase his frisbee or ball! We did get him to jump in the car earlier to go for a walk and he was fine and normal on the walk, but at home he is not himself. Any ideas??
Thanks!
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
chris, it might be best to start your very own thread, so we can help figure out why your dog is shutting down, and then THIS thread can be about Golden101's puppy problem.

first off, i'd get him to the vet. If *my* dog suddenly became listless, i'd be alarmed. (unless, he was hot, tired, or some known reason).
If your dog was scolded or hit or otherwise punished, had his toenails cut last night:rolleyes: and is now afraid you are going to do that again, etc,
did something weird happen to dog lately? that is a factor too. Has he eaten anything weird, or been given some medication ??

If you do post a new thread about your dog, Chris, link it here, and we can just go over to that thread to talk about what is wrong with your dog....just seems easier, imo. PLEASE DO post a new thread so we can help you!!???
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
//"She is has a mind of her own and is sometimes defiant even though i heard goldens are people pleasers."//

How old is this baby dog?
How long have you had this baby dog?
SHE SURE IS TOO CUTE!!

My dog is full grown adult dog.
He does not always do the trick i ask.
sometimes, (most often) it is cuz i have not yet fully trained Buddy to be able to do that trick, even amidst distractions. He might be able to do that trick just fine,
when it is only he and i, in a quiet room.:D
but, doing the trick at a birthday party, is another matter.
doing the trick well, when he is in the middle of playing chase this kid, is another matter.

It takes a dog a little while to truly KNOW a trick. Just cuz dog did trick on Tuesday and Wednesday, might not mean the dog reeeeeally knows the trick super well. It takes time, really, to get that trick in their mind solid like a rock.


If i haven't done a certain trick with Buddy lately, he's likely to be rusty on it.:rolleyes:
If i haven't done much training with Buddy for a few days, he is harder to get to pay attention.:LOL:
If he is being hyper and spazzy and needs to go run around, i know that is not the best time to try to get Buddy to do anything very tedious.

My particular dog also dislikes repetition. My dog will do a trick great, but, if i ask him same ol trick,
over and over too many times in a row,:cautious: he might zone out on me. He gets bored easy.

ALL DOGS ARE UNIQUE!!!! As you get to really know your dog, you will know which times, which things, make it harder for your dog to do certain things. Your list of things/times that make it hard for your dog to pay attention, or to do a trick well,
might be completely different than my list is.;)

sometimes, my dog is just toooo distracted, by all the world around him, to do a trick at that moment.
for my dog, It's not he is "defiant".
It is he is a dog.:ROFLMAO:

well, wait, i can observe, if i have been giving my dog what HE wants, (running, outdoor free time, exercise, playtimes, stuff to do so he is content and not hyped up with unspent energy)
THEN he IS more likely to give me what i want....seems like.

dogs are like that. Their lil doggie brains are not just like OUR brains. A breeze going by can have brain-exploding scents on it, that WE are oblivious to. Dogs hear things we do not even hear at all, and things important to a dog (like a movement in that bush over there!) are not even slightly noticed by US.


Getting ANY dog, even an ADULT dog, to perform tricks perfectly, every single time,
is a pretty tall order that few dogs can meet.


Puppies have even shorter attention spans than adult dogs, usually. How long are you asking your dog to pay attention?
How long are you lessons??? How often does your puppy get a lesson?
Maybe, til you and your dog get tricks-training nailed down, maybe for this dog at this time, maybe only one or two tricks at a time is good way to get started......????

AT ANY RATE, DO HANG IN THERE, I THINK YOUR DOG IS LUCKY TO HAVE A HUMAN WHO WILL TRAIN HIM!!!:D Teaching dogs tricks
get easier
and easier
and boy, have you found the right spot to get even better at learning how to do train dogs!!!
WELCOME !!
AND POST SOME MORE PHOTOS OF THAT CUTE BABY DOG!!??
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Chet and Chris, i was same way!!:ROFLMAO: Could not figure out where the buttons are, etc!!

We DO want very veyr very much to help you!! i can easily understand why you are concerned about your dog!!! I hope you do post a thread, let me see if i can help you get started to post a new thread, cuz i do think you have a very valid concern there. BTW, WELCOME!!

Click on "forums"
Maybe put this in the forum called "dog behavior problems" although, it could be a health issue, but, no one much cares exactly where we post stuff.:ROFLMAO:
http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forums/forums/dog-behavior-problems.13/

^in that link,
see over on right hand side of screen? it has brown box, ""Post New Thread"
and if you click on it, you will get a box open up, to type in all the details of what you need help with.

Let me know if you need more help, hope you DO post about this!!! and WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME!!!:)
 

Chet & Chris

New Member
Since this morning he has 'shut down'....slinking away from us, hiding under the bed. He won't even chase his frisbee or ball! We did get him to jump in the car earlier to go for a walk and he was fine and normal on the walk, but at home he is not himself. We just took him in the car again and he seems fine, but did not want to get out of the car. Any ideas??
Thanks!
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Wow, glad you posted this, Chet&Chris.

I can easily see why you are concerned.
If *my* dog did this, act all listless,
i'd get him to the vet, cuz for *my* dog, that is a big red flag.
Unless, i knew my dog was hot, or tired.
Your dog has no other signs of any health problems? he is eating, pooping, peeing, etc?
no new meds or flea treatments, etc, right?


but even tired,
or overheated,
my dog would not try to avoid me.

Has this dog been punished, hit, yelled at, had his leash yanked around, or scolded in any way?
Has he had any 'weird' experiences, like even having his toenails clipped, where he might worry you are going to do that again?
Border collies are notoriously sensitive, even a mildly sharp voice can bum them out very very much....

How long has this been going on?? oh, i see, just today.
Anything 'weird' happen at all yesterday or today? any upsetting events? fireworks? Crazy visitors? anything?

very confusing, can't wait to see what this IS about.....
 

Chet & Chris

New Member
Wow, glad you posted this, Chet&Chris.

I can easily see why you are concerned.
If *my* dog did this, act all listless,
i'd get him to the vet, cuz for *my* dog, that is a big red flag.
Unless, i knew my dog was hot, or tired.
Your dog has no other signs of any health problems? he is eating, pooping, peeing, etc?
no new meds or flea treatments, etc, right?


but even tired,
or overheated,
my dog would not try to avoid me.

Has this dog been punished, hit, yelled at, had his leash yanked around, or scolded in any way?
Has he had any 'weird' experiences, like even having his toenails clipped, where he might worry you are going to do that again?
Border collies are notoriously sensitive, even a mildly sharp voice can bum them out very very much....

How long has this been going on?? oh, i see, just today.
Anything 'weird' happen at all yesterday or today? any upsetting events? fireworks? Crazy visitors? anything?

very confusing, can't wait to see what this IS about.....

We've been racking our brains to try to figure this out.....he does seem a little better, and he was catching the frisbee but still very far from himself. He's had no new foods or meds and we've never yelled at him, punished him or hit him. The only change that has occurred is that we did stain the back deck and have kept him off of it for the past 24 hours. We've been using the front door which is nothing unusual for him. He will come to the front door for us when we say we are going in the car and he jumps into the car. He will sit with me or underneath my chair, but won't come to us when called. And again, in the car....he is fine! He hasn't really eaten today, but he's very finicky when it comes to eating so that's not entirely unusual. Just curious so see if anyone has had a similar experience. Thanks for the feedback! I want to ask him "who are you and what have you done with my dog?"
 

Adrianna & Calvin

Experienced Member
I would get him in for a checkup tomorrow morning. It's not uncommon for sick animals to appear fine when they are 'stimulated' (e.g. a car ride).

Is there any chance that he got any of the wood stain on his fur? Something's up and it's best to check it out ASAP. Please keep us posted.
 

SD&B

Experienced Member
I would wonder if the stain is affecting him. A sensitivity to the chemicals or the odor. Or maybe just that he finds the odor obnoxious and he associates it with you? Are you sure you have absolutely none on you or your clothing/shoes/etc.... If only they could talk....
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
yes, who knows? the deck stain might have given him a headache? We just repainted the inside of the garage, and wow, i was reeling, :censored: i felt ill for hours after inhaling that, got a pounding headache, which caused me to feel slightly sick to my stomach, ended up lying down for a while.......and my nose is nowhere near as sensitive as a dogs.

How is the dog today? Still the same or any better?

and yes, i so agree with Adrianna, a dog who is sick can indeed, "perk up" and "act right" now and then for certain activities. Most animals "hide" how ill they really are, as a survival thing. (IF IF IF your dog is ill, i mean).
If he is still not himself today i'd definitely call the vet, just to be safe. Please keep us posted, and hope your dog is well soon enough!!

(later we can try to sort out his picky eating:ROFLMAO: )
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
//"He's had no new foods or meds and we've never yelled at him, punished him or hit him"//

so so wonderful to hear this, and sorry if i may have insulted you by even asking, we get all kinds online, so sorry if my question may have insulted you, i hope not, i was jsut trying to imagine what would make a dog crawl underneath a bed. Everyone has their own ideas on how to manage dogs.
Your way sounds like you'd fit right in here on DTA, :) hope you do stick around, even after your dog is well again!!
Again, do keep us posted, i am so interested to hear what it is.
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
//I merged the posts together into this thread.//


lol, my reply #3 above, is for the other thread, not this thread!:ROFLMAO:and lol, to anyone else reading along, that's why i have two replies which are much the same, as this was once two separate threads!!:p
 

Chet & Chris

New Member
Thank you for all of the replies.....no worries....not insulted! I did call the Vet this morning and talked to her for a long time. He seems to be perking up s-l-o-w-l-y this morning. He actually ate his entire bowl of food. The Vet wants to see him tomorrow if he's not 'back to normal'....but since he ate today and seems to be heading in the right direction, she wants to hear back tomorrow morning. I appreciate all of the input! I do wish they could talk!! :) If something did just 'spook' him, it must have been really bad and I can't imagine what it could be..... :(
Thanks again!!
 
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