BBP
Well-Known Member
The little bonkers blue collie (BBC to add to BBP?) has been with me for about 2 months now. Previously he lived away with my partner during the week and went to work with him, but that isn't allowed in his new job so now I'm in charge during the week. I was a bit anxious about it, I tend to overthink and catastrophise too much, which early on led to me passing some anxiety on to the dog. I knew I was going to be taking on the dog alongside a full time job and my horses, and that the dog and horses didn't mix (think we pushed him too hard early on and he started to lose the plot every time he saw them). I worried that he was howling when I left him at home and upsetting the neighbours, but couldn't come up to the yard. I worry a lot that I can't give any of them enough time, exercise or energy, especially with my brain and heart issues and him being a collie and the pony being the equine version of a collie.
BUT, the lovely lady who owns the field near to my horses has taken me under her wing and I think I'm starting to get the hang of things! He comes up to the yard with me at 5am and stays in a covered crate in the car with the radio on a good distance from the horses with a filled kong to entertain him and has settled really well to that, so I don't have to worry about upsetting the neighbours by leaving him at home at 5am. Once I have done the horses we go to the dog lady's field. He gets about 30mins of either just hurtling around on his long lead (can't go off lead due to horse and car chasing compulsion still), sniffing games and practicing some agility groundwork exercises that the lovely local lady has given me. I naively never realised that it’s just like schooling horses, you don’t just go and jump, you work on warm ups in straight lines, bending lines, working to tighter circles, pole work on straight and bending lines, grid work of raised poles, lateral work, teach him proprioception of where his feet are, how to use his body, work on my body language and posture, work him on both sides of me. The jumping will come later. All of that I learned in just one session! I’m loving learning her methods, she is just like my riding instructor in that it is all about the animal, making it more supple, more athletic, happier and more fulfilled for a long life, rather than a quick win and a bit of fun to the detriment of his joints and muscles. BBC is absolutely loving it, he constantly has his eyes on me waiting to see what game or puzzle we are going to do next. Which is fantastic as he still isn't massively toy oriented and I have always struggled to figure out what motivated him. I always referred to him as being quite dim for a collie (he doesn't chase balls, just stares after them and looks at you like you are an idiot for throwing it), but actually its me who is a bit dim, I just had to figure out how to be a better teacher instead of thinking he is a slow learner.
He then chills out with a family member during the day whilst I am at work, they take him for short walks in the day, and then I pick him up and either go for an hours walk after work or we go up to the yard and work through our training and nose games nearer to the ponies so he gets more gradual exposure to them. Then he comes back to the house and is left with another filled kong and the radio on whilst I go to up to do the ponies. I had to rejig my house and replace handles with door knobs so he couldn't open all the doors and get himself wound up staring out of the front window, but that seems to have done the trick and now he settles down by the front door and waits for me to come home. I wouldn't say he sleeps yet, as usually his eyes are open when I check dog cam, but he isn't stressing or panting or howling/barking anymore. He's happy to have me home but doesn't get stupidly excited, which I think is a good thing. Then once I am home and fed we do 10 minutes of tricks practice, or working on the agility groundwork again, like weaving between legs or heelwork around the house working on our right side, as we are both used to him being on the left. So now he has a decent trick repertoire too which he seems to really enjoy. I've also been trying to think outside the box and effectively clicker train him into chasing his ball. He gets lots of praise and a treat when he brings it back and gradually seems to be enjoying the chase itself. He LOVES running in our new arena at the yard, so games of ball there are working best, I just have to watch the sand he picks up.
I'm really loving having him around, having been worried if I could cope. Yes it's hard work, I start my day at 5am and don't sit my bum on the sofa til 9pm but there is nothing like collie dog cuddles before bed.
The thing I struggle with most at the moment is the lack of off lead exercise for him. An hour and 30 mins on the lead, even a long line, doesn't feel like very much for a collie. His recall is still not 100% and we have a vast network of bridleways around us (lucky for me and the ponies) so I worry that he doesn't get enough time to really stretch his legs. He loves to run and is off like a bullet when given the opportunity, he's incredibly fast, so at the moment I rent a dog field every couple of weeks, but I still have guilt!
BUT, the lovely lady who owns the field near to my horses has taken me under her wing and I think I'm starting to get the hang of things! He comes up to the yard with me at 5am and stays in a covered crate in the car with the radio on a good distance from the horses with a filled kong to entertain him and has settled really well to that, so I don't have to worry about upsetting the neighbours by leaving him at home at 5am. Once I have done the horses we go to the dog lady's field. He gets about 30mins of either just hurtling around on his long lead (can't go off lead due to horse and car chasing compulsion still), sniffing games and practicing some agility groundwork exercises that the lovely local lady has given me. I naively never realised that it’s just like schooling horses, you don’t just go and jump, you work on warm ups in straight lines, bending lines, working to tighter circles, pole work on straight and bending lines, grid work of raised poles, lateral work, teach him proprioception of where his feet are, how to use his body, work on my body language and posture, work him on both sides of me. The jumping will come later. All of that I learned in just one session! I’m loving learning her methods, she is just like my riding instructor in that it is all about the animal, making it more supple, more athletic, happier and more fulfilled for a long life, rather than a quick win and a bit of fun to the detriment of his joints and muscles. BBC is absolutely loving it, he constantly has his eyes on me waiting to see what game or puzzle we are going to do next. Which is fantastic as he still isn't massively toy oriented and I have always struggled to figure out what motivated him. I always referred to him as being quite dim for a collie (he doesn't chase balls, just stares after them and looks at you like you are an idiot for throwing it), but actually its me who is a bit dim, I just had to figure out how to be a better teacher instead of thinking he is a slow learner.
He then chills out with a family member during the day whilst I am at work, they take him for short walks in the day, and then I pick him up and either go for an hours walk after work or we go up to the yard and work through our training and nose games nearer to the ponies so he gets more gradual exposure to them. Then he comes back to the house and is left with another filled kong and the radio on whilst I go to up to do the ponies. I had to rejig my house and replace handles with door knobs so he couldn't open all the doors and get himself wound up staring out of the front window, but that seems to have done the trick and now he settles down by the front door and waits for me to come home. I wouldn't say he sleeps yet, as usually his eyes are open when I check dog cam, but he isn't stressing or panting or howling/barking anymore. He's happy to have me home but doesn't get stupidly excited, which I think is a good thing. Then once I am home and fed we do 10 minutes of tricks practice, or working on the agility groundwork again, like weaving between legs or heelwork around the house working on our right side, as we are both used to him being on the left. So now he has a decent trick repertoire too which he seems to really enjoy. I've also been trying to think outside the box and effectively clicker train him into chasing his ball. He gets lots of praise and a treat when he brings it back and gradually seems to be enjoying the chase itself. He LOVES running in our new arena at the yard, so games of ball there are working best, I just have to watch the sand he picks up.
I'm really loving having him around, having been worried if I could cope. Yes it's hard work, I start my day at 5am and don't sit my bum on the sofa til 9pm but there is nothing like collie dog cuddles before bed.
The thing I struggle with most at the moment is the lack of off lead exercise for him. An hour and 30 mins on the lead, even a long line, doesn't feel like very much for a collie. His recall is still not 100% and we have a vast network of bridleways around us (lucky for me and the ponies) so I worry that he doesn't get enough time to really stretch his legs. He loves to run and is off like a bullet when given the opportunity, he's incredibly fast, so at the moment I rent a dog field every couple of weeks, but I still have guilt!
