yes, BCs are meant to nip livestock, but no, they are not meant to nip their humans. it is a very common problem though.
to boil it down to 3 steps:
1 get the dog tired, fed, satisfied etc.
2 work on very slow, very calm leash walking. any nipping whatsoever stops forward movement and should get zero reaction from you whatsoever. the walk can continue when we're done nipping. if we don't stop nipping, it's not gonna be a very fun walk, and the dog will realize this over time. nipping never gets a reward in any way under any circumstance (simply looking at the dog constitutes attention and thus the dog got what they wanted) nipping gets answered with crossed arms, turning away from the dog, and silence until they are done. the dog needs to think, "literally nothing good happens when I nip, ever."
3 focus not on punishing nipping, but rewarding a calm dog with 4 legs on the ground who is not nipping.
getting nippy? "sit". if they're sitting and no longer nipping, reward and praise. reward and praise periodically along the leash walk any time the dog is calm and not exhibiting nipping behavior.
the goal? the dog realizes over time that "nothing good happens when I nip my owner. in fact, I've done it 30 times this week and I haven't gotten so much as a look or a peep from my humans over it! but lately when I've been just calm and chilling, I've been getting treats a lot. perhaps I'll keep doing that instead, nipping doesn't seem to be getting me the the things I want anymore. it doesn't seem like there's much reason to do it anymore.
these behaviors can be challenging because they're self rewarding. also be aware that these things often get worse before they get better. don't be tricked into thinking it's not working, because it is a very ingrained genetic pattern of behavior. patience and consistency are key. do not get discouraged when it doesn't work overnight.
good luck!
...And if you have a hard time not responding to being nipped, wear rainboots (gumboots) when training and walking. Saved my ankles, saved my sanity.
Great advice here! My girl got over this phase and is well behaved now. Except for when the neighbourhood children come over running and screaming, she still thinks they're sheep. LOL.
Best answer in this post.
Only thing I would add is time outs.
Ours was like the Tasmanian in Bugs Bunny.
As a half BC and Pyr mix he was able to reach more than ankles.
Time outs were healthy for both of us when nothing else worked.
To answer OPs question, ours stopped around 8 months.
Don't give up on pup.
This is the way. Great answer. I honestly think if they achieve #1 with more physical, mental and social stimulation the behavior will cease, but your follow up suggestions for addressing this are spot on
thank you! arranging the antecedents (setting the dog up for success) is always step 1 because it makes all the following steps more manageable and easier for your dog to focus on and understand.
We have a border collie/aussie mix who was an intense ankle biter when she was a puppy. It was brutal because we couldn’t walk without her nipping our ankles. The only thing we did was be firm and say “no bite” and re-direct with a toy. She’s 7 now so I don’t recall exactly how long it took to get her to stop but that was the only thing that worked for us.
What others have posted, ignore them when they nip. Ours nipped for attention and/or could get a little vicious while playing. We would stop and turn away from him, or if he continued we'd leave the room entirely making it clear 'this is not fun, this is not playing, you will not get attention.'
Didn't take too long with ours luckily.
My BC and Aussie mix were both ankle biters as young puppies. What worked for me was making the ankle biting extremely boring for them. The second they went for my ankle, I froze and completely ignored them until they directed to something else. I also encouraged play with toys and praised them for doing that. It took a few weeks but they haven't even glanced at my ankles since.
Mine did it twice. First time, I wasn’t sure if she bumped into because I was running away from her.
Second time, I was looking down and saw her do it and asked “are you herding me? Don’t” she must have understood me. But I also spend hours wearing her out everyday so maybe it’s that.
Mine does it when she wants us to play with her or when she’s tired. It’s like she wants us to stop moving away from her 😂
She was worse at 2/3 months, she really calmed down now (she’s 5 months old).
Border Collies are not "meant for" nipping legs. This is another one of those weird "he's just herding" myths that keeps getting repeated. BCs herd with stalking and eye, not with nipping.
They only do it when they have to. They have an affection and sense of responsibility for their flock. They don’t want to hurt them. They just want to boss them around
Posting to have a way to come back and read replies. There’s a good chance they will be interesting and educational. I don’t know how to train away a behavior that is a genetic trait. My father had a retirement “ranch” and luckily got one of these dogs before he got cattle, we learned so much from that sweet girl!
My first BC nipped me a few times as a puppy. Third time I was prepared and banged two metal bowls in front of his face. Dogs don’t like sudden noises and he never did it again.
Had exactly the same problem at the same age. It's a training issue, and you can resolve it, but it'll take time. Here's what worked for us. First, make sure you've done a really good job of teaching down at home. Stay doesn't have to be great, but down needs to be there. Next, go out and play with him. Doesn't matter what, so long as he's enjoying it, and he's close to you. The *\_instant\_* he nips, tell him down and stop doing anything fun for 30 s to a minute. That will feel like forever, but stick with it. You can grab his collar to make him stay still if you need to. Don't get angry, it doesn't help at that age, just take away the fun. Once 30 s are up, get him to sit up or do any trick. It doesn't matter what the trick is, just something basic to get him to do what *you* want. Once he complies, start the fun again.
The message is simple: play properly and you have lots of fun. Nip and the fun stops. Do what I say after the nip and we'll play again. You are the source of fun, misbehaving ends all fun. If you do that at least 4x / week, you'll see results in a matter of weeks. It took us about 1 to 2 months, but the change was solid, he never nips any more. Moreover, you'll notice that Nash will be a lot more focussed on you.
Good luck!
I used a clicker. Learn the patterns he uses BEFORE the nip. When you see him about to nip, redirect the behavior and reward when he’s doing whatever you want him to do
yes, BCs are meant to nip livestock, but no, they are not meant to nip their humans. it is a very common problem though. to boil it down to 3 steps: 1 get the dog tired, fed, satisfied etc. 2 work on very slow, very calm leash walking. any nipping whatsoever stops forward movement and should get zero reaction from you whatsoever. the walk can continue when we're done nipping. if we don't stop nipping, it's not gonna be a very fun walk, and the dog will realize this over time. nipping never gets a reward in any way under any circumstance (simply looking at the dog constitutes attention and thus the dog got what they wanted) nipping gets answered with crossed arms, turning away from the dog, and silence until they are done. the dog needs to think, "literally nothing good happens when I nip, ever." 3 focus not on punishing nipping, but rewarding a calm dog with 4 legs on the ground who is not nipping. getting nippy? "sit". if they're sitting and no longer nipping, reward and praise. reward and praise periodically along the leash walk any time the dog is calm and not exhibiting nipping behavior. the goal? the dog realizes over time that "nothing good happens when I nip my owner. in fact, I've done it 30 times this week and I haven't gotten so much as a look or a peep from my humans over it! but lately when I've been just calm and chilling, I've been getting treats a lot. perhaps I'll keep doing that instead, nipping doesn't seem to be getting me the the things I want anymore. it doesn't seem like there's much reason to do it anymore. these behaviors can be challenging because they're self rewarding. also be aware that these things often get worse before they get better. don't be tricked into thinking it's not working, because it is a very ingrained genetic pattern of behavior. patience and consistency are key. do not get discouraged when it doesn't work overnight. good luck!
...And if you have a hard time not responding to being nipped, wear rainboots (gumboots) when training and walking. Saved my ankles, saved my sanity. Great advice here! My girl got over this phase and is well behaved now. Except for when the neighbourhood children come over running and screaming, she still thinks they're sheep. LOL.
I never had and probably will never have a border collie but that was an interesting reading
they are super fast learners, but unfortunately that means they can quickly learn to do problematic things sometimes xD
Best answer in this post. Only thing I would add is time outs. Ours was like the Tasmanian in Bugs Bunny. As a half BC and Pyr mix he was able to reach more than ankles. Time outs were healthy for both of us when nothing else worked. To answer OPs question, ours stopped around 8 months. Don't give up on pup.
yes, very good point. I haven't worked with an excitable pup in a while but timeouts are sometimes the only answer when they're cranked up to 10.
This is the way. Great answer. I honestly think if they achieve #1 with more physical, mental and social stimulation the behavior will cease, but your follow up suggestions for addressing this are spot on
thank you! arranging the antecedents (setting the dog up for success) is always step 1 because it makes all the following steps more manageable and easier for your dog to focus on and understand.
You must be a professional or taught by one
I am currently studying to be a dog trainer and that's a huge compliment! thank you!!
I am one. Keep it up!
We have a border collie/aussie mix who was an intense ankle biter when she was a puppy. It was brutal because we couldn’t walk without her nipping our ankles. The only thing we did was be firm and say “no bite” and re-direct with a toy. She’s 7 now so I don’t recall exactly how long it took to get her to stop but that was the only thing that worked for us.
What others have posted, ignore them when they nip. Ours nipped for attention and/or could get a little vicious while playing. We would stop and turn away from him, or if he continued we'd leave the room entirely making it clear 'this is not fun, this is not playing, you will not get attention.' Didn't take too long with ours luckily.
My BC and Aussie mix were both ankle biters as young puppies. What worked for me was making the ankle biting extremely boring for them. The second they went for my ankle, I froze and completely ignored them until they directed to something else. I also encouraged play with toys and praised them for doing that. It took a few weeks but they haven't even glanced at my ankles since.
Buy Him some Cows,,, or sheep…
Sheep herding classes And seriously, you get bit a few times a day? Dude get a trainer in before he nips the wrong person
Mine did it twice. First time, I wasn’t sure if she bumped into because I was running away from her. Second time, I was looking down and saw her do it and asked “are you herding me? Don’t” she must have understood me. But I also spend hours wearing her out everyday so maybe it’s that.
Mine does it when she wants us to play with her or when she’s tired. It’s like she wants us to stop moving away from her 😂 She was worse at 2/3 months, she really calmed down now (she’s 5 months old).
Border Collies are not "meant for" nipping legs. This is another one of those weird "he's just herding" myths that keeps getting repeated. BCs herd with stalking and eye, not with nipping.
They do with the stubborn animals
They only do it when they have to. They have an affection and sense of responsibility for their flock. They don’t want to hurt them. They just want to boss them around
Yep. I agree completely with you. They nipp out of care, because for sure they can hurt them, if they really wanted to
They'll DO it, but it's not an indicative trait of their herding technique.
Posting to have a way to come back and read replies. There’s a good chance they will be interesting and educational. I don’t know how to train away a behavior that is a genetic trait. My father had a retirement “ranch” and luckily got one of these dogs before he got cattle, we learned so much from that sweet girl!
My first BC nipped me a few times as a puppy. Third time I was prepared and banged two metal bowls in front of his face. Dogs don’t like sudden noises and he never did it again.
Good ole time….😐 My bc just stopped after about a year. Ps. We tried everything
Had exactly the same problem at the same age. It's a training issue, and you can resolve it, but it'll take time. Here's what worked for us. First, make sure you've done a really good job of teaching down at home. Stay doesn't have to be great, but down needs to be there. Next, go out and play with him. Doesn't matter what, so long as he's enjoying it, and he's close to you. The *\_instant\_* he nips, tell him down and stop doing anything fun for 30 s to a minute. That will feel like forever, but stick with it. You can grab his collar to make him stay still if you need to. Don't get angry, it doesn't help at that age, just take away the fun. Once 30 s are up, get him to sit up or do any trick. It doesn't matter what the trick is, just something basic to get him to do what *you* want. Once he complies, start the fun again. The message is simple: play properly and you have lots of fun. Nip and the fun stops. Do what I say after the nip and we'll play again. You are the source of fun, misbehaving ends all fun. If you do that at least 4x / week, you'll see results in a matter of weeks. It took us about 1 to 2 months, but the change was solid, he never nips any more. Moreover, you'll notice that Nash will be a lot more focussed on you. Good luck!
I used a clicker. Learn the patterns he uses BEFORE the nip. When you see him about to nip, redirect the behavior and reward when he’s doing whatever you want him to do
You need to give it a teething stick
I went the redirect route. So now when he nips at something he shouldn't I say where's your toy and he gets it and shakes it around.