how do i control my collie x alsation?

Question

he is nearly two but is a nightmare especially when going for walks i just cant control him he pulls so hard an goes mad when he sees another dog. we have tried haltis an a choker but they dnt bother him even tried takin treats an toys to distract him nothing works
hes a very loving dog but is so excited all the time even when someone comes to visit he jumps up an wont calm till they have gone. i love my dog to pieces but it seems im fighting a losing battle with him. someone please help.

Answer 1

we had this problem with our dog and after trying the softly softly approach with her and it not working, we got tough.She is now great and listens the majority of the time. Take him to dog training classes. i know how you feel because we thought we would have to get rid of our dog as it was awful not being able to enjoy her.

Answer 2

Am sure other people have said this but the two breeds that make up your dog are both strong, motivated working breeds.

Channel your dogs intelligence somewhere else! Firstly have you tried a harness on your dog? - that way you are controlling from the body of the dog rather than the neck.

I would suggest classes of some type to channel his intelligence somewhere else - maybe flyball or agility (collies and alsations both excell at agility).

When out on a walk you could always try the stones in a bottle (rattle in sharply when he does something you don't like) or a water spray (gentle - non harming but can be effective)

Also when someone comes to visit - put him in another room for the first 5 minutes when they come in, wait for him to calm down and ask the person only to fuss him if he sits - to turn away from him if he jumps up.

Good luck x

Answer 3

I have a similarly aged Blue Merle collie with similar issues. I'm taking mine to dog training classes. It costs £55 for 10 weeks down here in Devon, but I'm sure similar classes are run all over the country (assuming you are in the UK).
There is a technique that you have to learn when taking the dog for a walk which involves making a loop in the lead and then letting go when the dog pulls, but standing completely still and turning the opposite way. Trouble is, I don't know about you, but my boy is no lightweight and it's hard to do when I'm holding my 3 yr old daughters hand as well!
There are some good books available as well which teach about dog behaviour, but the first thing to get to grips with is the fact that your dog thinks he's the boss. He needs to understand his place in the scheme of things and then he will become more relaxed and responsive. I've found that ignoring bad behaviour and rewarding good behaviour really helps - I use a high voice and call him a good boy and he loves it.
Other tips are - don't let the dog go through a doorway in front of you. Don't let the dog be higher than you physically - ie, don't let him sit next to you and look down at you. All these silly little things make a tremendous difference to his understanding.

I'm starting dog training next week and really hoping it will work because he's otherwise such a lovely dog. Maybe you should give it a shot yourself.

Answer 4

I have a collie Alsatian too. Mine is 2yrs old. As you will know collies have an enormous amount of energy and can be on the go from morning till night.

They need a good hour off the lead running after a ball or if you have a bike, ride it round the park and let him run with you.

He will need another couple of short walks too to tire him out.

Also in the house, give him things to occupy his mind. We play hide and seek with her favourite toy.

Put some treats around the house in hard to get at places so it stimulates his mind.

Take him to obedience classes...they are really excellent as they teach the handler a lot of useful things.

When anyone comes to the house, no matter how much he jumps up, tell everyone that they must completely ignore him and walk through into another room. They should continue to ignore him until he is more calm then they can go and calmly say hello.
You should make sure you follow this too.

You have to be very consistent. Never raise your voice as this can get dogs more excitable as they think you're barking too!

Before he gets his food, make him sit, he doesn't get the food until he sits.

Carry a water pistol with you and squirt him if his behaviour is very bad. As collies are clever he will learn this very quickly and you won't need to do it often before he catches on.
I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 5

you have not trained him . He is out of control. You need to go to training classes with him. They aren't expensive. The trainer will be able to show you how to take control again and teach your dog basic good manners. For the short term pulling problem, go to the pet shop and buy a 'lupi' harness. They are brilliant. I used to walk my 40kg giant schnauzer, 25kg lurcher and 30kg collie cross, each with a lupi and all 3 leads held on one finger. I am a little 5 foot 2 woman who weighs only 8 stone.
The Lupi will help the pulling problem but you have bigger issues with this dog than simply pulling. He needs to be taken in hand and taught to mind his manners ASAP before he becomes a nightmare to own and a liability. If he knocks someone over, you could be sued. Try phoning your vets for recommendations of trainers in your area or look in the yellow pages. Owning a well behaved dog requires effort and time.

Answer 6

Call your local Canine club and get enrolled in the next class. Your dog needs socialization. Once enrolled you will be taught how to control those behaviors, both on and off lead. Most classes in basic obedience are 8 weeks long and you will see a NEW dog when you complete your class. All dogs need a job and they can not do two things at the same time. If your dogs knows how to SIT/STAY he won't be able to jump on your friends. Once you have taken him to class they will teach you how to walk HIM on the leash instead of HIM walking you! There are to many techniques to list here, but you will not be unhappy with a good puppy class.

Answer 7

Basic Training of the Puppy - Read here https://tr.im/epOKw

The new puppy is certainly one of the most adorable and cuddly creatures that has ever been created. It is the most natural thing in the world to shower it with love and affection. However, at the same time it is important to realize that if you want to have a well trained adult dog, you need to begin the training process right away. The dog, like its related ancestor, the wolf, is a pack animal. One of the features of a pack is that it has a single dominant leader. Your new puppy is going to want that leader to be you, but if you do not assume that role from the very beginning, the puppy’s instincts will push him to become the leader.

The most important thing to remember about training the puppy during its first six months of life is that it must see you as the leader of the family pack. The essential thing is gaining the trust and the respect of the puppy from the beginning. You will not do this by allowing the puppy to do whatever it wants to do whenever it wants to do it. On the other hand, a certain amount of patience is required. Most people err in their early training by going to extremes one way or the other. Although you need to begin the basic training process at once, you can not expect your dog to do too much at first. Basic obedience training is fine and should include simple commands like sit, stay, and come. Remember that trying to teach the dog advanced obedience techniques when it is a puppy is much like trying to teach a five year old child algebra.

It is also important to restrain from cruel or abusive treatment of the puppy. You can not beat obedience into your dog, and it certainly is not going to engender feeling of respect and trust. House breaking is an area where this usually becomes a problem because of the anger that is triggered when the puppy fails and creates a mess inside the home. Although this issue must be addressed without anger, it most be addressed. If you allow the puppy to eliminate inside the house, it will continue to do so as an adult dog. The same thing is true of other destructive or dangerous behavior such as chewing and biting. Do not expect the puppy to grow out of it. You are going to need to train the puppy out of it, but you should do so firmly but with a sense of play and fun using positive reinforcement and lots of love and praise for good behavior.

Answer 8

Don't despair. This is a workable situation.

If you can't afford obedience classes or trainers, I'll list a few books and websites for you to get started.

Basically, what's happened is your dog trusts you, but doesn't respect you. You need to become a stronger leader for your dog.

When heading out for a walk, be sure that you are in charge. When you exit the house, make sure that you are going through the doorway first, not your dog. That will send him a strong signal.

When walking, don't let your dog "lead" the walk. Make sure he is beside you or behind you, NOT ahead of you. Keep him on a short leash. The walk is for walking, not sniffing and marking. After the walk, let him have his time for sniffing.

For now, until you get this dog under control, enforce a strict "no furniture" policy. I know this sounds mean, especially if he's accustomed to being on the furniture, but this will send him a really strong signal. In hierchy of dog packs, the leader gets the prime spot. Keeping him on the floor will help him learn his place in your "pack".

Answer 9

Its an energetic cross breed you have. Remember collies are bred for herding so its not in their nature to ignore other animals/people etc. Alsations are a working breed too. Castration can help to calm dogs down but training & perhaps something like agility classes will help even more. You have a very intelligent breed of dog who needs somrthing to stimulate its mind as well as just exercise

Answer 10

my collie x labdradore, Badger, was starting to get a bit big for his boots, occassional nipping, jumping up, barging out of doors, etc. i found the best way to deal with it was to show him who the leader of the pack was, ie; me! i now only ever feed him last, even if we go out for dinner he has to wait until we get back, he also has to sit and wait and not go to his dinner until i say so. He's not allowed to go out of the house before me or barge past me, i make him wait until i give him the command to move. Even when going out in the car for a walk he has to wait before i let him exit the car.

Badger has always been useless on the lead so i tend to go places where i know he can be off the lead from start to finish, although i make him sit, wait and come back to me during our walk. perhaps your dog is just being over protective of you whilst its on the lead in which case you might be pleasantly surprised should you take the risk of letting it off the lead. (i found this to be the case with my brother-in-laws jack russell that i used to look after)

i would suggest taking a water bottle out with you, especially if you think you might meet other dogs and get into difficulties because then you can use the water to shock the dog harmlessly out of behaving aggressively. a splash to the head usually works a treat.

i'm pretty firm but i find it does get the best results. praise the good as soon as you see it (praise is highly effective) and only chastise within seconds of the dog misbehaving (any longer and the poor dog won't remember!)

hope you find this useful and that i haven't bored you!
good luck

Answer 11

Take him to a training class the Alsatian part is usually quite obedient but the collie side can be a problem as they can be very headstrong and need firm handling .