I have a Border Collie dog?

Question

He is a blue merle, he constantly watches shadows or the reflection of anything shiny, does anyone know of any other dogs with the same trait?

Answer 1

A border collie is highly intelligent and needs attention and lots of new learnings.If he/she can't get that, they get nerveus.
They are real 'work dogs' and nothing makes them more happy than a task.If you don't give them one, they'll find it(even if it means they are guarding your socks)..

Answer 2

My sister has a boarder collie. He has a lot of interesting traits. They're incredibly smart dogs. Petie for instance knows he shouldn't bark in the house, so when he can't stop himself he'll run to the basement and bark into the sofa pillows down there! LOL

He also has a fit when he hears a "hiss" or "Baaaa" noise like a sheep makes (though he's never seen a sheep) and he goes nuts when anybody sneezes.

They have a very strong herding instinct, your dog is probably just monitoring the situation to make sure nothing "unauthorized" is going on under his watch.

Answer 3

I have two border collies and i have had them all my life and all mine have done this but with lights, i think it is because border collies notice things more than other dogs, i had a Dalmatian and i never noticed but it can be a really fun game if you use a torch outside on a note to play with your dog! I'm not sure about the shadow thing!

Answer 4

I have owned BC's and worked in obedience with others who have trained BC's, and although common, it is not desirable. They can become fixated on the shadows, to the point they will not be able to cope with another command. I would personally try and train something else when you see your dog watching shadows. Yes, it's a natural reaction, but you might live to regret allowing it. Just because it's natural doesn't mean you should allow it. It's up to you. I would train something, anything, when this behaviour starts. The dog will start to look to you for training when it sees shadows!!

Answer 5

To answer your question directly my corgi does the same thing. He also loves watching TV.

I would go so far as to say most herding group dogs will do love watching shadows and lights as it is instinctual to notice any movement. With border collies it is pronounced due to many decades of breeding the herding/prey drive trait into the bloodline.

There is nothing wrong with your dog. It is his nature.

Answer 6

My father, a farmer, used to have border collies and they all seemed to live on their nerves. They are very highly bred and need alot of attention (or work to do, ideally), so it may be that he is just over-reacting to shadows/shiny stuff because he is understimulated.

Have you ever tried a toy called a Kong ? You can stuff them full of treats and the dog spends ages trying to get it all out. I used to smear the inside of my dog's one with bovril or stilton. It is great if you have to go out and leave them.

Answer 7

I believe the Icelandic Spitz displays many similarities with your Border Collie.

Answer 8

I love Border Collies. My first dog was one. He never really stared at anything shiny, but anything he thought he could herd he sure would, so if it moved he wanted to go after it.

Answer 9

It is part of their natural instincts to do that. I have a friend that has a beagle mix and she will chase the flashlight beam and dig and try to bite it. She also does this with the sun reflections on the walls or floors. It's not harmful unless he is knocking things over to get to the light or is digging until his feet bleed. They are actually quite of few dogs that do this and not really a breed thing.

Answer 10

Border collie because of how they were developed can fixate on watching things - this is normal
Your dog needs a job.
Have you taken him to obedience classes - have you kept up the training - have you thought about teaching him something more to do together with you like agility?