Dogs are intelligent as a species, but no breed outperforms the border collie by intelligence. Border Collies are self-sufficient problem solvers. They are capable of completing even the most difficult jobs.
Are Border Collies Easy Or Hard To Train? Border Collies are trainable dogs. They excel at activities like herding, obedience, and agility. It entails good exposure to a wide variety of people and situations from puppyhood until roughly seven months of age. Obedience training that begins early in life and continues throughout BC’s life will keep him happy and stimulate his mind.
Are Border Collies Easy To Train?
Border Collies are super enthusiastic in nature and will drive you nuts if you do not train them well and for good. They do well with older, well-behaved youngsters because of their proclivity to herd animals and humans.
If you are getting yourself a Border Collie puppy then brace yourself to be their ride or die. So, Are border collie puppies easy to train?
Definitely, with the right trainer. Border Collies are intelligent and quick to learn anything you teach them. It becomes hard for an average person to train them as they are sheepdogs. Their herding habits need proper training to become a perfect city pet if you are living in an apartment.
Is it easy to train a border collie?
Yes, you have to keep up with their energetic and high-spirited personality and you’re all set to go!
Related Reading: Are Cane Corsos Hard To Train Than Other Dogs?
At What Age Should I Start Training My Border Collie Puppy?
A recommended age range to start training a Border Collie puppy is 6 to 8 months. You can begin teaching your Border puppy new tricks or commands as early as 3 to 4 months of age.
Are Border Collies trainable?
Absolutely! This particular breed is trainers’ favorite. They pick up the habits and learn the commands comparatively faster than other breeds.
You can break their training sessions into different timelines if you do not want to pressurize them. You can arrange the intensity of training lessons depending on their age slots such as training for 6 weeks old, 8 weeks old, 9 weeks old, 3 months old, and 6 months old respectively.
Can Border Collies be trained?
Border Collie trainability depends more on the maturity of the canine than anything else. So, If you wish to progress to more advanced training, you should wait until your dog is more mentally and physically mature before doing so.
Are Border Collie Puppies Hard To House Train?
When your Border Collie puppy arrives, the first thing you should do is begin house training him. Housebreaking your Border Collie puppy isn’t as difficult as you would assume. Is a border collie a good house dog? Absolutely! It is quite an amusement to have such an intelligent pooch with you all the time.
Are border collies hard to house train?
Not at all! The first step is to develop a routine and a schedule. The sooner you begin training your Border Collie puppy where and how to waste itself, the less likely it will have house accidents.
How Long Does It Take To House Train A Border Collie
Consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement are essential while housetraining your puppy. The idea is to develop positive behaviors and a loving relationship with your pet. A puppy’s house training takes about 4-6 months on average, but it can take up to a year in some cases.
How long does it take to house train a border collie puppy? The earliest is around 4 months (16 weeks). So basically, start working with your puppy right away, taking them out when they first wake up, after meals, and every couple of hours until they grasp the idea and taking them to the location where you want them to potty.
The best way to house train a border collie is not to punish your Border Collie if he has an accident in the house because this will teach him to go to the bathroom while you are not looking.
Give your Border Collie puppy a firm “No” and take it outdoors to the designated bathroom location if it has an accident in the home. This will definitely help them to understand it as quickly as possible.
Are Border Collie Puppies Hard To Potty Train?
When your Border Collie puppy arrives, the first thing you should do is begin house training him. Housebreaking your Border Collie puppy isn’t as difficult as you would assume. The first step is to develop a routine and a schedule.
The sooner you begin training your Border Collie puppy will know where to waste itself, the less likely it will have house accidents.
How Long Does It Take To Potty Train A Border Collie
Every Border Collie puppy develops at a distinct pace. If you’re patient and consistent, your Border Collie puppy should be demanding to go outdoors on its own in around 3 weeks. Housebreaking a Border Collie puppy will not take as long as you think if you set boundaries and schedules.
The last thing you want to do is build up a newspaper-filled area in the laundry for your Border Collie to use while learning to use the bathroom outside.
When it comes to nighttime accidents, you’ll need to take your Border Collie puppy outside at least once. Make sure Border Collie puppy is on a leash so he or she understands it’s time to go potty and not play. If you don’t get up to take your Border Collie puppy out, it will let you know with loud howls that it needs to relieve itself.
It won’t take you long to figure out the difference between a distress cry and a plea for attention. If you don’t reply to your Border Collie puppy’s distress cry, he or she will have an accident in the house.
Are Border Collie Puppies Hard To Crate Train?
Can border collies be crate trained? Border Collies are highly energetic dogs and they need to have enough playtime and activities to get tired and go relax in their crates.
If you keep them in crates without letting them enjoy any activities for a long period of time, you will start noticing their aggressive behavior because of their anxiety.
Some Border Collie crate training tips are:
- Food should not be left in the crate.
- Leave water in the kennel, but choose a bowl that attaches to the wire so your Border Collie puppy doesn’t spill it.
- Do not feed your Border Collie puppy right before crate time
- Take it outside or somewhere to defecate before putting it in the crates.
7 Types Of Extra Training: Border Collie Owners May Like To Know About
When you are bringing the high-spirited Border Collie pup into your house, several questions will pop into your head regarding its trainability. Here are 7 types of additional training Border Collie Owners would love to know about:
#1 Can Border Collies Be Trained To Be Guard Dogs?
Do border collies make good house dogs? Protective in nature, Border Collies, like other herding and sheepdogs, might be suspicious of outsiders and will definitely defend you if it anticipates you’re in the slightest of dangers. Proper training and rules make them lovable house dogs that are everyone’s favorites.
Can border collies be trained to be guard dogs?
Absolutely! It is their natural instinct to alert you even if they notice anything fishy. Border collies make good watchdogs and appropriate training at the appropriate time will help them to understand your surroundings and when they need to guard you!
#2 Do Border Collies Need Agility Training?
Border Collie is just the synonym for the word “agility” in the doggy-dom. Border Collies are a breed that thrives on the bodily and mental challenges of agility courses. Border collie obedience training is important for their overall performances.
Agility courses consist of a range of obstacles that put the dog’s fitness, athleticism, and bravery to the test. The least age to compete in agility is eighteen months. Agility training, on the other hand, can begin as early as six months old, with low-height jumps.
Make sure you make everything fun so that your pet never gets bored with the same old routine.
#3 Does My Border Collie Need Mental Training?
Border Collies are well-known for their brilliance and ready-wit. They are one of the smartest dogs that understand everything and anything in a jiffy. All working dogs, particularly border collies, who also happen to be the world’s brightest breed, need mental stimulation as much as their physical bodies.
They must help their owners overcome difficulties and complete duties. They want their owners to give them jobs that include both mental and physical exertion.
#4 Are Border Collies Good For Farm Training?
Why are border collies good at herding? Farmers and shepherds in the United Kingdom developed the Border Collie to handle and control cattle.
The current Border Collie is the consequence of three centuries of working dog breeding. They are the world’s most frequently used as stock dogs, working with sheep, cattle, goats, hogs, and even poultry.
#5 Can Border Collies Get Fetch Training?
You can begin by teaching him to fetch a little toy like a rubber ball, but with time and care, your Border Collie will be able to fetch almost anything he can carry depending on the weight of what they are carrying.
#6 Are Border Collies Good At Flyball Training?
In Flyball, the breeds with the best speed, agility, concentration, and coordination are the most successful. Border Collies, of course, have these characteristics. Border Collies, unsurprisingly, are the best at Flyball.
#7 Do Border Collies Get Frisbee Training?
Border collies were bred to herd sheep and have a strong desire to work. That urge can be met by chasing and retrieving a flying disc. Teach your friend to enjoy Frisbees only once he has attained full size; early jumping might result in bone or muscular malformations, as well as injury.
In Flyball, the breeds with the best speed, agility, concentration, and coordination are the most successful. Border Collies, of course, have these characteristics. Border Collies, unsurprisingly, are the best at Flyball.
Learn: Why Does Your Border Collie Bark So Much?
10 Unusual Reasons: Why Border Collies Get Difficult To Train?
Is a border collie hard to train? No, but not everything comes with a manual book right? Although Border Collies are easy to train, it is impossible to say that there will be no exceptions.
Sometimes it can get really difficult to train your BC right and you can’t seem to find any reasons behind this either. Here are 10 unusual reasons why Border Collies get difficult to train:
#1 You Don’t Train Your Border Collie Often Enough
Being one of the most intelligent breeds of them all, Border Collies can get really hard to train and one unusual reason behind that can be you don’t train your Border Collie often enough! Yes, you read that right! Border Collies need a lot of time and patience to get accustomed to the system and rules you are trying to make them conditioned with.
If you think any 30 minutes will be fine for your dog’s training then you are definitely wrong. You need to give it time, day after day, and patience to train him into a good house dog.
#2 You Repeat Commands
Border Collies tend to easily lose interest if they find their activities too dull or boring.
If you want your BC to be trained well then you must stop repeating commands and start training him with a big range of different commands such as “Fetch”, “Sit”, “Stop”, “Run”, “Drop”, “Come”, “Sit”, “No” etc instead of just training him with the usual “come”, “sit”, “no”.
#3 Your Training Sessions Run Too Long or Too Short
Another unusual reason may be the timespan of your pet’s training sessions. Although this might seem normal to you, your Collie will stop obeying the instructions if the timespan of the sessions is either very short or very long.
Border Collies are known for being high-energy dogs, so getting enough exercise is essential. Adult Border Collies need at least 90 minutes of activity a day to stay healthy.
#4 Your Border Collie’s Obedience Behaviours Are Not Generalized To Varying Conditions
Border Collies can be disobedient if your commands are not generalized to varying conditions. There are some tips on how to train your BC to be more obedient:
- Only teach one new trick at a time.
- Make sure the training is enjoyable.
- Even if things get frustrating, be patient with your dog.
- Make training sessions as brief as possible.
- Give your dog a treat for good behavior (treats, praise, etc)
#5 You Rely Too Much On Treats and Not Enough On Praise, Esteem, and Celebrity
Praising your Border Collie is a must to enforce positive attitudes and habits.
Treats are temporary rewards for them to obey you instantly but if you keep praising them every now and then for behaving perfectly, for being a good boy/girl, for being a good dog then you will definitely see the lovely outcome of it as your BC will be more affectionate and obedient towards you.
#6 You Use Too Much Emotion
Using too much emotion may be an unusual reason behind making it difficult to train your Border Collie. You are either happy if he does everything right or angry if he makes a mistake that makes your puppy aloof and distant. It makes them anxious and they might ‘shut down’ when you start training them.
#7 You Are Reactive, Not Proactive
You only react or treat them if they finish all of their tasks, but you might not be proactive for a while. Being proactive with Border Collies is a must as they need a lot of exercises and mental stimulation to keep up with their intense natural spirit.
#8 You Are Inconsistent
Inconsistency is something that might be giving you a hard time while training your Border Collie. You may think that your dog had enough exercise yesterday, so it might take a rest today or let’s skip just a day but that’d be a huge mistake as Border Collies require straight 90 minutes of activities every single day.
#9 You Lack Confidence
When you are training your Border Collie, you have to be confident about your actions. Border Collies are intelligent enough to take the lead if they notice that you are not being or acting like a leader. So, make sure you command like a leader.
#10 You Don’t Train To Your Border Collie Fido Individually
Frequent changes in trainer might confuse your Border Collie on whom to listen to. Besides, If you’re gone for more than 3-4 hours, your collie should be visited. Border collies, like many other breeds, are prone to separation anxiety and isolation distress.
So, be consistent, and if you decide to train your fido, make sure you are training him or her every day individually to make the sessions fruitful.
Over To You
Borders are the world’s finest herders. Anyone who has seen them in action—with their sweeping outruns, subtle crouching and crawling, and powerful bursts of concentrated energy—would have to agree.
I summarized whether Border Collies are easy or hard to train and the answer will always depend on the environment and the demeanor of the trainer they are going to get. Did you find the article informative? Which information was new to you?
As a Border Collie enthusiast, I would love to know about your intelligent pup. Did I miss anything to cover? I love communicating with my fellow Dog-enthusiasts and I would love to know your opinion about this breed. Share the article if you like and comment your thoughts and more feedback in the comment section below!
Further Reading:
Common Behavior Problems in Border Collies
Behavioral Problems in the Border Collie
Related Topics:
1. Why Do Border Collies Smile?
2. Are Border Collies Natural Swimmer?
3. Why Do Border Collies Run Constantly Around In Circles?
