Larry’s Border Collie was lunging at traffic while on the leash.
Larry says: “My Border Collie is 6 months-old and when I am walking him by any road with traffic he keeps lunging at the moving traffic and is oblivious to everything except the cars or busses that pass. It makes walking him an unhappy experience. Please help! If he cannot hear traffic, he walks lovely. Regards, Larry.”
Adam replies: Hi, Larry. You’re going to want to start by using the pinch collar and the “attention-getter”/loose leash technique.
I go into extensive detail about how to properly fit and use the pinch collar (and why it’s a superior training device) in the book. I also talk about the loose leash exercise, but if you’re more of a visual learner, check out my video, here:
Teach Your Dog To Walk On A Loose Leash — Video
Keep me posted.
- Adam
Lynn adds:
Keep in mind your dog’s natural instincts and drives as well. The herding instinct is actually a modified prey drive, in which the dog stalks and “hunts” whatever it is trying to herd. The only difference is that, with most trained herders, the final act of actually killing the animal (sheep, cattle, etc etc–ANY kind of livestock) has been nullified. Herding breeds can have a tendency to bite because either they have never been taught that it is wrong to do (which can go for any dog), or because they do that as a part of their herding behavior.
A walk is usually NOT enough exercise for these types of dogs.
Obedience is a start and definitely a required foundation to start teaching the dog manners and how to behave out in public. But if you have access to organized dog sports, or even can get him started in herding or some type of activity to use his brain (border collies are GREAT at scentwork, believe it or not), you can really help him take off.
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