WORKING BEARDED COLLIE
Training must begin very early for your WBC puppy, although they mature late and are more backwards than most puppies, their brains are very forward and they need to learn. At the age of 8 weeks, they will happily come when called, so now is the time to start teaching your recall, before they get too bold and start doing their own thing.
SPARKLE PRACTISING HER RECALL
(AGE 11 WEEKS)
The recall is the easiest thing to learn and your puppy will enjoy doing this, especially if you make it fun and reward them with a treat or a game.
It is very important to use the correct training methods with your WBC puppy, they will not be bullied into working and if you try to do so, they will retaliate and you will get nowhere!!
Training
not only includes obedience exercises, but MUST also include basic manners
training, such as being groomed - this is extremely important!! They must
learn to lie still while you comb them thoroughly right down to the skin.
Working Beardies do usually have less coat than their show-bred cousins, but they will still require a good groom once a week. The puppy coat mats very quickly and will get worse as they change into their junior coats.
When they progress to their adult coat, this will be easier to cope with, but will still need some attention. If you do not teach them as puppies to be calm and lie still, you will end up not being able to care for your WBC properly and this will cause many problems.
All training methods must be fun and reward based and your puppy must enjoy doing the exercises. Your puppy will work much better if he/she enjoys doing their work. This goes not only for obedience, but also agility and working trials/tests.
Your WBC puppy will be very interested in life and keen to learn, so you must keep their interest and make good use of your training sessions. Anytime your puppy pays you any attention, take this opportunity to do a little training, no matter how short.
SPARKLE CONCENTRATING
(AGE 10 WEEKS)
A Working Beardie needs to be kept stimulated mentally or they may suffer behaviour problems. Obviously you cannot spend 24 hours a day training your puppy, because you have things to do and your puppy needs to sleep, but by giving them educational toys, they will stimulate their own minds by working out what to do. Activity treat balls are excellent for this and will keep them occupied for ages.
SPARKLE WITH HER ACTIVITY BALL
(AGE 14 WEEKS)
A well trained and well socialised Working Bearded Collie will work just as accurately as any Border Collie and they will look fantastic with their flowing coats and prancing gait. If you want a WBC for obedience, please be patient and do not push them too hard, too soon or you will ruin the chance of having a stylish working dog.
Working Beardies are renowned for resisting any kind of restriction and will not take kindly to being tied up or restrained. Therefore it is imperative that you start collar and lead training immediately and go at the pace of your own puppy. Some will be fine at 8 or 9 weeks, others will panic and will take longer and will need more time spent with them, you must have patience with your puppy and never push them into anything, always guide them in the right direction and let them take their time. Any good and caring breeder will begin this type of training from the age of 5 weeks. Please be aware of where your puppy is coming from and make sure they have been brought up carefully and come from a breeder who knows the problems this breed can have.
Sparkle did not take kindly to being restricted on the collar and lead, as unfortunately she has never experienced this feeling before she came to live here. Although she had no problems wearing them, she wanted to go her own way and do her own thing and would throw herself upside down and scream with frustration when she couldn't do it. This took a lot of patient training to overcome, but we got there in the end and now she is fine on most occasions.
SPARKLE GETTING USED TO HER COLLAR AND LEAD
(AGE 8 WEEKS)
As a qualified dog trainer and qualified behaviourist myself, I have seen many dogs who have either not had the correct training or been badly trained using rough methods, these dogs take a lot of time and effort to re-train. The Working Beardie is very different to most dogs, in that one bad experience will stay with them for life, and they forget nothing!! One mistake on your part, could lead to a multitude of problems later on, so it is very important that you take things slowly and never push your puppy too hard. Never get cross with your puppy during a training session and if your training session is not going well, finish it there and then before you get angry with your puppy.
All training sessions, no
matter how short or how long and no matter where they are, must be made fun and
must be done in a positive way. Your WBC will become very resentful and
will not work for you if they are treated wrong, some of these dogs may not be
able to compete properly until they are 2, maybe even 3 years old,
although some will be excellent at the age of 15-18 months. It depends on
the individual dog, so if you want a dog which you can train up and compete with
at 6 months, please look elsewhere!!
Play is a very important part of training, this is where they will learn social skills, not only with people but also with other dogs. This is very important if you are intending to complete with your dog in anything, there is nothing more annoying or upsetting than a good dog not working because it is not used to noise and crowds, or raging at other dogs around you by the ring.
PLAYING WITH OTHER DOGS IS SPARKLE LEARNING HOW TO
ESSENTIAL FOR SOCIAL SKILLS BEHAVE WITH OTHER DOGS
PLAYING WITH YOU WITH TOYS
HELPS TO DEVELOP A CLOSE BOND
Learning
to share is a very important lesson your Working Beardie will have to learn.
They do not share things well with other dogs and some have problems sharing
with people. This includes food, toys and sticks, they must learn as soon
as possible that sharing is a good thing and that they will not lose out if they
do.
Try to encourage your puppy to experience as many different things as possible while still young. The most important age for the "fear period" is between 8 and 16 weeks of age. You need to ensure your WBC puppy experiences everything that he or she may come into contact with during their life. Even the strangest of things will be useful one day, so encourage your puppy to pick up everything possible and play with everything possible, so they will not worry about anything while you are competing or just out walking. All these experiences can be incorporated in a training session, be inventive and try to keep your puppy thinking.
ENCOURAGE YOUR PUPPY TO EXPLORE AND
NOT TO FEAR ANYTHING.
The Working Beardie's mind is very complex and they will often figure things out even before you have thought of them. They will be of great help to you if you encourage them to think for themselves and to work things out for themselves. One example of this, is a farmer who was using a Working Beardie to gather some lambs together in a barn, the farmer was chasing these lambs everywhere while the beardie was told to wait at the side. As the farmer was having no luck, the WBC thought for itself and walked over to the other side of this barn, layed down and started to make silly noises. The lambs obviously being inquisitive creatures, went over to see and the WBC grabbed one with it's paws and held it down until the farmer could collect it.
Now that shows real imagination and was thought up by the working beardie by itself. Therefore if you want a dog which will follow every order and work like a robot, you don't want a Working Bearded Collie!!
This is another reason why
these dogs are not for the novice owner, they are highly intelligent and will
easily take over if allowed (see beardies in your home page). If these dogs
are not trained for some kind of work, wether competition, farm or search and
rescue work, they will find other things to occupy themselves, ie chasing your
children and nipping them, barking, chasing cars and bullying other dogs.
If they are not able to channel their instincts somewhere, you may find that your
Working Beardie has become a neurotic nightmare and will suffer various
obsessive behaviour problems due to lack of stimulation. This is when most WBC's and even some show-bred beardies will end up on rescue, because their
owners can no longer cope with their behavioural problems.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SOMEONE WHO TAKES ON A DOG YOU CANNOT COPE WITH AND END UP BECOMING ANOTHER NAME ON THE BEARDIE RESCUE LIST!!
If you are intending to do
agility with your WBC, this cannot be started
until he or she is over 18 months
old, this is due to the big possibility of causing joint problems later on. WBC's are classed as a medium to large breed and their bones (like all other
puppies) are soft while they are young and their growth plates have not fused
properly before they are at least 1 year old. The weight of a WBC jumping
on these bones, can easily cause bowed legs, hip dysplasia, shoulder and joint
problems, therefore care must be taken with your puppy.
There is no reason for you not to teach tunnels and weave poles. Very small jumps of under 12" can be done when your puppy is over 1 year old, but any higher should be left until 18 months of age.
The Working beardie, like the show-bred beardie will love agility and will be very good at it. They will learn it quickly and will be fast thinkers, which will be a great advantage to you.
TASSEL - SHOW-BRED BEARDIE IN ACTION
If you have any questions on training in general or training your Working Beardie, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
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updated 25 February 2005
Tassietay Bearded Collies - tassietay@talk21.com