How To Stop Your Border Collie Nipping Ankles and at Children?
When it comes to nipping, Border Collies are known for their notorious behavior. They just love nipping at anything moving in front of them. Be it other dog breeds, animals, children or even a moving car can make them nip. Just like any other dog breed, nipping is in Border Collies’ nature. They tend to herd at anything moving around them, and when the person does not stop moving, they start nipping at them. Obviously, it is a bad behavior and that can possibly lead to biting. As you might be aware that a dog owner can be sued if his/her pet bite someone. That is why it should be your priority to stop you Border collie’s nipping habit as early as possible to control their aggressive behavior and to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Even though it is not possible to completely get rid of herding nature of Border Collie, but you can definitely train your dog to prevent nipping and with time you will notice decrease in their herding instinct as well. Generally their herding instinct is at the fullest when they are not taken out for walk for so long which makes them feel bored, and then when you take them out and set free to roam around and play, they become restless and start nipping.
Border Collie is a breed full of energy and enthusiasm, and because of that when there is no activity to occupy their mind they are full of energy, hence the herding and nipping. That is the main reason why as a pet owner you have to keep your dog engaged in some sort of mental and physical activities.
Have a look at these points that can help your Border Collie to stop nipping –
1. Adequate amount of exercise – Plenty of exercises, walking and playing is an ideal way to cut down on your border collie’s nipping. Basically you have to engage your dog in some activity to divert his mind to avoid nipping and herding.
2. Playing and Running – Take your dog out for walk for at least an hour a day. Playing with your dog in a park or open field also helps. For instance you can keep your dog occupied by playing throw and fetch game.
3. Say “No” – Training your Border Collie puppy is the best possible option to stop his nipping habit. You have to train him by loudly saying “NO” whenever you feel that he is about to nip. For instance, if you have a puppy, you can make a loud hurt whining noise, whenever he nips you, this training does work because it gives him an indication that nipping is not good.
4. Constant Training – Consistency is the key when you train your Border Collie to stop nipping. You have to constantly teach him with obedience training tricks because they can get confused and forget whatever they have learnt. It is important to remain constant with your training because it is extremely difficult to make them understand your words.
5. Chewing Bone – They just love chewing bones. Their love for bones can be used to divert their mind when they are nipping. Simply throw a chewing bone to your dog that will immediately grab his attention.
Despite you efforts and training, if you dog still continue nipping then it is time for you to either look for a specialized Border Collie training guide or else consult a dog training expert. The sooner you put a lid on your dog’s nipping, the better. It may become an extremely difficult situation to deal with if you do not somehow stop his nipping, because nipping usually lead to dog bite, and you do not want your dog to bite your family members, friends or people in parks or other public places where you take your dog for walk.
Even though nipping is a big problem for Border Collies owners, but that doesn’t make them a bad breed. It is in Border Collies’ nature to herd, but they don’t understand that they cannot cross the line and bite someone, which they do in excitement.
Border Collie is a lovely breed. They bring happiness and excitement to their owners because they are full of energy which makes them want to play all the time. They are amazingly intelligent, caring, adorable and loyal pets. That is why, the sooner we solve their nipping problem the better it is for us. By achieving that we can enjoy their unconditional love and build a great relationship with them.
Nipping is undoubtedly a bad behavior of Border Collies and it is one of the most irritating and frustrating habits as it can be dangerous to let them roam around freely and when they bite someone the pet owner will be in some serious legal problems.
If your Border collie also has serious nipping issues, you can learn tricks and tips provided in our training guide to easily overcome their problematic behaviors.
