Help! My 4-month-old puppy is becoming a nightmare

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We’ve got a Border Collie puppy who’s nearly 4 months old, and he’s becoming a total nightmare!

He chases anything that moves, runs after us and nips at our legs or grabs our clothes—basically anything he can get his teeth into to bite us.

He does the same with the chickens, the goat and my cats.

Not to mention he jumps up at everyone who visits, regardless of whether they’re dressed up or not!

Plus, with his sharp little claws, he’s always batting at us with his front paws and it really hurts. We have two young children and we don’t want them getting bitten or scratched; it’s really upsetting.

Since he first arrived, I’ve been saying ‘no Chipie, no’ in a firm voice whenever he’s naughty, but I don't think he’s listening. He just wants his own way. He hides under the sofa or a cupboard and then starts all over again as soon as I’m not looking.

He makes off with everything in his path... whether it's shoes, clothes, stones, kitchen roll, or the newspaper—sometimes he shreds it so much you can barely read the headlines!

As for walks on the lead, as long as it's long enough for him to come and go as he pleases, everything is fine. But the moment I shorten it, he starts thrashing around on the ground—he’d practically choke himself on the end of the lead!

We live in the countryside but I don't dare let him off the lead in the fields because if he doesn't want to come back, the more I call him, the further he runs away...

People we know say we should take him to puppy classes, but we don't have much time and there isn't a training club anywhere near where we live...

We’ve had him for six weeks now and it’s getting worse and worse. Does anyone have any good advice? We’re at our wits' end... Thanks in advance to anyone who can help, because it's becoming unbearable now—to be honest, I'm fed up with this mutt...

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    • Tania28
    Tania28 Icon representing the flag French
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    here you go, here is the number 04

    Not the brightest move putting a number up like that, Camou!

    And I also used to think you could shake a dog by the scruff of its neck, but after hearing a few accounts, it's a definite no-no, for the reasons @humeur-de-chien explained.

    And yeah, dog training clubs all have their own way of doing things! The proper 'puppy school' is Joseph Ortega’s; I wonder what our pros think?

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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    +1 Caro (if it’s alright if I call you that!)

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    C
    Caroline-eg Icon representing the flag French
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    I think humeur de chien was coming at it from a behavioural perspective. The whole point of training is to get results; some people do that with the dog’s welfare in mind, while others don’t. In this case, scruffing them by the neck like that does get results (it’s essentially a kill-bite simulation), but it’s neither scientific nor good for the dog's well-being. It’s against the rules to share phone numbers on here, and I don’t think you need to be an expert to know that some clubs (even working dog clubs—in fact, especially those at times) still use this technique. Personally, I’d call it quite barbaric, not so much the physical act itself but the psychological trauma it causes. As I said, the goal is for it to "work" but they couldn't care less about the dog. It’s no coincidence that with these sorts of techniques, we end up picking relatively "easy" dogs here in the UK, whereas in many other countries people can choose their own guide dog breed. I’m not denying that it works—it’s probably very effective—but you can’t ignore the risk, especially with an over-excited Border Collie, that one day the dog might just have enough and turn around to bite her properly. And if that happens, it won’t just be an issue of over-excitement anymore.
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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    Right, okay, we'll have to agree to disagree then. Anyway, there we go. Sorry Chipie for cluttering up your thread. Give the idea a go tonight and you'll see if it works or not.
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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    Anyway, is the problem sorted then? Sorry for getting a bit carried away.
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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    Here you go, here's the number: 04 74 00 60 11

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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    If you want to see that I'm not making this up, have a look at the school website or else just give the school a ring :)
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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    Well, he’s someone who really knows his stuff when it comes to dogs; he’s the technical director at a regional guide dog training centre.
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    ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Umm, do you actually have a dog?

    I do

    so that changes everything

    someone who really knows their stuff about dogs told me to do this, and if I told them what you've just said, well...

    D'you know what, you're not even worth a reply. "Someone told me, so it must be true"... It's blindingly obvious you're only 12.

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    C
    Camou1 Icon representing the flag French
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    Hmm, do you have a dog?

    I do.

    Well, that changes everything then.

    Someone who really knows their stuff about dogs told me to do this, and if I told them what you've just told me, well...

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