I picked up an 11-month-old Border Collie from a breeder this Sunday. He’s very nervous, isn't eating much, won't play, and gets really anxious about going through the front door, both when we’re heading out and coming back in. It seems like he’s probably only ever known his kennel run and hasn’t seen much of the outside world. Since he’s been with us, he’s barely been to the toilet at all. Maybe one wee every 24 hours, if that. Even though I take him out often on a long lead (he doesn't try to run off but he has no recall yet) and always to the same spots, he just won’t go. He has plenty of water available and doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort. I’m just at a loss as to how to encourage him. I'm worried he’ll end up with a UTI if he keeps holding it in this long.
Has anyone else experienced this? How did you get things to improve?
Translated from French
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Hi everyone,
An update on Rex after over a fortnight with us.
Lots of progress: I no longer need to carry him through the door, as he's now associated me putting on my shoes and coat and grabbing the lead with going outside for a walk.
Regarding house training: he's still having accidents indoors, and although he's starting to go outside, he doesn't ask to go out yet.
On walks, I let him off-lead; he doesn't wander off and comes back when called. I always keep the long line handy just in case of mountain bikes or motocross (we have plenty of hiking trails around here).
With other dogs: he's well-behaved, follows them and watches them, but he’s a bit shy and tends to back away if things get too rowdy or there’s too much movement.
He’s still very fearful of my partner: he has officially become the designated "treat dispenser" so that Rex starts to associate him with positive things.
The trainer came to see him on Saturday for an assessment. She gave us some advice on building his confidence, especially with my partner. In her opinion, he was clearly mistreated by a man in the past, given the huge difference in how he behaves with men compared to women...
On my end, since he trusts me, we’re working on recall and I’m starting to teach him "sit" and "down"...
So, that’s the latest!
I’ve had a quick read through so sorry if you’ve already mentioned this, but have you spoken to a vet? No health issues?
Yes, he told me to give it some time and keep an eye out for any changes for the worse, and then I’ll get back to him. Everything is improving; he’s eating better and even peed right in front of me in the house. I gave him a firm "no" and put him on a puppy pad – getting him out the door is still a bit too much for him, and I had my 3-month-old in my arms in the middle of a bottle feed...
He was wormed and had his flea treatment at the breeder’s a month ago.
That’s good, he’s getting there slowly but surely 🙂
If he was living in kennels at his old breeder’s (from what I gathered), he might still be finding it a bit of a struggle to adjust to life in a house. Either way, it’s early days, and he’ll keep finding his feet and settling in nicely.
Hi everyone, just a quick update after the weekend. Rex is a bit less timid with me now; he gives me a lovely greeting in the morning, but he’s still a bit wary of my partner, though things are starting to look up. He met a doggy friend and wasn't shy at all; they didn't really play, but it was their first meeting. He did his business in the garden without any issues while they were together, followed my partner around, explored a bit... He’s a bit hit-and-miss with his food, but he’s drinking well. To be fair, he is overweight at 26kg (around 4 stone / 57 lbs), and we’re trying to transition his dry food—the breeder had him on high-protein Royal Canin, but he’s having none of it.
He came back to me when I called him to leave, after my partner had tried a few times, so he made a real fuss of me once he got to my side.
It seems he’s a bit wary of men and is much more comfortable when he's off-lead. We have quite a bit of land but it’s not fenced yet; our previous Australian Shepherd always stayed with us in the house and never wandered off when he was outside. It’s still too early for us to let Rex stay outside on his own, even if I get the feeling that being a "house dog" isn't really his thing... Then again, it’s only been a week. We’re seeing some improvements at least. Next Saturday, a trainer is coming to the house for a behavioural assessment to see which direction we should take with him.
