Stopping a Border Collie Mix From Herding Cars Using BAT

For this Omaha dog training appointment, we were called in to stop 10 month old Bododle (Border Collie / Poodle mix) Rocky from herding cars and help 10 year-old Mini Australian Shepherd Hunter stop being so fearful.

We started off the session by discussing Hunter’s skittishness around new people and situations. I pointed out that petting him during these times can actually contribute to those unbalanced states of mind. A better approach is to distract him with a focus exercise, build up his confidence by teaching him new tricks on commands, and get him some exercise before people come to visit.

When new people do visit, the guardians should ask guests to ignore him; no direct eye contact, no attempts to pet him or talk to him. The more you try to engage a fearful dog, the more they will avoid you. If the guardians can have a new person come over once a week for a few weeks following this approach, they should find Hunter growing more at ease in meeting new people. I shared a few more tips on helping Hunter stop being a fearful dog in the Roadmap to Success video at the end of this session write up.

To stop Rocky from herding cars that pass by, we headed outside to do some Behavior Adjustment Training or BAT.

Teaching a dog to stop trying to herd cars is one of the more important dog problems I have been called in to solve. Obviously that is not going to go well if dog and car ever meet. But its not the first time someone I have been hired to train a dog to stop herding cars.

When a dog’s guardian says “that’s amazing” you know you are doing good work as a dog behaviorist. Maybe I should look into doing more Bododle dog training, lol.

The guardian will need to follow the BAT instructions included in the above free dog training video to help Rocky learn not to herd cars. Going slow, practicing each step until the dog is completely relaxed before moving to the next step will be crucial parts of his behavior modification.

To help the guardians remember all the dog behavior suggestions I shared with them in this at home dog training session, we shot a roadmap to success video.