Is She Stressed?

[oakeydoak1]

Have posted this in the Border Collie and breeders thread but thought I would post here too..............

Hi all, wondering if any of you can help me with a problem I have with my BC female. She is 5 months old. I am a long time bc owner and now breeder but have never had this problem before and dont quite know how to deal with it. Was hoping you guys may have some suggestions.

The problem I have is that for hte last month or so when she is in her yard she is continuously running around her yard in a figure 8. It is almost like it is an obssesion. If you yell at her she will stop for a couple of moments but then continue again. As soon as she goes in there she starts.

At first I thought it might be a "scared" reaction. She is a very timid dog and I thought her "fear period" might just be extra long/bad but then when I went to put her away last night she raced to her yard and jumped up at her gate. I wouldnt think she would do this if she was scared.

She isnt stuck in her yard all the time. She is probably out at least 4-6 hours a day if not more apart from the two days I work. Her yard is very large (about half the size of an average sized house). When she is out she plays with the other 4 borders, has some training and goes for walks/runs around the property or goes to work with my husband (farm work).

I have tried giving her "toys" to keep her occupied when I am at work and she is in her yard but as she is not food orientated things like Kongs and Treat Balls she doesnt care about.

Any suggestions on what may cause this behaviour/how I can stop it?

Should I change the yard she is in or make her a house dog, obviously making her a house dog has its own problems, the way our house is set out she would have to go into a yard whilst I am at work anyway?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Cosmolo]

I would be wanting to utilise treat balls etc- i know you said she isn't food motivated but how does she get fed at the moment? Can you make her work for her meals in a treat ball or similar?

Do you always put her in there and then leave? Does she ever go in there with another dog? To eat a meal? Do you spend time in there with her?

Sounds potentially like some anxiety/ OCD which the sooner it can be resolved the better.

[oakeydoak1]

Hi Cosmolo

I have tried giving her her meals in a treat ball and Kong. She will not touch them at all. No interest what so ever. I have even tried putting her favourite (chicken) inside a Kong. No go.

Usually when I feed her I go in there and make her do a sit/drop and wait utnil I give her, her dinner.

I do put her in there with other dogs, she doesnt really show any interest in them when they are in there with her. She eats all her meals in there.

I dont really spend a huge amount of time in there with her.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She loves being with me and when she is around the house she is always with me. She would happily sleep/eat at the back door but this isnt secure for her.

[sas]

Sounds like she may be experiencing some OCD behaviour? Anything like that in her lines?

A Vet Behaviourist such as Robert Holmes could be worth a consult: http://animalbehaviour.com/

[oakeydoak1]

SAS - Not that I know of. Have emailed her breeders and am waiting a reply. Thanks for the link. Will give it a go.

[Cosmolo]

If she is only in the yard for short periods and is crate trained, i would consider crating instead in the short term so that she doesn't have the opportunity to keep practicing the behaviour. Definitely contact Robert, unless you have a good behaviourist in your area who could come and see the dog.

With the treat balls- have you only tried them in her yard or have you tried them elsewhere? When you are at home, how much time does she spend away from you- physically separated?

[oakeydoak1]

Cosmolo - She made a liar out of me this morning and ate her breakfast out of her Kong! Physically separated I would say maybe 2 hours, it depends on what I am doing during hte day, the weather, what we are doing on the farm etc.

I am going to put her in with my older girl and change her yard completely and see if that works.