How to Train Your Collie Puppy

A Collie, when grown, is a beautiful noble creature, calm and serene! Then they get hold of their favorite toy, or they are around their favorite person and they turn into a complete clown. All pretense of dignity is gone and they are a clown! Figuring out how to train your puppy with these challenges could make you wish someone else was doing the training.

A Collie puppy or any puppy is like a child with ADHD. When you bring your puppy home for the very first time, you can expect him/her to want to chew on everything. They will run around crazy and chase anything he can. You can also expect accidents. Think of your puppy as a small child. Just as you have to teach a small child how to behave, you have to teach your puppy how to behave. Here we’ll go over the basics of how to train your Collie puppy.

The first thing to remember is that the Collie is a very sensitive creature who wants to please their human. They thrive on praise and attention. Positive reinforcement works much better than negative reinforcement. I am not saying that you shouldn’t teach your puppy no. Absolutely tell them no when they are being naughty! We have discovered though, that just like a small child, if you redirect your puppy, it works very well. For instance, if the puppy is chewing on furniture, tap his nose and tell him no. You must have a bone or a toy handy that he/she can chew on. In learning how to train your puppy, consistency is key.

At Briarwood Collies we start to potty train our puppies by offering them a box or a pad to do their business on. Dogs in general, and Collies especially, don’t like to poop and pee where they live. Its instinct for them to do this. By the time your puppy is ready to come home he/she already knows that they shouldn’t go in the house.

If you take your puppy out on regular walks so they can do their business they will quickly adapt to that schedule. Before you know it they will be asking to go out. The other way is to crate train them. You will need a crate that is big enough for them to stand up and turn around. Basically, you keep your puppy in the crate, but still take him/her out at regular intervals. It won’t take your puppy long to figure this out and your puppy will be more than ready to go out and get exercise. I have had many people tell me that their Collie practically house broke it’s self!

We teach how to sit by offering your puppy a treat and pushing down on his/her rump. Then, we teach down, by putting them in a sitting position and pulling their feet out until they are laying down, then offering a treat. We teach stay by putting them in a down position, place your hand, palm straight up in front of your puppies face and tell them stay. Then back up slowly and wait.

If your puppy breaks his down, calmly walk around your puppy so you are standing on your dogs left, then step in front of him/her and put him back down and repeat the command. Only offer a treat when your puppy obeys. Remember that a puppies attention span is short, so if they get tired or distracted, stop, give them a break and let them play. Then try again later when your puppy is fresh.

At Briarwood Collies we start training a puppy to first, walk on a harness, then later on a leash. We use treats to encourage them and try to get rid of other distractions, so their focus is on you. The great thing about the Collie breed is that they are very smart and pick up on training very easily. It only takes a week to teach a puppy to walk on a leash, sit, down, and stay.

Work on one thing at a time until your puppy gets it then add the next. From there if, you practice on a daily basis and encourage with treats, you should be well on your way to training your puppy. We have a rule at Briarwood Collies that if you spend 10-15 minutes a day training your dog, before you know it, you will have a wonderful obedient Collie puppy.

These are the first steps of basics obedience. If you want to learn how to train your puppy in further obedience, I suggest you find a local trainer that teaches obedience classes. Then you and your Collie can be trained together. If you want to take it a step further you can compete with your Collie. AKC and other dog clubs offer competitions where you and your Collie can compete in obedience, rally, agility and so much more. Collies are beautiful, sensitive creatures who are highly intelligent. Continued training helps keep very smart Collies from being bored, which engages his/her mind and helps prevent destructive behavior.

If you have any questions about training or about puppies we have available for your home, comment below or send us a message.