[Lucyloo]

Hi everyone,

I have two 8 month old border collies who, whenever they are let out, either run straight to the chicken coop or beeline to the horse pasture, and nearly give the animals heart attacks! They jump up and bang against the mesh wire on our chicken coop, run circles around it barking, and have done some serious damage to it that we had to fix! With the horses, they drive our old mare crazy, running and jumping around her in circles while barking. I completely understand that this is just their herding instincts kicking in, but if anyone has had this same problem or knows how to fix or prevent it, please let me know. Ideally, I want my BCs to be the protectors of the chicken coop, rather that being fixated on breaking into it 24/7!

Thanks!

 

[Lucyloo]

Are they littermates?

No, one (the male) is a month or two younger than the female.

 

[Lucyloo]

I have a border collie but the idea of having two as puppies at the same time “training” each other doesn’t sound optimal.
mine was trained by our Great Pyrenees and a pony who doesn’t suffer poorly behaved dogs.
You don’t want this getting worse. Might want to call a trainer. I would for sure keep them contained before they kill a chicken or get kicked by the horse.

In addition to the 2 BCs we have a lab mix and an anatolian shepherd that are always around, so they are somewhat training them, but so far haven't done anything about this problem. We have been keeping a better eye on them when we let them run around lately, and have been keeping them in a big enclosed area more of the day. Hopefully the problem will get better as our other dogs begin to put them in their place.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Lucyloo]

8 month old puppies are like 2 year old kids. Get them plenty of exercise and be with them anytime they are able to get near the chickens or horses, teach them "No" if you have not already and hopefully they'll grow out of it.

Thank you.