Rescue collie

Glad he's doing better, notoveryet.
Perhaps, like young children who have been neglected, most dogs soon respond to a regular routine of meal and sleep times, and walks. And lots of love and praise.

Please be careful of using a split lead if your dog is so anxious while on an outside walk, this could make your other dog anxious aswell or if your collie gets so nervous it could end up in them fighting as they are having to stay so close together on split lead. When 1 of my rescues was scared of going out i used to take him into the street for about 20 mins several times a day , just to get him used to it, (little and often) with lots of praise/treats when he was calm ,and ignored the bouncy/lunging etc, and just turned round and walked the other way untill he had calmed then back the way i was going, as soon as he was walking calmly i told him "clever boy" and gave treat so he associated nice words/treats with being calm,xx

Not sure of his exact age but would guess around 2.he has pretty good recall, comes back when he's playing in the dog park. The strangest thing happened today, I took his favourite toy with us, he didn't want to carry it far so most of the walk it was in my pocket. His behavior, though, was amazingly improved. No snarling or grabbing the lead. We let him have the full extent of the expanding lead and he ran in front of us in diagonal dashes, which is fine by us. Would be nice to let him off but all the landowner asks in return for access to miles of his land is that dogs are on leads so of course we respect his wishes. My thanks to everyone for their suggestions, owning a rescue collie is very different to a Labrador from 8 weeks!

' spent his formative time chained in a barn,'
How awful for the poor dog. Especially a border collie.
How old is he? If he's relatively young it would be easier to help him overcome his habits.
Sounds like he's more secure in a very controlled situation, as he was in his early years.
Have you risked letting him off the lead when out walking?

I have a rescue Border Collie, the 8th one over 40 odd years. He has a lovely nature with us and other people but he is scarred by his bad first 3 years. Collies do tend to develop quirks from fear in their past and being too inteligent so need to occupy their minds. Ours was dreadful on lead when he first came to us, he would get hysterical when he saw another dog and would spin all the time. We use a half choke collar with an extension lead, or in order to catch him, even in our garden a slip lead. After 5 years he is much better and safer on a lead but will still not go through a door if you stand by it or be caught by his collar.

My OH took him to dog training and it really did help the dogs confidence and help with getting him to walk better on a lead, plus the socialising with other dogs worked so he is now ok with other dogs. After 5 years we are just about getting a reliable recall, but can not let him off the lead on walks, he he too much of a risk. Fortunately he can run in our own field and large garden.

So it will take time and loads of patience, but it is so worthwhile, he will improve.

I don't know that he is scared of open spaces Anya, it was just a thought I had, so I'm more than grateful for all suggestions. I did think of a split lead just a bit concerned he might lead the lab I to bad ways! but will give it a go.Merlotgran, no he was never a working collie.Ah Tizliz, I used to have setters, mad as hatters but I did love them.

I was just about to suggest the split lead too Tizliz . Great minds eh

I'm not sure how practical my next suggestion might be but he obviously likes his obedience work and is comfortable with it, can you incorporate some of that activity on your walk as a distraction?

Good idea Tizliz I walk my two dogs on a single lead with a split attachment.

NOY You never mentioned before the he was scared of open spaces, so I'm thinking our suggestions re leads are a waste of time?????

can you walk both dogs on the one lead? you will need collars that are half chain otherwise they will be too close together. This might teach him how to behave. I used to do this with my red setters as they had a tendency to go in opposite directions.

Was he a working collie, notoveryet? He may feel threatened being on a lead in open spaces because he has no means of escape or 'thinking for himself'.

He's a puzzle for sure, he has the lead on with no problem when he's doing his obedience stuff! I do sometimes wonder if he's a bit scared of big spaces, spent his formative time chained in a barn, he rather loves the lab so I was hoping he would be a reassurance for him.

A rope lead sounds like a good idea - even a skipping rope, no jingly bits. Or you might buy a cheap lead and cut it very short (about 6") and just put it on in the house when he's having a treat. That way he wouldn't be able to grab it (too short) and would come to associate it with nice things.

Good luck.

I would try buying a completely different lead, very simple like a rope lead with no obvious chain or metal bits and casually leaving it around where the dog sleeps along with treats etc. You could even try putting it in his bed once he is used to the sight of it.

See if you can find an area nearby where he can run off the lead but make a point of taking the lead with you every time you go. Make a fuss of him while you hold it near him. When you return home put it back in his bed and reward him.

It might be a long drawn out process but don't try and rush things. Because he has been well trained it might just be a matter of trust. He sounds like a lovely dog.

Thank you all. For reasons connected to his past he can't have a halti or a harness ( poor lad) Thankfully he doesn't chase cars, he comes to heel and sits as they go by, we don't see that many on our back lanes. Funnily enough Anya we tried taking his favourite toy with us today and whilst he wouldn't carry it he did concentrate a bit more when he saw it.He was castrated before we got him and is the most loving of dogs, it wouldn't matter so much except we also have a Labrador and given my husbands health I will have to be able to walk them both in the future.I think we might continue trying with his toy,we make him come and sit next to us when he starts up but as soon ax we move on he's at it again.We knew he'd be a challenge but he had a bad start to life and we could never regret homing him.

My DD had a similar problem with her otherwise well behaved Weimaraner. She now uses a Halti collar (they also do a harness) with an extending lead. It puts pressure on the sensitive part of the nose if he pulls, which stops him. The only problem is that people think he is wearing a muzzle and may be dangerous. I hope you find a solution.
www.companyofanimals.co.uk/brands/halti

I can imagine what you're going through. We had 2 border collies (still got one.) The male was a terror with cars, if he was on the lead he spun round and round, had me in the ditch a few times. Otherwise he had a lovely nature. But they're known to be 'highly strung'. He got himself killed chasing a car .
We even bought an electric collar and that did control him, but obviously we couldn't use that all the time.
I think Anya's suggestions are worth trying, can't think of any more, except someone suggested having him spayed, but husband wouldn't do that.

Have you tried him on a harness instead? Just thinking that the lead will be attached nearer his shoulder and not by his head.

Or could you get a spare lead and give him that to carry, or even a ball or a tug toy? Anything to 'occup' his mouth.

May I ask first what you do when he plays up whilst you are in the country?

Like most border collies he sounds very smart and he obviously does know how to behave so I wonder if something in his past is the trigger?