# Hyper Border terrier



## BrackenBT (Apr 21, 2012)

Hi, I'm new here. I have a fifteen month old Border terrier called Bracken who is very bright and very full of energy. I started his training as soon as we got him as a pup, so he is generally pretty obedient - not that you'd believe it when he gets distracted by something!

The main problem I have with him is his exciteability around people or other animals. He loves everyone he meets and goes completely deaf to me when in a state of high excitement! We live in the country and almost never meet anyone on our walks, so I make a point of walking him in town occasionally (I really need to do this more often), and we go to lots of car boot sales and take Bracken with us in the hope of eventually desensitising him and making him realise that not everyone wants to play. 

I wondered if anyone has any particular techniques they use to keep their dog calm and focussed? Treats don't work, he's usually greedy but ignores them when he's excited. His squeaky tennis ball gets his attention 99.9% of the time, but they're not really appropriate when in busy areas - he does like playing tug though, so I'm currently looking for a good (VERY durable) tug toy to play with (if it has a squeaker, even better!), so I'd also welcome suggestions on that front too.

Sorry for the long post! If anyone would like to share their experience, I'd really appreciate it.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Being a terrier and Im assuming has a prey drive plus his love for squeakys
these may be the answer Skineeze, they are furry have squeakers but no filling easy to carry annd put in your pocket annd squeakers too. They got verygood responses in training used for recall reward and getting and keeping attention.
Skinneeez Stuffing Free Crazy Critters Dog Toys

Mine also had the Kong Wubba, thats got a squeaker in and covered in a thick canvas like material and has tails like an octopus good for throwing and tug. Kong do various heavy duty soft toys too heres a link to the full website
Dog & Cat Toys & Dog Treats - Pet Toys, Dog Chew Toys | KONG Company


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## koolchick (Apr 5, 2011)

I've got a 4 year old BT cross JR and had him from being 6 week old. your description of your dog is double of my dog though he has calmed down a lot now and is more aware of dangers such as losing me when off lead. I used to take him to obedience classes which calmed him eventually. The first session was embarrassing I spent the whole hour pulling him back from other dogs he was desperate to play with every other dog and I was totally ignored by him all through. He knew basic sit but you wouldn't of known he knew sit or even who I was by way he went off on 2 legs most of time. I dreaded any little kids coming up to him because he would try to jump up and lick them which some didn't like. 

As I said he is much calmer now still has a lot of energy but when out he doesn't jump up at people (he stopped on his own) though he does to people he knows to greet them and will jump into my arms if I've been away from him a while. He still likes other dogs but not as desperate to play with some as he used to be. He also like your dog loves anything that squeaks.

How does your dog react when he doesn't know where you are when on walks? You could try this if he is on extending lead just move round a corner out of sight and see if he comes to find you if he does praise him. Once you know he will look for you if you go out of sight you can relax more if you let him off. I used to do this with my dog at agility class I hid near a car watched him search for me then made a fuss when he found me.


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## BrackenBT (Apr 21, 2012)

Sled dog hotel said:


> Being a terrier and Im assuming has a prey drive plus his love for squeakys
> these may be the answer Skineeze, they are furry have squeakers but no filling easy to carry annd put in your pocket annd squeakers too. They got verygood responses in training used for recall reward and getting and keeping attention.
> Skinneeez Stuffing Free Crazy Critters Dog Toys
> 
> ...


Hi Sled Dog Hotel, thanks for your comments. You're right about Bracken's prey drive - if he sees a hare he's off and absolutely nothing will get him back! I'm not sure about the furry toys, he's had soft toys before and absolutely destroyed them within minutes. I might try the Kong Wubba's however - I've seen them before and thought they didn't look durable enough, but if they're only used for interactive tug games they might do the trick. I forgot that they have squeakers in them, so thanks for that. It might be just the thing to make him forget about trying to play with other people!


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## BrackenBT (Apr 21, 2012)

koolchick said:


> I've got a 4 year old BT cross JR and had him from being 6 week old. your description of your dog is double of my dog though he has calmed down a lot now and is more aware of dangers such as losing me when off lead. I used to take him to obedience classes which calmed him eventually. The first session was embarrassing I spent the whole hour pulling him back from other dogs he was desperate to play with every other dog and I was totally ignored by him all through. He knew basic sit but you wouldn't of known he knew sit or even who I was by way he went off on 2 legs most of time. I dreaded any little kids coming up to him because he would try to jump up and lick them which some didn't like.
> 
> As I said he is much calmer now still has a lot of energy but when out he doesn't jump up at people (he stopped on his own) though he does to people he knows to greet them and will jump into my arms if I've been away from him a while. He still likes other dogs but not as desperate to play with some as he used to be. He also like your dog loves anything that squeaks.
> 
> How does your dog react when he doesn't know where you are when on walks? You could try this if he is on extending lead just move round a corner out of sight and see if he comes to find you if he does praise him. Once you know he will look for you if you go out of sight you can relax more if you let him off. I used to do this with my dog at agility class I hid near a car watched him search for me then made a fuss when he found me.


Thanks for your response koolchick. I took Bracken to puppy classes when he was about 5 months and, although very excited, he did listen to me most of the time - it probably helped that he knew all the commands already though.

He gets off the lead quite a lot since I live in the country, and his recall is really very good - I've always got some of his favourite treats (eg Markies) in my pocket for when I call him, and he races back to me at full speed! If he's really distracted I squeak his ball and that almost invariably gets his attention - I throw it for him and I always have a second one in reserve in case he gets distracted once he has that ball, lol! I occasionally hide behind trees when he's lagging behind sniffing at things (I hope nobody ever sees me do this, they'll think I'm nuts), and he does come looking for me with a very worried expression on his face!

Other people have told me that their Border terrier was very exciteable when young but that they calmed down when they got to about 2 years old, and it's reassuring that your terrier has calmed down a bit on his own too. Bracken is noticeably more relaxed than he used to be - he doesn't make that crazy high pitched yipping/squeaking noise that all Border terriers seem to make nearly as often as he used to. Maybe I just need to be patient and wait for him grow up a bit!


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## Mama Sass (Sep 8, 2009)

Same as the last post, we have Basil (border terrier, now two and a half) and he was exactly the same when he was younger.

He did grow out of most of it really pretty much by himself, although he still has his moments when off-lead so we have to be careful where we let him off. If he gets sight or scent of something then he's off and no amount of cheese or squeaky toys will get him to come back. Being a terrier he does have a high prey drive so we just judge each situation as it comes. As someone else said, hiding works well as regardless of how far he has gone he is always looking back just to check where we are.

Basil's recall improved beyond belief when we took him out with a couple of older, calmer dogs - they showed him what to do and he learned more from them in an hour than he did from us in six months!! So if you know anyone with an older dog who is reasonably calm you could try that.

Although he did calm down by himself and has become much calmer just by growing up a bit I will say that throughout we were consistent with his training, always told him 'no' when his behaviour was inappropriate and were firm but fair when we needed to be. 

So keep the faith that the messages and the training are going in, don't give up, and wait for him to grow up just a bit more and he'll be fine!


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## BrackenBT (Apr 21, 2012)

Mama Sass said:


> Same as the last post, we have Basil (border terrier, now two and a half) and he was exactly the same when he was younger.
> 
> He did grow out of most of it really pretty much by himself, although he still has his moments when off-lead so we have to be careful where we let him off. If he gets sight or scent of something then he's off and no amount of cheese or squeaky toys will get him to come back. Being a terrier he does have a high prey drive so we just judge each situation as it comes. As someone else said, hiding works well as regardless of how far he has gone he is always looking back just to check where we are.
> 
> ...


Thanks, this is really reassuring! As I say, he is pretty obedient and I'm fairly happy with his recall - today some people came along on a tandem when he was off the lead, which he seemed quite amazed by, but he came back straight away when I called him. I do practise the recall a LOT - as you mention, being firm, fair and consistent is the only way to ensure a good response.

I'd love to get some canine company for walks, but unfortunately I don't have anyone with a dog that we can walk with - it's a shame, because Bracken is very friendly and loves playing, so if anyone in the Scottish Borders wants to let their own friendly dog run around with a Border terrier please let me know! I did think my brother's dog would play with him, but he absolutely hates Bracken and won't tolerate him anywhere near him - we can just about walk them together but my brother's dog is really unhappy about it (he's a rescue dog and has obviously had bad experiences with dogs in the past).

Basically, the main problem is that Bracken's desperate to say hello to everyone that passes by, pulls towards people and jumps up on them. I took him to a car boot sale today and found I was having some success by asking him to sit when he tried to jump up, then giving him a tasty treat when he did - so I guess that proves he is improving a little!

Thanks for all your comments, Mama Sass (love your profile pic by the way - so cute!).


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## Mama Sass (Sep 8, 2009)

BrackenBT said:


> Thanks, this is really reassuring! As I say, he is pretty obedient and I'm fairly happy with his recall - today some people came along on a tandem when he was off the lead, which he seemed quite amazed by, but he came back straight away when I called him. I do practise the recall a LOT - as you mention, being firm, fair and consistent is the only way to ensure a good response.
> 
> I'd love to get some canine company for walks, but unfortunately I don't have anyone with a dog that we can walk with - it's a shame, because Bracken is very friendly and loves playing, so if anyone in the Scottish Borders wants to let their own friendly dog run around with a Border terrier please let me know! I did think my brother's dog would play with him, but he absolutely hates Bracken and won't tolerate him anywhere near him - we can just about walk them together but my brother's dog is really unhappy about it (he's a rescue dog and has obviously had bad experiences with dogs in the past).
> 
> ...


Yep, the jumping up at everyone sounds very familiar! I think Basil was about 2 when it stopped altogether. Once he even jumped all over a poor man laid down sunbathing by the river...oh dear!

It was the same with chasing things. At the beginning he chased motorbikes, cyclists, joggers, tractors, diesel cars, cars with trailers, you name it - walking anywhere with him was a nightmare. But again with time and consistent training he just stopped doing it one day. Occasionally he still goes for a trailer but its rare. And he completely ignores joggers.

And yes, he is impossibly cute - which is why he gets away with more than he should!


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## Firedog (Oct 19, 2011)

I remember taking one of my BT to a car boot sale,it was a nightmare,everytime we got to a new table the dog would lay down underneath it.I think the jumping all over people is just a BT thing although it can be a real pain at times.


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