Balexi Bordercollies

29/08/2026

The morning ribbon haul, plus 2 more in the afternoon. Huge thanks the ACT Companion Dog Club for putting this on and the judges and stewards. We had a great day and a lot of fun.

28/08/2026

Ready, set go!!!
Tricks Trial at ACTCDC.
BEAUTIFUL day for it.

23/08/2026

This is extremely important for new or prospective Border Collie parents to understand.

TODAY OUR BREED EXPERT Carol Price looks at the subject of
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR IN BORDER COLLIES – And how to better understand and manage it

One of the commonest issues I have dealt with, over the years, is owners who want their Border collies to be more ‘sociable’. I.e. more ‘confident, friendly and outgoing’ with other dogs, other people, visitors to the home, or any or all of the above.

There is an expectation that it is more ‘normal’, or desirable, to have a dog who behaves in this way, and that this, in turn, will also make them more appealing to, or liked by, others. But the reality is it can be just as normal for Border collies to be less sociable dogs, especially as they get older.

THE SOCIAL SPECTRUM
Border collies, as ever, can all vary greatly as individuals. And in my experience this includes their inherent social ability or tolerance. It can range enormously on a spectrum from highly friendly and outgoing to all dogs and people to extremely socially intolerant, or even fearful, of stranger dogs or people. With dogs inbetween who are more socially selective – i.e. like some dogs and people but not others, or like all other people but not dogs, or like all other dogs but not people.

It’s usually down to a subtle combination of the dog’s basic genetic disposition and what their earliest social experiences were. Some dogs just have inherent social limitation; i.e. an inability to extend more ‘sociable’ feelings or behaviour towards anything other than a small number of people or dogs, typically those they live with. Or even just their owner. When you have lived with Border collies long enough you do not find this unusual. But problems can often arise when owners do not accept that their dogs are naturally less sociable, and try to force them to be otherwise.

A myth has also existed for so long, in the dog world, that if your dog is not sociable when older it’s because you messed up their early socialisation when they were younger. And while good early socialisation can certainly make a massive difference in stretching a dog’s levels of social confidence, or tolerance, to the top of their more personal limits, it can’t change a dog’s more natural personality. And sometimes dogs are just naturally not that sociable, and do not want to be any different.

WORKING PROGRAMMING
It is also very important to remember that the Border collie, for generations, has been bred to be a working dog, not a pet one. The change has happened only relatively recently in their long history as a breed, meaning that their deeper rooted working character, instincts and compulsions remain very much to the fore still in many dogs. And often at the expense of any greater social skills as dogs, as these simply were not needed in their working role.

The dog was bred to limit its social attachment more exclusively to one owner or handler. Then defend and control the space around them from anything else coming into it. For some collies today, especially from purer working backgrounds, that is still all they know. Which is why you always have to be that much more careful about the kind of background, genetic temperament wise, you are getting any collie from, if you want them to be a social companion.

MATURITY AND GREATER SOCIAL RESERVATION
In the wild, it is not normal for dogs to maintain in adulthood the more playful and socially flexible attitudes to others they had as puppies. It is something that only happens within a very limited time frame in their early development, when they make their prime social connections. Thereafter, as they mature, stranger individuals tend to get treated with greater suspicion, or even aggression. And sometimes collies can also be like this, behaving on a more primal level as they get older.

As outlined earlier, is also quite common for collies to become more socially reserved, or just less interested in other people and dogs, as they get older. Other owners may accuse them of being ‘less friendly’ when really they are just grown up.

I have always tried to purpose breed highly sociable Border collies, because I believe in the main it affords them a much higher quality of life as social companions. But I also know far less sociable collies who are still pretty happy with their lives.

Collies with more intense social phobias about other dogs or people really do need help to manage their lives better. But if they just don’t want to be more ‘sociable’ with them, then that’s their choice and I think it’s OK for them to have that choice if they want it.

Meanwhile, everything you need to know about raising, socialising and social training for Border collie puppies appears in the SECOND book (red cover) of my BREED APART trilogy – ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS & LEARNING.

All text ©Carol Price 2026

Carol Price books on Border collies:
In the UK from: https://performancedog.co.uk/?s=carol+price In the USA from: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and In Canada from https://4mymerles.com/collections/books In Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au And in the Netherlands and Belgium from: https://mediaboek.nl/border-collies-a-breed-apart-book-1.html

The books are also available through most Amazon outlets

21/08/2026

Storm and Bailey's morning wrestle.

31/07/2026

Young Storm and Mum Bailey.

30/07/2026

Caption this.

11/07/2026

The morning ritual 💕

21/06/2026

Love these posts from Carol Price.

GOT A DOG WHO WILL NEVER LISTEN TO YOU? Today our breed expert Carol Price revisits the subject of ‘relationship building’ with Border collies, and why it is so vital

THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

I am constantly amazed at how much owners will expect from their dogs – in the way of more ‘preferred’ behaviours – having often invested so little themselves in the dogs in question. You cannot expect a higher level of co-operation from any dog if they don’t have a good reason to give it. And a dog cannot ever know what you want from them without far clearer communication and training.

Before you even begin any more formal training, it is just so important to start opening up basic channels of communication between yourself and your dog as soon as you can. First, with early focus exercises – covered by me many time before on this page, and also shown in my illustration here – and then teaching them, thereafter, that watching you, listening to you or co-operating with anything you may ask them to do will always be the most rewarding strategies in life.

A higher motivation to focus on, and respond to, you in any situation is the essential founding stone for all collie training. Be this at a more basic, or far more advanced, level. And if you do not consistently teach and reward this kind of behaviour in your dog when they are young, they are never going to suddenly develop it when they are older.

EARLIEST EXPERIENCES
So much of what can go wrong with a Border collie’s training or behaviour later in life dates back to their earliest experiences of engaging and interacting with people – and owners in particular – and how rewarding or otherwise these happened to be.

And just like some otherwise potentially great sheepdogs have been ruined by harsher or less insightful earlier handling, companion Border collies may also ‘disengage’ from owners whose interventions, or approaches, they have learned to find more pressurising or negative.

To best retain your collie’s attention and co-operation, longer term, you need to aim to become the centre of their world. Not just with exercises like the earlier mentioned focus training, but with the steady building of trust over time, and lots of shared, enjoyable one to one activity. Including play or fun walks. A dog must feel that being in your orbit, and interacting with you, is the most pleasurable thing in their lives.

THE BIG SWITCH OFF
Border collies are proud dogs, but they can also be very sensitive ones. Which is why it is also incredibly important how you go about holding your dog’s attention and keeping them engaged. Some people are just too pressurising and LOUD, making their approach more demanding than inviting to dogs with higher sensory sensitivity. Even when they think they are just being ‘encouraging’, either their voice tone or heavier energy levels are just too much for their dog.

In my illustration here you will see what happens if a dog feels under too much ‘training pressure’. The puppy in the first pic on the left is happily focused and engaged on their owner. Then suddenly they feel under too much pressure, break eye contact and turn their head away. This is classic ‘switching off’. As soon as you see this in a collie, immediately do something to break the tension like throw a toy for them and stop looking at them. Let your dog relax a bit more for a while. Then try securing their focus a bit later in a much more gentle voice tone, almost like a whisper. A lot of the time I just use hand signals for focus training, and not even a voice cue, to keep the pressure down.

As soon as you get your dog’s focus back, praise and reward them immediately. Then carry on playing with them or doing something fun. Collie puppies in particular need more sensitive handling, when it comes to levels of pressure they may feel in early training. So only do very short bursts of training with them at a time.

MAKING THINGS WORSE
Unfortunately not everyone will read classic ‘switch off’ behaviour in collies for what it is. And may see it more as a sign of ‘disrespect’, ‘naughtiness’, ‘disobedience’ or whatever. Or they will just get more frustrated at seemingly not ‘being listened to’ by their dog. This then just creates even more pressure and hostile energy for the dog, and greater anxiety. And very soon you could end up with a dog who doesn’t want to look at you at all. Or who tries to avoid you when you look like you are about to do some ‘training’. Or who just completely ‘disengages’ from you as a companion, full stop. And it can all happen so easily, and so quickly.

So ultimately dogs can only reflect, in their behaviour, what they have learned from past experience. And if what they are doing is less desirable to us, we have to consider what part we ourselves may have played in this.

Meanwhile all aspects of training Border collies – including ‘focus’ training – appears in BOOK TWO (red cover) of my BREED APART trilogy – ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILLS & LEARNING.
All text ©Carol Price 2026

Carol Price books on Border collies:
In the UK from: https://performancedog.co.uk/?s=carol+price In the USA from: https://www.dogwise.com/ # and In Canada from https://4mymerles.com/collections/books In Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/ And in the Netherlands and Belgium from: https://mediaboek.nl/border-collies-a-breed-apart-book-1.html
The books are also available through most Amazon outlets

10/06/2026

23/05/2026

Storm's scoresheet from todays tricks trial.