# Need Some Fun Games For A Border Collie



## DogLoverAJ (Feb 16, 2008)

My border collie, Cooper (in my avatar!), just turned 1 year old on March 25th & he is really smart! He loves to just run and run & run.. he tires me out just watching him. Lol. 

He has a big selection of toys, but I don't want him to get bored.. so I was wondering what kind of games I can play with him? I can't keep up with his energy, so hopefully there are games that don't require me having to run about much. He gets really excited (jumping, & play-biting emerge when he gets too wound up), so I don't want the games to make him nervous either.

I haven't tried a frisbee yet, but I just bought one & can't wait to see if he likes it. He has a tennis ball with a felt tail on it that he really enjoys fetching... but doesn't want to give back all the time. We're working on that issue. 

He LOVES to jump.. we have a gate on our front porch that is about 2.5 feet, & he _clears_ it easily... running up the steps! And he can jump into the bed of our truck (with tail-gate down) no problem. What kind of games include jumping? He really seems to come alive when he jumps.. I can see the joy in his eyes. 

I really love this dog & want to make sure he is happy & challenged, since I know border collies are very smart & work driven. 

Thanks form both of us!


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## foxthegoldfish (Apr 15, 2008)

Im not sure about games, but I would be careful about letting him jump or run too much as it is bad for his joints, he should wait until he is 2 years old. 

try hide and seek
do you have a kong? 
They really work out my dogs brain


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## DarkSephiroth (Nov 11, 2007)

Try some fun tricks! I have a video of Buster in my signature, take a look! =D


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## sukhakuli (Mar 9, 2010)

Have you tried soccer? I have a GSD, and herding breeds love to herd. We play soccer as a family, and our dog is right in the thick of it, herding the ball all over the place. I'm not sure whose team he's on half the time, but I don't think it's mine! We all have a blast! The kids majorly crack up when he picks the ball up in his mouth, and they all gleefully call "mouth" on him. We also play keep away with the soccer ball. 

When you play fetch, do you throw it against the house? Have you tried it with a kong or football? Changing it up a bit keeps our dog interested. We also have a pitching net, which seems to add a bit of excitement for our dog. 

He also really loves working on his obedience. He doesn't do tricks, it's like he thinks it's beneath him or something. But he rocks at obedience and he loves it. 

Have you tried playing "hide it"? I put our dog in another room, tell him to sit and stay, and then go in another room and hide a toy or treat, then release him to find it. He really enjoys this game, and he's got a great sniffer. 

Your dog is probably too young, but we take our GSD on a mile run every day, and most evenings we go for a bike ride as well. It keeps him fit, and tires him out. He's getting to be an old man now, so sometimes he gets a bit tired now and we go back early, but he's a better, happier dog if he's been run. And it's good for us, too!


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## DogLoverAJ (Feb 16, 2008)

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will be sure to buy him a Kong, and a soccer or basketball... he'd probably love them!


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## crittermom (Jan 14, 2010)

We just learned a fun training game in obedience class. It's a form of shaping and the instructor's BC just loves it! You place a novel item on the floor with the dog. You click and treat any time the dog interacts with it so that they have to think of new ideas. for example: place a shoebox on the floor (be ready with clicker and yummy treats). when the dog looks at it, click and toss a treat. Repeat when the dog looks at it again. Once he is getting the idea that if he looks at the box he gets a treat, wait until he does something else (sniffing, touching with paw, laying next to, etc). Even if it's by accident. Pretty soon you will have your dog tipping things over, standing on it, whatever he thinks of! We tried this with our 5 month old pup Remi, and within 10 minutes (using a small stepstool) she was laying down with her head resting on the stool, then standing up and putting both front paws on it, licking it, and she even tried to balance on it with 3 paws! She LOVES this game. You never say anything or ask them to do anything, just wait until they make something up and click! Have fun


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## Bowie Valentine (Apr 22, 2010)

crittermom said:


> We just learned a fun training game in obedience class. It's a form of shaping and the instructor's BC just loves it! You place a novel item on the floor with the dog. You click and treat any time the dog interacts with it so that they have to think of new ideas. for example: place a shoebox on the floor (be ready with clicker and yummy treats). when the dog looks at it, click and toss a treat. Repeat when the dog looks at it again. Once he is getting the idea that if he looks at the box he gets a treat, wait until he does something else (sniffing, touching with paw, laying next to, etc). Even if it's by accident. Pretty soon you will have your dog tipping things over, standing on it, whatever he thinks of! We tried this with our 5 month old pup Remi, and within 10 minutes (using a small stepstool) she was laying down with her head resting on the stool, then standing up and putting both front paws on it, licking it, and she even tried to balance on it with 3 paws! She LOVES this game. You never say anything or ask them to do anything, just wait until they make something up and click! Have fun


So that's how you use a clicker! Thanks crittermom! I can't wait to try this out with my new BC mix. Sounds really entertaining!

DogLoverAJ, since you mentioned jumping, it made me think of something my dog and i added to our game of fetch. Once she brings back the ball and drops it, i tell her to stay, then back up a few feet, and put a leg in the air and with the same side hand i hold the ball over my leg and say "over!" and she runs and leaps over my leg, and then I throw the ball right after for her. It becomes a pretty fluid game and the more fluid it is the more fun it seems to be for the both of us.

Also, get ready to be dazzled by Dazzle, this amazing border collie i came across on youtube.com. You should be able to get some great ideas for tricks from this dog and her trainer who's just a young girl. This video really inspired me to get really creative in my training, and i hope you love it too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmcTW_FgL_U

P.S. DarkSephiroth, loved your Corgi's tricks!!


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## paux (Jul 26, 2009)

You might consider taking some agility lessons or getting your little guy involved in flyball. They can be extremely fun sports for both dog and owner. I don't know if you're looking to make that sort of commitment, but I would highly highly recommend giving it a try.

Here's a great little video with some agility clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T8ljMQAiro


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## Kimberh (Apr 8, 2010)

You might want to try stuffing kongs which health treats and you can even freeze kongs to keep busy longer when you can't be there or keep up with them. You can search online for kong recipes and find many good ideas and recipes.

Myself, I put their favorite treat in first, the carrots or bananas, etc. Sometimes I put in a little bit of creaming peanut butter just to make it sticky and harder to get the food out then a treat like jerk bent in half over in the kong last to block the big end and make it hard to get to that favor treat.

I googled kong recipes and got a lot of great idea, even freezing chicken brother in them.


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## Bowie Valentine (Apr 22, 2010)

You should check out my thread "What are some different ways to give my dog jobs at home?" 
http://www.dogforums.com/2-general-dog-forum/75684-what-some-different-ways.html

I had tons of GREAT responses on my thread. I also have a herding breed and the people on my thread helped me understand what giving my dog jobs even means since i wasn't exactly sure. Within just a couple of days my girl and i are already having more fun with my new understanding of all of the ways to entertain her. I started playing games with small handfuls of her regular kibble and made feeding her into tons of different games, like, give them two fists in front of them, one hand with the kibble and one without. My dog Bowie naturally wanted to paw at the hand she thought the kibble was in, and as we went on she started catching on that she actually had to use her nose because it wasn't in the same hand every time. She pretty much passed out like a dead dog afterwards! Plus i put the rest of her kibble we didn't play games with in a kong and also in this stuffed animal thing i bought at a pet store that comes with about 6 squeeky balls, and you stuff the animals with these balls and they have to figure out how to get them out of the animal. So i put her food in the animal too with the balls on top. I love seeing her so exhausted! It's awesome! I also clicker trained her to allow me to cup her muzzle gently, and the reason i did this was because i realized it was easier to balance kibble on her nose if she let me rest my hand under and around her chin/nose. Now she's a regular kibble flipper/catcher!

Also, "That'llDo" gave me some good tips on calming my dog down, since she would get overly excitable and it was hard to teach her anything.


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