Nowadays most people live in apartments, and Border Collies naturally live indoors with their owners. For a Border Collie, going downstairs to relieve itself is not always easy, so many owners need to think about how to train the dog to use a designated place at home.
How to Correct Bad Habits in a Border Collie
First, obedience training can reduce the occurrence of bad habits. Correcting a bad habit is similar to guiding a troublesome child. Besides preventing the behavior from happening again, you also need to teach the correct behavior. This method does not produce instant results, but it is one of the most important ways to correct unwanted behavior. The more obedience work you do, the fewer bad habits your Border Collie will keep, and some may disappear entirely.
Second, some bad habits can be reduced by teaching a behavior that is incompatible with the problem behavior. For example, if a dog picks food up randomly from the ground, more retrieve and heel training can help, because a dog cannot carry an item and pick up food from the ground at the same time. The two behaviors are incompatible. You can also train the dog to run alongside you, because while running it is less likely to grab things from the ground. With some thought, owners can often find many similar solutions.
Border Collie Elimination Habits
Newborn Border Collie puppies cannot see or hear well and move poorly, so they cannot leave the nest to eliminate. The mother dog licks the puppy and removes the waste, which is normal maternal behavior. After about three weeks, puppies begin to leave the nest to relieve themselves elsewhere. By about six months of age, many young Border Collies can eliminate in a designated place, because dogs naturally like to return to the same spot. Before choosing a fixed location, a puppy often sniffs around, and once it smells a previous scent mark, it tends to return there again. Border Collies, especially females, often prefer to relieve themselves in less noticeable corners. Outdoors they may even cover the waste with sand, grass, or leaves. This natural tendency is useful when training them to eliminate in a specific place.
An eight month old Border Collie generally does not want to eliminate where it sleeps and usually will not relieve itself during a long sleep unless it is sick or has diarrhea. It can often hold for four to six hours. However, after waking in the morning it usually needs to eliminate within an hour. After eating, the urge may come within an hour, or even less than ten minutes, because food stimulates the stomach and activates reflexes related to elimination.
Crate or Box Potty Training
Before bringing the puppy home, prepare an open paper or wooden box, line it with plastic, and place newspaper or straw on top. Put the box in a corner of the room. During the first ten to fourteen days after bringing the puppy home, someone should watch it closely. If you have time, place the puppy in the box every hour for a few minutes and wait until it eliminates. If you notice signs such as restlessness, circling, sniffing, tail lifting, or crouching, guide or carry the puppy into the box immediately. Over time, the dog will become used to eliminating there.
Every time the puppy relieves itself in the box, praise it warmly. Tell it it is good and obedient, gently pat or stroke its head, neck, or back, and you may also give a small food reward. Border Collies are intelligent and will understand that this behavior earns encouragement. If the puppy forgets and eliminates elsewhere, correct it immediately and then bring it back to the box so it can smell the correct place. After repeated training, it can learn to return to the box on its own.
If your Border Collie still refuses to follow training, you can use a deodorizing product in places where you do not want the dog to eliminate. You can also clean those areas with diluted bleach or vinegar to remove odor traces so the dog is less likely to return there.
It is also possible to train a Border Collie to eliminate in the bathroom. When you see signs that the dog is about to relieve itself, immediately give a toilet command and point toward the bathroom, then guide the dog there gently. You may use food to lure it in. After it finishes, reward it with food.
If you catch the dog eliminating indoors, immediately give a firm no command and point toward the bathroom. Even if the dog has already started, guide it to the correct place. With daily repetition, the Border Collie will gradually understand where it should go and form a conditioned habit.
Outdoor Potty Training
Outdoor elimination also requires training. Border Collies usually have a regular pattern, often needing to relieve themselves in the morning, after meals, and before bedtime. Young puppies may need to go every three to four hours. In general, owners may need to take the dog out about six times a day in the beginning. Bring the dog to a designated spot, give the command, and let it eliminate there. Once the conditioned response is formed, the dog will often head to the correct place automatically when it needs to go.
Sometimes even a dog that was previously trained may begin eliminating in random places. The reason may be physical change, old age, illness, drinking more water than usual, or stress caused by strangers or other dogs. At the start of training, choose a quiet environment or room without distractions. Only after the dog learns in a calm setting should you gradually move training into busier environments.