this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2026
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Are border collies pre-programmed with the herding skills or do they still have to be trained? ๐ค They're the one breed used for a task I'm not actually sure if they need training for or if they just do that without being shown/asked/told. Every other dog used for stuff (even stuff they were bred for) still needs some training and direction to do the tasks. Collies seem like they might just work right out of the box.
They come with it, but it's not very refined without training. They actually need a lot of training to not herd people, especially children. Since humans don't respond the same way as sheep the dog will keep escalating its herding behavior until it bites the human.
I heard an anecdote once of a couple that was camping in a dispersed area with their border collie and the dog ran away. They called and searched and were basically resigned to the loss of their dog, when at dusk they heard a huge commotion. Suddenly their dog drove an entire herd of elk through the campsite.
My parents had a similar experience while hiking in the UK - the dog disappeared around a bend ahead of them and then returned herding some sheep she had found. She had never seen a sheep before, but she sure as hell knew what she was meant to do with them.
I laughed out loud for this.
I mean, it's just the front teeth, not even the canines. It's not really "biting".
But heaven forbid our Aussie motivates some child who gets too close, little Sheiydeigne gets surprised - which for this cohort and its aversion to experience means whooping tears - and puppy will be ordered destroyed. Fuck no, Tiffeineigh, you keep your grubby grabby crotchfruit to yourself. This ain't a petting zoo; it's a Starbucks and we're out of the way.
Sorry. Where was I?
I had a black/white Australian shepherd I met at around 4weeks of age, took him home soon as I knew he didn't still feed from the mother. He would heard children without being taught. 4 kids under 10 on the backyard playing and 1 tries to go to the front he would run around the front of them and cut them off, he never nipped anyone, just knew it was safer to keep all the younglings together.
Later when I got chickens, he did the same. (I never taught him whistle commands or anything because it's not like I had cows or anything, he just came pre-programmed)
Yeah, same-ish kinda thing: had a border collie and when our family of 5 went hiking in the woods, or whatever, she would run to the back of the line to nip at the heels of whoever was the laggard...
The herding is instinctive, doing it in any sort of directed manner needs training. Among the things my collies have tried to herd are people, other dogs, birds, trees, and a pond. Maybe the fish that were in the pond. She seemed to be having fun either way.
Look up Sean the sheepman on YouTube. He has a good series on training some new dogs. They have the drive to do it inately. But need to learn how to do it effectively, not just run straight into the middle of a pack. They also have to learn the handlers commands so they can drive the sheep somewhere useful
I think every working dog needs training but a certain amount is in their genes
Its like they have the predisposition to do it, but almost dont know why. I have two corgis and they are the smartest dogs. They will try to move people and other animals around to their liking though. If my two kids start fighting or anything like that, they will attempt to stop it. Its kinda neat.
I had an Australian Shepherd/Black Lab mix growing up and he would nip at my fingers to get me to go where he wanted. Didn't need a leash on walks, he'd just herd us along.