My friend adopted a what appears to be a pure border collie, around 1 year of age. He has since been neutered. He had previously been allowed to roam free and chase cars, but since my friend has had him, he has been in a large fenced yard, has a doggie door with access to the house when owner is home. He is a very loving, friendly, and seemingly happy dog. The problem is that he barks constantly at everything - cats next door, squirrels, deer,even birds flying overhead. He was underweight when he was adopted and has gained a little weight, but owner wondered why he was not gaining much weight, since he was being fed well. As it turns out, he is running the yard most of the night and barking as well. He runs almost continuously, barking at anything that moves. My friend has had to lock him on the backporch at night to stop his constant running and barking. I know that he needs to be taken on leashed walks, but my friend is a carpenter who works from 6:00 am until 7:00 -800 pm and then is too tired to walk him. What causes this and what can be done to stop it? Is this normal?
I am glad that the border collie found his own home but it sounds like your friend doesn't have much time to spend with him.
As you might know, border collies are extremely smart dogs and they need to be challenged both mentally and physically. If they don't get these challenges/stimulation, they find ways to amuse themselves, by getting into mischieves, excessive barking, digging, chasing, etc. Furthermore, they love to be with their people and enjoy interactions with people, such as given work to please them.
It sounds like the dog is left out almost all day long and he doesn't even get daily walks.
I would suggest your friend to take him to dog parks, give him walks as much as possible, and enroll him in obedience classes. He can do agility after he becomes totally obedient.
Another good excercises (mentally and physically) when your friend is tired, are playing fetch with him. Your friend seems to have a fenced yard so he can throw balls even when it's dark at night after he comes home. When it is raining, your friend can hide Kongs with treats in them all over the house and have the dog look for them. He can do some basic obedient training, such as "Sit" "Down" "Stay" and "Come" every night for 20 mins. That can be not only a good mental excercise but also helps a lot in forming a bond between your friend and his dog.
Be creative and give the dog a lot of challenges. I am sure he will change.
Thanks for the reply, and you are right. My friend does not spend the necessary time with Jake(the border collie) since he works such long hours. Fetch is played but he also has an alpha jack russell who dominates the chase. He lives in a small rural town and dog parks - any park actually - does not exist so that's out of the question. He does need obedience training as he has no obedience skills at all. I have suggested getting some obstacle course equipment . The Kong idea is great and he has had several Kongs, all of which have gotten chewed and have had to be removed. One thing which both dogs, the Jack Russell and Jake, love to chew is cow hooves which are bought at the local vet's office and he does spend time with them.Thank you for your reply.
