It’s soccer Deuce! We are playing soccer.

Teaching a border collie to act like a retriever and bring you the ball is not that simple! At least my border collie would much rather not bring the ball back. In his case, I think it is a combination of mild resource guarding: i.e.: mine, this ball is mine!, and the interest in keeping the ball still. You see, border collies are bred to work with sheep. Their job is to work in tandem with the handler (in trials) or shepherd. Vergil S. Holland explains it very clearly of how this works in his book titled: Herding Dogs Progressive Training where in section Pressure and Balance he writes, “The concepts of pressure and balance are intimately related and are based on actions of the sheep and/or handler and reactions by the dog:
1. Movement by the sheep (or handler) creates an action.
2. This action generates pressure to which the dog reacts.
3. The dog reacts in such a way as to establish or achieve balance (lack of movement from the sheep).
4. When all pressures are equalized, balance has been achieved or the dog has “reached the balance point”. This is the point at which the dog feels the stock are most under control or least likely to escape. This equalization of pressure, creating balance, is the result of herding instinct and ability.” ~ Holland: 1994, p.g. 6

The ball could very well be a substitute for sheep, and Deuce still wanting to “control” wants to stop the movement of the ball. It is not typical collie behavior to want to go after the ball (or to bring it back for that matter) it is however more instinctual in this breed to stop movement. Yes, that is why they chase cars, kids, skateboards, bikes and, and… they don’t make good “pet-dogs”.

My desire to play soccer with Deuce AND to have him behave a bit more like a retriever is that playing soccer with your dog is really fun and a fabulous way of exercising him and not so much me!

Trying to teach Deuce to bring the ball back instead of him laying happily in the shade in possession of ball # 1 (we play with two identical balls) while I bush-whack my way trying to find the ball we just lost between the piñon trees, becomes a matter of many training/game sessions and more than a few head-scratches on my part.

Here is where my challenges are:
Dog will chase ball (good dog!) but will refuse to bring ball back.
Dog will sort of bring the ball back but to only a certain distance (more head-scratching).
Dog will bring the ball back and then suddenly turn around with ball in his mouth and run away from me.

I had the good sense to know that if I started playing his game (you run I chase) I was doomed!
I also would find myself repeating inside my head the mantra I learned from Kay Lawrence (clicker-trainer extraordinaire and one of my all-time favorite trainers): “Your ball is always the most interesting ball…”

Little by little I began to implement a comprehensive training plan to have Deuce be a good sport and begin to play “real” soccer with me… Okay Deuce, you can be the goalie! I know how reinforcing it is for you to STOP the movement of the ball but first you need to understand the rules of our game:

You get clicked if you sort of bring the ball back to me. (At this point I am ignoring him and just “happily” playing with my special ball. I would not even dare look in his direction or he will dart away from me- taking his ball again with him… damn!) You will also get clicked if you approach in my direction and stop. Another click if you would lie down and let me get the ball from you (without having to pry your mouth open) at my verbal cue of: mine.

All of the above behaviors where reinforced by me kicking the ball for him. Remember though, most reinforcing for him is to stop the movement of the ball, but for that he has to get the ball… now we are playing soccer.

It took me months of playing twice weekly mainly outside but also inside - in a long corridor where I could better “explain” to him what I need from him little by little, session by session. My efforts began to pay off. Deuce is bringing the ball towards me (or John who you will see in the video below). He will make his out-run and if we are busy playing with our ball and ignoring his approach, he will quietly get closer to us and lay down waiting for us to kick the ball again.

Kay Lawrence explains that: “chase [ing] is loss of face for a collie”. I don’t doubt that Lawrence is right on the mark but I have to say, that Deuce and I really look forward to our weekly soccer games.

NOTE: Deuce also goes sheepherding weekly and you should see him working those sheep....