border collie that desnt like to play!

Question
2 months ago i took on a rescued border collie, Lebelo (which means swift) When she first came to us she was very timid and nervous, her whole body posture tight and held in. With lots of walks and love shes opened up very quickly and its like the puppies coming out in her. she now will play with us, chasing us and playing hide and seek but has no interest whatsoever in toys, fetch or games that will help to mentally work her. Have you any advice? my knowledge of the breed led me to believe these games were something collies loved. She came from a home where she had little contact with her owners and was rarely walked, she dug holes and barked and so they re-homed her, we haven't had these problems at all and have been careful to give her a routine and plenty of exercise,shes been ignored a lot of her life and i would just love to know if there were any ways we could help to encourage her to play?

Answer
Hi Emily,

Thanks for sending me a question at AllExperts about one of my favourite breeds, border collies!  

I want to commend you for doing such a great job bringing Lebelo out of her shell as well as being concerned about her mental enrichment and activity.  Border collies are in general attuned to movement and tend to like being active, but a lot depends on their early experiences (nurture/environment) and not just their genetic make-up (nature).  I've met and worked with some that are more like couch potatoes!  If Lebelo wasn't introduced to toys or movement early on in her development, she may not have learned to be interested in these.  It sounds as if she prefers the chasing and hide-and-seek games you describe, and I'm glad to hear that she has bonded with your family so well.  

You may want to introduce Lebelo to scent games.  One good book to look at is Fun Nose Work with Your Dog by Roy Hunter.  If she's interested in scent games, this can be great mental enrichment and activity for her, and lots of fun for you as well.

You might still try to get Lebelo interested in some toys.  Here's a Web link I found which describes how to go about it:

http://watchandtrain.com/dogtraining/blogs/thoughts/archive/2008/03/04/get-your-...

I would also try some food toys which may work for Lebelo.  One such is a Kong toy, which you can purchase at most pet supply stores. Get the size and type that's appropriate for Lebelo, fill it with some of her favorite food (I use peamutt...um, peaNUT butter, unsweetened apple sauce, Merrick canned dog food, plain yogurt, and the like for my dogs) and freeze the Kong.  If you put anything leaky into the Kong, plug up the small opening with some peanut butter and freeze with that small side down so the Kong won't leak.  This is how I go about freezing yogurt filled or apple sauce filled Kongs.

In the beginning, it might be a good idea to freeze the Kong with a Milk Bone or similar treat sticking out of the top (the larger opening) of the Kong.  If you do so for dogs that aren't familiar with a Kong, they figure out by chewing the bone how to work their way into the frozen, delicious contents of the Kong.  Once dogs learn that delicious stuff can be gotten out of the Kong, they often experiment with novel ways to loosen up the Kong's contents, such as tossing the Kong around; and this may be the start of Lebelo's becoming interested in other toys as well.  Don't be disappointed if she never becomes interested in other toys, even if she likes the Kong - some dogs don't.  It sounds like there are lots of activities that you enjoy with her, and she may simply end up being a 'people' dog more than a toy oriented dog.

Hope these ideas help, and you're an inspiration having rescued Lebelo and giving her the attention, enrichment and care she obviously needed in order to become a relaxed and happy dog.  It sounds as if she found an attentive and nurturing Forever home.

If you can, please check in again in a couple of months and let me know how Lebelo is doing and if she has shown any interest in toys, scent games or Kong toys.

Best regards,
Madeline, Volunteer at AllExperts
www.ny-njDogTrainer.com