My 5 year old Border Collie/ car chaser

Question
QUESTION: I have a problem with my border collie chasing the few cars that come down our road. My dogs cause no harm we know all our neighbors and they all like the dogs(except when they chase cats..for fun). The few cars that do pass he chases though. He is almost 5. He got road rash once and then stopped chasing cars for about 5 months then our other border collie/terrior mix started chasing and he followed after her. we chain him up outside on our porch and he is allowed to run free some of the time. He can't be inside though because he doesn't like it #1 he also isn't potty trained#2 and my mom can't take it because she has minor allergies to them. they never really roam either. Our property is 10 acres and is mostly fenced in ... with barbed wire... they can escape because they go under the barbed wire we are renting and when we buy we are planning to fence it in. One time my BC got his ear sliced pretty bad... although he recovered easily... hes been through so much... a rattlesnake bite when we were walking him... road rash...cuts... fell out of the back of the truck(roadrash)... I need a solution too. Hes just so happy running around causeing no harm... just when that car comes it really scares me! I also have one more question about feeding... both of our dogs eat out of the same dish. We feed them table scraps and pedigree. we feed them 1 1/2 cups of food for them to share per day plus table scraps. Is that normal and Ok. They also have dog treats for good behavior and just they get them sometimes for nothing... well not nothing they have to sit. Thank You I will appreciate any comments or suggestions that you have to offer!

ANSWER: Paula, I had a similar question not too long ago. Here is my answer to that person, because it's all relevant to your question as well:

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Regardless of how many cars you typically have driving past your home, you should not allow your dog to have free rein to leave your property and bother people on the road.

I would recommend that you find a way to confine him, whether that means fencing part of your property (or all of it) or keeping him in the house unless you're outside with him. I am against tying dogs up outside, because it can lead to behavioral issues such as aggression, and I do not believe life at the end of a rope or chain is suitable for any animal that is supposed to be a part of our family. http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com

It is your responsibility as a dog owner to keep your dog safe, as well as keeping other people safe from your dog. Not only could your >>dog<< be injured or killed on the road if a car were to strike him, but he could actually cause an accident that may injure a person, or persons, driving on that road, even if he is not hit.

It is your responsibility to keep your dog on your own property, and many cities and towns have ordinances that require that you do so by way of fencing or leash laws. Often, dogs that are allowed to roam the neighborhood can become aggressive, towards other dogs and even people, because they believe that the whole neighborhood is their territory and everyone that is not in his immediate family (you) is an intruder. Now, would it be fair to your dog if he was in his own yard and one of the neighbor's dogs from down the road came and attacked your dog because >>he<< perceived that your dog was in >>his<< territory? I think not, and I'm sure you wouldn't want your dog behaving that way, either.

You might consider an invisible fence system if you are unable to put up a 'real' fence. I recommend the professionally installed kind, vs the kind you do yourself. I speak from first-hand, personal experience on that one. With invisible fence systems, you must NEVER leave the dog outside unsupervised (and off leash in the beginning) until he respects the boundary and does not try to test it or go through it. Once a dog has been successful at running out of a yard with an invisible fence system, it can be nearly impossible to keep it contained within that yard afterwards, because he has already figured out that if he just keeps going, he only gets shocked a couple of times. Then, he's stuck outside the yard unless he wants to get shocked again coming back in. Training is very important with these systems.
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If your property is 10 acres, that means that your closest neighbor is pretty far away. You say that all the neighbors like your dog, so that means he IS roaming a good bit, even though you say 'they never really roam!' Roaming pet dogs often 'pack up' and that's when they can really become dangerous. Even a mild mannered Golden retriever can turn into Cujo the Killer Dog when he joins in with a pack of other dogs, and it is often packs of pet dogs that people let run loose that bunch together and harass/kill livestock and/or local wildlife.

I realize you said you were renting, and so could not put up a fence. However, you >>can<< get him a kennel, or use the invisible fence system to keep him from getting to the road. You can take the invisible fence transmitter and receiver with you when you move, and all you will have to do will be to buy some more wire if you want to install it at your new place.

It sounds like you care a lot for your dog, but some of the things you are allowing him to do are just not in his best interests. Allowing him to roam the countryside and chase cars is one of them. So many things could happen to him out there, and so many things already have! If you take him for rides in the back of your truck, he should be restrained so that he can't jump/fall/be thrown out. Many towns have a law that says your dog must be secured in the bed of your truck, for this reason.




Now, your question about food - you really ought to have two separate food dishes for the dogs. 1-1/2 cups of food for two dogs, unless you are giving them a LOT of table scraps, is nowhere near enough food. No >>wonder<< they go around to visit the neighbors; they're probably hungry. People can mean different things when they say 'table scraps.' Some people use the term literally, to mean 'whatever's left on everyone's plates after we get done eating.' Others mean 'scraps that I may drop or whatever while preparing our meals.' Either way, table scraps are not the best source of nutrition for your dogs. Some things are poisonous to dogs, that are perfectly fine for us (onions, grapes, & chocolate, for example), and dogs should not be fed foods with a lot of spices, salts, or sugars in it. Generally, what's left on your plate when you're done eating is whatever fat you may have cut off the meat, or some veggies you didn't finish all of. We usually add salt and pepper to our veggies, neither of which is really good for our dogs, and the fat you cut off your meat has very little nutritional value to your dog, because it's been cooked.

I would strongly suggest that you take a look at my dog food page, located at http://dogfoods.angelfire.com and try to make a better choice than Pedigree for your dogs' food, based on the information there, and what I've just said.

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QUESTION: We do have a kennel and a dog house inside(big so they can share and cuddle, but small enough for the kennel to be fairly sized even with the doghouse in it.) We put them in it at night... or when we first moved here we tied them up to the porch. We also put them in their kennel when we go places to insure that they don't get into trouble while we are gone. We generally feed them table scraps from our plates after we eat and occasionally things that we may drop. We walk then every two days... but play with them twice a day and they run around our property by themselves. so exercise isn't a problem. But you are saying that we should keep them in a kennel or tied to the porch? Today I saw a Pit/boxer on our property I know where the owner lives. Our dogs seemed to now fight with it at all but I was very worried. Our dogs are very gentle and usually are just curious to smell other dogs, not that they want to fight with them. so should we have them tied to the porch or in their kennel all day... except when we take them on walks? About the food, we used to put out two bowls for them but they ate out of the same one so it didn't really matter... they didn't know the difference so they ate out of eachothers bowls...I looked at the website about food and our dogs don't seem overweight or underweight they seemed "ideal" but I know they need more nutrition. So what do you reccomend that I feed them how much food perday. In there kennel at night I also put food in their doghouse so it didn't get rained on but the excess food would spill over and get moldy. so now over night there is no food in there kennel even though they never seemed to eat much when they were in there anyway. Thanks for you're help also do you know a breed of dog that is small 4 to 20 pounds that doesn't shed. My mom is allergic to cats and dogs don't make her feel hta great either thats why our two dogs are outside or we would bring them inside so they couldn't chase cars. I want a small dog for inside the house... my mom is alot more allergic to cats and can handle most short haired dogs that don't shed. Thanks again

Answer
Hi, again, Paula. What I was trying to say in my last response to you is that you should not leave your dogs outside, unattended, and unconfined. In other words, they should not be allowed to be loose in the yard unless you are out there and KNOW they will stay with you. When you are not out there with them, they should be either tied up or in some kind of enclosure, with the enclosure being the better choice, and >>especially<< if other roaming dogs come through, because a tied-up dog is more at risk of injury than a dog in a kennel, if some other dog decides to attack it.

From what you've just told me, it sounds like you do not feed them at certain times, but try to keep food available for them all the time, and they eat out of the same bowl, at different times of the day. Is that right? I'm not a fan of free-feeding, and feel that it's better to feed on a schedule instead, but that's completely up to you. The only thing I would really be concerned about in your situation is that they each get the right amount of food. There is no reason to leave food for them overnight.

Any of the foods I listed on the dog food information page is a fine choice for your dogs. You just have to find out which ones are available where you live, and go from there.


Your mother needs to find out if she's allergcic to >>dander<< or to the actual hair/fur itself, if she wants to get a small dog to keep in the house. All adult dogs have dander, so even if she got a breed like a poodle or maltese that doesn't shed much, she would still have allergic reactions because of the dander.