The Urban Herder - Herding Breed Specialist

The Urban Herder - Herding Breed Specialist Helping herding breeds thrive in The Urban Environment. We cover all of Yorkshire.
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05/06/2026

Reactive behaviour often looks “sudden” to owners…

But most of the time, the signs started much earlier:
• hypervigilance
• inability to settle
• fixation
• frustration
• increased sensitivity
• stress stacking

Then eventually the nervous system says:
“I can’t cope with this anymore.”

And the behaviour spills out.

This is why understanding your collie matters so much.

Because reactivity is rarely just about obedience.

📩 DM me REACTIVE for support”

04/06/2026

🐾 Calm Collie Days Out – Episode 1: Norland

Join me on a Calm Collie Day Out to Norland!

This is a brand new series designed to help reactive collie owners discover new places to walk their dogs with confidence. Finding suitable walks can be challenging when you’re managing reactivity, so I’ll be sharing some of my favourite spots and reviewing them from a collie owner’s perspective.

At the end of each walk, I’ll give it a Calm Collie Score, rating factors such as path width, visibility, road exposure, space from other walkers and dogs, and overall suitability for reactive dogs.

📍 Today’s walk: Norland, West Yorkshire
🚗 Parking postcode: HX6 3RW
⭐ Calm Collie Score: 3.5/5

Have you walked here before? Let me know where you’d like us to review next!



Dog Walk Ideas | Dog Friendly Yorkshire | West Yorkshire Walks | Collie Adventures | Hiking With Reactive Collie | Calm Collie Days Out | Collie Community

03/06/2026

A Border Collie who struggles to settle isn’t always “too energetic.”

Often… they’re overwhelmed.

These dogs notice EVERYTHING. Movement, sound, pressure, routine changes, environments, emotions. Their brains are constantly processing information.

And when they spend too much time in a heightened state, it eventually spills out somewhere:
• barking
• reactivity
• spinning
• pacing
• hypervigilance
• inability to relax

This is why endless stimulation alone rarely fixes the issue.

Because regulation matters just as much as enrichment.

Your collie doesn’t just need to move…
they need to learn how to come back down afterwards too.

✨ Calmness is a trainable skill.

📌 Save this for your collie
🐾 Follow for collie behaviour advice

border collie | Calm Collie | reactive dog training | collie training | reactive border collie

02/06/2026

“The internet makes Border Collie ownership look like nonstop activity.

But one of the most valuable skills a collie can learn is this:

✨ doing nothing ✨

Neutrality.
Settling.
Watching the world without reacting to it.

That’s success too.

A calm collie is not a “boring” collie.
A calm collie is a regulated collie.

📌 Save this reminder
🐾 Follow for realistic collie training

border collie | Calm Collie | reactive dog training | collie training | reactive border collie “

01/06/2026

One of the biggest myths around Border Collies is:

🚗 “They chase cars because they’re herding dogs.”

And while instinct absolutely plays a role… many collies don’t start chasing cars because they WANT to herd them.

A lot start because they’re worried.

A sudden loud vehicle. Air brakes. Fast movement. Pressure. Being startled in adolescence.

Then the nervous system starts anticipating cars before they even appear.

You’ll often see:
• environmental scanning
• fixation
• tension on roads
• inability to disengage
• reacting at bigger distances over time

And eventually the behaviour becomes rehearsed enough that the dog starts defaulting to it automatically.

This is why car chasing can become such an ingrained reactive behaviour in collies.

It’s rarely “just instinct.”
And it’s rarely solved through punishment alone.

Understanding WHY your collie is chasing changes how you approach training entirely.

📌 Save this post
🐾 Follow for collie insight and reactivity education

border collie | car chasing | reactive dog training | collie training | reactive border collie

31/05/2026

Most reactive dog advice isn’t necessarily BAD…

It’s just often far too generic for Border Collies.

Collies are not Labradors in a black-and-white coat.

They are:
⚡ intensely environmentally aware
⚡ highly sensitive to pressure and movement
⚡ bred to scan, control and respond to environments
⚡ dogs with huge cognitive and emotional needs

Which means their reactivity often has layers underneath it:
• overwhelm
• frustration
• chronic stress
• hypervigilance
• unmet drive
• lack of regulation
• environmental sensitivity

This is why simply “tiring them out” often backfires.

And why many owners feel like they’re doing EVERYTHING right… but nothing is changing.

Reactive collies need:
✔ structure
✔ recovery time
✔ appropriate outlets
✔ nervous system support
✔ realistic expectations
✔ training that works WITH their instincts instead of constantly suppressing them

Once you understand the breed properly, reactivity starts making a lot more sense.

And training becomes far less chaotic.

🖤 The Collie Collective opens next week
📩 Comment COLLECTIVE if you want the details + waitlist access

workingdog reactivedogtraining collieowner dogtraininguk theurbanherder

30/05/2026

If you’re wondering why I was eating pasta and cheese in a van at 5:30am… now you know. 😅

Today I took on the Maverick Trail Half Marathon, which I discovered two days before race day was actually 28km with 600m of elevation, not the 21km I’d trained for.

It was tough. Really tough.

But it was also one of the most enjoyable days I’ve had outdoors—sunshine, a cooling breeze, incredible views, and a brilliant community of runners.

A huge thank you to the people who helped drag me through the final 4km when every step felt harder than the last.

28km completed, a new longest distance achieved, and a well-earned pint at the finish. 🍺

Feeling pretty proud of myself today. 💪🏃‍♂️

Endurance RunHappy OutdoorAdventure PersonalBest RunnerLife TrailRace ChallengeAccepted

A lot of owners accidentally make reactivity worse while trying really hard to HELP their dog.Not because they’re bad ow...
30/05/2026

A lot of owners accidentally make reactivity worse while trying really hard to HELP their dog.

Not because they’re bad owners.
Not because they don’t care.

But because so much dog training advice online is generic — and collies are not generic dogs.

Border Collies are:
⚡ highly sensitive
⚡ environmentally aware
⚡ movement focused
⚡ prone to stress stacking and hypervigilance

Which means things like:
• too much fetch
• constant stimulation
• unrealistic social expectations
• lack of recovery time
• overwhelming environments

can slowly push their nervous system into overload.

The reaction is usually the symptom.

Understanding what’s happening underneath it changes everything.

📌 Save this for later
💬 Comment COLLECTIVE if you want help with your reactive collie

reactive collie advice | border collie behaviour help | dog overstimulation signs | collie reactivity training | working breed nervous system

29/05/2026

Owning a reactive dog can feel incredibly isolating.

People see one reaction…
one bark…
one lunge…

…and suddenly think they know your dog and your entire life together.

What they don’t see is:
• the hours of training
• the management
• the tears afterwards
• the routes you avoid
• the constant scanning
• the emotional weight reactive dog owners carry every single day

I know this because I lived it with Jasper.

There were so many walks where I came home feeling defeated because of comments from strangers.

But here’s the thing:
reactive dogs are often some of the most sensitive, intelligent and deeply connected dogs you’ll ever meet.

And the bond you build together through all the hard moments?
It’s something really special.

So this is your reminder:
💛 Your dog is not giving you a hard time.
💛 They are having a hard time.
💛 And you are doing better than you think.

If you own a reactive dog, comment your favourite thing about them below ⬇️

Let’s celebrate them a little today

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