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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30/07/2026

This week has been all about relationships.

Not flashy obedience. Not perfect heelwork. Just the stuff that really matters: trust, connection and getting to know the dog in front of you.

Watching Oscar settle in has reminded me of something I think we forget.

The relationship isn’t the finish line.

It’s what gives a dog the confidence to try.

To recover after something startles them.

To look back at you instead of feeling like they have to deal with everything on their own.

When people ask how to build confidence, they often expect a list of exercises.

Those things help, but confidence starts much earlier than that.

It starts with a dog who feels safe.

Over the next week, I’m going to show you what confidence actually looks like in Border Collies, why it changes behaviour so much, and how you can build it in a way that lasts.

If you’ve ever looked at your Collie and thought, “”I just wish they believed in themselves a little more,”” next week’s for you.

❤️ Follow along—I think it’s going to be one of my favourite series yet.

Border Collie confidence • Reactive Border Collie • Building confidence in dogs • Border Collie training • Dog behaviour

29/07/2026

📍 Calm Collie Day Out Review: Ogden Water (Reservoir Route)

Today’s training spot was Ogden Water Reservoir (HX2 8XZ), and we deliberately chose it to challenge Oscar’s dog reactivity in a controlled way.

Oscar has been making brilliant progress, so it was time to take his foundations into a busier environment. We worked on staying calm around other dogs, checking in with me instead of fixating, and making good decisions in a place that wasn’t easy for him.

Would I recommend it for every reactive dog?

Probably not.

This route is beautiful, but it can get busy with walkers and dogs, particularly around the dam wall and visitor centre. If your dog is in the early stages of their reactivity journey, I’d start somewhere quieter.

⭐ Calm Collie Score: 2.5/5

Quick Review:
📍 Parking: HX2 8XZ
🥾 1.3-mile circular route
🐕 Good training opportunities if your dog already has some foundations
🚲 Occasional bikes
🐄 No livestock
🌳 Lovely scenery and plenty of sniffing opportunities

The aim isn’t always to find the quietest walk. Sometimes it’s about choosing the right challenge for the stage of training your dog is at.

💬 Have you walked Ogden Water with your Collie? I’d love to know what you thought—and let me know where I should review next!

💾 Save this post for your next Border Collie adventure

Border Collie walks • Reactive dog friendly walks • Ogden Water Reservoir • Border Collie training • Yorkshire dog walks

26/07/2026

The older I get, the less interested I am in dogs who do everything they’re told.

I’m far more interested in dogs that choose to be with their person.

That’s something you can’t force.

It comes from hundreds of little moments: playing together, understanding each other, respecting boundaries, getting the hard days wrong, celebrating the good ones and simply spending time together.

I’ve been reminded of that with Oscar over the last few weeks. I could spend every day drilling obedience, but right now I’d rather build trust.

The behaviours will come.

A good relationship doesn’t replace training, but it gives your training something solid to stand on.

And for reactive dogs, that foundation matters more than most people realise.

❤️ What’s one thing you do that helps you build your relationship with your dog? I’d love to hear it.

Border Collie training • Reactive Border Collie • Building trust with your dog • Dog behaviour • Relationship-based dog training

”

25/07/2026

One thing bringing Oscar home has reminded me is that you can’t rush a relationship.

Yes, we’ve started training around other dogs. But most of our progress hasn’t happened during those sessions.

It’s happened everywhere else.

Running together.

Swimming a few times a week because it’s his favourite thing in the world.

Playing tug in the garden. Hiding toys for him to find. Letting him tap into those Collie instincts with a game of urban herding.

Then there are the quieter moments.

A cuddle on the sofa. Sitting in the garden together. Letting him wander off for some space when that’s what he needs.

Oscar often takes himself into the other living room for a nap. I leave him there. Trust grows when dogs know they have choices, not when we manage every second of their day.

I think we sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves to train our dogs that we forget to simply know them.

The behaviours will come.

Right now, I’m far more interested in building a dog who enjoys being with me.

Everything else is built on that.

❤️ Follow along as we continue Oscar’s journey and search for his forever home.

Border Collie training • Building trust with your dog • Rescue Border Collie • Dog relationship building • Reactive Border Collie

24/07/2026

For a long time, I thought I had to earn my dogs’ rest.

A big walk first. A training session. A game of fetch. Then maybe they could settle.

Living with Collies—especially reactive ones—has taught me the opposite.

A balanced day isn’t about cramming in as much as possible. It’s about giving them what they need that day.

Some days that’s training.

Some days it’s a long adventure.

Other days it’s a quiet walk, a swim, a game of tug and an afternoon asleep in the garden.

I don’t chase tired anymore.

I look for content.

My dogs still get plenty of exercise, but they also get time to recover. That’s the bit I used to overlook, and honestly, it’s made the biggest difference.

If you’ve been feeling guilty because your Collie didn’t have a two-hour walk today, let this be your reminder:

A calm, fulfilled dog is far more important than an exhausted one.

❤️ Follow for real-life Border Collie content, training tips and life with working dogs.

Border Collie routine • Reactive Border Collie • Calm dog lifestyle • Border Collie enrichment • Working breed fulfilment

23/07/2026

Oscar has been here just over two weeks.

This week we started working around other dogs. Off lead, he’s social and happy to move away when I call him. On lead, a few dogs still bring out frustration or uncertainty.

What surprised me wasn’t his behaviour.

It was how often I caught myself comparing him to my own dogs.

Efa, Piper and Enzo know me. Years of training mean they understand how I work, and I understand them.

Oscar and I are still figuring each other out.

It’s a good reminder that training isn’t just about teaching cues. It’s about building trust. That part takes time, and there’s no shortcut.

If you’ve recently brought home a rescue, an older dog or a puppy, don’t panic if it doesn’t click straight away. The relationship comes first. The training gets easier once that’s there.

❤️ Follow along as we work through Oscar’s reactivity journey.

Rescue Border Collie • Reactive Border Collie • Building trust with your dog • Border Collie training • Rescue dog behaviour

Oscar has only been back with me for a few weeks, but he's already reminded me of so many things I'd almost forgotten.No...
23/07/2026

Oscar has only been back with me for a few weeks, but he's already reminded me of so many things I'd almost forgotten.

Not because he's a difficult dog.

Quite the opposite.

He's reminded me that relationships can't be rushed. That environment can completely change how a dog behaves. That Border Collies are incredibly adaptable when they feel safe. And that genetics quietly shape so much of who they are.

He's also reminded me why I made the promise that every puppy I've bred would always have a home to come back to if life didn't work out.

Rehoming is emotional for everyone involved. It isn't a failure. Sometimes it's simply the right decision for the dog. I cannot thank Oscars owners enough, he is such a wonderful dog because of them, and they loved him so dearly.

Oscar is now looking for a forever home, but in the meantime, I'm just enjoying getting to know him and sharing the journey with all of you.

I have a feeling he's still got plenty more to teach me.

❤️ Which lesson resonates with you the most?

Border Collie behaviour • Rescue Border Collie • Border Collie training • Dog behaviour • Responsible dog breeder

22/07/2026

No two days ever look quite the same, and that’s one of the things I love most about this job.

Today was full of the little moments that often don’t make it onto social media.

Helping Bodhi take another step forward around dogs and traffic.

Watching Lucky grow in confidence with people.

Reminding Mike’s owners that a setback doesn’t mean you’ve gone back to square one—it just means your dog is asking for a little more support right now.

Then finishing the evening with a social walk, chatting dogs with lovely owners and heading home to write reports with a Border Collie on my lap.

Oh… and I bought a drone. 😂 So apologies in advance while I figure out how to fly the thing without accidentally filming more trees than dogs.

This job isn’t just about changing dogs’ behaviour.

It’s about helping people enjoy life with their dogs again.

And I still pinch myself that I get to call this work.

❤️ Which part of my day would you most like to come along for?

Reactive Border Collie training • Border Collie behaviour • Dog trainer day in the life • Reactive dog support • Border Collie training UK

21/07/2026

A little Oscar update. ❤️

We’ve started working around other dogs this week, and he’s already making progress.

His previous owners gave him some brilliant foundations. He knows how to train, he loves working with people and he’s eager to learn. My job is simply to help him transfer those skills into real-life situations.

Right now, certain dogs make him pause. He’ll become very stalky, then sometimes bark. It’s not every dog, and it’s not huge reactions, but it’s something I want to improve before he moves on.

The goal isn’t to stop the barking.

It’s to help him stay engaged with me before he feels the need to react.

He’s a lovely, funny Collie who absolutely adores swimming, cuddles and having a job to do.

As we continue his training, I’m also starting the search for his forever home.

I’m looking for someone who:
🐾 Lives an active lifestyle.
🐾 Understands Border Collies (or is keen to learn).
🐾 Has time to continue his training.
🐾 Can offer him plenty of adventure, enrichment… and swims, because he would happily live in the water if he could!

I can’t wait to see where this journey takes him. ❤️

If you think Oscar might be the right fit, or you’d like to follow his progress, let me know below.

Border Collie for adoption • Rescue Border Collie • Reactive Border Collie training • Border Collie behaviour • Dog training journey

19/07/2026

One of the biggest shifts I made as a trainer was stopping focusing on the reaction and starting paying attention to everything that came before it.

Because most reactive dogs don’t spend their day going from calm to chaos in a split second.

The signs are usually there.

I see them all the time with reactive Collies:

A dog who spends the whole walk scanning instead of sniffing.

The Collie who notices every bird, every dog, every person, every car.

The dog who gets home and can’t settle, despite being “tired.”

The dog who suddenly won’t take food outside.

The dog who’s constantly watching, waiting and anticipating.

Years ago, I would have looked at those dogs and thought they needed more training.

Now I see dogs who are struggling to relax.

And when you start looking at behaviour through that lens, things begin to make a lot more sense.

Most reactions don’t come out of nowhere.

They’re often the end result of a nervous system that’s been running too close to capacity for too long.

The good news?

If you can spot the early signs, you can often change the outcome before your dog feels the need to bark, lunge or chase.

That’s why learning to read your dog is one of the most important skills you can develop as a reactive dog owner.

💾 Save this for your next walk and see how many of these signs you notice before a reaction happens.

❤️ Follow for practical Border Collie behaviour advice, reactive dog training tips and breed-specific education.

Reactive Border Collie • Border Collie stress signals • Dog body language • Collie reactivity • Reactive dog training

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