Working Sheepdog Problem

I have just rescued a (nearly) 3 year old BC. She is very much a farm type collie in the looks department. I was told by the rescue that she'd come over from a farm in Ireland with her brother after her owner had died in a farming accident. I was also told that she hadnt really left the confines of the farm (evident in her reaction to more urban life) and that she wasnt a worker, just a pet.

However, it's looking more likely that she did have a "job" on the farm (after all, I dont suppose many farmers have dogs which they dont put to use) and she is displaying some behaviours which I find intriguing.

Out on walks, she trots very closely behind me, never at heel and never in front. When she realises we are taking the same path back home, she rushes off in front, looking back at me, then racing off again. If I walk in a loop so we dont take the same route back, she doesnt do it. I initially thought she was running off because something had spooked her but her body language doesnt seem to support this. If I change direction and call her, she will happily follow behind again.

She doesnt seem to have the herding behaviour but if my dogs are racing around or play fighting or even chasing a bird, she suddenly comes alive and goes over to investigate. This seems to be the only thing which makes her come alive as she is generally a very submissive dog who wont play or do usual "doggy" things.

Normally, when you talk to her, her demeanour is very appeasing...ears back, no eye contact, submissive pose but i've thrown a couple of words at her like "come bye" and "away" and her ears have shot up. The trainer at obedience classes (he's trained sheepdogs before) has also whistled and got the same reaction.

Furthermore, it's evident she's used to raw feeding and not entirely comfortable with indoor living.

Basically, my question is has anybody rescued a working collie before? If so, what kind of allowances or adjustments did you have to make?
Also, does anybody have any ideas how I can test whether she is used to working livestock of some sort or how I can figure out what her job was?

Not only would it make it easier for me to understand her, but if she is used to being busy then i'd like to try and find her something else to do (i'm planning on trying her at agility classes as I did take her to watch a session and she got very excited).

Maybe Moobli could offer some wisdom?!!

My Shamus came from Ireland. I don`t think it`s usual for dogs, especially working dogs, to be kept in the house, expecially at night. It took him a while to worl out stairs! He obviously wasn`t used to food rewards so I had to teach him, and his training was probably non-existent. He also has odd behaviours - he hates blokes standing close behind him and he growled when we stroked him at first - I think because he was frightend of something - no idea what. He`s much better and more relaxed now.
What I `m saying really is that you`ll probably never find out what your dog`s life was like - I`d start again with a clean slate. Dogs are very adaptable, and maybe bringing up stuff that happened before might also bring up bad associations?

I'm trying to kind of go about daily life, do what I normally do with the dogs etc to try and give her the message "this is what we do, this is how I relate to the other dogs and this is how they relate to me" because at the moment, some things I do scare her such as raised voices. I'm hoping she will see how the other dogs react to stuff and figure out whether it's anything to be scared of or not.

So far, she's taken some cues from the other 2 like jumping into the car, gathering to have leads put on (at first, she ran a mile at the sound/sight of a lead or collar) but I guess i'm finding it difficult because i've got a dog whose already been shaped in some way.

I will be starting with a clean slate...she will start at obedience classes and agility next week because apart from knowing how to walk nicely, both on and off lead, she doesnt know any other commands.

I think I agree with you about associations from the past. Maybe trying to piece together her past life wouldnt be beneficial to her because judging from her lack of confidence and timidity, she was treated quite harshly with her previous owner (but I wouldnt say beaten...just shouted at alot and threatened with various objects [I picked up a large stick to throw for Flynn and she dived to the floor scared]).

Firstly, well done for rescuing a collie dog Could the rescue give you any more info on the dog's history or her previous owner?

I think the best thing you can do with your new dog is take her to a farmer or sheepdog trainer who will allow you to test your dog on sheep. I see you are in Nottingham - there is a trainer who trains on a one to one basis :-

Nij Vyas - Tel : 07812 982941 - email nij.vyas@ntlworld.com and his website is www.bertiedogs.com

The walking behind (not in front and not at heel) is quite often how shepherds/farmers train their dogs to walk and I also have one who rushes off ahead on the way back home (I bought him as a trained dog when his shepherd owner died so don't know why he does this).

Would love to hear how you get on with her and see some piccies

The rushing ahead thing is what concerns me most. Due to where I live (urban) I dont really want her trying to find her own way home plus we more often than not go to a location in the car so not sure if she'd head back to the car or the house!

The first time she did it we thought she'd been spooked and we lost her on our housing estate. Plus the other 2 dogs took off after Mick when he ran to find her, it was a blooming nightmare! Now i'm wise to her so she gets put on a lead as soon as I see the signs.

Thanks for the contact details for Bertie Dogs, will have to contact them to see about a test or something. I obviously dont have any livestock of my own but I think it might be useful to try and find out what training she has had so I can move forward with her.