Yes, he is only 18 months old.

You are quite right. Poor Barney is frightened of the noise from the clicker.

Other than that he is really doing well and far more relaxed. He is accepting me taking his collar without threatening to bite me now.

Aww poor boy - I know the first time I tried Mia with it this 1/2 starved food possesive x stray started becoming afraid of food incase it made the scary clicky noise
But a few months later she was fine with it (I didnt mean to try again - I totaly forgot and used it as a habbit)

Sounds like you are making progress relaxed is good

Aw, he is a beautiful boy!

I have a fair bit of experience with anxiety, having been owned by a nervous dog.

You should know first of all that it is a thing. It's not your fault or probably not anyone's fault, unless you want to blame the 15,000 year old record. Shepherd dogs have been bred, for ages, to bond tightly with their nearest and dearest and to be mistrustful of strangers, and so this trait has prevailed. Sometimes it gets turned up to 11. Then you see extreme fearfulness around strangers, new situations, and overstimulation with noise/children/traffic/whatever.

The bad news is: it's not curable. It's innate. You just have to deal with it.

The good news is: there's a lot you can do to help, and the likelihood is, if you've got a sensitive dog on your hands, they're probably quite intelligent. I have never known a nervous dog who wasn't smart too.

NUMBER ONE THING: YOU be confident! Take the leadership role in even the smallest thing. If you come to a cross in the path and your collie doesn't know which way to go, don't go 'meh'-- pick a direction and go with a cheerful 'This way!' If the collie seems afraid of a mailbox, go up to it-- don't force the dog; just let them watch-- you might need a friend to help-- smack it and say 'Check it out!'. Let them see that you are in charge and not afraid of stuff, and they'll pick up on that. Be aware that any odd thing can trigger a fright response. Try to defuse it. If a loud thing is going to happen-- say you're going to run the hoover-- show him the hoover, and start talking about the hoover. Then start talking about it loudly! REALLY LOUDLY! SO THAT IT'S NOT SUCH A BIG DEAL WHEN YOU TURN THE HOOVER ON! And if it is, play 'check it out' with the hoover. Same with other stuff: gear up to it, defuse it, and show it isn't a problem.

A nervous dog is paying attention to EVERYTHING. Be aware of that. Try not to put them in situations that will overwhelm them. Treats won't distract if there is information overload. If you are in an overwhelming situation, assume command. Be positive and just go on! He'll follow you.

People will want to pet him. He's beautiful; that's natural. Don't let them. Strangers touching him is extremely threatening and could be dangerous if he feels threatened enough to bite. Stay between him and people, and be in control of any encounter. Don't force him, but praise every positive encounter.

If you need to, say: "Sorry, he's not friendly". It's true. It's just misleading and can save you a lot of grief from people who are convinced that they are great with animals or are off the rails.

If you can, take him to puppy classes. Many classes will be happy to take an adult. Socialisation in a controlled, safe environment will help him settle down. Many shy dogs are great in a relaxed, social atmosphere. My own shy boy was a champion in the classes and on the walks: he shepherded all the dogs and loved every minute of training.

Do you know anything of his background? Are you fostering him for a BC Rescue? Perhaps they could guide you?

He is a lovely looking boy, but does sound to have some quite deep-seated issues.

All I know about Barney's previous life is that he guarded his food and had bitten their child. As a result he was crated mostly whilst in the house or spent the time in the garden.
He is a chaser and will chase anything that moves. (In other words he is a border collie )

The family had a trainer come to the house to 'help' and she pinned him for guarding his food and advised them to do the same. They did and got bitten. His behaviour escalated from thereon in.

When we collected him my OH told me to take him straight to the car as Barney was becoming stressed by members of the family fussing him. Of course, it was not my place to do that. The rest of the family came in to say goodbye and the 5 year old move closer and Barney went berserk. The Mother instinctively grabbed him around the collar and he bit her.

I quickly removed him and took him to the car.

Since then, I have discovered Barney is very timid and nervous. When he becomes aroused he spins. He has a problem being approached with a lead.

I have overcome the lead on collar problem and he happily allows me to put his lead on now.

I hand feed him all his food and he is happy with that. I allow him to lick the bowl whilst still in my possession and he is comfortable with that. I am taking it very slowly.

Poor boy, not the best start in life
and poor family too - out dogged and given very bad advice

He is gonna take some hard work, but sounds like you are a pretty good place for him to have ended up with I think if you managed lead so quickly so well being happy in a muzzle is prob the best for everyone just now

So did this family have him from a pup? It sounds as though the environment was totally wrong for this type of dog. I have no doubt he must have come from working stock in the first place

It sounds as though you are doing a really good job with him, but I would definitely muzzle him for now whenever you think there may be a risk of him biting.

Best of luck and keep us updated.

Yes, they had him from a pup. Took him to puppy classes and started having problems a bit later.

The family clearly loved him but her 5 year old had to come first and they were out of their depth plus being given bad advice things just went from bad to worse.

It was a busy home with teenagers and their friends constantly in and out and all the comings and goings with a husband that frequently worked abroad and a five year old charging about the place.

They had a good natured collie X before Barney for 17 years, hence why they got a collie when they lost him.

I will be heeding all the advice to use a muzzle when there is a chance of Barney objecting to something. I don't fancy a repeat performance!

You're very right to take every precaution against another bite! Just remember that in a muzzle he might be even more anxious, so you might have to avoid any situation that could intimidate him. He might not be able to bite, but he's perfectly able to be terrified. On the plus side, having a muzzle will dissuade random people from walking up and bonking him on the head. Their version of a pet. His version of a bonk on the head.

Barney is very young yet, and with you doing such good work with him-- you can already get a lead on him; that's fantastic-- he's got a great new start.

A nervous dog is a challenge. There will be things you just won't be able to do with him, at least for a while. But when you break through, it's magic. My own shy boy was terrified of everyone, until they came out on a walk with us. After that, friends for life. I could never take him on a train, or into a busy street, ever-- but he could bond with a person who came with us on his familiar walk where he was off lead, and he'd remember them, even a year later.

So if you can find things that are fun and relaxing and easy, do that... and please keep us posted.