Discussions

We have a 10 month old Border Collie Retriever cross who we have taken to obedience and he always does amazingly well at classes but....  
When at home he's unfortunately decided that when my Son is a playmate and he absolutely will NOT listen to his commands. The major issue is when his friends come over...he becomes out of control...tipping and barking and gets under the table when they are playing games and just will NOT stop acting out when they're here.  
I am really wanting to find a trainer who will come to the house to help us figure out what to do when it's happening as taking him to obedience has done nothing to rectify this.  
 
Anyone know of a trainer who will make personal house calls?

Please be careful on who you trust.Have you tried local kennel clubs or grooming places.They may be able to get you the right trainer.Good luck.

Your dog is not 'acting out', he is behaving according to his instincts and breeding. Border Collies are working/ herding dogs. It sounds like he is trying to herd the kids by barking and nipping. That's not to say that his behaviour doesn't need intervention, but please know that he isn't acting out to upset or spite you.  
I would recommend Two Brown Dogs. They have the only Certified Professional Dog Trainers in town, as far as I know. Rene is also a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant. I took classes with her - she can be a bit 'no-nonsense', but she definitely knows what she is doing!

How old is your son and friends? I ask because young kids running around playing/screaming laughing acting excited will get alot of dogs also excited, especially a pup at your age. My dogs obey commands well from adults and teenagers but will not respond to younger children I think in large part due to excitement and inability to talk in a firm tone to the dog as opposed to an almost yelling/excited tone when they dont respond how they want.

At 10 months old he’s still young and learning. Anything commotion is exciting and it’s tough for them not to get wound up. Just keep reinforcing the behaviour you want. All dogs should be watched around kids. They sometimes think kids are playing because of their energy. Some kids don’t know how to read when to back off sofa either and can be a bad mix unsupervised.

Ask for a referral to a trainer who might be able to help you.  
 
Good luck

Call Grassroots Grooming and speak to either Kyle or Alyssa. They both do training and will come to your home. They are both very knowledgeable and will be able to offer you a lot of guidance. They specifically have a lot of experience with border collies, since they have a border collie pup that they are in the process of training.

I should have given a little more detail... these are not young kids... adults! They are in their early 20's lol. I just still refer to my son as my "kid" ... habit I guess.  
They are all sitting at a dining table trying to play cards when this happens and the dog is under the table barking and biting at times to get attention.  
 
I know he's not acting out so to speak... just wants everyone to play with him but he gets so out of control that he's almost crazed and I just don't know the best way to work with him on this.  
 
I appreciate all the feedback!

I don't have a recommendation fora trainer, but just a though based on your last post. Is the dog getting enough exercise?  
 
I'm asking because our dog, who at age 7 is *finally* slowing down, when we got him at 18 months was still a ball of unbridled, unchecked energy. He could literally play fetch with a chucker (so, the ball goes really really REALLY far, and he's a smaller dog) for 2-3 HOURS at a time, multiple times a day. If he didn't get enough exercise, it came out all sorts of ways.  
 
Border collies are high-energy dogs. It sounds like he's trying to entice them to play with him. I would suspect more exercise, possibly doggie day care (my brother does that with his yellow lab, who is also young and very high energy) to tire them out.  
 
A tired dog is a good dog, LOL.

Two Brown Dogs

Border Collies need ALOT of exercise ...... They are working dogs and very smart