Imagine standing in the middle of a noisy, busy crowd at Crufts. Your Border Collie is locked onto his favourite toy, eyes wide, tail ready to spring. Now, imagine asking him to Lie Down – and he actually does it without even looking at you. Can you see how much easier your daily walks would be if you had that same level of focus?
Earlier this year, I stood in front of an audience at Crufts 2026 with my Border Collie Toddy and did exactly that. It looked a little strange to the crowd. I asked him to Lie Down while he was staring at his favourite toy. Not looking at me. Not facing me. Just… locked on to something else entirely.
And he did it. I still love that moment – not because it’s impressive, but because of why it matters to you and your dog.
When do you most need your dog to come back to you? It’s when they’ve spotted a squirrel or a tennis ball, right?
It’s not when they’re calmly trotting at your side. It’s when you, frankly, barely exist to them. You’ve probably noticed that if your dog isn’t looking at your face, your cue suddenly stops working. This is because you’ve accidentally taught a physical cue, not a verbal one. The second their eyes move, your influence disappears. It feels like you’re shouting into the wind, doesn’t it?
Toddy’s demo was designed to show that real-world listening happens when his ears are open, even while his eyes are elsewhere.
You might be sitting there thinking, “But I don’t want my dog to be a boring robot!” And I completely agree.
The goal isn’t a flat, subdued dog. Toddy was excited! What he learned was that being high-drive wasn’t a reason to stop listening. I think of this as the dimmer switch. The core benefit here is freedom. When you can turn the excitement up and still have them stay with you, you can finally relax on your walks knowing you have total control.
You don’t need a Crufts demo to try this. Here is your 3-step plan.
Step 1: Check what you actually have. Ask for a Sit or Down when your dog is distracted by a toy. If they ignore you, don’t worry – that’s just information telling you where to start.
Step 2: Teach to a verbal cue, not a visual one. Practise cues when your dog is facing away from you. Can you picture how much more reliable they’ll be when they don’t need to check in visually to know what you want?
Step 3: Use play to raise and lower arousal deliberately. At Crufts, I used food to bring Toddy’s arousal down between play bursts. This rhythm teaches your dog that excitement and listening aren’t opposites – they’re partners.
Toddy doesn’t just do this in training sessions. He does it at Crufts. He does it when there are children nearby, other dogs walking past, or food bowls on the ground.
If you’re like most Collie owners, you’ve probably felt that pang of worry when your dog sees something before you do. You might think, “He’ll never listen to me now.” But what if that wasn’t true?
How valuable would it be to have a dog that hears your voice and responds instantly, even when their heart is racing with excitement?
The moment that sticks with me from that demo is simple: he was staring at his favourite toy, I asked him to Lie Down, and he did. Not because there was nothing better going on. Even though there was. That’s what I want for every Collie.
Here’s the full demo from Crufts 2026 so you can see exactly what this looks like in practice:
The verbal cues, the play-based arousal work, the real-world reliability – this is exactly what we work through inside Total Toy Fix.
Listen, if I asked you right now whether you feel 100% confident letting your Collie off lead near a busy park, what would your gut tell you? Does the idea of a failed recall feel stressful?
It’s my step-by-step programme for using play as a serious training tool: how to find what lights your dog up, how to build focus and listening inside excitement, and how to get the kind of recall that works when it actually matters.
PS I know you might be thinking your Collie is “too obsessed” with toys to ever listen this well. I hear you. But remember: Toddy was staring at his favourite toy on a big stage at Crufts when he nailed that Down. If he can do it there, you can do it at your local park. Click the link above and let’s get started.
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