Our 3 yr old BC is owner protective and bites strange men

[psharkey1]

Hi, we are at a cross roads with our dog snickers. She is a 3 year old Border Collie mix (possible mix with a Sheltie). She is very well trained in commands but does not like strange men on her property. She will wait for an opportune time when they are not looking and bite them on the calf. We can't let this go on. As we see it we have 3 options. Find her a new home, some type of behavioral modification (if that's even possible with Border Collies), or put her down. We love her very much and the thought of the last option is breaking our heart. So we are asking for any suggestion anyone might have. You may be thinking 'why not just put her away when we have company' but the biggest problem is that we have a built in pool in the backyard and we like to entertain guests that come for the weekend. We would not be able to keep her locked up in a room somewhere all weekend. Also, we can't let her around the pool while people are swimming because she has a fit if someone jumps in. I believe she feels like she's not controlling the situation and so she tries to grab (with her mouth 'BITE') them before they jump.

[nancy in AZ]

There are behavior modification techniques that you may find you can successfully teach her, but ultimately they would begin with separating her from the situations that cause her to trigger. Bottom line, unless you're willing to find a way to do that, any futher efforts would likely be futile.

 

This general subject has come up many times on these boards before and if you do a search for " fear aggression'" or "biting" you'll likely find a wealth of info, reading recommendations, experiences and approaches. (I think there are some discussions on the subject in the archived thread section as well)

 

Unfortunately, re-homing a dog known to have a bite history is difficult at best, and a potential liability to you, unless the new owner was both fully aware of the behavior and able and willing to deal with it. Again, prior discussions here have addressed this further. You may want to do a little reading and research and then come back to have specific questions answered once you are familiar with the basics.

 

There are several people on these boards who have been in a similar position (myself included), and have been able to successfully manage their dogs either by avoiding situations that cause them to trigger, or successfully using training and behavior approaches to modify their dog's reactivity(typically a combinatin of both). It's time consuming and takes alot of patience, consistency and determination, but it can be done. Success ultimately depends on how reactive the dog is, and how dedicated the people in the dog's home environment are. Good luck.

[sluj]

Hi, we are at a cross roads with our dog snickers. She is a 3 year old Border Collie mix (possible mix with a Sheltie). She is very well trained in commands but does not like strange men on her property. She will wait for an opportune time when they are not looking and bite them on the calf. We can't let this go on. As we see it we have 3 options. Find her a new home, some type of behavioral modification (if that's even possible with Border Collies), or put her down. We love her very much and the thought of the last option is breaking our heart. So we are asking for any suggestion anyone might have. You may be thinking 'why not just put her away when we have company' but the biggest problem is that we have a built in pool in the backyard and we like to entertain guests that come for the weekend. We would not be able to keep her locked up in a room somewhere all weekend. Also, we can't let her around the pool while people are swimming because she has a fit if someone jumps in. I believe she feels like she's not controlling the situation and so she tries to grab (with her mouth 'BITE') them before they jump.

 

How long have you had her, and what sort of socialization have you done?

 

As I see it you have three options:

 

1 - get her used to meeting people under supervision so that it becomes a positive experience for her

2 - crate her when people are over, and only bring her out on leash

3 - stop having parties

 

 

Behavioral modification is very possible with the majority of dogs, and border collies with their innate desire to learn and interact with their owners should have the most potential for change, if their owners are patient and persistent.

[bc4pack]

Find yourself a good positive trainer well versed in reactive dogs...

Check out the following websites

http://www.aggressivebehaviorsindogs.com

and

http://www.fearfuldogs.com

 

Think about joining the Yahoo group Agbeh....