Gerard Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 So here is the story about my Collie named Raider. Starting in April of this year I got raider from his 3rd home at only 12 weeks old. I got him from a lady at work who got him from someone she knew going through a divorce who got him from a breeder (with no papers). With my job being close to my parents, I would drop him off everyday at about 630am and pick him up at about 5ish (im a teacher/coach) so he would not have to suffer separation anxiety and have other dogs (lab and a Chihuahua)to play with while I am at work. Well in May I lost my job and moved in with my parents, everything was fine with him until recently. Over about the last month there has been random aggression shown towards my brother (18 and Autistic/MR) who tries to play rough with him sometimes and the parents Chihuahua. He has tried nipping at my brother and has grabbed the Chihuahua by the neck about 5 times and wont let go or listen to commands unless I or someone else goes and physically pulls him off. This only seems to happen while I am not home. I noticed when he was younger he had very strong herding tendencies, however I have not seen them since then. He is not fixed either and was planning on doing that this week, would that help?! I think this is more about trying to establish dominance, but I don't know. he has already growled at my girlfriends dog twice since I brought him over here about 30 minutes ago, and he has known him before. Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciated before I either move out, take him to classes, or try to find him a new home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 First off, welcome! I highly doubt that Raider is trying to be dominant. He sounds like a teenage dog that is a bit unsure of the situation so he's doing what he has learned works for him. In his mind it could be - Dog comes near, I don't know what to do so I growl and dog goes away. What I would do - get him on a good schedule that includes plenty of physical/mental exercise. If you can take him along to work/classes do so. I'm in college and I take my dogs along. There is shaded parking and they stay in their crates in my car while I'm in class. After class I can take them out and train/exercise them. Works great for us! Find something to train him in - Obedience classes are a good start, but then move on to something like agility, nosework, etc. He's got brain that he needs to be able to use to stay happy. And dogs at this age need lots of structure and human guidance. Being loose without it is not good, especially for high energy working breeds. He is possibly unsure about your brother, especially if he's been rough with Raider. You need to treat that situation like you would that of a dog and a young child and not leave them together unsupervised. People often think that dogs need other dogs to stay happy. This is not the case. Though some dogs enjoy other dogs, most of them would really rather be doing something with us. My two wrestle and play just a bit, but when I'm ready to do something, forget the other dog, they want to work with me. I guess this is my long winded way of saying that Raider would be better off right now not interacting with the other dogs all day long. Especially since he's at the size where he could do great harm to the Chihuahua. Get him out, exercise him good in the mornings before you leave, take him with you or crate him in your room while your gone and can't supervise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waffles Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 I agree with Maralynn. Since he was with your parents from 6:30 to 5pm, were they taking him for walks? Running loose in a house with other dogs is not enough for most dogs, especially a border collie. They, like most dogs, need more structure and guidance, especially as a puppy. Running loose in a yard is not structure, puppies need to practice impulse control (going for a walk) and be using their brains (obedience training, etc). I would highly suggest you start obedience classes or start training him yourself now and start spending your free time walking him, training him, playing with him, exposing him to the world, etc. By the evening my dog has had about 2 hours of outdoor exercise time (including on leash and off leash walks, frisbee, swimming, ball) plus indoor play time; frozen kongs, dinner in a treat dispensing ball, etc. A border collie is really a life style, I know that may sound silly but they don't thrive in a house with a 20min walk here or there and free time "playing" with other dogs. They require so much more for them to be happy and for their owners to be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waffles Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 I agree with Maralynn. Since he was with your parents from 6:30 to 5pm, were they taking him for walks? Running loose in a house with other dogs is not enough for most dogs, especially a border collie. They, like most dogs, need more structure and guidance, especially as a puppy. Running loose in a yard is not structure, puppies need to practice impulse control (going for a walk) and be using their brains (obedience training, etc). I would highly suggest you start obedience classes or start training him yourself now and start spending your free time walking him, training him, playing with him, exposing him to the world, etc. By the evening my dog has had about 2 hours of outdoor exercise time (including on leash and off leash walks, frisbee, swimming, ball) plus indoor play time; frozen kongs, dinner in a treat dispensing ball, etc. A border collie is really a life style, I know that may sound silly but they don't thrive in a house with a 20min walk here or there and free time "playing" with other dogs. They require so much more for them to be happy and for their owners to be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 What are good stimulation toys? Ive had given him high thinking kongs with treats in it and either he gets bored with it or he gets the treat out in a few minutes. I have never really given him stimulation toys. Hes had ropes and untied them or millions of squeek toys that my mom wound up buying them. I really had no problems with him until i had moved back home due to my job. Id love for him to do agility training because he loves to jump and run and play fetch. So do yall think that adding more structure and some training would help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullet87 Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 What are good stimulation toys? Ive had given him high thinking kongs with treats in it and either he gets bored with it or he gets the treat out in a few minutes. I have never really given him stimulation toys. Hes had ropes and untied them or millions of squeek toys that my mom wound up buying them. I really had no problems with him until i had moved back home due to my job. Id love for him to do agility training because he loves to jump and run and play fetch. So do yall think that adding more structure and some training would help? My BC has also master the Kong toys. I have found he loves frozen treats. If your dog can get typical kibble or treats from the Kong, try freezing peanut butter or a little cheese in the Kong along with some kibble. If your freezer allows, I have placed the treats in the Kong, then placed the entire thing in a bowl of water, so it comes out as a giant ice cube on one end. (WARNING!! Only do this if you can keep your dog on tile. It can be messy )My dog also enjoys ice cubes, sometimes I add a little peanut butter in the tray so it takes him awhile to get to the good stuff. One other thing I do, is Nitro loves to tear up boxes. He will play with a soda box forever! If you don't mind picking up pieces of cardboard, a box I have found is great entertainment for him. P.S. I keep Nitro in a x-pen during the day rather then a kennel, so he does have more room allowing him to play with his box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Kongs last longer when you fill them with something really wet (can cat food, yogurt, cottage cheese), wedge a milk bone and then plug the hole with a dab of something sticky (PB, cream cheese, a dab of melted cheese) then freeze. If your dog gets bored and won't work for the treat, this may backfire but it takes my dogs 25-30 minutes of working at their Kongs to clean them out. In addition, the "settled down licking" part seems to wind them down a few notches and afterwards they tend to be settled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 ..... Over about the last month there has been random aggression shown towards my brother (18 and Autistic/MR) who tries to play rough with him sometimes and the parents Chihuahua. He has tried nipping at my brother and has grabbed the Chihuahua by the neck about 5 times and wont let go or listen to commands unless I or someone else goes and physically pulls him off. This only seems to happen while I am not home. I noticed when he was younger he had very strong herding tendencies, however I have not seen them since then. He is not fixed either and was planning on doing that this week, would that help?! I think this is more about trying to establish dominance, but I don't know. he has already growled at my girlfriends dog twice since I brought him over here about 30 minutes ago, and he has known him before. Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciated before I either move out, take him to classes, or try to find him a new home Hi there ~ A couple things come to mind. One, a border collie can be rather sensitive about personal space and rough handling. As your pup matures, he's probably decided he's uncomfortable with your brother. It's certainly not your brother's fault, but neither is it the dog's. An autistic person doesn't act quite like other people, and the rough play is probably more than your dog can continue to bear. Nor do I think he should have to. Your dog may very well be becoming afraid of your brother's ways. Nipping is becoming your dog's means of warding off the rough handling before it can start. Therefore, I think you need to find a way to separate the dog from your brother when you're not home, or in some other way assure that the rough play ceases for good. Otherwise, some day your brother could inadvertently frighten your dog to the point he bites for real, and that would be tragic. You don't want to set your brother or the dog up for a bad situation that could result in your brother getting stitches and your dog being euthanized. As for the Chihuahua, it's hard to say what set him off, but I think your dog needs to stop being unsupervised around it, when you're not home. Maybe he's just reacting to a little dog's quick, erratic movements, or maybe there's some dog-on-dog hostility going on, that you've missed seeing. After all, dogs don't necessarily see each other according to size, and as your boy matures, his behavior will change. Especially as he is presently intact. Therefore, I agree with everyone who's suggested keeping your dog with you as much as you can, getting him training and lots of exercise, get him carefully socialized, and generally do your best to fill his world with your relationship. Also, neutering may help some of his attitude towards other dogs, along with training. Best of luck, and keep us posted! ~ Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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