daisyrainbow Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Daisy Rainbow is my Border Collies name. I was told that she is mixed with Aussie. She was named by my 6 yr old girl. She was an amazing Christmas gift last year as my Australian Shep/lab mix was very sick with lymphoma and my husband had just moved out. I wanted to name her Dharma, but the kids won! When we got her she was full of worms and a bit malnourished, she did nothing but sleep, cuddle, and potty trained within two weeks. So smart, and the kids took to her and her to the kids (3, ages 11, 9, 7) SHe is a cuddler. She loves to laze around and watch her people. She even lets the kids use her as a pillow. She loves her toys, which consist of as many of the kids stuffed animals she can sneak into her crate..She also has her share of bad habits, thanks to the youngest who one morning when I was sleeping in decided she was going to fix them both breakfast. I came out and found child and dog eating cereal at the table. Dog sitting up in her chair that was pushed in paws on the table. Sorry, no picture, as she knew enough to get down At this point I figured, well, what can I do a strong willed child, a super smart dog. I never had a chance. Right away she was great with commands and have just recently prefected recall when out of site at the dog park. But, this is where my first real problem has just started.. See, the boy(9) like to play race with the dogs. and Daisy Rainbow will run ahead, slow down and wait and then let the boy win every time. We have (for the most part) got her to stop jumping up at them when they run. and she has never had a problem with the other dogs joining in. but, this last visit they (the boy and about 5 dogs) were playing this game when this huge white fuzz ball puppy (probably close to 90lbs already) wanted to join in. Daisy Rainbow had something in her brain click/or snap and decided that she didn't want him there. so the race ended as we all watched the 35lb border collie jump into the side of this big dog and push as she was yipping (sounded like she was hurt) and hitting the side of the body with her head over and over until big dog was with owner (about 50 ft from boy) then she came back to me. Everyone was in shock, as she has shown no sign of aggression, always the belly up girl. I left immediately. So, people tell me to 'untrain' this. but I am not sure how I trained it. I know I am nervous about going back. So, any advice would help. She has sit and down consistantly when close but not at a distance. We are working on it! No formal training except for puppy basics (she is my fourth dog). She is outside in a designated dog fence alot (about 1/3 acre, 6 ft chainlink), she digs, runs, herds chickens (separate fence near hers) and chases squirrells. goes on walks, and dog park visits. She will play ball sometimes, but never outside. She does not destry things, but likes empty pudding containers and will empty the recycle bin for them, She is great meeting strangers and loves all dogs. She is 18 months now, is this just her normal behaviour kicking in?? Any helpful ideas are welcome. and yes, I will try and post a picture of my baby later. Have to shrink file size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 I'm not sure what advice to give, but here is one thought I have. Daisy has a game she plays with *her* kids, and this upstart newcomer barged in. It's not at all unusual for a dog to take exception to a strange dog bursting in on a game. For a dog as young as her, I would say that you should simply avoid putting her in highly charged situations like that, where there are multiple dogs and lots of excitement and running. She's still very young and if she's used to things being a certain way, it may simply be too much to expect a dog who's barely out of puppyhood, herself, to remain calm when there is that much excitement and that many other dogs. Especially of those dogs are not known to her. Border collies and Aussies both can have a strong sense of what "belongs" and what is intrusive or even rude, in their eyes. I'm sure others will offer actual help to you, but that's just my take on the possible situation. Good luck, and do share pictures of Daisy when you can! ~ Gloria P.S. That yipping was probably outrage. My Gael will sometimes make that noise if she feels called to "discipline" a dog who has intruded on her space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaircloth Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 I think Gloria's right...just a negative reaction to an "intruder" on her game. On a pure safety note, I would NEVER allow a 9-year-old boy to race around a dog park letting other dogs chase him. That is a recipe for disaster. I've seen the "chase" game turn very ugly at dog parks, as the chasers often take on a pack mentality and start seeing the chase-ee as prey. I think a new game (maybe ball throwing) would be a better way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyrainbow Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Yes, I see that. The fluff ball was 2x bigger than any of the other dogs. she may have sensed danger. I did mention to the boy that playing race with the big dogs may not be a good idea in the future if Daisy was going to respond like that. Already taken care of. I have watched and it always felt like the boy was part of the pack, not the prey for the pack though I am not a dog. Kinda like to stories where the wolf pack adopts the human child. Also, my kids fear of dogs is minimal, but respect is high as they have seen stitches in my arm from a dog bite. There are times visting family that there can be up to 11 dogs and 5 kids in the house at a time. So there really is a pack mentality all around. I think I will take her down without the kids and see how she reacts. It is a beautiful day here! oh, and she acts like such a big girl. Sometimes I forget that 18 months is still a baby. and the yipping! I wonder if that is what I sound like to the kids when I am outraged. It was scarey aweful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arf2184 Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Daisy sounds like a fun dog! I did mention to the boy that playing race with the big dogs may not be a good idea in the future if Daisy was going to respond like that. The boy playing chase with dogs in a dog park is not a good idea....not because of Daisy and her possible reaction though. Its just not a good idea period. You don't know those dogs and they don't know your boy. Many of them may not be used to kids. Dogs that are chasing can quickly turn into dogs that are in a frenzy and grabbing or pushing. Save that activity for home and have your boy stay calm while in the dog park, for his safety. Not many parents bring kids to our area dog park, but running kids would be cause for me to leave the dog park. My Meg is not used to kids. Calm kids and kids with treats are her instant friends, but she tends to feel the need to make them 'sit down and shut up' when they start moving too fast or bouncing around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyrainbow Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 For the most part our dog park is kid friendly. the littler ones stand close to parents and we are all good about remembering each others dog quirks. Like I will tell parents Daisy like to look in kids eyes and dance with paws on shoulders...and I will call her away if she gets to excited, or the parent will step in front.. and if it gets to busy, the ones of us with kids leash our dogs and leave. So, I took her down again today and we had no problem. she went belly up everytime! But I did not have the kids. Only time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runzbarrel Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Yeah we did the dog park, once. Won't go back. I didn't go with the intention of letting Brock off leash but wanted to test out our training with some major distractions. There was only a handful of dogs there but there was this ONE little dog. A puppy, spaniel of some sort. His name was Max and he was annoying. Even worse was the fact that his owners were more concerned with socializing than they were controlling their dog. He was jumping up all over me, all over Brock and in like 10 seconds Brock was DONE! He started to get aggressive, and try to calm this spaz of a puppy down! After they came and got him, Brock was just done. His focus was out the gate. In general BC's don't do too well in dog park situations since they have so much need to control everything going on lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyrainbow Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I just learned the schedule. The larger and more aggressive dogs (permissive owners) are there at lunch time and after 4pm. If you come early AM-11am you have smaller groups with well behaved dogs and between 1-4 the same. Usually this is the work from home group, or the moms with babies (always up in carriers) group with well trained and socialized dogs. This was the first Saturday I had gone and yes, probably to much activity. Live and Learn! The question still is can you untrain the behaviour or is this just a case a removal and avoidence... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runzbarrel Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 With Brock it is a removal and avoidance. The instinct is just too strong and since we want to work sheep later on I don't want to squash that drive. Same thing with his bike issue. He's just doing what he's bred to do, herd. I'm not a good enough trainer to work with him to get over it so I choose to avoid trails I know have a lot of bike activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyrainbow Posted March 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Sigh!! That is what I figured. I guess I will have to send the kids to the kid park when I am at the dog park... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runzbarrel Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I prefer to just take Brock for long, fast paced walks. It gets both of us exercise and it keeps his mind focused. I mean the socialization of a dog park is nice but Brock doesn't have a problem meeting other dogs. Besides we encounter plenty of other dogs on the trail that he can meet and greet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.