Aggression/Housebreaking

[wild8]

Help!! My male border Collie, Jagger, has started to become very aggressive. He is 15 months old. He is a lover and a lap dog, but when others come in our home he is not a happy dog. He bolted at my sons friend and would have gone after my friends 8 yr. old son, except I was holding him because of the first incident. I tell him no, and put him in his space for approx. 1/2 hr. He barks at people walking past our house etc. I have an 8 yr old daughter who has friends in and out, I of course do not want to have to keep him locked up, but can't be on him at all times. I need some help with this. Also, he still urinates in the house. I gave up on the crate because he has continued to do his deeds in the crate and I was scrubbing dog and crate every day. I take him out numerous times, tell him to do his deeds, praise him like an idiot when he is done, and give him a small treat. HELP!! I also now have a lab/rot mix puppy who is 4 months old, and my border collie is teaching him bad habits. What can I do, they get along wonderfully, they snuggle up together at nite, but my kitchen is a mess every morning, and my border collie has chewed my cabinets etc. I do not want to sell him, but I'm feeling at a total loss at this point. Can anyone help me??

[Zebbie]

He needs to be socialized. I would hire a behaviorist in your area to come and help with all this dogs problems, there is only so much help offered on a message board. It is too bad he was messing in his crate, for some reason he must not have developed the clean instinct that puppies normally have. I also have to say that getting another puppy before the first one was properly trained was a bad idea.

[Guest Kat]

Hi-

 

Is your boy neutered?? If he isn't, I would have that done ASAP!!! The other thing is that you need to practice your leadership principles desparately. I would purchase the booklet How to be the Leader Of The Pack by Patricia McConnell. You can call 608-767-2435. These help to establish you as the alpha in the household. Does your dog have a reliable sit and stay?? I would use that whenever he is misbehaving. I also would not abandon the crate quite yet. It sounds like without the crate he is destroying your cabinets, etc. I also would not let him sleep with your new puppy as that is a privilege that he needs to earn. If he was having these problems before you got the new puppy, I certainly would not have recommended bringing a new dog into the household until you had resolved things with the existing dog. It sounds to me like he needs to lose a lot of his privileges. I don't think that I would let him spend any time with the new puppy as that is something that he needs to earn and he is also teaching his bad habits to the new puppy. But first and foremost I would have him neutered if he isn't already.

 

Kathy

[Anja]

Wow That seems major

I think the idea about the behaviorist is a great one!!

My puppies used to mess in their crates but I found out it was kind of my fault I would wash them down with amonnia(I know I spelled it wrong forgive me. At any rate there is a scent in that that makes dogs more likely to go so I switched to a kennel cleaner and WHAMO they stopped no problem. Also does your dog have a job?? I know it sounds silly but each nite before we go to bed I walk them really short like 10 minutes so that they can go and when we come in I make them put away their toys. For instance I will say "Ty ball box" then "Max bone box" -- and they will do it and I get in my bed and they find a spot. When I forget they do remind me regardless of the hour.Also they have other outlets like flyball and agility.

[wild8]

Hi all! Just wanted to say thanks for the replies. I have since crated Jagger (the border collie) again, and I have the puppy crated in another room of the house. Neither was has done their "doodie" in their crates, its been 4 nites now. This is good. I give them time to play together now, only after I praise them lots with hugs, kisses, etc for being such good boys in their crates. Jagger, is being socialized more now, and is slowly making progress. I still obviously have to be very careful, and keep a good watch, especially when young ones come in the house, I understand this will be a very slow process. Jagger is my husbands dog, although he loves me dearly also and the kids, I have now taken it upon myself to do things with him, and I then teach my husband what I am doing with Jagger, so that he may also help in the process. Also, a friend of mine and her husband visited last nite, and it was after hours per se, with the dogs, I tend to put them down anywhere between 10 and 11. But my girlfriend came in went right in and took Jagger out of the crate, he never growled or even gave her a dirty look, all he did was love her and hug her to death. As far as my girlfriends husband, he was a little leary of him, but then took right to him. To me this is excellent progress. On the other hand, a friend and I get together once a week every week, so Jagger has known her since he was tiny, yet he continues to growl and bark at her. I find that odd, but the is definitely making it clear that he picks and chooses who he wants to be friends with. But all in all I think he will get better each day, and as far as neutering him, I think its a great idea, my husband wants to breed him. Course being the wife, I get the last word.....hehehe!!! Thanks again, and continue sending replies, any ideas are greatly appreciated and might be of help.

[Zebbie]

you probably should not 'let' the dog pick who he likes and dislikes, he is in your pack, your the alpha, YOU CHOOSE the friends of the pack, not him. He needs to learn to look to you about who is and is not a friend. I would not let him growl at anyone.....it should be considered a major no no. YOu also need to be a little firmer and make it very clear he is not to lunge, bark or growl at anyone!! Make this very clear and in my opinion it is ok to use a harsher method of discipline for this. My older dog once nipped at a child, so NOW she gets a verbal warning to be good when small kids are around, I say firmly and she KNOWS I mean it! When she nipped at the child, I looked into her eyes while grabbing her by the scruff and told her 'NO" very sternly and then banished her from the room! And please have them nuetered, do not breed if you dont know what your doing!!!!