First time BC owner, I have a couple of questions

[Sinuosette]

Hey everyone, new to the forum here

 

Me and my boyfriend are first time BC owners and we’ve had our Sherlock for about a month now. He’s soon going to be 4 months old and I could use some advice on a couple of things (sorry for the long post!).

 

Fear of people: while our dog has never had any problem with us, he’s really afraid of people he doesn’t know. He seems to be warming up to strangers, after spending a few hours with them (be it outside in the forest or when we have guests) and he seems to be getting used to people he sees more often, but that’s too early to say as there’s only a couple of examples.

 

When afraid, he runs the opposite direction, sometimes growls and bark and he definitely doesn’t like being approached. I try to distract him from people, to get him to sit and I reward him when I see he’s relaxed, but sometimes people just like to walk right in his face to tell him how cute he is and he really doesn’t like that, being acknowledged. He definitely doesn’t like crowds either.

 

If we have visitors at home, we make sure that as soon as the door opens and people come in, he experiences the “bacon rain”: we start throwing bits of bacon on the floor around him to make him associate guests with yummy treats.

We also try to get him to places where he can see people but not in overwhelming numbers (which is the mistake we did a couple of times at the beginning but we noticed soon enough).

 

I guess my question is: is this going to get better/easier? Am I doing something wrong? I am just concerned that the situation may be less manageable when he grows up.

 

Biting: he seems to be very interested in biting me and not my boyfriend. When he has what we now call his “crazy moments”, he would suddenly get super excited, jump on me and bite anything he can get a hold of and pull it, when possible. So far he’s bitten and pulled the coat I was wearing, pulled and ripped a top while I had it on, bit my trousers enough to hurt me. He doesn't seem aggressive at all, mainly just super playful and excited.

 

If relevant to the topic, on our way back from our walks, he will also jump to get the leash I hold in my hands and start pulling/biting that.

 

When I’m home and he starts biting, I just stand up and walk away, but it’s particularly difficult when I am walking him because I need him to come with me and not go away from me.

 

Would you happen to have any advice?

 

Here's a picture of the little monster:

 

[Jescano]

Biting: he seems to be very interested in biting me and not my boyfriend. When he has what we now call his “crazy moments”, he would suddenly get super excited, jump on me and bite anything he can get a hold of and pull it, when possible. So far he’s bitten and pulled the coat I was wearing, pulled and ripped a top while I had it on, bit my trousers enough to hurt me. He doesn't seem aggressive at all, mainly just super playful and excited.

My pup is almost 4 months as well. He used to get like this often until I realized when he gets like this he either needs to poop or he REALLY needs a nap. Now when he needs to poop he either stares me down and barks once or twice alternating between staring at me and the door, or he growls at the door. So he only becomes the monster land shark when he's overly tired. I just stick him in his crate and he's out for an hour or so.

 

When I know he's not tired and he's just too playful to think about using his mouth the right way and he nips either he goes in his crate for a little time out or I hide in the closet, he doesn't like that and he sits outside the door until I come back out. I also try to have a toy on me that I can stick in his mouth before he can get to me.

 

As for the being shy, my pup from 9-12 weeks was afraid of everyone, would hide behind me. I took him literally everywhere I went and would give people who wanted to pet him yummy treats to entice him over. And who doesn't want to pet a cute puppy. Now he wants to meet EVERYONE he'll approach them very happy with a nice sit but still wiggly and sometimes pees, which I don't get. Not sure if it's a nervous pee or just an excited pee(and it's not all the time, maybe 1 out of 10 times) Didn't just use kibble though, I would give them things like hot dog bits, or dehydrated raw food, liver, chicken, etc.

 

This is all just from personal experience with a pup close to the same age, I'm sure other people with chime in with better advice.

[Gideon's girl]

What a cutie!!! Enlist people to help with his fear. Go to a quiet place where you may only meet a couple people at a time, ask them to ignore your dog, but drop a treat for him, then move on. Call friends and ask them to go for a walk with you and ignore the puppy unless the puppy asks for attention, but give them treats for when he does.

 

The crazy moments are when he is overstimulated(think 2 year old human) and doesn't know how to calm himself. It's time for a time out in his crate when he does this. It's also time to start teaching him to settle on command. Put his leash on and when you have some short chore that requires you to stay in one place for a couple minutes, stand on the leash close to the collar so the most comfortable position for him will be lying down(you can place him in a down to start), do your chore, then release him. Do that several times every day so that he learns that sometimes you have to do things and he just has to wait. While he is lying there, quietly tell him "Settle, good settle." Pretty soon, he will be able to go through a whole TV show or calm himself at a word from you. OK, it might take a while, one of mine took until he was 8 months old and then a light suddenly went on, but the other one figured it out within a few days.

[Camden's Mom]

I try to distract him from people, to get him to sit and I reward him when I see he’s relaxed, but sometimes people just like to walk right in his face to tell him how cute he is and he really doesn’t like that, being acknowledged. He definitely doesn’t like crowds either.

 

I wouldn't let people crowd him if he's showing any discomfort. I know it's tough with a youngster as adorable as yours (LOVE that picture!!!) and strangers who just want to say "hi". It sounds like what you are doing in your home is really good (bacon rain, lol) but it's tougher outside because it's harder to control. When my pup went through fear periods like this we'd just go out and people watch. We'd go to playgrounds and parks, stay a ways off (distance was important) and just watch. Sure, he'd get a treat for being relaxed but he'd get a *jackpot* if he calmly watched something that would normally scare him and then looked at me! Personally, I'd prefer that he "face his fears", even if from a long distance, then feel he has to ignore them.

 

As for the being shy, my pup from 9-12 weeks was afraid of everyone, would hide behind me. I took him literally everywhere I went and would give people who wanted to pet him yummy treats to entice him over. And who doesn't want to pet a cute puppy. Now he wants to meet EVERYONE he'll approach them very happy with a nice sit but still wiggly and sometimes pees, which I don't get. Not sure if it's a nervous pee or just an excited pee(and it's not all the time, maybe 1 out of 10 times) Didn't just use kibble though, I would give them things like hot dog bits, or dehydrated raw food, liver, chicken, etc.

 

 

Enlist people to help with his fear. Go to a quiet place where you may only meet a couple people at a time, ask them to ignore your dog, but drop a treat for him, then move on. Call friends and ask them to go for a walk with you and ignore the puppy unless the puppy asks for attention, but give them treats for when he does.

 

These are both GREAT suggestions but slightly different approaches. The difference is worth noting and I'll use my experience with my own pup to try to clarify.

 

My dog would get nervous about people during those fear periods. Having people offer treats (or drop treats near him if he didn't want them to get to close) really worked and helped. I was always giving strangers treats to offer my dog because it was the last *little* push he needed to go up and say "hi". Normally after he got his treat he'd be all butt wiggles and love to the strange person who just gave him a piece of hotdog.

 

On the other hand...

 

There was serious tension building between my puppy and my neighbor. I think it's because we live in a duplex, so my pup was a little confused that this guy was always in "our" space (we share a driveway, help each other out with yard work, etc.). I like my neighbor very much and I asked him to try the treat trick. Yes, my pup took the treats from him, but the body language was TOTALLY different. He'd approached crouched, tail tucked, very wary and bolted away as soon as he had the treat. Their relationship only got worse and I began to realize Camden was WAY over threshold getting this close to my neighbor. I was asking him to go up to, and take food from, the hand of someone he was genuinely afraid of. I changed tack... I'd allow my dog off leash when my neighbor was in our driveway. I asked the neighbor to *completely* ignore the dog, no matter what. The first time we did this, Camden didn't get closer then 6 feet from him then ran back to me. In a cheerful voice, I said "Did you say "hi" to Dan?? Good BOY!" and treeeeaaaats! The next time we did it it was 2 feet, then the next time Camden was sniffing my neighbor! Every time my dog came back to me and got his reward. It worked!! Over time (about 6 sessions) Camden was happily approaching my neighbor for pets (and coming back to ME to get the real reward, hotdogs). The two get along just fine a year later.

 

Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to point out the subtleties between rewarding your dog for facing his fear verses luring him to face his fears. I think there's a place for both, to be sure, but they are very different approaches and decide which one you want to use based on each situation.

 

Also, do know you have the cutest puppy in the world? Have fun with him!! You guys will get through all this puppy nonsense soon enough and then you get to enjoy the teenage years.

[Sinuosette]

Thank you for the great advice

 

I don't let people crowd him anymore, but it did happen a coupe of times at the beginning when we didn't know he was shy (we read so many articles saying how important it is to bring the puppy everywhere that we thought he would get over it...how wrong we were ).

 

Camden's mom, my puppy does with strangers exactly what yours used to do just with your neighbour. Unfortunately, it's not people we see reguarly, just occasionally and accidentally. I am hoping that him getting better and more confident with people he sees more often can help him being less shy with strangers he may meet along the way.

 

That said, whenever I see someone about to approach him, I always warn them that he doesn't like it. Me being an Italian in France (and not super fluent in the French :/), they don't always understand how important it is that they step back. I definitely need to work on my "seriosu French" tone

 

I am still at a loss about him jumping on him and grabbing my coat/jacket while I walk him. I can't crate him, I can't isolate him and I can't step away cause he will think I am playing and he pulls more. I normally bring a ball with me during our walks and that seems to help, but not always :/

[Jescano]

I am still at a loss about him jumping on him and grabbing my coat/jacket while I walk him. I can't crate him, I can't isolate him and I can't step away cause he will think I am playing and he pulls more. I normally bring a ball with me during our walks and that seems to help, but not always :/

step on his leash.

[Sinuosette]

step on his leash.

I actually tried that today but it didn't work cause my coat is still in reach for him. I guess I will just have to wear a shorter jacket till he forgets abotu the behaviour.

[Camden's Mom]

I don't have personal experience with the general nipping and leash behavior you are dealing with but it's not all that uncommon in puppies. Having said that, it really does need to be addressed.

 

Here's a link to a thread on this board that might be worth reading: http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=34235

 

I'd give the whole thing a read (it's a long one) when you have time, but I want to especially encourage you to read SueR's post on page 3. She discusses several different approaches and speaks to the idea of escalating corrections and consequences. Not saying you should or should not try what she is suggesting, but I feel like she lays out a lot of options in a thoughtful way. Regardless, the thread has LOTS of suggestions from many people who have gone through exactly what you are experiencing now! I hope it helps...

 

Oh, to the fear of people thing... if he's acting that afraid of everyone I don't know that I'd push him to take treats directly from strangers... yet! You'll get there, but for now I'd try to set up situations (plan to meet a friend at a park) where he will meet new people, but doesn't feel forced to interact with them. Let him decide how close he wants to get and reward him whenever he shows any interest in (not fear of) a person. Maybe arm your friend with a few tasty treats, just in case! Who knows, after standing around talking for a few minutes, he might warm up to them and be willing to approach close enough that they could drop a few on the ground. I don't know that it will work, but might be worth a shot?

[Sinuosette]

Camden's mom,

 

That links was super useful, I have read every single post

 

As for the fear of people thing, I don't force him to approach anyone. When we walk him off leash (in a safe environment, not on the sidewalks) he even has plent of room to move away if he doesn't like someone. Sometimes he moves, sometimes (this morning) he barks..

 

We also set up puppy play dates, hoping he will warm up to the owner of the other dog eventually, and invite friends over for dinners at our place, instructing them to ignore him until he relaxes and he does definitely relax after a couple of hours, to the extent where he actually plays with our friends or lets them pet him.

 

I think he just needs time and I just want to make sure I am doing things right

[cjhutsenpiller]

I had this issue with my pup and it all seemed as if it started over night. I am lucky enough to work at a family business and while he was a puppy he would come to work with me. All of the sudden one day it was like someone flipped a switch. He went from wanting to love on everyone to being territorial, unsocial, and borderline mean. He would bark and growl and carry on something awful.

 

With him I cured this by everyone that came in the office/house I would hand a treat. My dog would come around the corner ready to raise hell, only to be met with a dog treat. He eventually started loving visits from people again and has not had an issue since.

[Sue R]

On the subject of treats, I had a quite fearful youngster - we started with dropped treats (oftentimes dropped behind the person, avoiding eye contact entirely), progressed to treats held in a hand behind the person's back (they were crouched down, which reduces the pressure the pup feels), and progressed to treats held at the side, etc.

 

But in his case, unlike any other dog I've had, we just could not get past the "sneaking a treat without having to do something for it" stage. So, one day, with the person who had been working on him with all these "low pressure" treatings, I just handed her the leash and said I was going to the bathroom, and left him with her.

 

Well, when Mom was gone out of sight, he decided that any port in the storm was still a port in the storm - I came back out of the restroom to see him sitting on her feet and leaning on her leg. He "knew" by this time that she was okay but he also knew that he could continue getting treats without making reasonable progress - and he was playing that hand. The next time we had a meeting, I sat near her and the next thing I knew, he was sitting next to her and putting his head on her knee for a treat. I did this with several people and he began to become much more at ease around people in general.

 

Each dog is different and yet they still seem to share some similarities. Sometimes, you just have to try different things to find out what works for you and your dog in your situation. My dog never became a social butterfly but he did become a dog that did not stress to be around people and was reasonably friendly.

 

Very best wishes!

[sammyguy]

I might have an idea for the biting, but I'm not sure how it will work on a leash. When he acts like that turn your back to him like you want to ignore him. Normally if he does it again you want to walk the opposite direction away from him, but he's on a leash so that won't be possible. It is to teach him that he won't be getting attention from you with that behavior so you can try to adapt it to suit your needs. It worked really well with teaching my dog not to jump on me when he was a pup, and sounds like it can work for biting on clothes too.