Poke, Poke,

[sandysfarm]

Im curious about something. I have a black and white 6? maybe-year old collie. She has had at least 3 litters in an abusive previous life, lost an eyeball to some kind of "dogfighting" (nobody wants to tell me what kind). She's cuddly, happy and utterly delightful. She would make the perfect 12 year-old kid's dog . She waits politely for her dinner, checks to make sure the other dogs don't drop dead from poisoning every time there's food served and if they don't she checks hers carefully and then bolts it. To teach her something I can use food or kisses. She loves to boss my other dogs with her voice and her paws but never pushes it unreasonably.

On a daily basis though if I am a bit slow opening the deck door for her when she wants in she will shove it sharply with her head as she passes through, and just to further make her point, she will bonk me on the leg with her nose. If I call her inside she comes at a dead run but bonks me on the thigh as she passes by. Any direct request is met totally cheerfully but I'm disciplined for it ...as she complies. I'm pretty sure the little rebukes have to do with managing pups and life all alone with no one else to rely on. This is also the first time Ive had a dog that was spayed so late (4) - does anyone "recognize" thatt kind of stance? There's nothing I need to fix here, I'm more looking for similarities I think.

Thanks!

[Jenniecc]

My border collie Scout will poke my husband with his nose if he thinks he hasn't greeted him with enough attention. Lol. He will also poke us with his nose if he's trying to get our attention for something-but not for nonsense. Maybe he needs to go out, his water dish needs refilling something like that. I think it's his way of communicating with me.

[Liz P]

What the OP's dog is doing is a restrained grip (bite). Not unusual to see in a Border Collie raised by someone that didn't know how to raise one properly. You have to catch the dog thinking about gripping and prevent it rather than correct for it after the fact.

 

She should be put on a leash for control, taught obedience commands and asked to stay relaxed and follow the house rules. Less freedom, more structure, more training. For example, if she looks like she is about to run straight at you and slam her nose into your leg, you need to tell her to lie down. If you don't have full control over her, she should not be loose (off a leash or long line). Use the lie down like a reset button to settle her mind. Gripping is often done because of over stimulation, excitement and frustration.

 

You said she "bonks" the door with her nose if it's not opened fast enough. Make her lie down away from the door (say 10 ft away). She must maintain the down stay while you open the door. Once opened your could step back and give her a command to go outside. If she tries to get you on the way out she should be told to lie down again (before she even gets close to you), calm down and try one more time. She does it again and I would put her in a crate for a time out (a few minutes) then try again. If you need it, have a long line on her to enforce the lie down. Wrap the line around something behind her so that if she doesn't take the down and tries to keep coming forward you can stop her progress and make her stay where you want her.

[Camden's Mom]

My dog pokes me with his nose, too. Most of the time he's just trying to get my attention or communicate something to me. He'll do it sometimes on a walk, kinda' like a "Hey mom, check that thing out over there" type of communication. I think a few times it's even been similar to what your gal does... a quick "Hey, you did it all wrong" poke. Honestly I think it's cute and I just write it off as one of his funny, quirky behaviors.

 

However...

 

A few times he's nose punched me to insist I play with him or to demand attention. This is a completely different poke from what I described above. It *feels* different. It's not mean or aggressive but it is very pushy and bossy. This kind of nose poke is waaaay too bratty for my tastes and it always gets corrected. He rarely does it anymore (in fact I can't think of the last time he did it...) because what he'd get in response for demanding my attention in this way was a hard rebuke and a good bit of time being completely ignored.

 

I just wanted to suggest with the "busting through doors" behavior something that has worked for us. I did a lot of impulse control with Camden at our front door (very positive reward based training) that has worked exceptionally well. However, it's the only door in the whole world he doesn't want to run through at the speed of light. So, what I've had to do with other doors is start to open them *just a little* and when he tries to barge through it I quickly close it again. I repeat this until he is waiting patiently with the door open and I release him to go through. It's worked *wonders*!

[sandysfarm]

thank you everyone. I identify with 'restrained grip' as it matches the feeling I get when she deals with me albeit it looks benign. there's never any teeth and most of the time she'll do it at a walk but it always comes after frustration, even if it's mild. She's not feral but 4 years in the woods living ownerless on the edge of a reservation has left its mark. To this day she prefers to have a frozen water source outside that she can break through with her paw to lap under the ice. Her recall outside is lovely - until she puts her face up to the breeze, tastes it, rolls her one eye in my direction, aaaand she's gone...down the side of our 50ft steep ravine for exactly 20 minutes. it's like something out of Littlest Hobo but she doesn't leave. . So she's on a 30 ft line with me...interesting dog