Strange behaviour advice!

[Macattack]

We have a 14 month old Border Collie who is lunging at cars and people! If it is someone he has met before he is usually ok  and if they have a dog with them then normally no problem at all but he has met our neighbour many times when out walking and it is getting worse. If I stop to talk to our neighbour our BC will bite my feet which can be really painful! With the lunging at cars we have made him sit and wait while it passes and now he will do this as soon as he here’s a car and 8 times out of 10 will Now ignore it so it is starting to get better but not with people!  I feel like we have been through a spin dryer since we have had him and Covid certainly hasn’t helped as we are now in our second lockdown here in France. He has also now developed a concerning reaction to me opening the kitchen cupboard door for a glass he starts barking and jumps up

at me then runs and gets his squeaky ball and frantically squeaks it in his mouth! I have no Idea what has triggered this. He also has recently started nipping me when i am not paying him attention especially in the evenings when he goes into hyper activity. We have now started giving him time out in his cage when this happens as my husband and I are now falling out because of it. I love this boy but sometimes I wish we had never got him and I hate saying that. It is making me very miserable as I play with him and I do Training sessions with him to which he is brilliant! I know this is probably going to be me rather than him and my total lack of experience with dogs. He will sit, stay, lie down, wait, leave a treat until I tell him to eat it and will give me his paw when I say shake. If I can get him

to do all this where am I going wrong with the other behaviour issues? 

[D'Elle]

Hello there------------------I recommend you get the book "Control Unleashed" and work with the "Look At That Game", which is very effective in changing the behavior of a reactive dog.

If he bites you at any time or for any reason, take him immediately home if you are away from home and put him into his crate. Biting needs to be stopped at once, as it is not something that gets better on its own and it is utterly unacceptable and could get your dog into a lot of trouble.

As you work on the "Look At That", keep him away entirely from other people so that he doesn't have the chance to do his lunging. If at all possible, even if it's a lot of trouble, work on training him away from cars and people for now.

It sounds to me as if he is getting over excited in the house, with the running around. He needs to be taught to settle. If he is already over excited you cannot train him on anything, so a little time out in the crate is appropriate. But watch his behavior and learn the cues that he is starting to reach that threshold and get him calmed down before he gets that wild. And in the calm times, work on a "settle" cue. I like to use a mat or small rug, and train the dog to go to the mat and lie down, for which the dog gets treats and praise. Once that is established, you can train him to stay calmly on the mat for longer periods of time, but start with 5 seconds and work up very slowly, one small step at a time. 

Now, if your method of training him to sit calmly when cars go by is working well as it seems to be, then simply continue working with it with people and perhaps you will have good results with that in time. But while you are working on it, make sure you do so in areas where you won't encounter people often. Again, work slowly and in baby steps.

You and your husband need to be in agreement about how you train the dog. consistency is vital, or training is not going to work. If you each do different things with the dog you will have a very confused dog, and perhaps you already do. The two of you need to get on the same page with how you are going to train this dog.

[Macattack]

Thank you for your lovely reply and I am taking on board everything you have said. With the opening of the cupboard door he can be lying quietly somewhere even first thing in the morning and as soon as he hears me at the cupboard door he tears over up on his hind legs to me barking so I’m not sure it is just from over excitement? I open his cage door in the morning and he usually lies there calmly and will come out when ready but the cupboard door will start him off or even this morning the same with the fridge door! I am wondering if it’s something to do with when I open the back door I make him sit and wait to go out could this maybe be triggering a reaction with the cupboard doors? 
Will definitely aim for the settle on his bed in the lounge when I see him start to wind up in the evening, thank you! 
I have done LAT at home and he responds but I can’t get it to work when out and about so I maybe need more concentrated time on this so will keep going.

thank you for your help it is much appreciated. 

[D'Elle]

I would suggest that when he runs and barks at the cupboard door opening he is be reacting to something he hears that you don't....a high-pitched squeak? Is it one cupboard or all of them? Is it only in the morning or every time?  I'd try oiling the hinges, see if that helps. If not, then I would try not using that cupboard...if it is just one.... at all if it is possible, until you have de-sensitized him to it..

 Bring him near the door, and give him treats. Then have him stand next to the door and you put your hand on the handle, treats. Then take him several feet away from the door and open the door just a crack= treats. Then a little wider, and so on. If at any point he goes back to barking, back up to two steps previous and start again. Remember to do this in tiny steps. For instance, each stage should be repeated maybe once or twice a day for a week or so, then move on.  If treats aren't his thing, then try associating the door (s) with something he loves, like play with a favorite toy for a few minutes.

If you can take this slowly enough and carefully enough you may be able to get him over this. If this were my dog, I'd just take everything out of the cupboard(s) that I might need and put them on the counters or wherever I could while I was desensitizing the dog. Inconvenient, but better than the reaction of the dog turning into a permanent thing. And  put him outside if you absolutely have to open a cupboard door. The idea being that he doesn't get the chance to react like that any more, so his behavior is not being reinforced, and instead he is being slowly reconditioned to the door.

the fact that you have taught him to sit at the back door (which is a good thing to teach) is very unlikely to have caused this over-reaction to the cupboard.

[Macattack]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I am going to do As you suggest and work on desensitising him to the situation! Thank you!