Border Collie overreactive and overprotective of his home at 8 months

[MB25]

Our BC boy Sunee has turned 8 month on 1^st of July. He is generally a very lively, naughty and extremely bright boy. He is reactive to many triggers, has a low threshold and can easily get way overstimulated. However with consistent training he has been improving gradually. He used to go really wild outside but with gentle modification and desensitization he is getting calmer every day. However one major issue we have been experiencing with him is his reactivity at home. He seems incredibly overprotective of his home environment to the extent that it makes our life difficult at times. We got Sunee in December when Britain was in lockdown and social life non existent and therefore we did not have any visitors and his socialisation was limited to an absolute minimum if not non-existent altogether. I guess this lack of exposure to visitors largely contributed to his low tolerance and resulted in the behaviour which continues to this day. Whenever there is a knock on the door Sunee goes absolutely wild with barking, snapping and lunging. I normally grab him by the leash if he has one on at the time and put him in his crate to calm down (he would not respond to ‘sit’ or any other cue when this much over the threshold). Occasionally however it seems to be really impossible to put him in his crate because if I try to grab the leash he will try to snap. I would really appreciate your advice on the best approach to calming him down if you experienced anything similar. I should point out that I follow Leslie McDevitt’s method of training and Sunee responds really well to ‘Look at that’ cue when outside but it does not seem to be so effective at home. It is when he is still below the threshold I am normally really good at recognizing the signs of him getting overstimulated but I obviously can’t control when people knock on the door by which stage ‘Look at that’ would not work. Thank you so much in advance.

[albuquerquedan]

Sorry to hear you and Sunee are having such a tough go.  I'd go through Dr. Overall's Relaxation Protocol, found HERE.  (You can search YouTube and watch people go through the protocol so you have an idea how you're supposed to go about it -- those videos really helped me understand how to do it).  I'm sure there is much more to do, but I think the protocol is a great thing to do with a reactive dog.  Good luck!

[MB25]

@albuquerquedanThank you so much. That's massive help. I will research this properly. 

[Rosalee]

Our pup just turned 9 months in July, we also have been under lockdowns and “stay at home” orders since we got her. Things are finally starting to loosen up a touch here. She also gets very over excited when someone comes to the door, I’m thinking it’s also because this never happened in her early puppyhood. 

Mine also gets way excited, barks in a way that sounds quite fierce, but when the person enters she is often friendly if she gets to meet them. Sometimes to the point of going too far, jumping up and all the things she really knows she shouldn’t do. 

I think this will be a long slow desensitization process. It would probably help to work on the relaxation protocol stuff first, then maybe have a friend or someone who can do kind of controlled doorknocks, so you know when it is coming and can work on that with your dog.  In the relaxation protocol there is a section where you are leaving the room and knocking on a door, even opening it and pretending to talk to a “visitor”, it kind of builds up gradually to these things and can be a big help.

 

[MB25]

@RosaleeThank you so much for sharing your personal experience. Interesting as Sunee is exactly the same as your girl. If he gets to meet the person knocking on the door he is actually very friendly but of course this can't always be done to invite people in so that the dog gets to meet them in case it's a postman or some kind of sales person. 

Funny enough I actually told my daughter a few days ago that we were going to act as visitors knocking on the door so that he gradually gets desensitised.  Hopefully this combined with the protocol will do the trick although I am fully aware that this is not something that will just happen in a day or two but will be a long process. 

Thank you again. 

 

[Meghan]

Our Bailey is 10.5 months and aldo grew up during lockdown and stay at home orders. He is also reactive, although to a lesser extent than it aounds Sunee is, but here are some tips that we've had some success with.

We have a stairgate at the lounge door that Bailey goes behind when we know someone will soon be at the door, or once there is a knock on the door. He can still see the visitor which helps calm him, as being shut in another room sets him off. We also have a sign on the front door saying dog training in progress and it may take us a minute to answer the door, so we don't panic amd rush. Where possible, Bailey gets treats for staying calm behind the gate. Ideally he'd go sit on his mat/bed by the gate but that's still a work in progress! We ask visitors to ignore him completely until he's calm and sitting or lying down behind the gate.

I second the relaxation protocol, it's been wonderful for Bailey! And it includes practice building up knocking quietly on the wall/door, doorbell etc, and pretending to have a conversation with someone, and then you reward the pup for staying calmly on his mat. We've gone through twice with good results, although i think we should do it again now we're opening up and getting more visitors again

Hope this helps!

[MB25]

@Meghan Thank you so much for tips Meghan. I started practicing the relaxation protocol with Sunee a few days ago and can already see an improvement in his reactivity level.  He also responds really well to being rewarded for his good behaviour (we try to ignore him when he behaves badly ones unless it's so bad that it can't be ignored and then he is put in his crate to calm down). I will definitely add the sign to the door so just as you said I don't need to rush to answer it. I believe we will eventually get there. It's just the matter of time. Thank you so much again and best of luck to you with Bailey!