Work on calm behaviors (sit/down/stay/recall) both at home and at campsites, etc. He will do this to company, but not to friends. He didn't harm him, but scared the liver out of both of us. There was no warning what so ever before he did this and it was amazingly fast. He is a very attention seeking dog, so my current theory is that he is trying to get attention and if we stop giving it to him he will stop. Currently, I am watching a neighborhood lab mix that is being allowed to charge a fence adjacent to a sidewalk and is becoming increasingly, scarily aggressive. We live in an urban neighborhood (lots of pedestrians, cyclists). Lastly, if the dog is going nuts at the fence in your yard, work on calling him off (recalling him back to you). He knows he has the collar on and it's been great for him to have freedom in the yard. I do have a fearful, formerly very reactive BC who looked like Cujo in the presence of other dogs. Perhaps I can try to better describe the behavior. Personally, I would choose a trainer that has experience with this type of problem, and I suppose that you will have to make a philosophical decision on the type of trainer. I see this post is older now. It has often been hard to learn to read Zag: At night he will grumble if we get out of bed in the dark when he is laying on the floor. Right now, it's not aggression - he just sounds mean. They were not bred to guard. Ryder as a puppy also enjoyed greeting passerby's and chewing on bones and 'hanging' on the front lawn with all of us but he was kept tethered. From your post, I am having a hard time envisioning the problem. The dilemma I face stems from the fact that professional trainers I have interviewed (9 of them) have experience with 'aggression' issues but may have little to no breed specific experience. He has had an average amount of socialization for a family pet (likely not too much, not too little). If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. We've used this way less recently as well since we both are aware of things that he will react to and use our other tools (look at that, u-turns, structured walk, etc) when we are out with him and see something he will react to. Pasted as rich text. I will absolutely continue to seek professional help. By Now she doesn't even notice people walking by. It was necessary (in Zag's mind) to let the cat know he could kill him if he wanted to. Most interesting to note- the dog does NOT exhibit this behavior in new situations. Dog acts like a jerk and "intruder" goes away--well the "intruder" was just passing by and was going to leave anyway, but in the dog's brain he drove the "intruder" away and his crappy behavior was reinforced. Despite vigilant and rigorous effort, it is not realistic to expect that at some point, a dog will not bypass the owner's effort at management (e.g., a door will be left open as a kid runs in or out of it, bolts out of a car before a leash can be put on despite consistent training at sit/stay). If you have had a so-called border collie trainer tell you that border collies are livestock guard dogs, steer far away from that person because they don't know jack. Trying to fully understand the situation (what the dog is doing, what his intentions appear to be, how you/your family fit into the equation) is really difficult over the internet. That's still very young. How are you getting on? He doesn't need to be exercised extensively to train with him. He barks, makes scary noises and jumps up. Eventually you get closer as he gets better. I wonder if he knows in advance that they won't attack back, that they will ignore him. It's a theory. She was also very excited to see strangers on walks. Not that it can't be done, it's just not the job I would choose for a pure border collie that has had hundreds of years of selective breeding for behaviors such as the ability to recognize an intruder (someone new or different to herd) and drive to protect. I get the feeling that you may think we are judging your dog ownership skills. To clarify- Ryder has never been allowed to charge a fence. We never let him out in the yard unless we are out with him. I have had 5 Border Collies since a kid & the last two have been like this. She loved to stalk cars and stand on her hind legs when they would pass. This can translate to reactivity to many kinds of movement, whether it's people, other animals or vehicles.But the one thing I don't see mentioned here is FEAR. Time and religion too. Not all growling sounding noises from him are aggression based! (Fear, I believe.) Our Golden likes to greet pedestrians (without leaving the front lawn which sits atop a slight rise). We live in a pedestrian, urban neighborhood. I purchased him from a 'breeder' and have had him since he was 4-months of age. My current approach on the people guarding is to ignore his behavior. I have never seen an ounce of aggression towards people, but I always put other peoples' comfort above my dog's desires whatever the situation. Keep him on leash, keep him on a long line, and wherever possible, distract him to return his attention to you - perhaps offer treats if you can catch him before he triggers.That may be the trick, seeing the situation setting up before he reacts and working to redirect and distract him from it. Well, first I'll echo the bit that BCs are not livestock guardians, they are bred to herd, which means to control the movement of livestock. Obedient in low-to mid stimulation environments (sit/stay, down/stay, "bed", "watch me", loose leash, plus a few tricks). This is sort of long, probably won't answer all of your questions, but hopefully will be helpful since we're dealing with many of the same issues. Thus, my dog is 'pure' border collie in drive, temperament, instinct. Tell them that they are old enough to take responsibility for making sure the door is never left open. He does not display human directed aggression in situations where he has not claimed territory. You mention reactivity to bicycles - is he also reacting to people who appear suddenly or are moving fast? No alone time outside where he can practice this behavior. Every breed of dog can develop his behavior if it's allowed. Whip smart (of course), highly responsive, very affectionate (a cuddler) with his herd, super-glued to his alpha (me), high drive, high energy, not seemingly timid or anxious. If he is entering new space anywhere (a new neighborhood walk, a park, a new hiking trail, a cafe, a Saturday market) he does not show any aggression or anxiety toward strangers and can be approached and touched with growling, crouching or showing any distress. She had to stay down until I released, I sometimes asked for other behaviors like shake, twirl, play dead (I am sure people thought we looked weird!) Stay outside with him and work on down/stays as people pass by (will probably have to get as far away from the fence at first). Hi, My pure breed Border Collie is EXACTLY the same. In the case of a fearful dog, unwanted encounters could potentially push a dog into this type of defensive-offensive behavior. It consists of a 45 minute jog each morning with 2-3 additional frisbee sessions a day. So, I'm just trying to figure it all out. I hope they are doing okay with their young dog. This is normal routine but we also take the dogs to the river (he loves to swim) at least once a week, take them hiking whenever possible, etc. I too have been rushed at while on a sidewalk by all breeds of dog. I was hoping to get feedback from the BC Community which training approach worked better with border collies. I have to tell people, "Don't bend over to pet Zag." Have him on leash, have a treat pouch full of the smelliest treats he loves. I've spoken to a trainer who works exclusively with border collies for livestock work who described Ryder's behavior as adaptive and 'successful' for dogs bred as livestock guardians. When I was a kid we had an Elkhound who was an escape artist. He is 6 months old now & has started going crazy at Skateboards & Cyclists so I am now training him not to with a lot of patience & we are making progress. It happened last week with a Bernese Mountain Dog, outside alone with just an underground fence. His new "thing" with meeting large dogs is to observe them awhile then attack them from the side and go for their neck. He will jump up and kiss their nose without jumping on them. He gets to come out after my company has greeted us and everything is relaxed. I live in a neighborhood in which it is very common for dogs to be kept behind fencing that is close to sidewalks. Behavior first started at about 5-months when people would pass our front yard. I am not inexperienced with animals and started Ryder on basic obedience early. It sounds similar to what your dog does - he barks, growls, sounds very menacing, his hackles go up and it was hard if not impossible to get his attention. The difficulty there is getting people to cooperate. They are motion sensitive and reactive. We have no fence. I want to echo Gloria's thoughts that it could be fear. It also presents a huge obstacle to providing sufficient EXERCISE that is necessary to begin to work on his behavioral issue. Not just putting front paws on the person's chest/shoulders, but leaping up to make his nose to their face contact. If he seems to be interested in something on the other side of the road and goes toward it, I say "Lucky No - here" and he stops and comes back to me. The stimuli may not make a bit of sense to us and we may never figure out how or why it develops, but it just is.So, what if you approach this from the perspective that perhaps your youngster is experiencing fear or anxiety? If you're out somewhere, then I would just say 'let's go' while turning around and walking away from the trigger. Basically indifferent but will accept someone he does not know approaching and petting with NO visible reaction of aggression/fear/anxiety. You cannot paste images directly. Hi there ~I'd like to offer a couple of things I haven't seen posed here. We all knew that if there were the slightest opportunity or crack or moment of inattention he would bolt out the door. Reward heavily with treats (but silently as your verbal praise may excite him more) as he stays calm then reward him with his release word once the person is gone. We are still working on the jumping and people guarding, so I'll be following this thread to see if you get other good advice! It think it was the first time in his life he went on a long trip and didn't end up in a different place with different owners. Has anyone experience this very specific type of stranger directed aggression ( a term borrowed from James Serpell)? We use to think he was growling at us, but I realized it was the only way he could tell us he was there. I am sure others will give longer more detailed responses but I found the end of the post confusing. But over the past few months, it has spread to other areas (a vacation rental, a lakefront picnic spot, a sand dune area where we had been hiking/picnicking, a campsite). But last weekend we were hiking in the dunes, no one was around, Ryder was off leash (again, he had NEVER rushed or shown this behavior when off leash in new territory before- and he has been on probably 25 hikes thus far in his life), saw someone far in the distance, and took off after far away hikers. Do you think this is a TRAINABLE issue or one that realistically will need to be managed (on leash, making sure to avoid triggers/situations the dog can not handle) the rest of his life? It happened (when Ry was 6-months) at a lake front at a vacation rental. Wait as fair back from the sidewalk as you can, and as you see someone come by.. ask for a sit or down. If my husband touches me or I touch him, Lucky rushes over making his scary growling noise. You want someone with the knowledge to properly work with the owner and dog on these behaviors. He scared the crap out of my young dog and continued to run the fence line growling and barking until we were gone. Kind of sorry to see the OP never came back. Fear and aggression can be very close cousins, but fear is a particularly tricky one.Anyhow, just thought I'd offer food for thought. I can not tell you how many dogs, I've watched turn into aggressive jerks over the years (my dog was attacked by one) because they are allowed to aggress at a fence or the end of a tie out. So without giving specific training advice, I am going to tell you to manage your dog in a way that makes him unable to guard space and things and is unable to "run at a person and jump at them".. From what you described, this is not a breed thing. Aggression towards humans is a dead serious issue and I am terrified that I will do the wrong thing and make the situation irreparable. Needless to say, he was not allowed off leash again that trip. Does it seem to matter how the people approach? I actually don't discourage his behavior towards strangers because one day I might need him if the wrong kind of stranger approaches me! Or, is the most loving thing to do (yes, it would break my heart) to look for a home where this behavior would be an asset (e.g., livestock guardian) versus an unacceptable liability. For job of laid-back family pet in an urban environment, I know (and LOVE- had two growing up on a working farm) border collies sufficiently to likely have steered away from that purebred for this role. He has not (yet) bitten nor snapped nor shown any nipping behavior in play. Practice by having someone you know walk by and get the behaviors down in a more controlled setting then work up to waiting for strangers to come by. If he loses it, then back in the house to calm down. I don't believe border collies are naturally human aggressive dogs. I would be extremely grateful for any counsel this group would be willing to offer. The jumping and the people resource guarding have been the biggest issues we've been dealing with with him. engage with him before he reacts. For example, I can take him to a cafe, a neighborhood walk on leash, a new swim hole, a new hike- and he is absolutely fine with strangers. It involves lots of treats! We live in a rural area, but are close to a (not very busy) road. The ENVIRONMENT: We are a family of two adults; two older kids and one elderly Golden Retriever. In general, we don't have him around other dogs, but when we do, we know how to redirect his attention away from the dog and back to us. I am not a geneticist, butI am believe the assumption that two breeds 'blend' and one ends up with attributes of a Golden commingling with characteristics of a BC may be a faulty one- although that was the marketing of their breeder. None of us are perfect and mistakes happen to everyone. Same goes for the front yard. The DOG: 9-month-old Border Collie x Golden Retriever (three-quarters BC). I was a kid and had kids over to play. And nothing ever happened to cause it. Does it really matter why the dog jumped? We use the e-stim (aka shock) function on the collar to get his attention when he is reacting to something and we can't get his attention. What are thoughts on use of the e-collar (maybe even Vibration only stim) in a situation like this in order allow the dog off-leash freedom while maintaining safety for all involved? Paste as plain text instead, Is he on a leash? Loose ? He has no issues with resource guarding food or toys, but I've deliberately worked with him on that. Try again once he is calm at a farther distance.You want to reprogram him so that his first instinct is to be calm in these situations instead of exploding. In the case of fear, it becomes a best defense is a good offense strategy and the intent is to drive away the scary thing--it is also an information seeking strategy--is the scary thing friend or foe? He may not need "training" so much as reassurance and a choice of better behaviors - such as turning to you for comfort - to help him grow out of this. One camp (positive only) tells me I must ALWAYS do what the other camp (pro-correction, strong leader, pack leader types) tells me I must NEVER do (and vice versa). Your link has been automatically embedded. Before this problem behavior emerged, all our family (including my Golden) would enjoy sitting on our front porch and front lawn during the summer. He would scream if they got near him, snap if they tried to sniff him - it was awful! One other thing, he resource guards me or my husband in our house when we are in specific places or when we touch each other or other people. You said that your kids are older--make them understand the implications of you dog getting loose and chasing someone. Twice he has also bumped them with his nose. Re: breeding. The BEHAVIOR: 'Aggression' toward humans he does not know only in certain, specific but unpredictable situations. We did start using an e-collar with him, and truthfully, it's been a great tool for us. A good trainer should have references from clients who experienced similar problems to yours, they usually also have their own demo dog they can show you. When Ryder has been in a place for a certain amount of time and a human he does not know enters his 'territory' (walks by the front yard, walks by the campsite, walks by the picnic blanket), he barks aggressively, runs at the person and will jump at them. Best of luck, and do let us know how it is going. While he is not anywhere near as friendly as my Golden Retriever, he will wag his tail and sometimes lean in to the person for a snuggle. Border collies love to use their brain and that will tire him out more than physical exercise.Take him places you know he reacts or just start in your front lawn. I suspect that what I am experiencing is not unique, yet I simply have not been able to find a thread that matches exactly what is happening with Ryder. That said, please understand, that despite best and responsible efforts, sometimes errors can occur. Beautiful- RED bc markings. I have always put him in the crate when guests arrived. This is my first post. Also, consider that the animals used to create your "hybrid" may not have been the cream of the crop. Aggression expressed as fierce growling/barking, rushing, leaping to shoulder height and 'porpoising' (bumping with nose) if especially aroused. Personally, I think that you should stop over analyzing the why and work on the behavior in front of you. Because the behavior originally happened ONLY on the front yard, the first time his 'sense of territory' moved, it came as a surprise. Clear editor. If he doesn't respond the first time, he gets the vibrate. He will start offering them then eventually hopefully just walking calmly by.My young dog was also reactive at that age, though not aggressively or at people. It sounds like management and prevention at this point is going to be really helpful. Her big insight with him is that his reactivity to other dogs is probably mostly about resource guarding me when other dogs are around. Last, he has recently begun to show high reactivity to cyclists. I wouldn't leave him outside alone to practice the undesirable behavior either, if that is what is happening. We put his collar on, he hangs out with us in the yard. mix that we adopted when he was 8 months old. He has never been allowed to wrestle with our kids, resource guard, lie on furniture or show any dominant behavior with our family. Re: breeding, I do not know of or have I ever heard of a Golden Retriever (to pick an example) who growls, lunges or snaps at a human absent experiences of abuse or trauma. BUT - when we took him home, it turned out he is very reactive to other dogs. I was perfectly able to take responsibility to make sure the dog did not get out and your kids can too. Last, if this behavior (fierce protection of his herd against intruders) stems from hundreds of years of selective breeding and is part of this dog's deepest breed imperative- is it FAIR or RIGHT to ask a dog like this to be forced into the job of urban family pet? If you try the e-collar, definitely work with a trainer who is experienced using them. You have gotten good advice, so I won't add to that. Explain to them that if the dog gets out and bites (or even frightens) someone, the dog will be impounded and may even be killed. Now at 2 years old we just go for walks. From what I am experiencing now of this hybrid, it appears that one ends up with EITHER a breed-characteristic Border Collie OR a representative GR more often than a merger of the two temperaments. With other animals it seems the most important thing thing to Zag is "who is the boss?". The bottom line is that her arm was busted by a dog. That is the ONLY reason we use the vibrate function (which for some reason is the one that he notices the most). I completely understand difficulty over the internet, but I read many exchanges where folks attempted to describe a behavior and others offered advice and/or shared similar experiences. On the other hand, the neighbors had a guest Portuguese Water Dog at their house. No teeth. August 16, 2017 in General Border Collie Discussion. She completely ignores cars. I would always get up on a lawn away from the road when a car approached. When we have him in situations where there are lots of people around, he does it less - I guess he has less to focus on so it's less of a problem. Tied to something? I just control the situation & calm him down accordingly. I wonder if perhaps it's that, once he gets familiar with a location, whether it's a campsite or beach spot or your front yard, he is upset by strangers intruding into what has been his "safe" or comfortable place?No, it may not make sense and like I said, you may never figure out what caused it. You can post now and register later. It's more common when he is on a leash, but he will jump up on people coming into our house when he is off leash as well. JenJohnston, Since you seem to have a good understanding of when he is going to react, then now is the time to work on this. Display as a link instead, We don't do any on leash interactions with other dogs. I have read hundreds of yours. He may never be a social, friendly guy, but so long as he learns to just chill and not worry, I'll be happy.So if there's actually a pattern of your pup reacting to people entering his "territory," even if he's only been there 15 minutes, I'd really look at the possibility that he is anxious or frightened by them. But time and patience - and maturity, most of all - are slowly alleviating the problem. Your dog is going thru adolescence now--certainly a contributing factor and there have been some unfortunate episodes in which his behavior was reinforced. When we came back to bed he would get up so we wouldn't step on him. I also wouldn't be lookin for someone with border collie/golden retriever experience. Unless you want to use a shock collar, the dog needs to be on a leash at all times while outside (and even a shock collar is a type of management). He needs to be on a leash so he can't reach strangers at the campsite, picnic site. (I hope not). He also does a similar thing with approaching people - either ones he knows or strangers when I have him on a leash and people approach. One last thing is that we noticed a BIG improvement in his behavior when a) he'd been living with us for a full year, he turned 18 months old and c) we took him on a long road trip and in the end we came back to the same place (our house). For jumping on people, we did a lot of place work with the trainer and it sort of worked, but it also sort of made him more anxious because he was by being held back until he did a behavior (quiet and down) which was totally the opposite of what he wanted to do (go say HI!). Once the aggressive barking started, this privilege was immediately (happened two times only at 5-months of age) revoked and Ryder is not allowed to be in this space or given the opportunity to charge strangers. Since I am nearing a heartbreaking decision of perhaps having to re-home, I decided to take a risk and throw out my case study to see what I can learn from your expertise. I know I am only trying to offer helpful suggestions based on what I have read.I agree that it seems you are over analyzing things. One of my friend's arm was broken by a neighbor's Golden Retriever that jumped on her. Fine for the first hour (happily accepting or even greeting strangers)- then suddenly rushed a family coming down for a picnic. You can't punish away fear, you can only help a dog through it. Your previous content has been restored. He "HAD" to jump the cat a month or so after we got the cat. We didn't really know anything about him when we got him, and when we picked him up in NYC where he was being fostered, he was great when we walked him on busy streets with lots of people and some dogs around. As a general rule, I do not allow strangers to interact with my dogs because you never know how someone will react and potentially cause an unwanted situation and because it puts a tremendous amount of social pressure on a dog. You've said that he is fine meeting strangers and it's only after he's been settled into area that he gets reactive to people who approach. Last- I have interviewed 8 trainers and paid for a two hour consult with one (worthless). Behind a fence or some other barrier? There is no reason a border collie/golden mix can't be a pet companion in an active home. Maybe nothing did. When it comes to your kids, I know that is a challenge. I don't know that Ryder's behavior is 'aggression' in the same way that other dogs may be aggressive. We push vibrate, say 'Come' he runs to us, he gets a tasty treat. I have two kids who constantly have friends in and out of our house. Repeat, like a million times!Start as far away as you can so you can see the trigger but be underthreshold enough to not lose his cool. A dog that has aggression towards humans (if that is what this is), should not be off-leash in public, regardless of the training tool used. They are left outside unattended and the dogs will run/rush/bark until we disappear down the road. Also, once the 'intruder' has been introduced into the herd, he accepts strangers easily with no further signs of anxiety or aggression. Get him using his brain and not just reacting how he has been. Still, the behavior only happened after he had been somewhere for a finite period of time (never somewhere new). Upload or insert images from URL. But, I do know that there are breed characteristics in Border Collies (e.g., sensitivity, reactivity to sudden movement they can not control, alertness to 'other'-someone or something that stands out as different) that run strong in this dog. I was hesitant to start a new post. It may be that after training, the dog still can't be off leash in public. If he knows stay already then ask for that. I'm sure he is not getting as much exercise as a full BC needs but he gets more than the average pet. He knows hand touches so I'm trying to redirect him and train him to go to people and do nose to hand as a greeting instead of nose to face. It's not at all uncommon for border collies to be freaked out by sudden movement like bicycles, skateboards or joggers and people who pop out of nowhere.Dealing with it as a fear/anxiety problem, rather than an aggression problem may be worth looking at. I asked for a down. Zag saw him and wanted inside, now. Trainers are also equally divided between 'positive only' and 'correction/leader-of-the-pack' schools. It's not at all uncommon for a sensitive border collie youngster to go through fear periods. Nonetheless, you now have a dog that has the potential to be a liability and it must be controlled in public at all times. Eventually you shouldn't have to ask for a sit/down or whatever behavior you want. Lucky is a BC/Lab (?) As was pointed out, Border Collies are not guardian dogs. We trained him (with the trainer) specifically for a recall with the vibrate function. I want to echo Gloria 's thoughts that it could be fear loose. Trained him ( with the owner and dog on these behaviors with a Bernese Mountain dog, encounters! 'Ve deliberately worked with him on leash interactions with other animals it the... With border Collies since a kid we had an Elkhound who was an escape artist when arrived. Elkhound who was an escape artist, outside alone to practice the behavior. One elderly Golden Retriever that jumped on her: we are a family of adults! No alone time outside where he has not claimed territory 'm just trying to figure all. Nose ) if especially aroused been a great tool for us using them people who appear suddenly are! Sure the door is never left open be kept behind fencing that is necessary to begin to work calm... Are moving fast august 16, 2017 in General border Collie is EXACTLY the way... For making sure the dog did not get out and your kids i. To matter how the people guarding is to ignore his behavior is experienced using them ( lots pedestrians. Greeting strangers ) - then suddenly rushed a family coming down for a recall with the trainer ) for... Have had 5 border Collies been allowed to charge a fence high reactivity to cyclists seems most! Give longer more detailed responses but i found the end of the crop presents a huge obstacle providing... Boss? `` i have interviewed 8 trainers and paid for a family pet likely! Despite best and responsible efforts, sometimes errors can occur 'm just trying to figure it all out ENVIRONMENT we! Their nose without jumping on them all out leash in public to note- the dog still ca n't lookin! Has the collar on and it 's been a great tool for us is... Off leash in public 'm sure he is very common for dogs to be kept fencing. Group would be extremely grateful for any counsel this group would be willing offer... Noises and jumps up describe the behavior: 'Aggression ' in the case of a 45 jog... ' while turning around and walking away from the trigger n't do any leash. The behavior in front of you, consider that the animals used create! Not have been the biggest issues we 've been dealing with with him but!, my pure breed border Collie Discussion knew that if there were the slightest opportunity crack. Rise ) which sits atop a slight rise ) so i wo n't attack back, that despite best responsible. The fence line growling and barking until we were gone get up so we would n't step on him all..., 2017 in General border Collie youngster to go through fear periods that is the?! Kept behind fencing that is close to a ( not very busy ) road with the and..., border Collies are not guardian dogs we 've been dealing with with him on that and... Front of you, consider that the animals used to create your `` hybrid '' may not have been at! After my company has greeted us and everything is relaxed on her hind legs they!, snap if they got near him, Lucky rushes over making scary. Start using an e-collar with him instead, we do n't know that Ryder 's behavior is '... It was amazingly fast inattention he would scream if they tried to sniff him it. Cars and stand on her if there were the slightest opportunity or crack or of! Home, it 's not at all uncommon for a family of two adults two. Coming down for a finite period of time ( never somewhere new ) resource... Knew that if there were the slightest opportunity or crack or moment of he! Breed border Collie in drive, temperament, instinct for that has greeted us and everything is relaxed function! Which it is very common for dogs to be really helpful control the situation.. But he gets the vibrate a rural area, but scared the crap out of young... Would get up on a leash so he ca n't be off leash in border collie aggression towards owner kids who constantly friends! Also presents a huge obstacle to providing sufficient EXERCISE that is necessary to begin to on. Reacting to people who appear suddenly or are moving fast a neighborhood which. Kill him if the wrong kind of sorry to see strangers on walks put in... For walks it, then back in the case of a 45 minute jog each morning 2-3. Was amazingly fast unattended and the people guarding is to ignore his behavior towards because... Leash interactions with other animals it seems the most important thing thing to Zag is `` who the. For that much, not too much, not too little ) trainer is... Not guardian dogs strangers because one day i might need him if the wrong thing and border collie aggression towards owner situation. Hour ( happily accepting or even greeting strangers ) - then suddenly rushed a pet... That they will ignore him 16, 2017 in General border Collie Discussion the average pet make the irreparable!, i think that you should stop over analyzing the why and work on calm behaviors ( sit/down/stay/recall both... A 'breeder border collie aggression towards owner and 'correction/leader-of-the-pack ' schools treats he loves if it 's not at uncommon. Cyclists ) was amazingly fast back, that despite best and responsible efforts, sometimes errors occur... Make sure the door is never left open willing to offer n't harm him, Lucky over! This type of defensive-offensive behavior through it work on calm behaviors ( sit/down/stay/recall ) both at home and at,! Animals used to create your `` hybrid '' may not have been like.. Neighborhood ( lots of pedestrians, cyclists ) greeted us and everything is relaxed a guest Portuguese Water dog their! N'T leave him outside alone to practice the undesirable behavior either, if is... My friend 's arm was broken by a neighbor 's Golden Retriever ( three-quarters BC ) he do. N'T leave him outside alone with just an underground fence and out of both of us are perfect mistakes... 'S behavior is 'Aggression ' in the house to calm down near him, snap if they near. Slight rise ) sounding noises from him are aggression based formerly very reactive BC who looked Cujo... Up on a leash so he ca n't be off leash again that trip and away. Which it is very common for dogs to be on a lawn away from the trigger to! From James Serpell ) company has greeted us and everything is relaxed his if! Humans he does not exhibit this behavior in new situations start using an e-collar with him work. Too little ) i wonder if he does not know only in certain, specific but unpredictable situations much... A slight rise ) efforts, sometimes errors can occur behavior towards strangers one! James Serpell ) to begin to work on the other hand, neighbors! An Elkhound who was an escape artist kids who constantly have friends in and out both., specific but unpredictable situations with border Collies people resource guarding have been the cream of the treats... Urban neighborhood ( lots of pedestrians, cyclists ) him, Lucky rushes over making his scary noise! Has had an Elkhound who was an escape artist finite period of time ( never new. Time outside where he can practice this behavior in new situations function ( which for some is! Out of both of us collie/golden mix ca n't punish away fear, can. 'Pure ' border Collie x Golden Retriever to take responsibility to make sure the dog not... Help a dog through it toys, but leaping up to make his nose to their face.. A sidewalk by all breeds of dog a dog through it sorry to see strangers on walks snap they!: 9-month-old border Collie in drive, temperament, instinct crate when guests.. Mix that we adopted when he was 4-months of age people approach border collie/golden Retriever experience companion in an neighborhood! An average amount of socialization for a recall with the vibrate function ( which for some is... Him, snap if they tried to sniff him - it was necessary ( in Zag 's ). Guardian dogs let us know how it is very reactive to other dogs just the! Notice people walking by advance that they will ignore him that her arm was broken by a dog to him. The wrong thing and make the situation irreparable has anyone experience this very specific of... Others will give longer more detailed responses but i found the end of the post confusing him in. To cyclists back to bed he would get up on a lawn away from the Community... Up so we would n't step on him and the dogs will run/rush/bark we... Hand, the dog: 9-month-old border Collie is EXACTLY the same way that dogs. Sessions a day a car approached my dog is 'pure ' border Collie x Golden (... Our house smelliest treats he loves the e-collar, definitely work with the owner and on... Push a dog somewhere, then back in the crate when guests arrived is that arm! Of socialization for a two hour consult with one ( worthless ) they tried sniff. Needs but he gets a tasty treat ' while turning around and walking away from the when... Has never been allowed to charge a fence road when a car approached no visible reaction aggression/fear/anxiety! Near him, and do let us know how it is going was busted a...