Adopted Sheltie/May be biter

Hahahahaha. Sheep o'Blue. Giant furniture!!! Like Gigandor!!! Haha

One of the joys of rescue has been watching them relax on a couch or a bed for maybe the very first time and the immediate awe on their little faces, as if to say "For Me"?


Kate
 
Hi from Diego. New questions. This dog is spoiled & needs manners. He's attached to the family, but we tried to introduce him to one of our big dogs (Golden). Not good. He's super aggressive & now knows other dogs are downstairs, & wants to eat them up.
Also, he barks when someone comes in or goes out of front door. If wasn't on lead outside, would aggressively chase neighbor children. We can't have this type of aggression. He does mind me, but I don't trust him with other dogs or children.
Won't stay off of furniture unless I tell him. What is positive reinforcement for this type behavior? Am thinking of getting spray bottle/water to address barking @ door & on furniture.
Is due for neutering Friday morn. Any suggestions?
 
it doesn't sound like aggression but normal reactive Sheltie behaviour

1. How did you introduce the dogs? face to face on leash? that would be bad... Can you elaborate... was it IN house or on neutral ground, was the Golden in Sheltie's face, being his friendly self?
2. Don't all dogs bark when the front door opens??? I kinda thought this was normal behaviour, lol (on the other hand maybe a Sheltie thing... lol)
3. Herding kids, this is also typical herding dog type behaviour! Always increase distance between the kids and you, ask for another behaviour BEFORE he is set off, reward CALM, I can't stress this enough, it's MUCH harder to pinpoint and reward the calm behaviour than anything
4. spray bottles don't work, gets the dog more worked up, half of them love it and wanna play with it... The more you do 'correction/punishment' the more the dog will associate this with the kids or the Golden, creating exactly the opposite of what you want..
Herding dogs were bred for generations to control movement! He is not aggressive when he is trying to control the 'mayhem' . Give him something else to do in the meantime, get trust and bond with him
 
Late coming in, good suggestions posted. The biting, after I read these posts, I wonder what kind of baggage this poor little guy carried before he reached you. Did the past owners mistreat him? Was he ignored? The previous owners might be happy they are rid of the little guy if he was a biter around them.

It is so hard for me to imagine a sheltie being aggressive, when I have two of the sweetest shelties. To me with a sheltie the best word is SOCIALIZE from a pup on. Your giving him a chance, I hope Diego realizes what a great home he has.

I wonder also if you have fear, he senses that fear of him.
 
What is right way to introduce dogs to one another? We have 2 Collies, 1 Golden. They stay in the basement/outside fenced yard. We just brought the Golden upstairs a few nights ago. Diego wanted to eat her up. Yes, she was her usual Golden happy self/not on leash. Diego wasn't either.
He now knows dogs are downstairs, goes down steps to door & wants to get in there/start a fight/barking, etc.
Had him outside today. Neighborhood kids playing basketball. Maltese loves them, ran to greet. Tried to take Diego (on leash)slowly over, introduce. He was a poopy butt, growling, aggressive acting. I corrected him but gave him no chance to hurt them.
What behavior & how do I teach him is calm/good when he's acting up?
 
please respond to my last post. need info on how to introduce all dogs. they have to get along or he can't stay. too much @ stake. he's being neutered in the morning, hopefully that will help some.
also, acting aggressive towards kids outside. he's always on leash under control, but i'm new to this. other dogs are all calm, etc w/people.
 
It doesn't sound as much like aggression as it does him being very reactive. I would HIGHLY recommend the book control unleashed for him
 
Not all dogs are going to get along Kathy. You can modify their behavior but well, imagine a room of people and you were told that you had to get along with everyone. Odds are that you will not get along with everyone. It's just not human nature. Same with our pups, they have the same likes and dislikes.

Monitor and correct gently but most of all avoid if you can situations that bring on the behavior that you find upsetting to your household. He is young, he is new and he is going to make mistakes.

Kate
 
You have to WORK with this dog, you simply cannot expect him to get along with everything and everyone by just throwing him in that environment and not show and train him what he is supossed to do instead of curbing only unwanted beahviour.

Your Sheltie is never going to behave like a Golden.
He has baggage and socialization issues to name a few, plus you are brand new to him. Had you researched what owning a herding breed may mean to you and your household? If you are looking for quick fixes they simply aren't here. I continue to recommended you get a dog behaviourist or at very least a positive dog trainer to help you train for what you DO want your dog to do. Not just what you don't want him to do....
I agree with the book recommendation also! Control Unleashed is REALLY good.
 
It is so easy to misinterpret reactivity as aggression. The reality is that reactivity is a tool that insecure dogs use to scare away something that is making them uncomfortable. As much as they bark, growl, lunge and carry on, there's often little to no follow through, meaning it rarely goes beyond a lot of noise or a slight nip.

I was so confused by my Toby's behavior when we first got him, it just didn't make sense. Some times he's seem shy, but friendly, other times he'd loose control completely and lunge at the end of his leash. But it all made sense when I really understood what 'Reactivity' means.

You've done wonders with Diego by being patient with him and teaching him that people can be trusted, now you have to do the same thing by introducing him slowly to your other dogs.

Since he seems so highly uncomfortable with other dogs, I'd start the training outside. Don't try to introduce the dogs, just have them in the yard together, spaced apart as much as your yard will allow. If your yard is too small, taking him to a park or somewhere quiet with the dogs approx. 50-60ft apart.

When Diego is being reactive or even if he's just fixating on your golden, redirect his behavior. Call his name, take a few steps in the opposite direction. As soon as you have his attention, even if its for a second, reward him. The point is to have him focusing on you and not the other dog. This will also teach him that good things happen when other dogs are around. Ask him to sit, lie down, look at you and any tricks that you've taught him, anything to help him get his attention on you and working and not worrying about the proximity of the other dog. Be sure to use high value treats.

When Diego stops focusing on the other dog, move the other dog a few feet closer.

You're going to have to be very patient with him, this whole process could take hours, days, weeks. It really depends on Diego.

I've found this blog to be extremely helpful, I'd suggest having a read through. This person's dog Maisy has similar reactive behavior around other dogs. She offers some great training tips for handling reactive dogs.

The first entry is at the bottom of the page. Be sure to read the one entitled "So, What is Reactivity Anyway." Its very insightful. It was a real light bulb moment for me when I was dealing with Toby. I knew he was fearful some times but I never really understood just how bad his anxiety was, till I started reading this blog and watching his body language.

http://reactivechampion.blogspot.co...d-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-06:00&max-results=8
 
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