Need help with this puppy.

[dainerra]

sunny & the 5 egg layers :

I think he needs to do some dog carting as his job!

actually not a bad idea. Even though it's done for Cesar Milan, carrying a backpack is a good way to burn energy for an active dog. My boys both wear backpacks,esp if we are going to take a long walk. I put water bottles on each side and off we go. Hey, I don't want to be the one doing all the heavy lifting around here!

Really, anything can be a good job for a smart dog. Teach him to put his toys away. Teach him the names of his toy "ball" "bone" "mouse". Teach him the names of family members and to get them - my grandmother's dog knew "Tell Grandpa dinner" and would go find him in the field and let him know it was time for lunch. Just get him mind working and put all that energy in a positive direction.

maybe your mom needs help with the laundry??​

 

[Stephanie739]

He herds...maybe some specialized obedience training to do a herding job would work. I like the chicken herding idea. My neighbor has a dog that does that too. I was kind of hoping my dogs might take to that 'job' one day (on their own

)

1) He really needs to know you are 'top dog'
2) Give him something constructive to do, and reward him for a job well done.

You can do it

 

[CrazyFowlFreak]

Quote:
Not in any way of which you would approve, I'm sure.

We don't tolerate human aggressive dogs in these parts and we usually don't try to "train" it out of them~training isn't always reliable and certain tendencies tend to come back out in times of stress...and who really needs the liability of a dog that snaps and growls at children?

Well, I guess you are in it for the long run and I hope your sibs or any other human doesn't have to pay the price.

Um, I live in "these parts" so please don't paint the picture that we're all doggie dumpers who couldn't be bothered. I hope you don't have any pets. Ugh. This attitude is why the pound is full to the brim.

 

[Lothiriel]

Quote:
actually not a bad idea. Even though it's done for Cesar Milan, carrying a backpack is a good way to burn energy for an active dog. My boys both wear backpacks,esp if we are going to take a long walk. I put water bottles on each side and off we go. Hey, I don't want to be the one doing all the heavy lifting around here!

Really, anything can be a good job for a smart dog. Teach him to put his toys away. Teach him the names of his toy "ball" "bone" "mouse". Teach him the names of family members and to get them - my grandmother's dog knew "Tell Grandpa dinner" and would go find him in the field and let him know it was time for lunch. Just get him mind working and put all that energy in a positive direction.

maybe your mom needs help with the laundry??

Sunny, you're so right! Do you guys think he's old enough to do that? 5 months, about 45 pounds. My mom read that a dog that young shouldn't do hard work like that -- I don't agree, and I think Riley should learn carting. dainerra, actually I'm the one who usually does the laundry. But that is so adorable! I'd love to have Riley do that -- as long as he doesn't get it in his head to run away with it.

Chicken herding... That's actually a problem. He hasn't yet learned to be gentle with them, so I don't trust him there yet. We're slowly wroking on it! And he doesn't get left to herd the cows -- he was on his leash with me when he was doing it. He isn't allowed out of the big fenced yard alone yet.

And a little something to explain his personality better... He's not always bad. A lot of the time he's a perfect angel. He's just like that little girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead: When he is good, he is very very good, but when he is bad... he can be quite horrid. So it's not like we have a horrible, violently aggressive dog here. I think dainerra is right on in saying that he's just a teenager now, and he's pushing his rules and limits, seeing how far he can go and get away with it.

 

[NYboy]

I don't think Beekissed would dump any dog, or give someone one that bites. I think they are talking about humanely putting it down.

 

[Orchid]

Quote:
I can't help with your issue other than to agree with this. I know a person who felt that their herding dogs were just naturally supposed to know how to herd and not hurt the herd animals - they ended up shooting one dog (an Australian heeler) because they left her out with the sheep and horses and came home to a bloody mess of ripped up sheep and limping foals. She was otherwise a nice dog and probably would have been a fine working animal with proper herding training.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I get the following from reading this over:

1. This dog is not being taught proper boundaries that expand beyond bite inhibition

2. There is not a strong trust bond probably exagerrated by letting him run free alone. Behavior shown to strangers is similar to the behavior being shown to you

3. The dog is not being taught correct behavior (must actively teach what is correct and acceptable)

And that is okay, because these are all changeable things.

If there is a physical underlying cause for this behavior (neurological abnormalities, genetics, pain related issues, etc), then it isn't always, but this so far sounds behavioral and predictable. If that seems correct, I feel the following two options are best:
1. Rehome to a very knowledgable home with full and accurate details of your puppy's behavior
2. Work with a *good* trainer who truly understands how learning and behavior actually work. This will be someone who does not engage in 'dominance training', but is a flexible trainer who has a varied style for different dogs. (Dominance training can work on some dogs, but the reasons it can work are misinterpreted. Some methods can increase aggression as well.)

If neither of these options are possible, I would try a Nothing In Life is Free (NILF) program, and actually, I would start that immediately. There are many instructions for it easily found online using a google search. If none of those options work...there is another option I would recommend at that point. But cross that bridge when you get to it.

Best of luck to you and your family.

EDIT: And on some types of herding dogs and biting, I've met several people who almost gave up their dog because they thought ankle nips/other kinds of nipping were aggressive bites. Totally different, and can be trained out. Aussies have a high rate of epilepsy as well, which can lead to sometimes severe, uncontrollable aggression. That is what happened with our Aussie mix.

They can also be stranger wary more so than other breeds. In most cases, I'm guessing people are meeting aggressive heelers and Aussies because they are in rural areas. All the heelers I met in such areas appeared to be 'mean' to me, because of the way they are raised. I'm sure other breeds would be similar. The heelers and Aussies I meet in the cities are well socialized and well behaved dogs, even if bred in rural areas. Of course, cities have less tolerance for aggression in dogs usually. Point is, these breeds can be perfectly well trained and socialized if their traits are known and taken into consideration, and if their situation warrants it.

 

[HEChicken]

I've read all 6 pages with interest and you have been given some great advice so far. Kudos to you for being willing to work with the dog to get him to be a great companion for you in the future.

I don't claim to be an expert on dogs although I've had them most of my life. Right now I have a 1YO Border Collie/Lab X who had boundless energy and like your pup, needs a "job" to do. She loves to play Fetch and that is great but even if she would be willing to do it 23 hours a day, it isn't possible for us. So awhile back I did a search on Amazon for "interactive dog toys" and a bunch of things came up. I chose a few and added a few others to my cart for later purchase. With these intelligent, energetic dogs (like border collies, Aussie shepherds), keeping them from being bored is really important because boredom leads to behavioral issues. Obedience classes, fly-ball, herding etc are all great "jobs" for them to do. But when you're not in a class or you don't need your cows herded or its the middle of winter and the weather has made it difficult to get out for a few days, what then? For me that's where the interactive toys come in. Most are treat oriented but several of the toys I have combine mealtime with the toy. Instead of getting a bowl of food that can be snarfed down in minutes, my dog might get her meal served in a Kong Wobbler - a toy that has a hole in the side so as she rolls it around, it randomly dispenses a piece or two of kibble. It can take her 30 minutes to eat the same amount of food but she was focused on the task the whole time, using mental energy, which can actually be as tiring as using physical energy.

Another activity I do with her is "hide and seek". She first has to sit and stay while I hide the treats. (And by hiding, I don't mean somewhere she has little chance of finding it, but under a shelf where she has to stick her head under to retrieve it, or behind the couch - you can increase difficulty as the dog learns all the hiding spots). Once I release her, she starts sniffing out the treats and is rewarded when she finds one, by getting to eat it. I usually hide a half dozen things at a time and find it hilarious that even though she sat there and watched me hide them, she still has to search for each one as though she wasn't even in the room when I did it. I have to keep finding new places to hide things though because she will search all the spots she has ever found a treat in the past, before she starts looking in new places. Once again, this is a fun activity for her that uses a lot of brain power to sniff out and find each treat.

 

[dainerra]

you don't want her to do anything super "hard" physically until she grows up. You don't want to damage his joints or hips by putting a lot of weight. But, you can definitely start now on some foundation stuff. Get him used to the harness, introduce the cart. Before you know it, he'll be ready to pull an empty cart. Then, gradually add weight.

It sounds like he is probably a good boy and a quick learner. He just needs to be shown HOW he is expected to behave.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

A dog of any age can learn and do carting. But they shouldn't pull too much weight until they are full grown. Which he should be full grown by the time he is 8 months-1 year old. It also isn't a bad idea to get him checked by a veteranarian prior to him pulling too much weight to check him out and make sure he is in ship shape for carting. And keep in mind that a dog can pull 2-3 times their body weight.

Your dog Riley reminds me of my dog, Zoey. Zoey doesn't trust strangers and is generally a very timid dog. She tends to nip and bark at them. And she was always getting into things and getting herself into trouble and so I was looking into finding her some sort of job to do and when I found out about carting I knew that is what she needs to do. And like I told you before, she absoulutely loves it. Brings firewood in for me, and just the other day we were working on our house and she helped me transport tools from the house to the garage. She really is a good help. I bet Riley would love it and you may even see a change in him behavior wise.
Good Luck!