Serious dog help needed!

[Sammimom]

As a mom of three kids close in age, I'm guessing you want an "easy" dog now. Herding is a controlled aggression, which is why so many herding dogs "nip" (or much, much worse). If you can't get the negative behaviors trained out of her pretty quickly, and commit to the regular exercise she will require to be a tired happy dog (I agree with the tired dog is a well behaved dog for sure) it may be best to find her a home where she can be the dog she was bred to be. My uncle had a Blue Heeler (which our whole family hated, because it bit everyone) and FINALLY gave it to a rancher after it bit a child in the face at a campground (while the mother was holding the child!!) The rancher then used this very intellegent dog to herd his cattle. The dog was a great fit for them and really loved his new life and "job."

There is no way I had the time or energy to cope with a dog who required training when I was pregnant with my third child and our old dog died (my other children were one and three at the time). I picked out a mellow 1 1/2 year old Rottie cross from the pound who was said to be "good with kids and cats, and housebroken." All that did prove to be true, and it was such a relief knowing that even if she never had a walk that day she wouldn't destroy property or harrass the children.

 

[Cetawin]

If you have the funds, I highly recommend this product. We have had to use it with our 9 month old Great Pyr/Lab puppy. He is nnot aggressive just puppy stupid...runs off and runs and runs and runs. Would not come back because it thought it was a game of chase.

So...I bought this and it is working fabulously. It is 1/2 Mile radius, remote control with 127 different levels. I have sat here with it wraped on my hand and level 32 feels like a quick pin prick and 75 makes me pull my hand back. It only takes a level 60 to get him to stop, look and pay attention but it takes that to get throguh all that hair.

http://www.allk-9.com/1900-ncp-field-star-p-370.html

I was never one for shock collars but with him being so big, strong and puppy stupid, he is going to get himself into trouble or shot by someone he scares, so I bought it.

 

[texasgirl]

This is a good chance to remind everyone to think before you commit to a dog! There is nothing calm or "easy" about labs or border collies, they are both high energy and need lots of training and exercise as young dogs.
That should have been addressed before the dog was adopted and the OP could have gone for an older dog or a less nutty breed.

 

[texasgal]

We have a field bred Lab and a neurotic Aussie .. both are going to be problems when we get out to the country and have critters. Neither have been around critters much and both have strong prey drive.

DH and I are already working on how to keep our livestock safe. It'll be inconvenient, but my dogs will NOT be outside when the chickens are .. period. Unless I'm sitting there with a long line on them .. lol.

I will def be getting shock collars for them both, because I have horses, and they won't be allowed to hassle them either.

Fencing will be important, as we can afford it.

Prevention, I believe, is the key .. dont' give them an opportunity to "fail" (even though it's OUR failure).

 

[Brindlebtch]

I agree with BlueGrassSeramas and Sammimom on this one. You are out dogged.

The dog actually sounds very manipulative from the small amount of info that is given. Border Collies are very intelligent, but I have met many that are not cooperative until you have earned their respect and I'm not going there.

If the nipping is not curbed it WILL progress to biting as the dog matures. I know of more people bitten by BCs than any other breed. Not necessarily bad bites or aggressive bites, but they hurt all the same and certainly bruise. Many agility BCs get all excited when running with their owners and nip their human out of excitement. I've had MANY bruises from nips to legs and ankles shown to me. I do not understand why the owners tolerate that behavior.

It doesn't matter whether she is interested in obedience training or not, she still needs the training. She is being manipulative and also willfull when she will not participate in training.

It sounds like you have too much dog for your needs and unless you are willing to put in a great deal of effort in training and control I would re-home her or give her to border collie rescue.

There is a reason so many border collies go to rescue organizations. Being intelligent doesn't mean any given BC is necessarily easy to train. And a lab/BC mix might be harder to train than some.

 

[walkswithdog]

She needs a huge amount of training - agreed. And a HUGE amount of exercise. She's intelligent and bored and SEEING things run around that she cannot chase only makes the NEED to chase BIGGER.

BC's will herd children.

Given the need for training you're not used to providing, exercise you cannot offer, frustration of the dog and chicken death - I agree on rehoming the dog. This is not a good fit.

An e-collar is not a magic bullet. Some dogs do NOT respond to it well and freak instead. Some owners have very poor timing with an e collar and just ruin the dog. Some buy it hoping for a quick cure and that never comes because they just aren't consistent, patient and good at it.

You're going to have an infant, then toddler. You are not going to have adequate time.

Find the Border Collie rescue nearest you and see about getting her in with them. It's the kindest thing you can do for her.

Kenneling drives them insane. They need exercise and work.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
I fully agree...

We have 4 dogs now. 1 chow/golden, 2 shiba inus w/HIGH prey drive,and a husky that was wreaking havoc on the neighborhood (so I was the idiot to take the dog in - actually went down and told the people I would take her so we didn't have to shoot her for being in our goat pen). All of these dogs WILL kill my chickens if given the chance, so, I simply don't give them the chance. I'll admit that I did screw up a couple times, and did lose 3 chickens. TOTALLY my fault - you can't blame the dog for doing what comes naturally. I noticed you said that you take her out with the chickens but only if supervised. Simply DON'T do that anymore. I wouldn't dream of taking my dogs out with my chickens even supervised, and they actually listen fairly well - that instinct takes over, and nothing else matters at that point.

All of our dogs accept for the husky can stay in all day and be perfectly happy. The husky goes for multiple walks per day, plus outside time in our fenced yard to play freely. She is MUCH better behaved now than she had been before. They MUST have boundaries - Dixie (husky) was allowed to do what ever she darn well pleased with the old owners, and that is EXACTLY what she did. She killed the other neighbors chickens, was starting to go into our goat pen in the stalking position, and was just a nuisance. I have been working with her on leash, plus off leash with the shock collar. We are firm believers in the use of the collars. When used correctly, they are one of the most useful tools we've found. Ours are dogtra and the have the shock or you can also simply vibrate the collar. After only a few lessons, typically all I need to use is the vibrate. Then, after a while, all I need to do is put the collar on the dog, and it's a completely different dog sitting next to you.

A lot of exercise will be key for your girl. She needs a job - I'm more than willing to bet she is bored. You said she is prone to nipping - is it aggression, play, or the herding instinct coming out (they aren't supposed to nip when they herd, but some will)?If it's aggression, you might simply want to rehome her because of the baby coming. If it's something else, I would get a trainer to show you what to do, or have them work with the dog.

Sorry so long winded!! Good Luck!

 

[mountaintopchicken]

An e-collar is not a magic bullet. Some dogs do NOT respond to it well and freak instead. Some owners have very poor timing with an e collar and just ruin the dog. Some buy it hoping for a quick cure and that never comes because they just aren't consistent, patient and good at it.

I totally, 100% agree. I am not anti e-collar. I have used one on my dog. But they are a tool that can cause problems as well as cure them, and they are not a substitute for the hard work of training, just one more way to reinforce your commands. In other words, putting an e-collar on the dog and simply zapping it when it does something wrong will probably not give you to polite-in-the-house, baby safe dog you are looking for. Lots of work on training, lots of commitment to learning how to train, and lots of time spent exercising would be required. But you're pregnant, and you probably don't want to go crazy yourself trying to do this right now.

A rescue does sound like a good idea. There may be someone out there who wants just this type of dog for doing a dog sport or for some other type of really active lifestyle.​

 

[Pupsnpullets]

Your dog may also be over vaccinated. That can make them crazy and hyper, too. I'm sure the pound gave her all her shots and it's very possible her previous owners also took care of that also. The vaccines damage the nerve endings throughout the body. Combine a border collie, with adolescence, inadequate exercise and vaccine damage it wouldn't surprise me if her brain shorts out. Is it possible she's on some of those inexpensive kibbles that is mainly grains ie sugar, too?

Sometime classical homeopathy for animals will work in these cases. A combined approach of exercise, training and homeopathy may help. Or boot camp for doggies.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
Think that product would work on a miniature poodle??