Nipping

[Stephanie34]

I have a Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix and he is the best dog I have ever owned. I got him when he was 9 weeks and he is now 3 1/2 years old. I have always taken him everywhere and he has been around people and children from the beginning. I have taken him to schools and soccer practice and he alway draws a large crowd of children because of his frisbee skills. Lately he has been barking and growling at anyone that approachs our home or car, but the worst of it is that he got nippy all of the sudden with someone. Is this a behavior that is coming out with age or possibly breed? Nothing has changed in our lives, he is with me all day, everyday and he is getting more than enough excerise, I am just not sure what is going on. Any ideas?

[babolaypo65]

Hmmm, I don't have any advice for you.... But someone will.

Welcome to pet talk! Post pictures of your dog if you can, we'd love to see him!

hope the problem resolves itself.

[Crikit]

It's a good possibility that he is nipping because of the breeds in him. Both BC's and Heelers are herding breeds and because of that they are prone to more things like nipping and barking at moving things. Heelers especially like to nip...hence the name heeler, they were breed to nip at the heels of the livestock that they herd, while BC's use all kinds of traits nipping and barking included to get their job done.

In order to give you some advice though I know that I would need a little bit more info on what you do when he nips and also what is happening around him when he got nippy.

[Stephanie34]

Foster has only nipped one time in his life prior to this latest incident and that was when he was a puppy, I just told him no and showed my disapproval and he never did it again. This latest incident was with a group of children and I just looked him straight in the eye and told him to knock it off, which always works with him for any bad behavior. I did not want to scold him in front of a group because he gets embarassed easily and pee's all over the place. I am just afraid that some trait might be coming out and I want to get control over it fast. He has been more submissive lately than usual and I am not sure why. nothing is different except I has to housesit for two weeks recently and did not sleep at home but I still saw him all day.

[babolaypo65]

I had a sheep dog who started nipping at kids in groups. I suspected it was her herding instincts coming out too. She started doing it at about two years old.

[binka_nugget]

I think it could be the instinct or the guard dog intuition coming in...a stern no everytime should do it (if it's instinct, he might need a bit more work to learn what's not okay to nip).

[carrie]

This is instinctive behaviour, it is herding behaviour which developed from hunting behaviour. More than two or three moving live things, be it sheep, ducks, deer or small humans that look like they are behaving as a herd (ie - a soccer field - lots of little humans running up and down at the same time) tend to incite the dog to chase. This can be a very strong drive for herding breeds and can result in car chasing and seeming aggression towards joggers and bike riders. If this drive is surpressed some dogs become obssessive about all moving things - it can become as extreme as constant tail chasing just to satisfy the urge. The nipping is an integral part of that for many collies. The best way to combat this is to provide a way for the dog to use its internal drive to chase - frisbee is a great idea! I think the problem you are having is down to when frisbee is used the little humans tend to be around, still making a noise, still not doing what they should be doing!!! The dog is feeling frustrated and the nip is exactly the right way for a herding dog to cope.

Try frisbee away from an audience, try using balls (not tennis balls, something a bit bigger.....tennis balls can get lodged in the windpipe..) as a surprise, rope toys are great (not tug of war - just for throwing) and ropes with balls on them. Make these intense one on one games a reward for the dog for accepting and lying quietly while ten minutes of soccer has gone on, then for twenty, then for thirty....etc. eventually you will get to the stage where the dog can lie quietly through each half of the match well.

This will take some time to establish and a great deal of your time - you can also use one throw of the ball, frisbee,rope as a reward for any behaviour - say the dog sits on command - throw the ball once. The dog lays down the first time you say it - throw the ball.

This will reinforce the impotance of the toy for the dog and establish it as a reward.

[Tuesday's Sun]

High-Strung dogs can start to be aggresive at any stage in their life. Even when dogs are three and a half years old they stilll have some puppy behavior. Do you have another dog in the house, because he could of picked up some of those habits from another dog.

[jigsawyouth]

..I haven't posted here for so long, but I had to reply to this because I've grown up with border collies and we have two boys now Our oldest, a 5 y/o rescue, has extreme prey/herding drive and we have gone through a lot to direct that energy elsewhere, cos it's seriously a lost cause to try to discourage an intense, high drive dog to just stop.

I think it's awesome, first off, that you've socialized your dog. This little problem could've been a lot worse if he wasn't desensitized from the start. It's not too uncommon for instinct and drive to start coming out at 3 yrs, or even older. BC's are notoriously slow to mature. It isn't good to have an extremely territorial dog (not to say that your boy is)... either way, some training classes and NILIF (nothing in life is free) would help to establish his rank in the pack. Also, is your dog neutered? If he isn't, doing so would probably improve his behavior a lot. The problem, to me, sounds like your boy is just being protective of his home. My BC Archie is really well socialized and is a total doll to everyone he meets outside of the house, but when people are coming in the house and he does not know them, he's definately aprehensive. What usually works is just putting him in a down and letting him get used to the 'intruders', then eventually letting him greet them. You shouldn't expect your dog to warm up immediately to strangers that are invading their home, even though nipping or loud growling shouldn't be tolerated. If your dog does nip or growl threateningly at guests, he should definately be put on time-out (either in his crate, a room, or the yard).


Then... the nipping could also be triggered by herding instinct. That's definately a whole different topic, and from what you've said I don't think much of your dogs behavior has a lot to do with prey drive. What I do want to tell you, though, is to definately watch your dog around large groups of running children, cars, and any other fast-moving objects. All herding breeds have natural prey drive (some dogs more than others), and generally have the instinct to chase and attempt to herd anything that catches their eye (including children, cars, bikers, runners, animals). So just keep an eye on him for herding behavior (crouching, eyeing, chasing, nipping, circling), and try to keep him on a leash at all time near busy roads and activity. I think that's about it... good luck with your dog and definately try to get him into training and enforce NILIF (left a link below explaining).. border collies and all herding breeds in general are awesome, but sometimes do take extra effort (it's all totally worth it!). A few other activities that you can do with your dog to both improve his obedience and wear away his energy include Obedience trials (BC's rock at this), Flyball, Agility, and you're already doing frisbee with him, which is great. You might want to even consider joining you city's disc team (if you have one) or learning some tricks to do with your dog and his frisbee.




NILIF Training Tips