could you give me any advice on my border collie x please?

Question

We recently got a dog from the dogs home, shes a very loving cross-collie, she's very gentle. She was left tied up 2 a lamppost outside, i know it's nasty but we have to pay nearly £80 to leave a dog there so you can understand why some people dump them. The dog is highly trained, very clean and overweight, so we have no reason to believe that she had been badly treated, she loves females and took to me straight away following me everywhere. I had my face riped off by a dog when i was only 10, so i am quite careful with them. The problem is my children are 12+ so we never noticed until a friend visited, she doesn't like small children, if they approach her she growls (with her mouth closed), she tried to get under the table away from them and they followed her, i warned the kids but the parents didn't back me up, cuz of what happened to me i held her collar just in case, but was wondering if i made this worse. the dog snapped a warning. what do i do when we have young visitors, please

Can i just add even when i play fight with her and i put my hand near her mouth she licks it away. I am not annoyed with the dog, i just want to know if you've had any experiences and know how i can best handle the situation, i.e. do i shut the dog away, or just tell her off for growling

Thank you for all of you that have given sensible answers, for the record there's always one nutter and the pubs have just shut! I need to add the dog has NEVER growled at my children and i don't have any young children visit very often generally 1 every other month or so, the earlier incident i refered to was an aunt that was moving away and brought her grandchildren with her. I know it's a sore subject with what recently happened to the young lad and i more than anyone sympathize,but you are what you learn and i've learned that you can't judge everyone/dog by one bad one. thanks again,i found the positive conditioning information very interesting

Answer 1

I agree with the person who posted that the dog may have been trained to stay away from young kids, as they are known to try to herd kids. Also, this dog could have been abused by a kid.

However, the most likely situation is that the dog was never socialized (taught) how to be calm and happy around kids.

The most important thing is to NEVER let the dog alone with kids. The next most important thing is to NEVER EVER let the dog have a negative experience with kids. Do not let them run after the dog, pull the dog's tail, etc. This teaches the dog that when kids are around bad things happen.

A postitive reinforement or clicker dog trainer would be able to help show you how to teach your dog to have fun and calm times with kids.

Here are some basics:
- Put the dog behind a baby gate when kids are over so they can watch each other, but stay apart.
- With your supervision, teach the kids how to give a dog a treat, like a hot dog piece (flat hand only, NOT held in their fingers) and have the kids give the dog treats with praise.
- With your supervision, teach the kids how to pet the dog softly.
- Never force the dog to interact with the kids.
- Take the dog on walks. Walk near kids playing, but don't let the kids come up to the dog. This is basic socialization with kids. It lets the dog have a positive time being around kids without pressing the issue.
- Do you know of another friend who has a dog that is fine with kids? Sometimes dogs learn very quickly when they see how another dog acts.
- Teach kids that when a dog growls it is saying that it is very afraid. Ask them if they have felt afraid. You could also share your story with them too.
- Have a neighbor kid come over and feed your dog with your supervision. Have them put the food in the bowl and put it on the floor for the dog.

With all of this you need to do this training all of the time, not just once in awhile. After about 30 times a dog has the learned habit in their long-term memory, then you can just do some of the training here and there to remind them.

Answer 2

The dog may have been abused by small children at some time in her life. There are several things you can do:

Get the dog a crate -- not as punishment, but to provide her with a safe place" to go when the children come to your house. Keep the children AWAY from the crate, so the dog can have her space.

Do not let the children chase after, get near or confront a growling dog. Growls are a dog's way of communicating that they want you to BACK OFF. If she's growling and kids get into her face, and she has no place "safe" to retreat to she WILL bite... the kids will get hurt and you will be sued for neglegence (and most likely, law enforcement will require that the dog be killed).

Along with the crate training, we suggest that you get the dog into some socialization classes that allow her to interact with other dogs and children in a controlled environment.

Answer 3

Border Collies generally don't get along too well with little kids. They can be pretty high-strung and are known for nipping when they are annoyed. They are work animals, natural herders, so they need to be kept busy with a task or job and need to get out of the house and burn off their excess energy, otherwise they can actually get pretty nasty. They are beautiful dogs, though. I have a bi-black Sheltie that everyone mistakes for a Border Collie all the time. Either keep the dog away from the kids when they are over or advise the kids to be gentle. Maybe your dog had a bad experience.

Answer 4

Do your dog a favour and put her out the way when kids visit. Have a seperate room to put her in and don't let anyone on there, perhaps put a stairgate across the hall in front of the door.
And people who don't respect your home, your belongings and your house rules on your own territory are being very, very rude. Kids have to learn not to grab dogs just because they feel like it.
Your dog has been fair and given a warning. Her mouth is closed so thats not a threat. But she will be put down if she bites.
Maybe you should visit those people instead?

Answer 5

#1. DO NOT HOLD UR DOG BACK!! then the dog will think sumthing is wrong and se will start to snap, bite, and growl at ppl.

#2. YES i did make that situation worse

#3. If ur dog growls with its mouth shut it means that she is warning the person/child to BACK OFF!!

#4. TELL THE PARENTS TO HELP U OUT!! ITS THER RESPONSIBILITY THAT THER CHILD WILL BE ATTACKED BY UR DOG IF THE CHILD DOESNT STOP!!!

#5. If small children are around dogs usually tend to try to overpower them becuz they are smaller and weaker then adults.

#6. Just leave ur dog in a room until the children are gone.

#7. Try and find an Agression Trainer for your dog. It could help u increasingly.


GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 6

The best way to treat this is to train the dog to realize that little people are a possible source of treats. If possible have your friend bring the children over and while you calm and reassure the dog have the children give it some treats. Do this whenever a child comes over and it won't be too long before the dog looks forward to visits from children.

Answer 7

If you have any young children you can work with - nieces or nephews, etc. - you could try "introducing" them to your dog slowly, and see if your dog is receptive. Best to consult a veterinarian or professional trainer on specific techniques, and manage the whole situation very carefully in order to avoid a mishap.

If your dog is not receptive, or if you have no younger children you can work with, or if you don't anticipate having young visitors very often, you may just want to close the dog off in another area of the house when small children do visit.

Answer 8

You need to see a behaviourist, after a check up from the vet. He/she will be abel to recommend one. Perhaps she is more collie than cross? Border collies often have problems with nipping, and with children. Border collies are herding animals, and are programmed to round things up. Often if they are not given enough stimulation, and they will take loads and loads of it, they will try and round things up- they often become fixated with something, like rounding up a favourite ball for 14 hours a day, or start rounding up the children, and snapping if they disobey. They were bred for this. Also, given that you don't know what her past was like, she may have been tormented by small children. Collies are sensitive dogs and the trauma of being left tied to a post obviously can't have been good for her.

How much exercise does she get? A border collie would think nothing of covering 40 miles in a single day, and so as a pet they need lots of things to do all day. Collies and collie xs excel at dog sports, such as flyball, agility and obedience. Have you thought about taking her to a club? She'll get lots of physical and mental exercise, you get to meet new people, and undoubtedly you'll meet a lot of border collie owners and even breeders who can offer their advice. She might change her general behaviour given something new to channel her energy into.

Obviously, you can't take risks with children, and she needs to be kept away from them until she can be trusted. Perhaps a crate of putting her in another room would be best, but try to make it a nice experience for her, so give her some toys, or games, like hiding some treats under cushions and having her root them out. Kongs are great boredom breakers, too.

What you need to do ultimately, is to change how she views small children. She needs to learn to associate them with something pleasant. With children this is really difficult because what I would do if it were an adult would be to first have the adult ignore the dog, and in later weeks, reward the dog for staying away, and then feeding the dog in the presence of the visitor. Ultimately, I'd have the visitor feed the dog. But with children involved you can't risk such an approach, so you really do need to see a behaviourist. Good luck.

Answer 9

Most of the time dogs growl like that when they are angry. If it was angry it wouldn't have been crawling away. If it happens again look at the dogs tail. if the tail is between the legs it may be frightened. If the hair down it spine starts to go up it means its getting angry or somthing. My dog is ok with some kids and others she growls and barks. She also doesn't like adults that she doesn't know.

Answer 10

i myself have a border collie he is 1 year and 2 months and he is very scared of children i just try to not make any change myself (like holding him by the collar)this can make the situation worse has they feel there is a reason to be scared.dog respoud very well to food to show your dog that they is no reason to be scared get one of your children to take some chicken from them then if you can while watching over ask young child to give her chicken this should help to give her confiled she may feel that your children didnt hurt her so the other children with chicken are not a treat.if she was not brought with children or near children they can scared throught their screaming and loud noises.i know it is hard but try not feel axerity around she will pick up on this.