Hi,

I just got a 10 week old border collie and whenever she meets new dogs she allways is scared. When ever she is scared she nipps at the other dogs its not agressive shes just scared. I was wondering what i should to stop this. she is socialized alot and is allways with other dogs.

Thanks.

It's not uncommon for border collies to be fearful, especially when they are young. A lot of them have fears that (if handled incorrectly) can follow them their whole lives, like fear of loud noises or men wearing hats.

I would take her for lots of walks where she has plenty of opportunities to meet strange dogs. When she begins to react fearfully (tail down, ears down) it's important not to reinforce her fears...do not "comfort" her when she is displaying fear of another dog, simply keep walking as if nothing is wrong. Try to catch the very early signs of fear and don't let it progress to the point where she is encouraged to interact with a dog she is uncertain of. After sailing past many dogs over many days with no particular reaction from you, she will begin to understand that you don't think those other dogs are worthy of any particular response and she will begin to relax. When she is walking past other dogs without any reaction, praise her gently and then gradually work up to "meeting" other dogs. Just never try to reassure her when she's showing fear, or you'll help cement that reaction.

It's important to not put this dog in situations in which it gets to practice the nipping. Dogs get better at behaviors they practice, bad ones too!

You need to understand triggers and thresholds so you can start counter conditioning and desensitizing your dog to other dogs. Just exposing your dog to other dogs is not enough and can make the behavior worse.

This site has information about helping a scared dog feel more confident.

Working with a fearful, scared or shy dog