dominant boder collie

jackson3 · 04-29-2010

Need some direction! I have a 8 month old male border collie (Jackson). Jackson is very well trained and we have developed a very close relationship. But 4 days ago, i brought home two 8 week old border collies. The first couple of days were tough because Jackson was attacking the new pups. He no longer attacks the pups with me around but I know that he will if i am not. He is at his worse when the puppies begin to play with one another. The quick movements and playful growls they make toward one another grabs Jackson's attention. I only have one fenced in backyard and have to go back to work in a couple of days. At that point in time, I will have to give the puppies away if I cannot trust Jackson around them alone. Any advice would be appreciated!

cigwyllt · 04-30-2010

If you are not at home all day two puppies sound like a recipe for disaster, let alone with a bossy older dog LOL! Maybe it is too late now but I wonder if Jackson would have been happier if you had only introduced one pup at a time. How is he if you just have one pup out with him and keep the other in the house for a while?

jackson3 · 04-30-2010

He does somewhat better with only one just simply because the pups are not playing with each other in front of him. But he still has tendency to attack with just one around. I really dont think it is a dominance or jealousy issue anymore. I think it is an uncontrollable impulse. Because he attacks so quickly then has this look on his face like i messed up but i dont know what to do.

cigwyllt · 04-30-2010

If you could turn back the clock perhaps you should only have had the one pup but as he is now clearly stressed by the pups perhaps your first thoughts are right and you will have to give them up and hold off on getting another pup until you are able to be at home and supervise them full time.

angiesample · 04-30-2010

im not sure what to suggest here since u dont have much time. Plus ur two younger pups are pretty young. The one thing i can think of and i dont know if it will help but maybe u could walk them as a pack. if u cant handle all three on a walk even another person helping would be good. Otherwise u might have to invest in some crates for now. Be sure to praise your older puppy when he does anything good when it comes to the other puppies. I hope everything turns out good and good luck. Border Collies are amazing dogs and usually very tolerant. GOod Luck!

cigwyllt · 04-30-2010

The pups are too young to be walked yet though at 8 weeks and really crates are not suitable if the pups (because they are all pups, including the oldest one) if they are to be left all day everyday while the owner is at work. I can't see an alternative to giving up the puppies.

angiesample · 04-30-2010

our puppy who is now 9 months was abandoned at 5 weeks and we began training her that week. By eight weeks she walked beside me, and would sit if i stopped. It didnt matter if people or other dogs were around she got walking down in 3 weeks. She was also totally crate trained by 8 weeks, as long as i came home for lunch bc she just literally couldnt hold going to the bathroom for 8 hours. Not that its going to be easy but u have a great breed: my puppy is a Australian Shepard, border collie, heeler mix. But u wont be able to leave ur dogs in a crate all day!! You will have to make trips home or maybe have a friend of family member come over and let them out.

Todd · 04-30-2010

Sounds like this could be a combination of a few things. He may be jealous because you got the other dogs, he could be asserting his dominance, and or he could have a high prey drive and instinctually goes after the dogs because they are so small and run around playing and making all sorts of sounds. Does your dog go after rabbits or squirls a lot? Border Collies are a breed that have one of the highest prey drives of all breeds. After all, they were bred to herd animals. If so this may indicate a high prey drive and the desire to chase down small organisms.

Here's some info on dogs and high prey drive I found online;

Dog Owner's Guide: Living with the high prey drive dog

It is going to pretty difficult to tame this behavior because prey drive is instinctual and it is very hard to stop acts of instinct. Once the puppies get bigger though there there should be much less of a problem. In the meantime, you may want to keep them separated while you are not home and when you are home let them stay together and if the dog goes after them firmly tell him to "leave it" and remove him from the situation each time he goes after them. It seems like he is well behaved when it comes to this when you are home though so it sounds like you are already the alpha. Is this correct? Things may improve gradually but again this may very well be an instinctual issue. Just be persistand and understand that once the pups grow up the problem should be a lot less of an issue.

Good luck!

jackson3 · 05-01-2010

Yes, Jackson does know who the alpha is. Just to give an update, Jackson is improving! He is now allowing the pups to love on him and he is happy to see them in the morning. But by no means, are we out of the woods yet. We have decided to purchase a portable fence with a roof for when we are not home. Thanks for the advice. About to check out the site that you included.

Concerning another response, allow me to clarify that i do have time to spend with my dogs. Jackson and I work everyday when i get home and on the weekends. He is very well trained and loves to show out for people. As a matter of fact, my family sometimes get jeolous of how much time i spend with him.

Now we have a new goal of ahead of us concerning the pups. I high hopes that it will work out since there has been improvement.

Todd · 05-01-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackson3

Yes, Jackson does know who the alpha is. Just to give an update, Jackson is improving! He is now allowing the pups to love on him and he is happy to see them in the morning. But by no means, are we out of the woods yet. We have decided to purchase a portable fence with a roof for when we are not home. Thanks for the advice. About to check out the site that you included.

Concerning another response, allow me to clarify that i do have time to spend with my dogs. Jackson and I work everyday when i get home and on the weekends. He is very well trained and loves to show out for people. As a matter of fact, my family sometimes get jeolous of how much time i spend with him.

Now we have a new goal of ahead of us concerning the pups. I high hopes that it will work out since there has been improvement.

Glad things are improving!