hi!
my name is sparrow shafer. we have a dog named Skundi, and we have been having some problems with him for some time now, and wondered if you could give us some advice as to what to do about it. my husband and i met a year ago, and i moved to iceland to be with him. but Skundi hasnt seemed to have adjusted to it at all. he is a generally good dog, but he refuses to obey me, and when i try to make him obey me, he bites me. he has recently been neutered, at the end of august, but this has been going on since i first moved here, last december. we have tried everything, from being nice to being mean as an attempt to stop this biting and general aggressiveness toward me, and nothing is having any effect. he has also started breaking rules that he knows he isnt allowed to do, such as taking food off the table, and peeing in the house. Gisli and i have a baby coming in a few days, and i have a 2 year old daughter, and we are worried about how he is going to react to that, he seems very jealous of me, and i am afraid that its going to worsen with the new baby around. Skundi also seems to be having some really bad separation anxiety. if we leave him at the house alone, he barks and sometimes pees on the floor. then when we come home, he follows us around on our ankles ALL DAY LONG. and wont lay down. he gets plenty of attention, and he gets regular excercise. but still seems to be struggling with this problem. he seems to not directly HATE me, because i can pet him and play with him most of the time, but when it comes to disciplining him, or if he gets any sort of command from me, he either brushes it off, or bites me. and sometimes he bites for no reason. last week i just walked past him laying on the floor, and he snapped at my leg. and every time i try to put a leash on him, or take one off, he bites at me. i cant live like this for much longer, and i WILL NOT risk him biting the new baby, or my daughter. so i was wondering if you could give me some advice. i hate to say it, but i seem to be much more concerned about this than my husband, he seems to just brush it off most of the time. he has never had a problem with Skundi until i came here, and ive never to my knowledge done anything to make him think he needs to be agressive with me. is it jealousy, or is something else wrong? im at the end of my patience with Skundi, and i just really dont know what to do. im not sure if perhaps his breed plays a part in this. he is a border collie/german shepherd mix. i would really appreciate any help you could give me! thank you very much,
sparrow

what an ordeal for you!!

firstly i have to say a border collie is known for having seperation anxiety, also to only have one guide, one commander. i feel that this is what is happening. he feels he is top dog in te house and has only one ruler, if he thinks you are thratening him of his place in the house then ofcourse he will try and put you down in thpack so to spak. just like a pack of wild dogs, the top dog will dominate the others until they give up.

the first thing you must do is get you partners support, the only person who can make it go right is the dogs commander. if his commander makes his behavour sem aceptable he will only continue this agression.

i may have a few ideas although not sure how they will work. itwill involve both you and your partners efforts.

your partner now needs to show who is boss. simple things like perhaps when you are sitting on the couch ith him make the dog go and lie down. this tells the dog his commander wants tim with you and not the dog. every command you give to the dog your partner must back up. if the dog gets a command and gets off with not doing it he will learn he oes what he wants when he wants this is the worst way to go.

if he is food motivated? try rewards and ribes. simple example - walking? get a good treat that he wouldntnormallyget elsewhere perhaps cheese or sausage or liver - have it with you and put him in the sit howing him the food. if he does it reward him while putting his lead on and reward him if he lets you do that too. if he refuses or bites smply walk away put the treats away and ignore him completely, no attention. repeat this for a few time to see if he learns he wil oly get the treat when he is good and affectionate.

hope this helps and feel free to email me if you need ay mroe advice xx

good luck and congrads on new baby x

saffie xxxxx