my dog has to leave

[belu]

I am Belu, I live in Argentina, and I've got a problem. My dog has recently attacked everyone in my home, yesterday he bit my father and he had 20 stitches, I don't know what to do, should I put him to sleep? or should I send him somewhere else? Where can I send him away? please forgive my spelling mistakes and please answer soon! thanks,
Belu

[***Melissa***]

Hi

I'm not one of the experts, but I'm sure they will be here soon.

In the meantime, can you please provide us with ALL the details about your dog? (The experts usually ask for all the info, the more they know about your doggie, the better they can help you) What and when does he eat, what breed is he, how old is he, how much excercise he gets, his daily routine. Also, can you please describe in detail how he 'attacked' the people, what happend right before the 'attack' etc. And, if he's a rescue for example, any info about his past? Anything else you can think of will be very helpfull. No detail is too small - the longer the post the better.

Here is a link to "understanding agression". Have a read through it in the meantime. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5442

I'm sure help with be here shortly

[Mattie]

Hugs Belu,

You can't pass a dog onto someone else who has bitten like this, with enough information we may be able to help you solve his problems.

What are you feeding him on?

What training does he get and how are you training him?

What exercise does he get?

Give as much information as you can, the more the better, we love long posts. Also please tell us what your dog and your father was doing when your father was bitten and the same with anyone else who has been bitten. In the meantime everyone has to be kept safe, have a short lead on your dog so you can lead him away from situations instread of grabbing his collar, to a dog that is an aggressive act and many will bite. It is safer to walk away from him than to take him on.

[belu]

well, he is a 4 years old rough collie, he has golden hair (that's the way it is called here), he has been trained by many trainers, he gets 2 or 3 walks a day, he usually barks when motorcycles and bikes pass by the door, he gets afraid when he listens to fireworks (I am not sure with the word), he's been with the family since he was 2 months old and is the son of 2 argentinean collie champions. He hasn't been attacked, plus, the last time he attacked, he attacked my dad while he was patting him, he eats healthy (our vet gives us his diet), he has no medical problems, I really don0t know what to do, it is really sad and my dad is giving him away...

[Mattie]

well, he is a 4 years old rough collie, he has golden hair (that's the way it is called here), he has been trained by many trainers,

Do you know what methods they were using to train him? This is very important, many trainers still use the old fashioned methods of training by punishing the dog, this often turns the dog aggressive.

he gets 2 or 3 walks a day, he usually barks when motorcycles and bikes pass by the door, he gets afraid when he listens to fireworks (I am not sure with the word),

Are his walks on or off the lead and does he have a good run round?

he's been with the family since he was 2 months old and is the son of 2 argentinean collie champions. He hasn't been attacked, plus, the last time he attacked, he attacked my dad while he was patting him, he eats healthy (our vet gives us his diet), he has no medical problems, I really don0t know what to do, it is really sad and my dad is giving him away...

Were was your dad patting him? Many dogs will bite if being patted on the head because to them that is aggression and they respond with aggression. I don't like people patting me on the head either.

Vets don't know much about dog nutrition, in fact many are just ignorant about it, the food they usually recommend is because they make money on it. In the UK vets sell food like Hill's Science which is full of rubbish, you could be feeding him rubbish food thinking it is good.

Rough Collies are very sensitive and need gentle handling, I had a Rough Collie/Labrador many years ago and if I insisted on her obeying me, I didn't use force or punishment on her, just insisted that she sat when told etc. and she had a nervous breakdown. I had to ease back on her and when I did, she became a wonderful, obedient dog. All I did was allow her more time to do what I asked.

You could have a very sensitive dog that has had punishment used on him to train him, this can be turned round with a lot of patience.

[belu]

I really don't know how he has been trained, but I will ask, so far he is going to a friend's cottage away from the city. I really dind't know that the vet's recipes could be not as good as she sells it, I'll look around and see what they suggest! You can imagine how much you've helped me, I'll print this and show it to my parents, thanks thanks and thanks again! I'll update soon!
Belu

[thepennywhistle]

Hi Belu,

I am so sorry to hear about the problem with your collie. That is such strange behavior for a
collie. I have been working with collies for 15 years now, and I am so sad to hear of yours
acting out in that way. I have had 2 rescue biter collies over the years. One was intimidated
by people, and the other was an old show dog who had been abused in his handling.

My big question is why has he been trained by many trainers? Also what did the trainers
do to him? The collie biters I have known have always been scared into biting by what
they see as physical aggression from a person somewhere along the line, and they are
very slow to forget this. Using yanking, yelling, or hitting techniques on a collie, even
just 1 or 2 times, will result in long-lasting, unhappy memories and fearful responses.
Is he biting in response to loud, aggressive-sounding or angry-sounding people? Certain
gestures? Grabbing at him with your hands? Fear biting can surpise you with a bite
when you don't understand why an animal would be fearful, but collies are very sensitive,
soft dogs and reaction emotionally to people.

Is anyone grabbing and pulling his ruff? It's easy to grab a handful of fur to restrain a
collie for a moment, but that will make almost any collie cry out and snap. Pulling on
collars can be almost as painful because you can't avoid pulling the ruff too.

Is he biting over grooming issues? Collies are very tender, and having a slicker brush
misused and scraping tender areas will cause a collie to snap. That's why they often
have a bad reputation with groomers unfamiliar ith collies.

Is your collie biting in regards to food?

Have you had a vet check him over? Could he be in pain from something physical?
Hyperthyroid issues will sometimes make a collie unusually irritable. Skin issues under
the coat, tumors, injuries that they are hiding can all be causes for reactive behavior.

Please be careful, but hopefully your collie has a trigger the experts here can find and
work with. (I'm no expert, I just work with rescue collies.) Don't give up yet!

And I send you much sympathy. I know how easy it is to love your collie. It must be very
hard for you right now.

Skye and the white merle collies

[Horace's Mum]

Rough collies in particular can be extraordinarily sensitive to voices and harsh commands, I know several friends who have had to be very careful how they act and speak with their dogs, even those who have a good history. They respond much much better to calm and positive training, focussing on rewarding the good stuff and avoiding or ignoring any behaviour you don't want.

I would second whoever it was who asked about ruffs, people often grab rough collie coats because they have so much hair, but it isn't nice and canmake a dog very nervous of being touched. Just moving dogs by their collars can make them sensitive to being touched around their head and neck, my dog would bite if you tried and he has a very short coat, but was used to being grabbed. And definitely get a vet check to look for any pain, maybe an ear infection or something in the skin that has been missed because of the coat.

Lots of calm and patience will help you a lot, and being as hands off as possible will give her the confidence to allow herself to enjoy being petted again given time. But she really must not be told off, it won't help and will probably make things a lot worse. Good luck!