hi i have a white border collie bitch and the problem we have with her is that everytime she sees another dog she strains on the lead to try and get to it sometimes if another dog comes to her she will sniff it then when i try to pull her away she will snap at it and also if we seea dog and it goes for her first she will react ive tried everything like tryin to distract her with toys when we see another dog but nothing is working she is only a year old and the problem is we want another dog but we are unsure if she will take to it or not if anyone knows how to stop her from being aggressive please help any information you have will be appreciated

It's very hard to advise on aggression cases without seeing the dog to determine from the animals body language just what is behind the behaviour - if it's fear, then it needs very different treatment to a pure 'want to kill' type of behaviour.

Your best bet would be to contact your vet and see if they can refer you to a member of the UKRCB, APBC, or APDT with an interest in behaviour.  Many insurance companies will cover the cost if the referral comes through your vet.

First off, I would not recomend you getting another dog until you have this one sorted out. The reactions of this one could so easily be learned by the new dog anf then you would have double the trouble!

Border Collies are a high drive dog and as such need plenty of training. You say you are trying to distract her with toys. One thing about any unwanted behaviour is to be absolutly sure of is that you are not actually rewarding the very behaviour you are trying to stop. It is something almost everyone relativly new to dogs (And sone relativly old hands!) do without even realising.

There are a number of different types of agression and because the style of training would vary acording to the cause it is something you are going to have to deturmine. You need to be brutally honest, whether you like what you see or not, at least to your self! In a case like this the agression could be nervous agression or at the other end of the spectrum it could be dominant agression. It is not always easy to deturmine which but the signs are there if you look closely. A dominant male is usually less so with a bitch but a bitch is often agressive to both males and females! Dominant dogs are not always dominant towards humans although might be. Nervous agression is usually easier to spot. There is usually some little nervous trait which gives it away. I must say that the pulling towards another dog does point to dominant agression but is not conclusive.

What happens if she meets another dog whilst off lead? Sometimes an unreliable dog on lead is perfectly ok off. That would point to nervous agression because the lead cuts her line of retreat. Some working gundogs can be agressive when working. This is usually because as far as the dog is concerned the other dog is preventing it from carrying out it's master's wishes.

A few thoughts for you.

Regards, John

I would recommend a book which every BC owner should read, which is Carol Price's "Understanding the border collie" :)

I agree it's best not to get another dog just yet.

How long have you had this BC? Is she let off the lead when exercising, and what does she do if you meet a dog on the lead and you don't pull her away?

It is very hard to give advice on aggression over the net, and best if you can get someone to help you, because they can see what is happening (hopefully!).

Lindsay
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hey all thank you so much for your information ive had codey since she was 4 months old the thing is when i let her off the lead she will run up to other dogs but when i call her back she will ignore me but any other time i let her off she always comes back when called if there are no dogs around.when she sees another dog whilst off the lead ive always caught up and put her back on the lead before anything could happen but since then she has got worse and i never let her off the lead when other dogs are around if they are i put her back on it before she sees them.
another thing is sometimes when she sees a dog while im walking her she will crouch down then start to creep towards it like ive seen collies doing while herding sheep is this instinct. or am i doing something wrong

is she just nipping or really having ago?
nipping is very common in BCs

my nellie really isnt keen on any new dogs she meets,shes got her mates & dsosent want to make anymore,yet shes briiliant with puppies,she was fine when i got flynn & shes also accepted my friends puppies,& she really is a cow at times

re the crouching,
yes she is herding,all mine do it in play with each other,
this is 100% normal for a BC

It might be a good idea to get her fixed onto a special toy that only comes out for training and fun times. It must be so special that you have control and she can't just go and get it in the house, it must be more important than that.

It might be that she is just a bit undersocialised and may react to your concern; it may be that she is needing some sort of outlet for her energy, and so on.

Practice lots of fun recalls, dont call her when she is not trained for it (ie not when she is with another dog) if necessary go and get her and reward her for coming with you. After she is better at responding, she should eventually recall to you whatever she is doing but it will take some time.

Do consider that book though, as it does go into detail about BC problems and how to cope.

Lindsay
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