Help! Our sheepdog has become agressive!!
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| There are a number of good threads on here about how to handle aggressive sheepies, but I do have a question:
How old are your sons? |
| The boys are teenagers - 14 and 16 |
| Near the top of the page (under the words "Forum") there is a "Search" button. Click on that and enter "agressive" in the keywords box. Click on "Show results as posts" and click on "Return first xxxx characters of posts" and select "All Available" and then go ahead and click on "Search".
I found 24 posts (including your 2! ). click on a post to read the whole thread (all of the replies). At a quick glance, this one: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?p=26 ... ssive#2653 seemed to be a pretty good place to start. There are lots of ways and suggestions to deal with dog aggression. Good luck, be sure to keep us posted on any progress, and be sure to ask if you have any more questions. PS Weekends can be a little slow around here. |
| Sorry to hear about this! With a sudden onset of aggression - I would have to wonder if it was health related - or if it was triggered by an event (did anything change recently ??- another dog visit, recent stay at a kennel, etc.). It seems to me that he's trying to compete with his upright brothers for a higher position in the pack! Be careful - but don't alienate the dog - it may make it worse.
Like Ron said, there's alot of great information regarding aggression in the files. I hope you find some of it useful. I would recommend a trip to the Vet to rule out any medical cause for this behavior. (Thyroid can play a role!). Is your dog neutered? If he's not neutered - I would suggest him being neutered ASAP. Are there any other dogs in the house??? Good Luck! |
| Thanks, will read through the info as you suggested. He is the only dog in the house- only other pet is a cat that he seems to get along with, she keeps him in his place.
Is is not neutered, but we are planning on scheduling an appointment to get it done ASAP. Will have the vet do a checkup as well. Nothing significant has changed around the house. We have been putting him out in his kennel more now that the weather has warmed up so he is not inside during the day as much. (he has a 20 x 20 kennel with a dog house that we put him in so he has lots of room) Had been bringing him in the the afternoons and he was staying in all night until the second incident. I don't want to leave him out all the time by himself. Not a very good life for a social dog. 
Thanks for everyone's replys. |
| I bet you'll find drastic changes in his behavior when he's neutered! Good Luck and keep us posted!
Kristen |
| My OES pup is 5 months old and we have had 2 incidents with agression. Both included nipping and growling. It will take a while 2 explain what happened, but I can tell you that my relatives came over both times right before the incidents occured. I think he started being aggressive toward his food and toys because he might have felt a loss of power or dominance. He might have felt like his things were being taken from him (my neice and nephew are pretty wild) and he needed to protect those things. Well maybe if you think back, did anyone stay over for a while or play with the dog alot? -especially kids- you might find out why the dog was behaving like this i cant help 2 much im only 12 2 admit it but we have not had any more agression w/ da pup since ( we have also not had any relatives over since) hope i helped  |
| The one question Ron asked as well, about your sons ages, and with them being 14 and 16 there is a lot more testosterone in your house now! LOL Maybe your dog is sensing that and feels threatened? Neutering him will probably make a huge difference. At 3 yrs old your dog is an adolescent as well... I know the feeling, my kids are 13, 12, 11 and almost 9, so over the next couple of years this place will be hormone over-run, I may need to take a little aggression handling advice myself soon! LOL |
| Do ask a vet to do a thorough check on his health prior to desexing. A few years back,Tung got quite aggressive for some unknown reason esp during mealtime. It turns out that he had a tooth abcess and the vet said that was annoying him esp. whilst he's eating and he was prob. also weary that we might take away his food before he had the chance to finish.
For what it worth, Tung was an Alpha...but I am not sure if that has any bearing on that. After the op to remove the teeth, it curbed he meal time aggro by a fair degree. Good luck r |
| Our 13 week old puppy Jules snapped at out daughter tonight on the ballfield. When our daughter picked her up Jules did a quick snap on her neck. It was kind of like a growly/like puppy play bite....yet you could tell Jules was irritated. It did leave scratch-like marks on her neck. Our daughter was upset and immediately put her down. After we realized what had happened too much time had elapsed to discipline. If this happens again I feel that she should keep picking her up and not let her win. If she snaps a quick tap on the nose with a firm NO should suffice. If Jules wins when she growls...will this continue? Jules is normally fun, and loving. She just wants her way. |
| Weezie, Jules wins by getting the attention of your daughter - even if it is negative attention! I would have your daughter shout "OUCH" so Jules knows that it hurt and put her down and ignore her for a period of time. I would not recommend flicking her nose - but that's just my feeling on it! Jules needs to learn that this behavior is not acceptable - and by giving her rewards (praise, treats, etc.) when her behavior is acceptable is a great place to start! I would also highly recommend a formal positive reinforcement training class - and your children can get involved in the training.
Have your daughter play with her (without picking her up) - but with a lot of hand contact - petting, brushing gently, belly rubs, etc. The shock of being "ripped off the ground" may have upset her. She needs to gain more trust. As soon as she gets nippy or growly - have your daughter get up and stop playing with her (don't give her ANY attention - positive or negative!). That's just my opinion. Good Luck! Kristen |
Kristen, Thank you for great advice. Jules does love attention. She never wants to be alone. She is always under our feet. I do agree she reacted to being ripped off the ground. She was tired, and probably a little hungry. We will try the "ouch" next time.  |
| Henry had never been taught not to bite and gave me bruises like you can't imagine. My trainer taught me the "OUCH" and recommended I use a high pitched voice--it should sound like another puppy squealing--along with ignoring him. The ignoring is similar to a child's time out, I did not scold Henry, I just left the room and closed the door. Again just like a child's timeout, you don't need to leave for hours, 2-3 minutes should be enough. It does take time so have patience and keep at it--it works.
Good luck! |
| Jacquemcm,
I was just wondering how your situation has developed? |
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