I am not amused. . .
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Kisses,
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Help! We Have A Border Collie!
It has been a hard week for us. Mister Higgins is being a real naughty boy. He bit the Duke for no reason, other than he was cranky (Higgins, not the Duke). Then he growled at the Duchess for three days in a row. She couldn't get near him in the morning without him letting her know to "back off". Today he seems back to his goofy sweet self. Have any of you experienced anything like this? Is he just testing us to see how far he can go? The Duchess has been traumatized by all of this and thinks somehow she must have failed Mister Higgins. I say pooh! He's just a naughty and spoiled brat!
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Oh how we wish we could...
ReplyDeletePaws crossed someone can shed some light on this situation...
Khyra's Mom
Can you expand on the bite? Was there blood, stitches, bruise? I suspect it was one quick bite as opposed to many quicker bites?
ReplyDeleteOh geez. I don't have any idea.... well, one thing comes to mind, I've heard of dogs having seizures and not recognizing other dogs/family members... but not for an entire day! Maybe he had a sliver in his foot(or something) and was anxious/grumpy?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear he's back to normal, though!
Well..I hope the Duke gave him the what for..biteing is NOT acceptable..Did the Duke grab him and turn him over on his back..or use his hands in a biting motion at Higgens scruff..that is what the Mother dog would do. ( Grab him by the scruff with huge hands..fingers wide spread and say None of that mister in a firm voice. He is probably getting too big for his britches.
ReplyDeleteKeep an eye on him..even if he was feeling off for a day he should not have taken it out on the Duchess. Is he is an obedience class..you know you can have your own at home..taking turns between Emma and Higgens..make Higgens watch what a good girl does:)
You probably already do it to some degree, but I'd really ramp up practicing NILIF if you aren't already.
ReplyDeleteOh that's scary!!
ReplyDeleteEven though Mr. Higgins is ok now doesn't mean he won't ever growl or bite you again.
I think you should really show him who's boss in the house!
Yes Emma Rose i think you right about that...MR>Higgings is not ths boss.
ReplyDeleteThe Dutchess are no is no!!!!!What was he thinking????
hugs, Lean&Misty.
If this is suddenly strange and different behavior, maybe a good vet check is in order. He could be not feeling well or have something stuck on his fur that is hurting him. Too late to do any correction now, but we sure hope it was a one time occurence.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
Come on... that sweet adorable face did all those naughty things??? I don't believe it. But then...you probably don't now either! Seriously, it's probably a one time thing but I think I would talk to the vet about it, just to be sure. I have to say, since I am a first time visitor to you, that when I saw the header of your blog come up with that gorgeous face looking out over blogland...honestly, it took my breath away!!She has got the sweetest eyes. What a love!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
Ann
PS You can see my dear doggie (who passed away July 16th)under "personal" on my blog...just hug your darlings for me!
Beau went through a "bad border baby"stage when he was about... a year old? He would be REALLY protective over me... running up to ANYONE hair standing up teeth bared! He also would play too rough.. and take cheap shots after the games ended! It freaked me out because I know a few bc that are aggressive. I worked ALOT at obedience training (at home) and spent alot of time sitting with him rolled over in a submissive position.. even if he wasn't doing anything suspicious i would periodically put him on his side and remind him. Having him do 'tricks' as simple as sit and lay down enforces that youre the boss! We had company ask him to sit/lay down etc too just to reinforce that he isnt the boss of annyyy people! Higgens is probably just going through a stage... bc are just... not normal dogs (in the BEST ways!) and by the way Beau passed over his im the boss stage quickly and is back to our lovey gangly border buddy :)
ReplyDeleteSorry, I have no experience with Borders...Looks like you've gotten some helpful info here!
ReplyDeletePls keep us posted!
~K
I'm sure that was really worrisome. You may already be doing this, but my advice would be lots of controlled leash walking as a pack, so the dogs get the idea of proper order (human is in charge, dogs are not) and also expend any pent up energy. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMr Cesar says stand your ground, don't move, don't be nervous and let him knows who is boss.
ReplyDeleteBenny & Lily
Hmmmm. Just catching up on bloggies. Perhaps Higgins was surprised by the Duke's hand?... Sierra Rose definitely can give 'mis-bites'....did it seem to be a snarly reaction, or just a flash reaction? Or perhaps triggered by a past situations???
ReplyDeleteMoving forward to more recent post now....
Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
Sierra Rose
I'm no expert but the boss has to snap him out of it or if he gets the idea he is boss around there things could get out of control. When Tommy starts any monkey business I stand up tall and make him back off and lie down somewhere that I specify. The important thing I think is not to show fear or be beaten down by him or he will know he has the measure of you. The best way of all is to try and spot signs that he is going to start his funny business so you can correct him before he even starts although this is quite hard to do because a dog can go from one state to the next in a flash but maybe you can spot something.
ReplyDeleteOoooo....so sorry this has happened, not fun at all! Hope you work through it. My best advice is lots and lots and lots of major exercise...and go back to sleeping arrangements that worked before. When we got Gracie, who is part BC, we had her sleep in a crate in Mum's bedroom, she screamed all night for two weeks straight. Found out she wanted to sleep in her crate downstairs by accident, and then all was well. Go figure!
ReplyDelete