RD
01-17-2006, 05:36 PM
Dakota's temperament is beginning to mature and intensify a bit, and we've actually run into a strange issue that I would never have expected from him. I was wrestling with my boyfriend last week and Dakota got a little irritated about it and grumbled at Shane until he moved away from me. He only did it that once and we haven't had a problem since - I thought it was a control issue (he is your typical BC control freak and doesn't like seeing strange human behaviors like play-fighting) but today my mother and I were joking with one another and she pretended to slap me across the face. She didn't even touch me and I was startled at first and was laughing, but Dakota had a fit and snarled at her! Not just his little play wuff and a show of teeth, but an honest-to-god snarl! Since then he's been glued to my side and has been giving my mother the evil eye all day. If she walks by, he gets up and watches her with the weirdest, hardest stare I've ever seen him give someone. He is tense when she is around me now, and growled at her once when she bent down suddenly near me to pick something up. I know he's just had his trust in her shaken a little, and as I type he is doing some obedience work with her.
My issue that I would like your opinions on:
I really am not sure if this is a posessiveness issue or a protectiveness issue. If it's posessiveness, a bit of NILIF and doggie boot camp will easily put him back in line. He gets testy on occasion and it's no big deal for me or my family - after having Ripley, we're used to a little bit of 'alpha' behavior.
But if it's protectiveness, where would I start to teach him the difference between a real threat and something that doesn't warrant more than a glance and low growl? I've had guard dogs before (they were both mixed breeds and ranch dogs) and they just seemed to naturally know what was a threat and what wasn't a big deal.
I want to teach him what an appropriate reaction is to certain situations, but I don't want him to hurt anybody while he's learning what not to do. I've got my fingers crossed that it is just his ego getting a little too big and that he's guarding me as a posession, but something about his behavior is telling me otherwise.
Any suggestions as to what to do if this is his protective instincts (heh, never even thought he had them.) kicking in? This took me completely by surprise; I wasn't prepared for this in my polite, social-butterfly Border Collie!
My issue that I would like your opinions on:
I really am not sure if this is a posessiveness issue or a protectiveness issue. If it's posessiveness, a bit of NILIF and doggie boot camp will easily put him back in line. He gets testy on occasion and it's no big deal for me or my family - after having Ripley, we're used to a little bit of 'alpha' behavior.
But if it's protectiveness, where would I start to teach him the difference between a real threat and something that doesn't warrant more than a glance and low growl? I've had guard dogs before (they were both mixed breeds and ranch dogs) and they just seemed to naturally know what was a threat and what wasn't a big deal.
I want to teach him what an appropriate reaction is to certain situations, but I don't want him to hurt anybody while he's learning what not to do. I've got my fingers crossed that it is just his ego getting a little too big and that he's guarding me as a posession, but something about his behavior is telling me otherwise.
Any suggestions as to what to do if this is his protective instincts (heh, never even thought he had them.) kicking in? This took me completely by surprise; I wasn't prepared for this in my polite, social-butterfly Border Collie!