Help my dog nips at strangers only!

So I'm new to this site, and I've been trying so hard to get answers as to why my dog snaps at strangers, when they come into my house. He never used to do it but now that he is a bit older (10 months) he nips at people who he doesn't know he is fine for a minute (licking there face, wagging his tail) he shows no sign of fear, but then out of no where he just snaps not really insanly not like biting over and over again but just nips at strangers. To people he has met before more than once... he has never done this to them. I have a border collie blue heeler mix, I read somewhere that they are fear biters, so maybe he just bites people he doesn't know, but that is besides the point is there anything i can do or does anybody know anything about this sort of breed??? I got him from my aunts farm.. he was a shy puppy I won't deny that and when strange people would try to pet him he woud dip down or just avoid them...i socialized him at a young age (3 months) going to dog parks..well he gets along very well with other dogs its just people I am worried about. His name is morgan, and is a very happy friendly dog..i'm just worried he might bite the wrong person and I will have to put him down
If a friend goes to give me a hug he jumps up and barks at the person hopefully he's not to over protective but anyways if someone could please help me answer this question I would really appreciate it!
Thanks so much.
Sharleen+Morgan.

Does he nip at their heels? He may be tyrying to herd them.

i think you really need to find somebody to evaluate this dog in person. this is the kind of thing that needs more help than an online group can provide you with.

If he's already nipping at the tender age of ten months then I can't imagine what he will do when he is 2-3 and reaches maturity! Find a trainer that can help you correct his behavior and in the mean time, crate him when you have company and prevent the behavior!

This sentence caught my eye. Do you think there is a right person to bite? I mean, do you think it's OK that he's nipping (biting) any person?

When you say you socialized him, how much, how many times a week and how was it done. What was associated with the people he met? How much contact and what kind? Was it all pleasant? At what age did you begin exposing him to people and has it been ongoing?

Yes, this may be his herding thing and that needs an acceptable outlet but he needs to be restrained when people come around and given an alternative behavior....to "sit." Or "down/stay." And when he sits and is calm, he gets a treat and praise. When he lunges, goes after or gives the eye stalk, he needs to be interrupted. In fact, he needs to be interrupted at the first sign of intention before he moves a muscle. This has to be absolutely consistant. He must not be reinforced, even if inadvertantly for one muscle contraction toward going after someone. He needs to be shown when he IS allowed to run and nip at a ball or a toy on a long rope that you drag around outside or drag behind a bike.

When you consult with a trainer or behaviorist for this, do not let anyone try to supress this drive or punish it. It needs to be re-directed constructively. See if you can get him into a herding class or agility along with obedience. He needs a job badly. Get that obedience beefed up asap. He must learn and be conditioned to obey you when people come over and go into a down/stay or sit/stay. And not given the freedom to choose to go after someone. That must be prevented. You choose what he is going to do. Set him up for success so his good behavior can be reinforced. And reinforce it well, with lots of praise and treats. Tell your visitors to not make eye contact or pay any attention to him until and unless he is sitting nicely. And then they can toss him a ball to go after....instead of themselves and treats to associate them with good times. Keep him on a leash around people for now...short enough that he can't reach them.

I think putting him in a crate will not teach him how to act when visitors come over. But you must prevent him from nipping them, hence the leash. You need to show him how to act and reinforce him and at other times, give him an appropriate outlet.

I re-read your post and somehow this slipped past me the first time. You mean you didn't start socializing him till he was 3 months? That's 12 weeks old. That's the time when he should have had copious amounts of socializing, saturated with it. That is about the end of the critical period for socialization. It sounds like he doesn't know how to relate to people normally....herding or not. He desperately needs help asap so this doesn't get worse. The Border Collie should really not have this motor pattern anyhow. I believe they normally posess only the eye stalk and chase and should not progress to the bite under normal circumstances. I'm not sure if I remember that correctly from what I read but at any rate, I think you need some professional help if you can't get this under control very soon.

It's impossible to say over the Internet if this is due to his herding instinct gone awry or due to a naivite about interacting with humans due to undersocialization or even temperament. It seems odd that he's friendly and acting unafraid one moment and then going in for a bite the next. He may be having some fear issues....wanting to be friends, but unsure and insecure....and you're not recognizing them. That's why a behaviorist would be helpful....to see in person what's going on. Let us know how things go.

I agree, he needs to be assesssed asap.

It's hard for us,without seeing your dog, to know what you mean. There is fear biting, herding biting, submissive hand nibbling and on and on... but no matter which kind of biting it is- NO biting should be allowed.

wow thanks so much for all your replies...so helpfull well I socialized him i guess when he was 2 months i used to take him to a local puppy park full of lots of people and lots of dogs in march when i got him, and in april and so forth...I always make him sit when new people come into the house, and he gets praised for doing so i let the people pat his head...and they just usually ignore him and vise versa but then he goes up to them all happy and for some reason he gets shy and nips it really scares me. But i'm thinking of going to a trainer 100%, I really hope this gets better he is a very loveable dog who loves to cuddle and gives lots of kisses, and he isn't a stupid dog he learnt at a very young age...to sit,stay,lay down..off, all those good commands. He just needs to learn that nipping at strangers is NOT the right thing to do, no matter if he feels threatned
Thanks..if u have any other comments please feel free to help me
sharleen and morgan

Well...what he really needs to learn is to NOT feel threatened. Trying to teach him to act a certain way when something inside isn't right will be a losing battle. So, he needs a desensatizing or counter-conditioning program. He should not be scolded or anything because he's probably already afraid or uneasy or something. There are ways to work this but it will take some gradual and timely getting him use to things so he will be comfortable... Not that you just supress his actions.

Remember...he's not able to think in terms of "right and wrong" the way we do because he's a dog. He has instincts and dog-ways of doing things and dog-ways of processing information. Be careful not to get into the trap of projecting human values and morals onto your dog. He is an animal after all.

I'm confused ... is this a snippy , snappy bite or a friendly nip ?? Any growls involved needs help ASAP !

No growls just out of no where he nips..he doesn't make a noise..he seriously is really happy wagging his tail then theperson goes to touch him (keep in mind this is someone he is meeting for the first time) and he just snaps not really violently ...just to like show he is scared or something its so strange! He has never done this with anybody he has met more than 5 times

No growls just out of no where he nips..he doesn't make a noise..he seriously is really happy wagging his tail then theperson goes to touch him (keep in mind this is someone he is meeting for the first time) and he just snaps not really violently ...just to like show he is scared or something its so strange! He has never done this with anybody he has met more than 5 times

Regardless, you should get a reputable behaviorist to assess him, observe him and help you.