# Change in Behaviour - Year Old Border Collie



## ORR1 (Oct 1, 2010)

Can anyone help? I have an in tact one year old male border collie who has lived with us since he was 8 weeks old. Within the last few weeks his behaviour has changed. He has started to bear his teeth and snap at my 12 year old son, who will no longer pet him and is very upset about it, he tried to bite me the other day which is a first, he has started to howl at night and he seems very unsettled in general. 
We are considering having him castrated, but have received conflicting advice regarding the pros and cons and I was told that castration will not stop the recent escalation of bad behaviour. 
He has never been a perfectly behaved pup; boisterous, too excited when meeting new people and a mind of his own, but he was always very happy to be petted by my son, slept through the night and seemed settled. All pet lovers who meet him all say what a lovely dog he is. When he meets anyone new, he always immediately rolls on his back and does the same with most dogs. Which I presume is a submissive gesture.
We have been attending basic dog training courses to help train him and us.
He is well socialised and plays well with other robustly minded dogs. I can only remember one occasion when he took a dislike to another dog which was in July while we were on holiday. 
He is very intelligent and we all love him very much, but this recent turn in his behaviour is causing all sorts of problems in our house. 
If anyone has similar experiences or can offer advise, I would be very pleased to hear from you. Thank you for reading my very long thread.


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## RAINYBOW (Aug 27, 2009)

I would have thought that at a year he could be castrated now but there are varying schools of thought.

First port of call though for a sudden change in behaviour is the vet, he may have a grass seed stuck or something like that causing him discomfort and affecting his behaviour. You can ask the vet about castration at the same time.

Re your sn, get him involved in the training, supervised interaction only with your son in charge of the treats and giving basic commands that the dog should find easy and already knows. To be safe i would tell your son just to ignore the dog other than for training while you sort out


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## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

Get him to your vets ... a sudden change in behaviour could be down to something medical


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2010)

Castration is NOT a surefire way to cure this! but as MEse sez - see the vet there could be some underlying issue causing this behaviour!

He is maybe in the midst of the 'dreaded' Michaels though! but would not really have expected any agression - certainly human directed!

DT


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## ORR1 (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. Please excuse my ignorance "dreaded Michaels"?


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## chook (Sep 21, 2010)

Vets to check him over.
And on the castration front, if your worried then ask for chemical castration
it will give you a chance to see if his behavour changes, before thinking about
having him done properly.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

First port of call should be your vets IMO just to make quite sure there is no underlying medical condition. Having said that at a year old, he is probably beginning to feel his feet (sexually as well) and needs some firm ground rules laying down.

Speak to your vet about castration, he's the best person to advise you.

Its very difficult for any of us to offer advice without actually seeing the dog and perhaps you should consider contacting a behavourist before this behaviour escalates.

I have an elderly lady that trains with me and when her old BC bitch died she took on a 5month old rescue male BC. It was about two weeks before our Christmas break from training so I didn't see him for about 10 weeks. When they came back to class, he was totally out of control and bit several dogs and a couple of other (experienced) handlers.
We worked with him on a one to one basis and then with her other older BC dog attending and then with my bitches. He was eventually allowed back into class.
He's now 7/8 yrs old and I adore him almost as much as his owner. He's still an extremely lively boisterous dog who would have been better with a much younger owner but there isn't an ounce of malice in him. He just needed to be taught a few manners.

Hope this cheers you up.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

All we can do on here is make an educated guess to come up with possibles. The behaviour you mentione as a pup over excited boisterous sometimes wilful doesnt sound out of ordinary especially for a bc. The rolling on his back etc when meeting new people or dogs sounds like classic behaviour of a submissive not totally confident dog. However was that when younger or does he do it still? The behavior hes showing now biting and snapping is the worrying bit. It can be dominance trying to elevate his status associated with sexual maturity but it can also be a sign of being stressed and fearful ie fear agression. If you put it with what can be seen as the submissive behaviour with new people and dogs if he does that still it could be a possibility its fear aggression. Dogs can go through a fear period between 6 to 14mths where all of a sudden again they start reacting to new situations sites and sounds. Has there been any changes to his routine like holidays building work new baby? Or has he recently had something happen thats frightened him? You need to ensure your trainings back on top. At the moment i wouldnt let your son play with him. Both you and your son need to assert yourselfs make him sit for his dinner lead etc. He waits at the door before his walk etc. I would as a precaution do what the others suggest and take him for a vet check. A response to pain can be aggresion. Dont know if this will help any sorry cant give any exact answers. If the problem doesnt get any better or worse you should really see a qualified behaviourist.


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## Oenoke (Oct 17, 2009)

As others have said, I would get him checked by the vet, there may be an underlying medical issue that is causing him to be a bit grumpy. If you are unsure whether castration will help there is a chemical castration that lasts for 6 months that you could try first, ask your vets about it.


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

Please read The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson which will explain your dog`s behaviour and tell you how to train him. 
If he continues I recommend you call in an APBC or APDT behaviourist or trainer. 
When he snaps at you or your son - what happens just before? Is your son standing over him? The reason I ask is that if he is showing appeasement behaviour to strangers he could lack confidence.


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## ORR1 (Oct 1, 2010)

Apparently, my son is usually standing over him when he has snaps. These incidents happen when I am out of the room. He used to just roll over for a belly rub, but recently started to bear his teeth leading on to a snap. So, to be fair to the dog, he did give my son warnings which were not heeded. I will read the book you suggest. Thnks


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## ORR1 (Oct 1, 2010)

He still lays on his back for strangers, but I think, not as much. Still does it when meeting some dogs, not all. As allot of BC's, he hates loud noises and can be wary of strange objects in the distance. He has had a change to his routine, we have had a kitchen extension (still in progress), but the building work is finished. I did have to carry him up the drive on a few occasions as he was rooted to the ground and nothing would coax him to move and dragging him while on a choke/check chain did not seem sensible. His cage where he sleeps is in the kitchen. He slept through the night without problem for a week during the building process and only started to howl four nights ago.


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## Deb (Jan 28, 2009)

my BC's behaviour changes on a monthly basis!! She has become frightened of the local supermarket, then the pet shop, now my hair straightners!!!She used to lie down when she saw another dog - she now barks and bares her teeth to some of them. When off lead her attention is solely on her ball but yesterday off lead she snapped at another dog that came too near. :confused1:


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Deb said:


> my BC's behaviour changes on a monthly basis!! She has become frightened of the local supermarket, then the pet shop, now my hair straightners!!!She used to lie down when she saw another dog - she now barks and bares her teeth to some of them. When off lead her attention is solely on her ball but yesterday off lead she snapped at another dog that came too near. :confused1:


They are a breed well known for strange phobias. I still haven't fathomed my youngster's fear in the car and its been going on for 8 months now.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

I think your boys just going through growing pains! Putting it all together. Like others own them said they are a sensitive breed anyway. Given his age his hormones will be up in the air just like human teenagers causing confusion. Hes also had the disruption of people in his house and the kitchen where is bed usually is changed. Like you said you had trouble getting up the drive. His also the right age to be going through a fear period. When my friend moved house her other dogs didnt bat an eyelid. The collie lost the plot for a bit. Sometimes they dont react immediately. They practice shut down which is the equivalent of sticking their head in the sand and making out its not happening. Then when they cant do that any longer they start reacting as he does now. Just try to get his routine back on track. Give him time and patience. If he shows fear dont stroke or soothe him it can reinforce the behaviour. Just try to act that nothings occured out the ordinary. Carry on with his training.


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