Dog behaviour changed

I agree with others - sort the garden! Put up your own tall fence without touching your neighbours wall. Ignore their objections. You can worry about upsetting them if you like, but this might lead to you losing your dogs. You choose.

Second, for the postie, get a lockable mailbox at the end of garden so s/he doesn't have to come in.

OP I also think a behaviourist is probably required but I still think you need to get a secondary fence put in front of the neighbours fence (and the gate can attached to a fencepost on your land so that it doesn't need to touch the neighbour's wall). A half acre garden is a decent size and it's such a shame if they can't access it freely. If they're outside a lot more and also having two long walks a day then that in itself should address the toileting issues in part since they will be outside when the urge strikes.

We have a dog flap for our collie. She is in and out like a yo-yo.

Your dogs are both high-energy, intelligent breeds (well, a cross of 2 such breeds in the case of one of them) who will be challenging if they don't get enough exercise and mental stimulation.

It sounds as though you are no longer able to give them that, so you need to find another way. I'd suggest a dog walker for at least an hour a day in addition to the walks your husband is giving them and a range of interactive toys.

Get a fence put up in your garden, inside the line of the neighbour's fence. It can be up to 2m high, unless there is a specific local restriction. It needn't be expensive, chain link will do the job and is much cheaper than a wooden fence. Then they can play outside as well, and you can go outside and throw a ball or something with them.

For the toiletting, you need to go back to basics: take them out into the garden every hour, and reward them for peeing/pooing outside, including when out on walks. Watch them like a hawk indoors, and usher them out the minute they show any signs of needing to go (eg sniffing, circling etc). Consider fitting a dog flap to the back door once you've secured the garden, so that they can go out whenever they want to.

I didn't say anything about their quality of life - you seem to be completely misreading my posts

You keep saying that they get two walks a day but I'm trying to explain it's not about just having two walks - they need to be good quality walks if you want them to be beneficial and to make a difference to their behaviour.

But if your collie doesn't actually like kids then I suspect you have bigger problems than that.

The problem is almost always bored dogs who arnt getting enough free running over fields. They need to go out in the morning and the evening then they will be content at home. I think this is true of all dogs actually and why they have problems. Yes you are busy with baby now but that isn't their fault they were there first. You also need to make the garden a safe space for them to access whenever they like so as others have said you can put up your own fence next to the neighbours fence just explain you need to dog proof the garden there's nothing they can do tbh. If they are pulling the oram then get halti head collars then they can't pull

You have a biddable, intelligent breed like a collie but haven't managed the art of loose lead walking. Get that installed and you'll be able to take them out without pulling the pram over.

Teach them to come in on command when you see someone approaching the property so they don't bark at visitors.

And you're making them worse by being nervous and inconsistent around them.

What was the lead up to the dog baring his teeth at the baby? What had happened?

Some brain games for the dogs might help and there's loads you can do without moving around too much in terms of your birth injury. You'll need to tailor them to your dogs breeds so that they're getting the right sort of enrichment from them.

i wouldnt have the door open all day but at times during the day they might like to go into the garden

why can you take them out in the garden on the lead?

Not missing the point at all 🫣

It’s not just about the amount of exercise, it’s about quality - they also need mental stimulation on top. If their behaviour has changed since you had a baby then they’re obviously missing something.

Two intelligent dogs need more than just two walks a day plus a garden to run in.

Two walks a day and an half of acre of garden to run their energy off.

Walks are about quality not quantity - are they getting off lead (outside the garden) to sniff and explore? Do you take them to different places and do mental stimulation?

You have two really intelligent, energetic breeds of dog - of course it's not your fault you're injured but if you can't provide the exercise yourself then you need to look at a dog walker or daycare instead.

But a collie needs a really long walk every day and loads and loads of mental stimulation.

Just put in a fence post and then you don't need to touch his wall..

If you can't/ won't change anything in your home and the dogs aren't getting enough exercise I think you might be better off rehoming the collie, at least.

Why haven't you put up a secondary fence in your own garden, so that the dogs can go out there safely?

You're not allowed to put a gate in their fence. Of course not. You are absolutely allowed to put up your own fence on your own land running alongside theirs just higher.

You need to get a dog behaviourist involved - not a trainer.

You need to build a fence - probably at least 5ft high, maybe more - and allow your dogs plenty access to the garden. Or you need to go outside with them for hours each day.

Both dogs are high energy working breeds - how much exercise are they getting?

I genuinely don’t mean this to sound unsympathetic, but it really doesn’t sound like your lifestyle is set up for dogs. Maybe it was pre-child, but not any more. Insufficient time / ability to walk and train them, very young child in the house, garden without secure fencing that you don’t sound willing to change…your dogs are becoming increasingly stressed and unhappy. You either need to throw money at it in the shape of behaviourists and dog walkers, and be prepared to put in the time needed to break bad habits and form new ones, or you need to give serious thought to rehoming, hard as that is to accept.

(I’ve had a collie X myself and they really need a huge amount of mental stimulation - plenty of games, snuffle mats etc as well as long walks.)

When you clean up in the house are you using a specific cleaner for dog wee? If not they'll be able to smell that they went there before and are more likely to go there again.

It sounds like you've created monsters tbh, you say they're spoiled, did you train them at all? One walk a day for a collie is not nearly enough stimulation. Pulling the pram over is not ok, they're probably doing it because they're not getting nearly enough exercise, are desperate to run and haven't been properly trained.

You need to train them properly with help from the dog trainer, you need to be really consistent. It needs a lot of time and effort putting into it. You need to get help for your anxious dog - meds might be the answer. You need to sort out some stimulating activities they can do in the house or garden to get their brains working. You need to get a walker to take the collie out a second time each day.

Really these dogs need a lot more than you are giving them right now and you're getting a lot of bad behaviour because of it. A collie is a working dog, they can't just be kept in the house 23 hours a day.

I don’t know anything about dogs but I saw a tv program with a “dog whisperer” who solves problems likes this, maybe they exist in this country as well.