I need to rehome don't I.....

[letsallcountsheep]

I have a 7 month old Collie cross. She is lovely, well trained and full of energy.

She came into season about 3 weeks ago, the temperament has changed a little, she's become a little possessive over me and food

2 incidents worry me, when my daughter and I were stroking her my daughter leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek and she nipped her nose, she sometimes gets over excited giving kisses but it scared me enough to pull her away and smack on her nose to stop her. The second happened this morning, I was making my dogs lick mat, I was walking to the freezer to set it and my cat(12) walked across my path, my dog snapped and went for her, she didn't actually get my cat as she ran away. I locked my dog in the kitchen while I checked my cat.

I have a dog walker while I work part time in an office. So she's not home alone all day, she says both incidents are completely out of character and could be because she is in season but I don't think I can relax with her now.

I mentioned we might have to rehome her to my daughter and she was heartbroken as am I, I tried to explain it to her but she's SN and 7 loves our puppy to bits. 😢

WWYD rehome now or see how she is after her season has finished. I will be getting her spayed so no more seasons after this

It wasn’t a pile on. This thread is full of comments from people aghast at the OPs behaviour. People are entitled to say that. OP has taken on that advice apparently so presumably the thread has helped.

If a dog becomes aggressive due to hormones then imo that dog is not suitable to have around children. You could blame hormones when dangerous breeds become aggressive.This doesn't make it any more acceptable to have them around children. I certainly wasn't comparing women to dogs. I was comparing the hormonal state which if severely imbalanced can cause both to act irrationally.

YOU DO NOT 'TAP' A DOG ON THE NOSE. Fucking unbelievable.

When you think about it - your in-season dog has cleaned herself of menstrual blood and faeces ..... are you are happy for it to kick your daughter's face?
Never let a dog lick your face and mouth, Google 'dog zoonoses' and frighten yourself to death.
Collies are working dogs and need a lot of exercise, and they do experience a form of PMT.

@Teanbiscuits33 tbf most mumsnetters do say to rehome or pts the moment anyone says their dog growled at/,nipped/looked crossly at their child

Credit to the OP for not just getting annoyed and flouncing off but for listening and learning

Teaslethistlepink - I actually wanted advice so had to stick around 😀

Hi, OP. I'm a professional dog trainer with nearly 20 years experience. In my career, I've worked for some of the UK's leading welfare and rehoming organisations, I have a BSc Canine Behaviour and an MSc Applied Animal Training and Behaviour, and I'm APDT and ATBC accredited.

A tap on the nose is not a training tool.
At best, it will mean nothing to your dog and so will not affect her behaviour. At worst, she will find it painful or frightening, which will make her more likely, not less likely, to show aggressive behaviour in future.

Dogs rarely resort to snapping straight away, so I'm afraid it's likely she's been indicating with her body language for some time that she's not comfortable with your child kissing her face and has finally escalated to snapping because she can't cope anymore. You might want to do some reading on the concept of "trigger stacking" where small stressors multiply and create what looks like a disproportionate reaction but is actually the result of an animal (or human - this happens in humans too) just pushed over their threshold for what they can cope with by an accumulation of factors - in this case perhaps discomfort with the kissing plus hormonal upheaval from the season. I'm afraid to say if you and/or your dog walker have been "tapping" her on the nose on a regular basis this won't have helped either. Think about it - if you were getting regularly wapped on the nose, are you going to start feeling a little bit uncomfortable every time someone comes near your face? Of course you are.

My strongest recommendation to you at this point, if you are at all interested in keeping your dog, is to speak to a professional trainer or behaviourist who can come round and assess your dog and observe her behaviour in person (which no one on a mumsnet thread can do). Ideally you'd seek a behaviourist but I recognise they can be very expensive, so if you can't swing to that a good trainer is a starting point - look for someone accredited by the APDT if a trainer or the APBC if a behaviourist. These accreditations are the gold standard for the industry in the UK.

And please change your dog walker, absolutely no canine professional should be suggesting, advocating for, or agreeing to smacking a dog on the nose.

I would also add rehoming is a valid option and not one you should feel ashamed to consider, some dogs just aren't cut out to live with small children. But again, please seek advice from a real life professional if you're not sure as none of us can actually see your dog.

@MissPeachyKeen Sorry - it was a follow up to an earlier post I made! It's Dog Training Advice & Support - https://fbdtas.com/ They are amazing and force free. They also have an excellent Facebook group in case you have any questions after reading the guides (but the guides will have almost everything you need in them!) I don't know how I would have coped with out puppy without them. I can't recommend them enough.

You don't sound like a bad dog owner op.

I am concerned about your dog walker though. I am a dog walker and I would never suggest to any of my clients that tapping/hitting their dog's nose is a positive way of training, such poor advice.

I also have issues with dog walkers who will walk multiple dogs at one time, there is no way they can control large 'packs' as you describe it. Just how many are they walking at one time? I can't help but wonder if walkers like this are just our for the money rather than the dog's well-being and if they are advocating tapping as a form of training you do have to ask if they are they doing this whilst other people's pets are in their care?

In the 5+ years I have been dog walking, I have never walked in large packs and have NEVER needed and will NEVER use any form of physical punishment (or 'training' if you want to sugar coat it).

I would be looking for a new dog walker, there are plenty of good ones around.

Thank you :)

WearsblackLoveschocolateAvoidspeople - She has 4 or 5 on some days, a couple of days she just has mine and 1 other

Your poor puppy is only 7 months old and you smack her on the nose because your 7 year old daughter is kissing her face.

Do you know the dog walker well? Can they be trusted to care for her properly when you’re at work?

Why on earth did you buy a puppy? Do the right thing, get her speyed so she can’t be used as a breeding machine and rehome her to someone who has more time and patience than you. She needs someone to train her properly and take her to puppy training classes where you both learn.

Don’t hit your dog try educating your daughter instead. I hope your daughter does not start hitting the puppy because she has seen you do it.

Shame on you!

Read the full thread? Nah, didn't think so.

If your dogs kill people for tapping them on the nose I hope you keep them well away from the public in general and children in particular. They sound unsafe.

You think it's right for dogs to kill people for a tap on the nose which makes me wonder how you'd view cases of domestic violence. Eg, woman taps man on nose, man gets annoyed and breaks her ribs - fair enough in your view I assume.

Repulsive attitude.

Yes, rehome her.

You should not be allowed to have animals.

Dogs aren't people. They are animals and will react like animals when they are hurt and frightened. This is - obviously- a completely different situation to domestic violence and it's frankly absurd to compare the two.

@FreedomDogs the poster I was responding to suggested her dogs would kill a human and would be right to. I'd be worried about her ability to train dogs if she thinks that sort of reaction is correct domestic canine behaviour. Any such dogs should not be kept as pets.

And the comparison you responded with is absurd.

"You read it correctly, my DOG is the one giving excited kisses not my child"

That scares me.....an excitable Border Collie giving kisses? I don't think so! She'll be getting ready to nip already - dogs don't kiss....and they don't have cheeks either!

WTF. Repulsive indeed!!

We have collies , 7months old is a young dog and they are very trusting, worse thing is to slap a dog this just makes them aggressive, ours done exactly the same its understanding their bounderies as well as them knowing yours, collies are working dogs and train well but dont raise voice hit slap , its firm assertive commands .and dont bow or get in her face , imagine a ten foot person getting into your space scary, if she is puppies then she will be just like a human protective , but if you cant cope then rehome but please persevere collies are very intelligent delightful a great pet.

Totally agree , have seen some bad dog walkers, they have no control and use agression ,should not be trusted, get a new dog Walker , and just like someone looking after your child ask for credentials , refrences experience with your breed of dog, how many they walk and where .