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

Skybyrd Thanks

Yes I think you're right. Collies have high needs & if they're not in work they need a very active home.
They have a strong herding instinct & need alot of training to live happily alongside children & cats.

We have collies as working sheep dogs & I never allowed them unsupervised access when the children were young nor would I make them share space with cats.

But please don't be tempted to get another dog to replace it.

Serencwtch Yes, we saw sheep on our late walk yesterday and at one point I thought she would jump the fence to the farmers field.

Appalling.

@letsallcountsheep I won't add to the pile-on regarding the nose tapping and the kissing/cuddling as I think you've got the message.

I'd be very cautious of your dog walker I'm afraid. Remember that a dog walker is not necessarily a trainer, and doesn’t automatically advise or behave correctly. If this one thinks a tap/smack on the nose is right then I’d not want them in charge of my dog.
As the Dogs Trust says, “Inappropriate or outdated advice or methods might adversely affect your dog’s welfare and might even make the problem behaviour worse in the long term".
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/understanding-your-dog/finding-behaviour-and-training-support

Thankfully there are lots of decent, up-to-date trainers available who should be able to advise, such as https://apdt.co.uk/

No one has said anything out of order.

At our first puppy class the trainer said
"If your dog misbehaves then roll up a newspaper and hit yourself hard round the head because it's your fault, not the dogs.
There are no bad dogs but lots of bad owners"

Op try and get some hemp oil for her while she's in season, it makes them less anxious and helps with pain

Cartwrightandson Very helpful advice, thank you

A dog nips (bites) your child's nose then you smack it. This was probably a reaction due to the fear of what could have happened ie a serious bite. I'm sorry but I don't think this is a suitable dog to have around children. Women when hormonal can't use this as an excuse for attacking people.

Yeah cos a vet will hand hold and tell her it's perfectly fine to let her child hang off a dog and be in it's face especially while eating and that it's hitting animals is great.

Where is the "hate"?

There's too much reframing of disagreement or challenge as hate lately.

Glad to see you've taken advice on the hitting. Seasons can be funny old things, some dogs aren't bothered, some dogs are textbook, some dogs have weird little quirks. I would never take an unusual change in dogs behaviour in season as an indicator of long term issues (although I would keep my eyes open obviously)
I would echo others above who have concerns about your dog walker as well, noone should be advocating hitting a dog.

you are being ridiculous. Now she has had her season you should plan to have her done and in the mean time you train - none of the issues you have raised are the fault of the dog - they are yours as the owner and person responsible for training. You also need to teach your daughter how to be around dogs and not leave her on her own with the dog. As for cats and dogs - really you know this is normal? cat taunts dog and dog reacts - oh yeah rehome the dog. Ridiculous

Did you know anything about Collies before you bought one ? Both you and your Daughter need to learn how to look after and behave around the dog. The dog is not a toy for your daughter to play with.

She's not your previous dogs.

Stop your child being in her face.

Do not hit her.

Get her spayed.

Feed her in a quiet corner or in her crate so she knows it's her safe place and isn't under any threat while she's eating.

She's still a puppy. Some dog training classes for both of you would help.

Research calming methods for nervous dogs.

Have her vet checked as well, our rescued working collie started getting nippy because she was losing her hearing.

Edit spelling

RB68 As stated previously, can't have spayed until 12 weeks after first season, this is her first!

My cat and dog sleep in the same bed, this isn't a cartoon of dogs chase cats, dogs chase anything, mine favors cars at the min!

AquaFurball all vet checks and vacs up to date. No crate here, she has her own feeding area, I was moving a lick mat I prepared to the freezer this morning not feeding her.

Lead at all times around sheep.
The very worst sheep worriers can be untrained Border Collies or crosses.
They will easily clear a 5 bar gate or fencing, and that will be a death sentence for your dog, as well as the sheep.

Did you just compare women to dogs?

It's irresponsible parenting to allow a child to be kissing a dog's face, dogs can't tell someone to leave them alone. They aren't toys.

I’m really pleased to read your later replies OP, it seems like you’re open to learning and there have been a couple of posts pointing you in the right direction. Unfortunately there are also a lot of outdated ‘trainers’ around, such as Southend, as it’s a completely unregulated industry (as is dog walking etc) so you do need to do a bit of of research but it would really benefit you to find a qualified, modern local trainer where you can either attend classes or have some 1-2-1 training to help you best understand your dog and learn how to manage unwanted behaviours and train her in an effective, positive way. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it. Best of luck

@oakleaffy We were very lucky to with our boy we lost recently, only had to tell him things a couple of times for him to get it. Our first dog was always on the naughty side because the only training advice we were given was of the rolled up newspaper type, which we couldn't bring ourselves to do and we didn't know of alternate approaches.

1/ I did read your posts so assumed your vet would tell you when to have her spayed.

2/ Gates so she can rest without being bothered

3/ Don't ask a dog walker for advice. When I think of dog walkers I think of a local teen needing a side hustle, and likes the thought of walking cute dogs. Or a person walking 10 dogs of all sizes, all looks great until one chases some thing and a dog fight happens.

@visualfeast what's the name of that guide please? I can't see any identifier