Can I ask for some advice about my dog and visitors please?

[poutintrout]

I have a 5 years old Border Collie who is very territorial about the house and it is a real problem that I can't ignore any more. He will go frantic, barking and growling, hackles up & snarling if anybody comes to the front door. He will eventually go into the lounge where I can shut the door but I have to tell him a couple of times and he goes off still growling and making a fuss. Nobody can come into the house further than the kitchen. I daren't let strangers meet him in the house.

If we have visitors coming over that my dog hasn't met before we have to take him out on the lead onto neutral territory for him to meet the visitor before they can come into the house. Even then my dog is very antsy around them and demonstrates fearful/aggressive body language for a while before he calms down - which is unpleasant for visitors and worrying for me. Once my dog has met someone though he will happily let them come back to the house and is happy to see them.

We had a particularly unpleasant incident when we were staying with my inlaws. They didn't understand the problem, I think they thought I was being dramatic because they have only seen him as the nice dog he usually is, and they let a visitor in. My dog firstly ran under the table growling and backing off but then rushed at the visitor snapping. Fortunately he didn't bite but I felt awful and afraid at what could have happened.

This is no way to live and obviously causes problems for simple things like having workmen in the house. I am also TTC and know that, God willing, at some point I will have to have Health Visitors at the house. I do not want the added pressure of a snarling dog. Also I know that this is my house and it is ridiculous that my dog dictates who can come in.

When my dog is in this mode of fear and aggression he won't listen to me and will not be bribed with food treats. I have read about guests throwing titbits over the threshold and ignoring the dog but I know that my dog isn't food orientated when distracted & to me this kind of training would be a recipe for disaster.

We are moving house soon and I wonder whether this will be a good time to make some changes for the good but I don't know where to start with tackling this problem. I am also worried that we will have a couple of weeks of staying with family before the new house is ready and I am worried about a repeat of the incident at my PILS house. We have a fabric muzzle but I don't want my dog to have to constantly wear that - that isn't a solution and won't tackle the deep behavioural issue.

I think that because we have never had many visitors since having him as a pup - we moved away from family and friends - that this is the problem and he is unsocialised in this regard and I feel guilty that we have let him down. Having said that we have another Border Collie who is 4 years old and he is totally different. He is not fearful and loves visitors.

I'm sorry for the long post and really, really hope that somebody can give me some pointers, I am at the end of my tether on this front.

Thank you!

The best thing to do is get a trained professional to help you with your dog at home. I would try the APDT for a recommendation in your area.

Meanwhile:

• it might be worth trying a DAP diffuser and collar. It can work really well with fearful dogs.
• can you place a baby gate somewhere where the dog can see visitors and react to them without coming into contact with them and potentially putting them in danger? If you can do that, then invite a friend to visit, ask him/her to stay on the safe side of the baby gate and ignore the dog's behaviour. See how long it takes for the dog to settle and relax, if he does eventually relax repeat with other visitors and hopefully he will learn to relax faster and faster each time.
• I appreciate he is not motivated by food, but is there any thing else you could reward him with? Would a squeeky toy be sufficient to distract him? Or the promise of a walk? If there is something he is motivated by, stage a visit with a friend at a specific time, start the rewarding activity right before the visitor arrives (e.g. take out the lead, say 'walkies'), then the visitor arrives, let someone else deal with the visitor while you continue with the reward with the dog, i.e. take it and go for a walk. If that works repeat often and with different people so that he hopefully associates the visits with the reward. If you are worried during this training that you might get bitten, use a muzzle.

Another one here who says never ever ever use the flooding method with dogs-you will make every situation 100% worse and have a dog that can not trust its owner.

What you are describing is very common collie behaviour-however still behaviour that needs to be resolved for all of you.

You sound as if you are taking it seriously which is good - there may be air snaping but if the dog is very stressed this is a clear warning which needs to be listened to.

Wiccaweys do fantastic understanding collie talks each month and I strongly recommend you book to go on one. It will explain to you how collies think and work and why yours is reacting like this.

Collies are fantastic dogs, very intelligent, very sensitive and very loyal to their owners. They need loads of mental stimulation, some exercise but not a lot of stress. Collies need a calm steady household that mentally stimulates them and keeps them secure.

If it were my collie I would prevent the situation from happening. I would never want to put my dog into a situation that it is so stressed that it feels that it has to protect itself. You are right that he will not hear you when he is in this situation as he is so stressed/fearful/guarding that he has no space to hear or feel any other emotion - so treating, shouting, etc will be a waste of time.

If you were my client I would work on desensitising to people in a neutral situation and teach a greet etiquette but would not enforce any greeting in the house. I would remove the door bell or what ever trigger it is that sets him off in the house, make him a very cosy den area where he is safe - a crate in a very quiet room where he can be put to totally relax. If some collies are not given enforced relaxation they will be on herding, duty all day - it is too much for them he needs to learn to chill.

My primary aim would be reducing the situation to start with rather than making him face up to it. However Paul will give you excellent advice and I can hear him now saying "is he being a bit of a monkey!"

Collies are like living with toddlers and in my opinion are the most fantastic dogs in the world but they are not bombproof and if their loyalty to their owners is allowed to get misplaced it can cause problems. But equally as they are such bright dogs they can learn new behaviour if taught in the right way so good luck and enjoy your lovely lad.

Just thinking again if you are moving I would retrain to your new houses door bell. Ring the bell take the dog to his bed , and treat. Do this until when the bell is rung the collie runs to his bed rather than meet the visitors. You will need to make sure that noone rings the bell until this training is solid but with a collie it will only take a few days to sort. This will give you a calmer approach when visitors come to you house but reading your op this is only half of the issue

minimu11 Thank you for your detailed post, what you said makes total sense. I will definitely contact Wiccaweys and look into their talks too. I enjoy learning about the breed anyway because they are amazing dogs so would find a talk a bit of a treat!

Your suggestions about creating a safe den for my dog really resonated. We have tried all kinds of beds over the years but he has always rejected them, preferring the floor. Since we are moving soon we will have a spare room come office so I will designate this as a quiet space for him and put a duvet in there for him - I might bring the crate back in from the shed, though he never really liked it that much but there is no harm in trying again. I will also try the doorbell/bed training. My DP will have a week or so off work in the new house off so can help me.

Thank you so much again for your advice, it really makes me feel more confident that I can crack this and make my dog happier and more relaxed too.