Snapping Border Colllie

[Rosenicola]

Hi Guys

I really need your advice..

I have a male border collie who is 19 months old and ive had him since he was 10 weeks old.

He has been fine since the start, but around six weeks ago he snapped at me and tried to bite me when i tried to grab him to stop him from leaving the house as we live near a main road.

I was quite hurt, but thought nothing of it as i thought he might just be scared as i was quite close to him at the time and thought he might have just felt threatened.

Tonight, he has just run out of the door so i went to get him, he laid down and i grabbed his collar to bring him back in and he bit my wrist. He was growling too. When i tried to get him off me, he bit even harder. he has took the skin off my wrist and hand and he left teeth marks.

As soon as we got in the house i was going to slap him on the nose and he went for me again, but then his ears went back and he looked really sorry. (

I don't ever hit him by the way, but this is quite serious as u can imagine)

I don't know what to do. I don't know if it's what these dogs do as i know they are quite a lot of hard work and stuff, but he's never done it before.

I just don't want him to bite a little kid or something if they mess with him.

Also it's hurt my feelings a little as he is treated like a prince in my house :-) But honestly, i just feel rubbish because he wants to hurt me like that. That's probably not the case at all, but that's how it feels.

He gets walked everyday and plenty of excercise and loads of love and he's usually a great dog.

What could be wrong with him and why would he suddenly start biting. Sorry it's long, but thought i should tell u the whole story..

Thanks :-(

[raggies1]

Its a difficult situation, I dont think it can be dismissed as 'something these dogs do' as biting is a very serious problem and shouldnt be accepted from any dog. I know a lot of dogs dont like to have their collars grabbed as its their vulnerable area (dogs fighting will go for the neck, its why they have so much scruff for protection). With you saying he's treated like a prince it may be a dominance thing, if he thinks he's pack leader in his mind you have no right to grab his collar so he could be showing you in the only way he can, biting! It could also be that he isn't getting the exercise and mental stimulation he needs, I know you said he gets lots of exercise but they need a huge amount of both free running and mental activities. I have never had a collie as even though im at home all day I dont think I could provide the massive amount of stimulation they need. We see plenty of collies out walking our dog and when I worked at the vets we saw lots of collies and id say easily 50% of them had aggression problems and it often stemmed from being bored and frustrated. I would get him checked over by a vet to make sure it isnt a medical problem then discuss with them about a referral to a dog behaviourist if they recommend it. If a dog learns that biting is ok it will continue to do so as unfortunately they learn that biting gets the desired effect i.e. you let go of his collar.

[efc]

Rosenicola - be very careful. We had a collie when I was a child and I witnessed it attack my father. Wasn't very pleasant and it is something that has stayed with me throughout my life.

It was my fathers dog, would do anything for him although wasn't too good around strangers. One day it got it's paw stuck in its choker chain whilst lying down. My father went to release it and it attacked his face. As my father stood up the dog was hanging from his face and wouldn't release it's grip. Not a pleasant sight!

However, I'm not saying all Collies are like that! Maybe some advice from your vet would be best.

Good luck!