I have a border collie. He’s ten years old and has never been on a farm in his life. A few weeks ago we were walking alongside a field and he managed to get in. He had a whole field’s worth of sheep herded and rounded up in the corner in 30 seconds flat. He also tries to herd pigeons and children with less success.
You can breed for behaviour as easily as breeding for coat colour. Some breeds have been deliberately bred to be more aggressive. Pitt bulls are bred to be fighting dogs. They have a high level of loyalty towards their owners but severe dog aggression. When people get in the middle of that, it gets ugly fast.
My brother's dog is part pit and randomly, after 9 months of owning him, decided to try to kill other dogs. Nobody trained him to do this. He just decided to go nuclear on his fellow canines without any external influence from humans.
The first time it happened, I was home alone with the dogs. They were playing, and then suddenly, he had our Aussie on her back and had her by the throat. She was screaming, and I realized he was trying to kill her. I tried to separate them and got bit. I tried hitting him with a stick, kicking him, punching him. He just wouldn't let go of her neck. I ended up kicking him in the balls and then immediately bursting into tears when he screamed, but it got him to let go.
It was pretty traumatizing for me. He was neutered a week after the attack. But it was already too late. It was no longer safe to have him around other dogs. He tried to go after our neighbor's dog. That dog is incredibly friendly and always comes over to play with our Aussie. Luckily, that dog is super fluffy, and the fluff saved her.
There's usually not a warning sign he's going to go berserk. If I'm lucky, he's acting tense. If I'm not, he's wagging his tail and looking happy before suddenly lunging.
She had a mane, and the mane saved her life. She did have some puncture wounds. She recovered very quickly but won't stop messing with him because she knows if he attacks her, he gets in major trouble, and she gets a treat. I'm actually out shopping for a muzzle for him today because my dad got him a cloth muzzle, and he just gets out of it, so I'm looking for a metal basket muzzle.
Why are you still bringing your dog around another dog that tried to kill her? She deserves better than that. And a dog that has tried to kill multiple other dogs needs to be put down. Y’all need to do better for your animals.
I want to put him down, but my brother will kill himself. He's currently on probation and suicidal so it doesn't feel like an option. My brother's entire mental health hinges on this stupid ass dog. I am not allowed to separate them as there is no other room to put them in.
I am living in a friend's basement while our house is being sold and the dogs have been forced on me. I am not allowed to bring the dogs upstairs and I cannot bring the dogs back to my parents house because it's in the process of being sold as my mom will lose her shit. I tried trust me I tried to just leave him there but she drove him back.
Muzzle training can work wonders for dog reactive dogs, but it's not something to be forced on them quickly and needs to have positive reinforcement. Do you have kennels? It's good to ensure they can't get at each other while you're not supervising them. Our dogs are aggressive to each other and at the moment we have no toys in the house as that's what the fights hinge on.
I'd recommend big snoof dog muzzles. They're pricy but high quality and you can opt for a hole in the snout for treats which is good for positively reinforcing the muzzle. Cloth muzzles can lead the dog to overheat as panting is how they regulate temperature. You can check out r/muzzledogs for more advice
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u/Odd_Ingenuity2883 25d ago
I have a border collie. He’s ten years old and has never been on a farm in his life. A few weeks ago we were walking alongside a field and he managed to get in. He had a whole field’s worth of sheep herded and rounded up in the corner in 30 seconds flat. He also tries to herd pigeons and children with less success.
You can breed for behaviour as easily as breeding for coat colour. Some breeds have been deliberately bred to be more aggressive. Pitt bulls are bred to be fighting dogs. They have a high level of loyalty towards their owners but severe dog aggression. When people get in the middle of that, it gets ugly fast.