 Barked: Sun Jul 5, '09 7:36am PST |
 | |  | | Man, I seriously need to vent!!
My Panda has been with me for about 6 months. She was 2 when I adopted her from the local shelter.
She is my first Border Collie and although I have learned a lot, I am aware that I have long way to go.
I don't know a lot about her past, only that this is her 3rd home and that the last person surrendered her because she "wouldn't leave the cats alone".
She obsessively herds my cat Peewee who gets annoyed with her, but isn't afraid.
Panda is amazing! I don't know anything about her breeding, but I am sure she would be fantastic if I needed to keep track of sheep.
So, today ( as most weekends ) we went to the State Park for a hike. Dogs are to be kept on a leash there, but of course there are always a few people that this rule does not apply to.
Although Panda has had interactions with other dogs that went well, she does exhibit some aggressive behavior. My suspicion is that she doesn't know how to interact with other dogs and if she feels unsure she just goes on the defensive.
So, besides the fact that this park is just beautiful and I enjoy going there, I am trying to hone her social skills.
Recently her barking at other dogs has increased a little, so now I make her sit and stay when another dog approaches and reward her for letting them pass without making any noise.
Now, I know what it is like to have a "friendly" dog. I have had 2 of them! If they have enough sense not to approach another dog, I certainly don't care if they are off leash. I passed a few of them today and Panda just sat and stayed. As she should be, she is on a leash and I do have her under control.
But there was this young couple with an older male medium sized dog we met early into the hike and he was off leash. I said: "She is not friendly!". He quickly approached us and Panda turned into psycho-dog.
Now, you would expect these people to at least run to keep their dog from getting bitten, but instead the girl seemed to be annoyed to have to walk over and pull her dog back. No apology.
A little further up we met a nice man, walking his neighbors young intact male black lab. He stayed on the other side as I stated another "She's not friendly", but we began to talk across from each other. I got to make Panda sit and stay and he commented on how good this was to improve her behavior.
This is what my dog needs.
But after a few minutes, the young couple comes around the bend. Dog is on the leash. I continue my conversation and they pass. Panda sits and stays.
Just a few steps further there is a stream and it is a great place to let the dogs cool off and get a drink.
However, the couple lets their dog off the leash and guess what? He comes running over.
This time, they guy comes after him and I say "You know there is a leash law, right?"
"He is very friendly" the guy replies.
Panda is doing her psycho-thing again and luckily I cant just go over and
smack the dude on the head!!!
Why does it seem that I care more about this nice dogs welfare than his ignorant owners????
I quickly stepped between them, which didn't help Panda's anxiety but I would have let her bite me instead of this gullible dog.
I don't want Panda to have any actual bites on her history either!
My 2 prior dogs were well socialized. I had my sheltie since she was a puppy and well, she was just an angel.
My second dog was about 9 months when I got her from the shelter, so it was still easy to socialize her.
I am very careful to make all of Panda's encounters a productive experience for her, but incidents like today are a set-back!
People like this, just irritate me!!! I hope their dog doesn't get bitten some day, because of their ignorance....
(I did post this in behavior and training, but would like to get some breed-specific feedback regarding Panda's defensiveness as well) |  |  | |  |
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6
I think you are acting in the right way and you can't be responsible for other owners stupidity.It will take some time but you'll get there and it will be worth all your efforts
!
