Border Collie nipping people on walks

M
Marie4pat Icon representing the flag French
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Hello,

I'm feeling completely helpless and desperate, so I'm posting here in the hopes of finding some answers and, more importantly, some effective tips.

I have an 18-month-old female Border Collie. Until she was about 10-12 months old, her only obsession on walks was chasing cars. For several months now, she’s found a new hobby: she lunges at people walking by and nips or bites their calf, thigh, or hand. This morning, she nipped a child of about ten on the thigh, and it was so hard that the poor lad was marked even through his ski trousers...

I’m at my wits' end because I really feel like my dog has everything she needs to be happy and settled:

- She goes out every day for at least an hour and runs off-lead. She runs with me 4 to 6 times a week for between 1 and 3 hours at a time. I let her roam off-lead as much as possible, but I make sure to keep her on the lead in busy areas and as soon as I spot someone walking in the distance. When I do pass someone, I have to hold the lead extremely tight, otherwise the dog growls nastily and jumps at people to nip them.

- She plays with us a lot in the garden or in the house.

- We have a fenced-off garden of about 1,000 square metres (nearly a quarter of an acre) where she can let off steam whenever she wants.

- We have set strict rules which she follows (the lounge area with the sofa and rug are strictly out of bounds, as are the vegetable patch and the bedroom).

She is a lovely dog and generally quite obedient... well, when she feels like it! She tends to be stubborn and just does her own thing when she's focused on an activity, like chasing an animal in the woods or hunting for moles in a field. We are working on obedience during these moments of extreme excitement on the advice of a dog trainer, but it’s a long, hard slog. I have, however, noticed some progress over the last few weeks.

To finish this long explanation (sorry!), I should mention that we’ve seen three different trainers since we got our dog: one session when she was a puppy as she’s our first dog, then a session to try and sort the car-chasing (no results), and finally, more recently, a session for the problem with her being aggressive towards people we pass on walks (again, no results).

I’m now at the point where I’m ready to invest in a muzzle just so I can let her off-lead without the risk of her hurting someone. But obviously, that isn’t a real solution because it won’t solve the underlying issue.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Translated from French
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    No, you can't really say your dog is "balanced" at this stage, precisely because she’s compensating for an unmet need by being aggressive towards walkers... She needs boundaries and activities that allow her to channel that instinct, and that’s exactly what the trainer should have helped you put in place... above and beyond basic obedience (which is useful for any dog). I don’t have any experience with Treibball myself, but it’s very popular with herding dog fans as a substitute activity, so it’s definitely worth looking into. Just for a bit of fun, I taught my girl to push my big gym ball around with her nose and it’s a nice thing to do together :-) (she’s a Boxer cross, not a herding dog, but she seems to enjoy it anyway). Will this compensatory behaviour (chasing/nipping) stop on its own if you meet her needs? That’s a tricky one... In theory, yes (if the need is met, there’s no more need to compensate), but in practice, not necessarily. Because if I’ve understood correctly, this aggressive behaviour towards walkers has been going on for a while now, so it might be quite deep-seated. Besides, you need to make sure there aren't other underlying causes, such as a hidden fear or discomfort when being approached head-on (the trouble you’re having on the lead makes me think of that). In short, I think that in addition to the targeted activity, you’ll need to work on desensitising her to people passing by, training in real-life situations, and teaching her to settle in the presence of people, bikes, etc.
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    M
    Marie4pat Icon representing the flag French
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    Thanks a lot for your replies! I'm going to try and have a word with the neighbouring farmer. Regarding walking my dog off-lead, I’ve actually been very careful up until now: off-lead in open ground (so I could clip her back on as soon as I spotted a silhouette on the horizon), but on-lead in areas with poor visibility or where it’s busy. I haven’t had any issues until now... until this morning when I made the mistake of trusting her after she’d just walked past five people without batting an eyelid. The sixth person was this kid and then, bang... she gave him a hard nip! I certainly won’t be making that mistake again. She’s got a muzzle in her near future, if you’ll excuse the pun. ;-) I’m also pretty fed up with dog trainers who, in the end, don’t really offer much more than what you can read here and there online. The last trainer I saw told me: "Your dog is great, she’s very well-balanced. You just need to work on her obedience." Hmmm... I don’t think that’s the only issue, as you pointed out when mentioning her herding instinct. What do you think about treibball? Is it worth introducing her to it and practising in the garden every day? Will satisfying her need to herd/control through treibball spontaneously stop her habit of nipping people when we’re out? I’m also going to check out some sites and forums specialising in sheepdogs. Thanks so much for all these suggestions! It’s really cheered me up :-)
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    If she loves it, have a chat with that shepherd to see if he could take your girl on for herding on a fairly regular basis. You never know, it could be a real godsend.

    In the meantime, she absolutely must wear a muzzle for the safety of walkers.

    I honestly don’t know how you’ve managed to take the risk until now; it’s incredibly dangerous.

    I’m not judging, but putting myself in your shoes, I’d be completely stressed out. I’d never let a dog that bites off the lead, even in the middle of a field – I’d be too terrified of an accident. Quiet spots are only quiet until someone turns up at the wrong moment.

    I’m also gutted that out of three pros, not one has been able to give you any real solutions... It’s pretty depressing.

    The more I see of this industry (and I’ve been around it for a few years now), the more I realise we’re sorely lacking in dedicated and effective professionals.

    Since I was lucky enough to find a "good one" straight away (through word of mouth), I didn’t initially understand the negative view of the profession that some people share on forums.

    But gradually, I’ve had to face facts... It really seems like many trainers aren't able to meet the actual needs of people and their dogs, even for very common issues like a herding dog chasing or nipping walkers.

    Because you’re not alone in this, far from it.

    Your dog is frustrated in her natural instinct to herd and control, and she’s redirecting that onto anything that moves.

    Hundreds of cases like this have been successfully sorted out, so I’m convinced your situation can be improved too.

    Try to do some research through networks of people in the know, especially herding dog forums and groups. You’ll find people there who understand this problem and might be able to point you towards a specialist.

    It’s better to travel to the other side of the country for a training session with one of them than to pay ten random trainers and get nowhere.

    Translated from French
    Kikaah
    Kikaah Icon representing the flag French
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    There are actually clubs where owners can go with their dogs and a trainer or shepherd manages the whole session. Besides just giving them problems to solve, you can also give them a few 'jobs' to do—like agility, teaching them to retrieve a specific object, or learning all sorts of tasks from the silly to the practical. They could pick something up and put it in a certain spot, or even help you with daily chores like taking off your socks or bringing you a beer... It's also really important to teach them when a session is starting and to let them know when it's over, otherwise they'll keep going 24/7. The hardest thing with a Border Collie is teaching them how to have an 'off switch' and just do nothing.
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    M
    Marie4pat Icon representing the flag French
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    Yeah, I’ve thought about mental stimulation, but I have to admit it’s tricky to know what really gets a Border Collie’s brain ticking. Games usually involve strategy, scent work, or specific commands, but as soon as she works out the knack of it, she cracks the puzzle in about ten seconds. You really have to use your imagination to outsmart a Border! If anyone has any good game suggestions, I'm all ears!

    There's a shepherd living right next door who has a Border Collie. I could ask him if I can try her out with the flock just to see how she reacts. But if she absolutely loves it, what then? I can’t exactly keep ten sheep in my back garden, can I? ;-)

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    Kikaah
    Kikaah Icon representing the flag French
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    A muzzle definitely helps keep people safe, so for the time being, I think it's a good idea. Besides the physical exercise you’re giving her, what kind of mental stimulation is she getting? When a Border Collie has behavioural issues, my first thought is usually a lack of "work" – not necessarily herding (though that would obviously be ideal for a sheepdog), but performing specific tasks with a clear start and finish. That herding instinct is hardwired in Border Collies; it might be why she’s chasing cars and nipping at people. Since you’re looking for help, why not reach out to a local shepherd? There are clubs out there, just like agility but for herding; I reckon that would be a great shout. ;)
    Translated from French

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