dog attacks owner. please help

jackson76550 · 12-15-2009, 11:20 PM

hopefully someone can shed some light on this......or add an opinion.

some background before i get to the incidents. the male is the one im having trouble with.

currently have 2 border collies. one male. one female. the female is the obvious dominant dog. she is about 5 years old, he is closer to 6. they have a big yard to run around in so the dont go insane. in the evenings and nights they live in the house. within the last year the male dog has gone blind in his left eye. for the most part it hasnt slowed him down other than some depth perception issues. they have both been part time lap dogs for their entire life.

so heres the problem. 2 months ago my gf had him in her lap.....which she has done 100's of times before. she leans over to give him a kiss on the nose and he attacks. a quick snap later and he has bitten her on the lip.....it was a combination snap/growl. about the meanest sound a dog could make. it was over in an instant..... and i punished him the best i knew how.
a few days ago just as he had regained her/our trust it happens again, in a similar manner.....he was on her lap...... but she did not approach him this time, he just looked up and her and got her. it happened again in an instant..... with no signs before it happened. i wont go into details but it was worse than the first time

the past few days i have been watching him....all appears to be normal. but this evening he put his head on my lap and i was petting him....he was enjoying it as usuall but then for no reason he snaps. i was already petting him so i did not approach him in any matter......my hand was already there.

so now i have a dog i cant even trust enough to pet him. he has never showed any signs likes this in the past 6 years. the first time i kinda thought it happened because he was approached on his blind side and was suprised.....but the past 2 times have put that theory to rest.

i think step one is going to be to get him fixed. we both love this dog very much despite what happened. .....if it continues i just dont know what to do. im not goingt to give up on this dog......he has brought us so much happiness.

**Cali** · 12-15-2009, 11:32 PM

Take him to the vet. Since this behavior has come seemingly from nowhere and you're sure that it isn't his vision, have him completely checked over. Make sure he's not in pain, etc. 6 isn't terribly old for a border collie... How is his health otherwise?

**fawkese1** · 12-15-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackson76550

hopefully someone can shed some light on this......or add an opinion.

some background before i get to the incidents. the male is the one im having trouble with.

currently have 2 border collies. one male. one female. the female is the obvious dominant dog. she is about 5 years old, he is closer to 6. they have a big yard to run around in so the dont go insane. in the evenings and nights they live in the house. within the last year the male dog has gone blind in his left eye. for the most part it hasnt slowed him down other than some depth perception issues. they have both been part time lap dogs for their entire life.

so heres the problem. 2 months ago my gf had him in her lap.....which she has done 100's of times before. she leans over to give him a kiss on the nose and he attacks. a quick snap later and he has bitten her on the lip.....it was a combination snap/growl. about the meanest sound a dog could make. it was over in an instant..... and i punished him the best i knew how.
a few days ago just as he had regained her/our trust it happens again, in a similar manner.....he was on her lap...... but she did not approach him this time, he just looked up and her and got her. it happened again in an instant..... with no signs before it happened. i wont go into details but it was worse than the first time

the past few days i have been watching him....all appears to be normal. but this evening he put his head on my lap and i was petting him....he was enjoying it as usuall but then for no reason he snaps. i was already petting him so i did not approach him in any matter......my hand was already there.

so now i have a dog i cant even trust enough to pet him. he has never showed any signs likes this in the past 6 years. the first time i kinda thought it happened because he was approached on his blind side and was suprised.....but the past 2 times have put that theory to rest.

i think step one is going to be to get him fixed. we both love this dog very much despite what happened. .....if it continues i just dont know what to do. im not goingt to give up on this dog......he has brought us so much happiness.

you need to read this thread:
Behavior: Please Read Before Posting!

that said... dogs do not bite for "no reason" and you cannot fix aggression with aggression, punishing this behavior will not help

you need to seek help from a professional trainer/ behaviorist as giving advice for an issue like this online is unsafe. your situation is actually quite common and there are many things that you can do, so don't give up hope

i am closing this thread....

ETA: cali's advice on taking the dog to the vet is good, you should always address medical issues before behavioral ones... if you need help finding a trainer/behaviorist we can help you to do so.