We have eleven month old brother and sister Boxollie (boxer/ border collie cross). When we got them they both had parvovirus and almost died. The girl lives with us and the boy lives in an apartment with my sister and her fiancé; but he is over several times a week. They are both great with my niece and nephew and let the kids do anything with them, but when they play outside he attacks (grabs onto the swing and will not let go and whines) the empty swings. When the set is empty and no one is outside, he is fine; it is just when the kids are outside. When the swings are down and it’s just the dogs outside, he leaves the swings alone. There is always an adult supervising them. What is happening with the dog?
Asked
Active
Viewed 500 times
1 Answers
1
In the most general terms, this is a sign of stress or frustration. Your dog is stressed by something, probably but not necessarily the playing children.
Boxers were bred a working dogs for big game hunts, herding cattle, police and military service. Their character is described as "energetic", which translates to "they have a lot of energy which needs to be burned some way for them to be happy".
Border Collies are among the most intelligent and most extreme working breeds. They absolutely need a daily workout to be happy. They need physical stimulation like walks, agility training or herding as well as mental stimulation like obedience training. Boredom very often leads to problematic behavior and even mental health issues in this breed.
So keeping the breeds in mind, my best guess is that the children trigger the herding instinct in the dog. Either the children ignore the attempt at being herded, or the dog knows that herding children is wrong, either way, it leads to frustration. A common way for dogs to express their frustration and decrease stress is biting objects. The additional whining is another clue that points towards frustration.
You don't have to be afraid for your children, though. Biting objects and biting people are two very different things in the mind of a dog and he won't start biting people unless he's afraid or provoked.
Another possibility is that he's sexually mature and looking for a mate. Male dogs often get frustrated when they can smell the pheromones of a female nearby but have no opportunity to mate. But the fact that he only acts out when the children are playing speaks against that.
So what can you do?
Training, training and even more training. Every day.
Your sister has taken on the responsibility for the wellbeing of the dog. For a Border Collie that entails more than just housing and feeding the dog. She also needs to offer physical and mental stimulation.
That could start as simple as feeding the dog exclusively via puzzle feeders. There is a vast variety of different forms and sizes available and you can even make your own food puzzles as a DIY craft. The advantage is that you offer small mental challenges every day without having to invest a lot of time yourself.
Obedience training is not only extremely important for your dog, it can also be a fun game. Most Border Collies are very intelligent and love the attention they get during training sessions. You can also teach them a lot of tricks or to recognize toys and other objects by their name.
Training "stay" or "leave it" can be a valuable lesson for the whole life of the dog. It develops his impulse-control and makes him more patient in general.
As to the physical stimulation, there are options like agility training or using things like inline skates, skateboards or a bike to keep up with her.
For a list of different games and ideas, please have a look at this post.
Elmy
- 34,474
- 6
- 55
- 108