Biting Bailey

[LaurGold]

Hello everyone - it's been a while since I've been on here!

Bailey Blu is now just over a year old, and doing well. The only issue we've still been having is that he's a biter. When he gets in a bitey mood, he'll chase us around the house biting hard at our ankles & sometimes jumping up to get the backs of our legs. It's almost impossible to get him to stop because nothing scares him, including loud voices. If you point at him or try to use your hands to move him away, he'll bite at your hands too. Luckily he's a small sheltie (only 12 lbs), but it still hurts. We don't want him to retaliate.... He's amazingly well-behaved with other people, children & all dogs, which is a contrast to our last sheltie who was very shy. Whenever a dog or person approaches him, he sits or lies down until they reach him. He's only mis-behaved with us in the house. He clearly sees us as his sheep, which drives my parents crazy.

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[Tabitha]

I would suggest you turn you back to him when he dose this. Just ignore him until he stops. When it looks like he has lost interest in the chase, reward him. It's just his natural herding instinct. Don't yell at him, and definitely don't run. Running will just make things worse. Trust me, I know!

 

[LaurGold]

Thanks for the response! The problem is, he mostly bites at our feet when we're walking away (definitely seems like a herding instinct to me). He tends to stop a little bit sooner when I face him, but it's never a sure thing. He's a very assertive little dog...sometimes it's just because he wants to play, but if we don't figure out what he wants he just stares at us and barks... luckily he's not too much of a barker.

We also haven't figured out how to get him to stop stealing anything hanging near the edge of a table or out of garbage cans. The minute he sneaks into my room or bathroom, he grabs tissues or clothes & runs through the house. He'll even put his paws up on our living room table to grab papers off of it. (this is why we gate him in the kitchen when we can't watch him. I know if we chase him, he thinks it's a fun game, but making a loud noise, or telling him to "drop" hasn't worked yet. It's exhausting!

 

[mellie]

Remember that you are The Master and are smarter than your dear doggy. You are the boss so be the boss !! When he is following you and biting your ankles you need to tell him to sit or lie down or whatever trick he knows and when he does it give him a treat. I think this would be a good time to teach him stay if he doesn't know it. In other words, replace his undesirable behavior with a more desirable one. I also would teach him to go to his bed or crate or wherever you want him to when you want him to settle down. You can do this by using a leash and leading him there and have him do a down stay and reward him for doing so. Maybe a special kong or bone or chew toy that he only gets when he is in "time out". Just make a good thing to be in time out and you will have some peace and be in control . This may take some time to learn and don't expect him to sit there for long, but make sure he stays til you release him. Eventually , when you tell him to settle or whatever word you use, he will go there without you leading him, and he will wait til you release him. Make it fun, don't shout and don't allow ankle biting, he needs to learn this for his own good.

 

[LaurGold]

Good advice - thank you. I will share that with my parents, and we'll need to decide how we want to train him so it'll be consistent. Also, if anyone wants a visual, here's what my little monster looks like now! He's a lot fluffier than when we rescued him. http://baileyblu.tumblr.com/

 

[Tabitha]

Bailey is very cute! Although all my current sheltie's are from breeders I've also had three rescue shelties. They all came with their own little 'problems' but were all wonderful and had me wrapped around there little paws.

 

[mellie]

Oh my gosh he is CUTE !!! He looks really bad too !! How lucky are you? You will have a blast with him but I think you will really have to be on your toes. Keep the pictures coming.