13 Yr Old Collie Woofs At Other Dogs Now We Have Pups

[dogshome]

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We have 2 new 5 month old Greyhound pups (both bitches) and a 13yr old Border collie cross.

With some dogs (usually large males) she is absolutely fine. Pups want to play and collie wants to sniff.

On approaching some dogs (usually small bitches) our collie wants to woof. Head goes down tail sometimes goes up (but may stay down) and she woofs. The pups are picking up on this and sometimes also woof, so I need to stop it. There was a hint of this behaviour before the pups, but it wasn't regular.

There is no baring of teeth and sometimes the tail is wagging during the woofing. Staring her in the eye and telling her does not stop it. If we walk with the other dog, 9 times out of 10 she is fine, a good girl and I tell her so. Occasionally the other bitch will rise to it and then we have to go our separate ways.

So pup training going well, but old dog retraining - help needed! )

 

[gypsysmum]

The most common cause of this sort of behaviour is a fear issue. Dogs bark at things to make them go away (unless they are playing and excited of course!). You could try finding her "comfort zone" which is the distance where she stops her woofing. Once you have found this then try keeping her at that distance for a while until you are happy that she is perfectly relaxed when you can reduce the distance between her and the other dog very gradually.

Do try not to react when she barks as she may think that you are joining in with her!! Hang around with the other dogs for a while until she is quiet and then praise her for her bravery.

Make sure each pup gets thoroughly well socialised with other dogs as it could be a nightmare for you if they all end up with fear issues!!!