Robbie is my dog. He is my right hand man on the farm. He sleeps in the house and is extremely well behaved inside.
But Robbie has a serious problem. He is hgihly aggressive. When he is in the car or truck and sees another dog, I cannot control him. I am afraid to open the door so that he does not attack the dog outside. He goes crazy and once he has bitten me, though he did not know it was me. I stuck my hand insdie the window when I was outside with a strange dog, and Robbie bit my hand thinking it was the dog. He has never bitten me otherwise, nor growled at me or shown agression towards me. But to other dogs he is terribly uncontrollable. I grap his collar and his skin and it has to hurt him and still he won't quit trying to kill the dog from the inside.
He also can be agressive with animals, particularly the llama and some sheep. When he was young, 2 years ago, he led the pack to kill the young llama Karin. I ran out to the pasture, but the dogs were young and packed on the llama. They would have killed her had I not set them off and rescued her. That same summer Robbie chased and played rough with a lamb and then rougher and when the other dogs joined in, he ripped the skin off her stomach. It healed but she suffered, I am sure. She is the same sheep that Mike and Joe used as a chew toy and marked her ears for life. And today, Robbie led Joe, the dog who is supposed to protect the sheep, to chase and attack that same sheep, badly hurting her.
I was busy with a visitor to the farm, but outside. Robbie does not bark when he chases and hurts, but Joe does. I heard Joe barking and immediately thought about where he was and where Robbie was not and put two and two together, too late for the ewe. She is badly chewed up. I treated her wounds with liquid copper for bacteria and gave her a shot of penicillin but she needs a pain killer. I will try to find something for her pain tomorrow. She is sitting crying.
Sheep do not make a sound when they are being chased or hurt. I am so very sorry for this pretty little girl. She is a good sheep, a quiet girl, quite friendly, and she is a mother this year. I know she is in pain and I feel totally responsible.
Tomorrow Robbie will wear his shock collar and he will wear it for the rest of the summer. Joe does not initiate trouble, but follows. Unless he displays more incorrect behaviour, Joe will not wear a shock collar at this time. Every time Robbie runs from me when I call him back, he will be shocked. He will be trained to stay by my side. If he fails, I may have no choice but to try to rehome him and if that does not work, his fate is not good. I love that dog. I have had him since he was 7 weeks old and he is my 11th border collie. He learns quickly and loves to do tricks. Other than his agression issue he is a great dog, but he cannot be here on the farm if he is going to hurt the animals. I am sad about this. It is akin to a wayward child. The mother does not want to kill or disown the child, but help correct the behaviour, though what if it does not work?
The shock collar may be all the reminder he needs. I am not happy about resorting to that, but less pleased that he is agressive and can be uncontrollable. He needs to get in line. He needs to never chase and hurt the animals. Never. Will he succeed? I surely hope so, I do.
But Robbie has a serious problem. He is hgihly aggressive. When he is in the car or truck and sees another dog, I cannot control him. I am afraid to open the door so that he does not attack the dog outside. He goes crazy and once he has bitten me, though he did not know it was me. I stuck my hand insdie the window when I was outside with a strange dog, and Robbie bit my hand thinking it was the dog. He has never bitten me otherwise, nor growled at me or shown agression towards me. But to other dogs he is terribly uncontrollable. I grap his collar and his skin and it has to hurt him and still he won't quit trying to kill the dog from the inside.
He also can be agressive with animals, particularly the llama and some sheep. When he was young, 2 years ago, he led the pack to kill the young llama Karin. I ran out to the pasture, but the dogs were young and packed on the llama. They would have killed her had I not set them off and rescued her. That same summer Robbie chased and played rough with a lamb and then rougher and when the other dogs joined in, he ripped the skin off her stomach. It healed but she suffered, I am sure. She is the same sheep that Mike and Joe used as a chew toy and marked her ears for life. And today, Robbie led Joe, the dog who is supposed to protect the sheep, to chase and attack that same sheep, badly hurting her.
I was busy with a visitor to the farm, but outside. Robbie does not bark when he chases and hurts, but Joe does. I heard Joe barking and immediately thought about where he was and where Robbie was not and put two and two together, too late for the ewe. She is badly chewed up. I treated her wounds with liquid copper for bacteria and gave her a shot of penicillin but she needs a pain killer. I will try to find something for her pain tomorrow. She is sitting crying.
Sheep do not make a sound when they are being chased or hurt. I am so very sorry for this pretty little girl. She is a good sheep, a quiet girl, quite friendly, and she is a mother this year. I know she is in pain and I feel totally responsible.
Tomorrow Robbie will wear his shock collar and he will wear it for the rest of the summer. Joe does not initiate trouble, but follows. Unless he displays more incorrect behaviour, Joe will not wear a shock collar at this time. Every time Robbie runs from me when I call him back, he will be shocked. He will be trained to stay by my side. If he fails, I may have no choice but to try to rehome him and if that does not work, his fate is not good. I love that dog. I have had him since he was 7 weeks old and he is my 11th border collie. He learns quickly and loves to do tricks. Other than his agression issue he is a great dog, but he cannot be here on the farm if he is going to hurt the animals. I am sad about this. It is akin to a wayward child. The mother does not want to kill or disown the child, but help correct the behaviour, though what if it does not work?
The shock collar may be all the reminder he needs. I am not happy about resorting to that, but less pleased that he is agressive and can be uncontrollable. He needs to get in line. He needs to never chase and hurt the animals. Never. Will he succeed? I surely hope so, I do.
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