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My in-laws border collie behavior

19 17:06:35

Question
Hi Miss Ann, I just want to give you some background to help you answer my question. My in-laws have a border collie mix. We believe that she is mixed with daschund because she has short legs. She is 14 years old. 3 yrs ago I started dating my wife and starting coming around the house and the dog would never really pay me any attention or bother me but If I got w/in a foot of her and reached down to pet her she would bark and snap at me. Even still she will come up to me if I have a treat to give her but after the food leaves my hand and my hand is still down there she will snap at me. If I call her she will turn her head and ignore me or go the opposite direction. It kind of bothers me because I've been around her for 3 yrs now and she hasn't warmed up to me yet. I would like to know if she will except me as part of the family or not..LOL..please answer my question to the best of your knowledge bc I would like to understand. It really interests me. Thank you very much for your time Miss Ann...

Answer
Hello Eddie,

I had to laugh a little at this question because my parents own a chihuahua who has never warmed up to two of their family members either, an uncle and a cousin of mine.  I think at age 14 you might just have to put up with it and appreciate the times she comes to you (with food in your hand).  It could be she senses fear from you, it could be that she is scared, it could simply be that she is being protective of the people she grew up with.  I wouldn't take it too personal.

The only other thing you could try is to have someone hold her and keep her mouth shut while you pet her and see if she'll let you do it then without snapping or growling.  Some dogs fear that you'll touch their head or ears or they don't like being pet under their chest so they'll just natually protect themselves if they're not sure where your hand is headed (that's the case in my parent's chihuahua).  His name is Tigger and he only trusts certain people because he knows what to expect.

If you and your wife ever get a new puppy together, you'll see a difference in how it reacts to you and how it reacts to other people at certain times.  Usually, a person who has a lot of dog handling knowledge knows not to approach a strange dog, even if they appear friendly.  Most dogs will come to you first and those relationships usually work out best.  To force a dog to come to you never really works out and the dog remembers that.  An experienced handler will even squat down to the dog's level when first being introduced.  It's sort of like balancing the playing field and seems less threatening to the dog.

One more thing... it may be that your 14 year old friend is developing some blindness or some arthritis that may be causing her adverse reactions towards you also.  If a dog doesn't feel all that well, they will be snippy towards anyone they think may hurt them further.  You see this a lot on vet-related TV shows when the doctors and nurses are trying to handle a dog that has been injured or doesn't feel well.

These are just my personal opinions and observations so, don't get discouraged if it's none of the above.  But hopefully it will help you understand your dog's behavior a little better and see things from "her" perspective.

Ann Jordan
To read more about handling Border Collies, see my blog at http://petchronicles.blogspot.com

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