my sheltie that nips

Question
I have adopted a male sheltie over the past summer.  He is 2 yrs. old and is extremely loving in the house and with strangers once they are in our house.  However, on 2 occasions while he is barking up a storm when the doorbell rings and some of my daughter's friends come over (they are in their 20's) he has nipped them.  Once in the pants, and just yesterday the girl had on a skirt and he got her in her knee.  It did draw a little blood.  Is this part of the sheltie behavior? Should I be very concerned and can it be corrected?  Or does he have a chemical problem in his brain? I have another shelie (small female - the same age) and they get along fine, and she just sniffs the person at the door, and does not get that aggressive.  Thank you for your time.  

Answer
Hi Karen,

There is nothing wrong with your Sheltie.  Ever see the movie Babe?  Herding dogs use nipping to control their flock.  Your adopted Sheltie has a high herding drive whereas your female does not.

The best cure would be to buy him some sheep to play with but that's not realistic for most of us.

How I would handle him is to leash or crate him when the friends come over.  It seems based on your question that he is only hyper while everyone is coming in or moving around and is calm when people are settled in.  If possible, have your daughter's friends play ball with him if they are inclined or take him out back and play with him when they come over.  Redirect his herding behavior to something you can manage like fetch if leashing or crating is not acceptable to you.  

We have been known to use a last minute "pick up and hold" until the crowd calms down.  Use whichever one works for you.

'sneezes
Dave