border collie x

Question
i have a 2 year old border collie who has started to growl for no reason i am getting quite concerned as i have young children and i am    worried that he may bite. my dog tends to growl when he is in his bed or you stare at him  we have tried to raise our voices and say no sternly to him but this does not have any affect on him he seams to come across as if he is in a bad mood but will later come in to the same room as we are in  but he wont come over to us until later. please help as we are very concerned and i will be starting to look after children in my own home and would hate for him to attack anyone i cannot understand my dogs behavior as he can be very affectionate and perfect with the children

Answer
Hi Debbie;
When you start at a dog, that is a challenge to fight.
Maybe the children don't stare at him. So he doesn't perceive them as a threat.
I doubt he can understand why you are being so challenging to him.
Sounds like a whole lot of misunderstanding.
You ned to learn how dogs think.
If you stare starkly at people, they tnd to get a little hostile too.
It is not a friendly gesture.
When he is in his bed, he feels safe, until you come in and stare at him.
You need to understand more about dogs.
For one thing, you could watch the Dog Whisperer on the Geographis channel, or go and look at some of the videos on his website, here.
Copy and paste this address in your browser.

  http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/dogwhisperer/

I suggest you get into an obedience class, prefferably a group class. The handler ( owner) learns as much as the dog does.
This is something you need to get a handle on, because this can turn your dog into an aggressive one.
If he feels constantly threatened, he may start acting on it, as it wears on his nerves more.
Watching a dog is quite different to staring.
Watching him as he plays etc, and laughing at his/her antics, is a pleasant exchange. Stark staring is a very aggressive act on your part.
If confronted with an aggressive dog, staring it in the eyes is a sure way of provoking it to atack.
Petsmart, Petco and Man's Best Friend all have group classes on weekends for the convenience of those who work during the week.
It takes several weeks to go through the course, and you learn how to handle the dog and what comands to give and how to give them to get the results you want.
I recommend you get into one of these courses as soon as possible.
Borer Collies are one of the more even tempered breds, but the mildest dog can become aggressive if they are pressed too much.
Charlotte