bad dog or bad owner

[cph]

Hello all

My roommates (53 M, 50 F) have a blue heeler Australian shepherd (~2 F) in our two story home that has a small, rock backyard. They never walk her, haven't done any training really, and basically just give her basic toys if they remember and expect that her running around & barking in the backyard all day is enough of an activity. I am a full time student so I don't have a lot of time but I try to talk her out for little walks when I can and have managed to train her to not jump on me & to catch treats. My roommate is always yelling at her for barking too much, jumping on her & others, and last year the dog chewed up our couch.

Over the past week and a half she's bolted out the door several times (we live next to two major streets) and did so this morning when I was leaving for work. I ended up sprinting after her around the neighborhood for almost 30 mins, sweating, while she almost was hit by a car about 4 times and a dozen people walking around, coming out of their home, in cars, and literally someone in an electric wheelchair tried to help me. I have vocalized my concerns several times before that they're not giving their dog enough training and got so overwhelmed by the ordeal that I exploded on them for being irresponsible. My roommate said "it's just her breed" to me and I continued to reprimand her saying that she never walks her and it's her responsibility to train her. Am I overreacting?

 

[tmwager]

@cph Sounds like lazy dog owners. It's sad to hear they don't spend the time and attention their dog needs. And good on you for making an effort with the walks! Heelers are bred to be working dogs that (if they're not running ~13 miles a day alongside cattle) need to be taught how and where to direct all their natural energy.

Both of our heelers are pretty well trained, but we still need to get them out for at least a mile or two walk every day (preferably with some off-leash time with frisbee/ball) or they turn full velociraptor and actively look for trouble to get in.

 

[lee102]

@cph Because you live in a roommate situation, you have equal say in how the house is cleaned, bills are paid and such. Because the dog ripped up a sofa in the house, you also have a right to feel frustrated by their lack of commitment to the dog that did the ripping.

It's not just her breed. I've had three of these dogs, and all of them were very well behaved. They were also exercised and well trained. So it's not just the breed.

They should've been a lot more concerned about their dog almost getting killed three times, after darting out the door. So that right there tells you that they will never truly care what happens to the dog.

As for how to solve the problem, that's complicated. How do you encourage a lazy person to stop being lazy?

For your own piece of mind, you could watch some YouTube videos for training an ACD, and train the dog to not bolt out the door, and continue to take the dog for a walk. You can also train the dog to stop barking. That's actually not easy to do, but it can be done. However, you can't force a person to behave the way you want them to, but you can change the how things affect you.

You are a good person.

 

[teodor995]

@cph If I gave my cattle dog zero stimulation yes he would act like that too- it is part of their breed to require exercise more than other dogs, but even just a 30 minute walk every morning would drastically start to improve this dogs behavior. Tell your roommates this and explain that 30 minutes in the morning vs a bored and destructive dog all day is really worth it. Yes cattle dogs will be destructive if they haven’t gotten their energy out but this doesn’t mean they need a 10 mile run to behave, but they do need at least something. Also yelling to stop barking is never going to do anything, but cattle dogs are smart and some simple training will help.

 

[bobo4jc]

@cph Cattle dogs are Velcro dogs - mine would never run away from me. This just shows how under stimulated that dog is!!

 

[allaboutthekingdom]

@bobo4jc I hadn’t thought of that, I’ve never seen an ACD that doesn’t stick to their person like glue. My pup is amazing at walking off leash, and if we’re in a safe area I’ll give him the okay to leave heel, and run around. Even then he’ll always turn around after 20ish ft and run back to circle me.

Since he was a puppy I’ve never worried about him bolting. I feel so bad for this dog.

 

[prayerorprayer]

@cph You are not overreacting in the least. Thank you for putting some effort into improving the life of this dog. Others are correct - they need an outlet for their energy and some mental stimulation to be happy. I can't imagine the hellscape my home would become if my BC/ACD mix wasn't getting her physical and mental stimulation on the daily.

While it shouldn't be your responsibility, there may be some simple things you could try that would be a big bang-for-your-buck type of improvement. ACD's tend to love tug and chase games, so flirt pulls and long tug toys can be really great for burning some quick energy (plus they thrive on that interaction with people). Puzzle games are also great and there are a lot of homemade versions that you can try (e.g. muffin tin game, treats/kibble rolled up in a towel, etc.). If you google home puzzle games for dogs, you'll get a lot of clever ideas.

You are a good person for what you have done.

 

[brock_lee]

@cph Crappy dog owners, especially for an ACD. Fenced in yard or daily trips to park to run around are necessary or behavior will likely be a problem. My dog is 5 and I have fenced in yard (about 1/4 acre fenced) but even that does not really tire her out, I bring her to park near my house and either throw frisbees (she catches just about every one if throw is catchable) or hit tennis balls (hit as far as I can, she sprints to them and brings them back). After 10-15 minutes she's tired. Doesn't take much.

 

[josie34]

@cph I am somewhat disabled so running or long walks are off the table for me. I watch my daughters ACD during the day while she works. The best thing I ever got was a chuckit stick and ball. I spend 30min. to an hour playing ball and the stick makes it so you can throw the ball a long distance without burning out your arm in 15min. Plus afterwards he's ready to relax and just cuddle or curl up and nap for sometime. Fetch is also excellent training for teaching the recall command. Maybe walks are off the table for your roommates but encourage them to add playtime and introduce at least some basic training. ACDs are incredibly intelligent and learn quickly. They are run by nuclear reactors but by properly harnessing their energy they are rather mellow dogs.