sealedinchrist
New member
Hi all. I’ve posted here before. Roughly 2 years ago, I adopted a border collie Nox from a family. At the time, he was 18 months old. The family said (to the organisation that acted as an intermediary) that “interacting with other dogs may require a bit of work”.
I wouldn’t be here if that was not an understatement: if Nox spots another dog, or even if he thinks there may possibly be another dog around, a switch flips in his brain. Lunging, barking, biting his leash to escape, misdirected bites, the works. He’s a strong and energetic dog, so it requires all my strength to keep him in check. Thankfully, passers-by often offer super helpful suggestions like “you should try giving him a treat” (…).
While the ‘dog-problem’ is incredibly frustrating, I should say that he’s otherwise the perfect dog: he likes walks, he has manners, we have a 1yo child in the house and they are the best of friends. My family and l genuinely love him.
Anyway, for about a year I have mostly avoided other dogs because I believed Nox was intent on killing them. We tried three certified therapists, they all ultimately suggested rehoming. Rehoming where? To Mars?
Then, in July 2022, I decided to bring him with me to visit my parents, who have a sweet and stable labradoodle. I muzzled Nox and let him go off leash with my parents’ dog. Within 2 minutes, it was clear the muzzle was completely unnecessary. The dogs got along great once Nox had calmed down from the initial greeting. We’ve been doing this every time I visit, and it was fine every time.
But on-leash; the problem has not gone away. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I think it’s somehow hard-wired in his brain that he has to go ‘Godzilla’ when he sees a dog. Because he’s not aggressive, I can’t shake the idea that a ‘fix’ should be possible. But I have the impression that training alone—and I do make constant efforts—is not enough. Do you have suggestions? Would medication make training more effective?
If you read to the end, thank you. If you have experiences to share in relation to medication as a tool to improve training, I would love to read it.
I wouldn’t be here if that was not an understatement: if Nox spots another dog, or even if he thinks there may possibly be another dog around, a switch flips in his brain. Lunging, barking, biting his leash to escape, misdirected bites, the works. He’s a strong and energetic dog, so it requires all my strength to keep him in check. Thankfully, passers-by often offer super helpful suggestions like “you should try giving him a treat” (…).
While the ‘dog-problem’ is incredibly frustrating, I should say that he’s otherwise the perfect dog: he likes walks, he has manners, we have a 1yo child in the house and they are the best of friends. My family and l genuinely love him.
Anyway, for about a year I have mostly avoided other dogs because I believed Nox was intent on killing them. We tried three certified therapists, they all ultimately suggested rehoming. Rehoming where? To Mars?
Then, in July 2022, I decided to bring him with me to visit my parents, who have a sweet and stable labradoodle. I muzzled Nox and let him go off leash with my parents’ dog. Within 2 minutes, it was clear the muzzle was completely unnecessary. The dogs got along great once Nox had calmed down from the initial greeting. We’ve been doing this every time I visit, and it was fine every time.
But on-leash; the problem has not gone away. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I think it’s somehow hard-wired in his brain that he has to go ‘Godzilla’ when he sees a dog. Because he’s not aggressive, I can’t shake the idea that a ‘fix’ should be possible. But I have the impression that training alone—and I do make constant efforts—is not enough. Do you have suggestions? Would medication make training more effective?
If you read to the end, thank you. If you have experiences to share in relation to medication as a tool to improve training, I would love to read it.
