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Hey everyone – it pains me tremendously to have to do this, but we are searching for a New Home for our dog Snyper.
Snyper is a 35 lb Australian Kelpie (think…cattle dog mixed with a brown lab) who is almost 5 years old. He is incredibly affectionate and always wants to be around the people he loves. He is amazingly athletic. He is smart and playful.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend he go to a home with small children, to a home where someone is expecting to have kids in the coming years, nor do I think he would do very well with another dog. He would do best in a home with someone who is active and wants to give him the attention he craves. Snyper truly is an amazing dog 99.9% of the time, but with two kiddos at home, and our 18 month becoming more and more mobile, he simply is not compatible with our family and he recently snipped my daughter on the cheek, which has prompted my search.
We would very much prefer to know he is going to a good new home, so if anyone knows someone who is looking for a dog, please please please send this along to them and have them get in touch with me as soon as possible!
PM me and I would love to hear from anyone interested in giving him a good home or if anyone wants a pic of Snyper I would be happy to send that too.
Last edited by KDUB (2012-12-19 18:15:35)
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Sorry to hear that.
Is this really a concern though? I know Bryan knows a lot of animal training (others here too, but his name comes to mind). Is this something that stays or gets worse with time, or is it something that can be trained out? I don't see why it wouldn't be different than any other behavior. Would suck to have to get rid of the pooch for one minor incident unless it was absolutely necessary.
Either way, best of luck.
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These last 24 hours have been incredibly difficult, to say the least, this is not something I ever wanted to do.
If it were not for an 18 month old running around and a 6 week old baby at home, I would be open to other options. But dealing with the aftermath of the incident with my daughter is not something I ever want to live through again either.
Thanks for the kind words.
Last edited by KDUB (2012-12-19 18:04:35)
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KDUB wrote:
These last 24 hours have been incredibly difficult, to say the least, this is not something I ever wanted to do.
If it were not for an 18 month old running around and a 6 week old baby at home, I would be open to other options. But dealing with the aftermath of the incident with my daughter is not something I ever want to live through again either.
Thanks for the kind words.
It's heartbreaking.
I think Azrael is better equipped to field any questions on behavior, but it sounds to me like modifying behavior just isn't an option in your case. The herding instinct is just that, an instinct - and the cattle dogs, kelpies, collies (border and other), and shepherds use their eyes to herd first, teeth second. A dog that willingly jumps and nips at a bull's nose to steer them around and mobile toddlers don't often mix that well - it takes a LOT of watching, training, and reinforcement. You have to be able to catch them in the act, which isn't easy.
Benefit of the doubt - he was trying to steer your toddler around, herding. No malice in it. He doesn't understand that he did anything wrong, or what it was that he did wrong if he knows you're angry with him. The plus side is that as smart as they are, they learn very quickly if the behavior is corrected, and that toddler will grow older and bigger while Snyper stays the same size - so if you do manage to correct him and it sticks, chances are it won't be an issue down the road. He doesn't understand that your toddler and infant outrank him. How much exposure did he have to her when she was younger?
If this was malicious, then yeah, you're doing the right thing.
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Bryan wrote:
KDUB wrote:
These last 24 hours have been incredibly difficult, to say the least, this is not something I ever wanted to do.
If it were not for an 18 month old running around and a 6 week old baby at home, I would be open to other options. But dealing with the aftermath of the incident with my daughter is not something I ever want to live through again either.
Thanks for the kind words.It's heartbreaking.
I think Azrael is better equipped to field any questions on behavior, but it sounds to me like modifying behavior just isn't an option in your case. The herding instinct is just that, an instinct - and the cattle dogs, kelpies, collies (border and other), and shepherds use their eyes to herd first, teeth second. A dog that willingly jumps and nips at a bull's nose to steer them around and mobile toddlers don't often mix that well - it takes a LOT of watching, training, and reinforcement. You have to be able to catch them in the act, which isn't easy.
Benefit of the doubt - he was trying to steer your toddler around, herding. No malice in it. He doesn't understand that he did anything wrong, or what it was that he did wrong if he knows you're angry with him. The plus side is that as smart as they are, they learn very quickly if the behavior is corrected, and that toddler will grow older and bigger while Snyper stays the same size - so if you do manage to correct him and it sticks, chances are it won't be an issue down the road. He doesn't understand that your toddler and infant outrank him. How much exposure did he have to her when she was younger?
If this was malicious, then yeah, you're doing the right thing.
I would not say it was malicious, my guess is that it was reactionary combined with a bit of his Alpha and not quite understanding his rank. He has grown up with my daughter since she was born, and we always tried to create the environment that they each have their own space yet when they co-mingle, we were always watching with a sharp eye and quick to correct at the slightest hint of his Alpha signs. It is incredibly hard to expect a dog with herding instincts to simply slough off the immense amount of mobility that an 18 month old has.
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Bryan wrote:
I think Azrael is better equipped to field any questions on behavior, but it sounds to me like modifying behavior just isn't an option in your case. The herding instinct is just that, an instinct - and the cattle dogs, kelpies, collies (border and other), and shepherds use their eyes to herd first, teeth second. A dog that willingly jumps and nips at a bull's nose to steer them around and mobile toddlers don't often mix that well - it takes a LOT of watching, training, and reinforcement. You have to be able to catch them in the act, which isn't easy.
Training this out at this age is extremely hard, and definitely out of my skill level. Also, I don't have much experience with kids & dogs.
It's such a strong instinct, that it really has to be addressed at a young age. Adding in young children creates a wild card scenario for any dog, and it's hard to say how they'll react. Young ones crawling around and tugging on ears/tails is a lot to handle for even the mellowist of pups. It's also a double edged sword, where the kids also need to be trained how to act around dogs, but that's not easy at that age.
I'm sorry to hear about the situation, but when it comes to the safety of your children, It's understandable. However, I would definitely recommend consulting a local behaviorist/trainer before heading down this road. There's always a good chance they can give you some options to manage the situation. If not that, maybe there's a family member that might be willing to take car of him for the next year or two until the kids are old enough to be trained?
If all else fails, I think Aspenmike needs a brother for Kylie.
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KDUB wrote:
Australian Kelpie (think…cattle dog mixed with a brown lab)
Also, I've got to correct this, as Kelpie is one of the breeds tha ACDs were bred from. so, if anything, ACDs should be described as "kinda like a kelpie".
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I have a friend in Denver who does some fostering for dogs. I'm not sure exactly how much he does, but PM your contact info and I'll drop him a line and see if he can help you.
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-B- wrote:
I have a friend in Denver who does some fostering for dogs. I'm not sure exactly how much he does, but PM your contact info and I'll drop him a line and see if he can help you.
Thanks -B-!
I sent you over a PM.
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Azrael wrote:
KDUB wrote:
Australian Kelpie (think…cattle dog mixed with a brown lab)
Also, I've got to correct this, as Kelpie is one of the breeds tha ACDs were bred from. so, if anything, ACDs should be described as "kinda like a kelpie".
I will stand corrected
I was more or less trying to give someone an idea what he looked like and what kind of personality to expect! Thanks Az!
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I'll ask around.
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n_r_child wrote:
I'll ask around.
Thanks!
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