Border Collie - Aggression?

[George1919]

Encountered next door's ahole collie being walked yesterday on the street (I have previously posted about persistent barking problems that we have complained about).

So I rounded the corner on the pavement at the bottom of our street to spot it (about 5-10 yards away) being walked by next door's teenage daughter. It immediately started barking and growling aggressively, and also began straining on the leash. The girl had to firmly plant both feet at a stop to keep it under control. Is it a reasonable assumption to think the dog would have attacked had she failed to keep it under control?

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Were you wearing a sheep costume?

[rallye101]

Been bitten by 2 dogs in my life, both were collies and on both occasions went for the back of my legs....guess its in the breeding

[Boosted LS1]

Op, it probably wanted to herd you back into your garden. Pulling and barking on the end of the lead doesn't mean a dog's going to bite. It may or may not bite but that's all you can really assume. Blokes can get all shouty when drunk but that rarely ends up in a fight for example.

[HTP99]

rallye101 said:

Been bitten by 2 dogs in my life, both were collies and on both occasions went for the back of my legs....guess its in the breeding

Daughter is a vet nurse, they all can't stand Collies, she says they just can't be trusted and tend to have a look of, "I want to hurt you".

A friend has an absolute physco of a Collie, it cannot be trusted, she walks it in the early hours to do her best to avoid other people and dogs.

[ruggedscotty]

TGCOTF-dewey said:

Were you wearing a sheep costume?

I just spilled coffee... ya roaster, thats best reply in ages to a ph post.... here boy here's a treat chew...

[4Q]

rallye101 said:

Been bitten by 2 dogs in my life, both were collies and on both occasions went for the back of my legs....guess its in the breeding

I’ve been nipped a few times by dogs over the years and each time they were collies. Never by any other breed.

[Antony Moxey]

And just to counter all the spawn of satan devil dog stories, mine’s absolutely soft as a bun. And to the OP, your point is rather moot because quite obviously she did have control, didn’t she?

[George1919]

Antony Moxey said:

And to the OP, your point is rather moot because quite obviously she did have control, didn’t she?

Well, I could see her visibly panic for a split second and it looked to me that it was touch-and-go whether she was going to keep it under control. I don't consider barking, growling and straining on the leash to be normal adult dog behaviour when encountering another pedestrian on the street.

[Scarletpimpofnel]

I'm from a farming family and as a kid, my dad's BC kept all us kids herded in the corner of the garden whilst my parents worked in the fields etc. They can be known as "one man dogs" as in they will be fiercely loyal to it's owner and just plain fierce to anyone else, so an excellent dog if you live on an isolated farm and need company ... worry about crims coming out of town to burgle you.

Personally I'd not have one as a family dog in an urban environment BUT as with any dog it's all about the training and socialisation when young... this is critical to how a dog will turn out regardless of breed.

My family all still have very fond memories of our long dead BC as he was perfect for keeping kids herded in a corner for hours on end on a farm whilst defending the territory etc. I suspect the OP's neighbours have not socialised and trained their dog adequately and/or have the wrong breed for their situation. It seems the OP's neighbours dog sees the OP as an outsider to be defended against. I think the neighbour needs to get some professional help with their dog.

[loskie]

I've travelled around farms all my working life. I'm now 52. Always been wary of collies (they should not be pets) BUT the only time I've been bitten it was a golden retriever. Bit my calf as I got out my car.

I really was not expecting that.

[drmike37]

Mixed bag, collies.
Ours is soft as anything and would never hurt the kids (as far as anyone can tell). She does herd sometimes, and they are bred to nip sheep’s legs to get them to do as their told.
She does absolutely loathe little yappy dogs, and if a dog comes barking at the kids she will f@&! Them up or die trying. She beat up a bull terrier thing once…

The worst dog bite on a hand I’ve ever seen was from a collie. They don’t let go.

[Antony Moxey]

George1919 said:

Antony Moxey said:

And to the OP, your point is rather moot because quite obviously she did have control, didn’t she?

Well, I could see her visibly panic for a split second and it looked to me that it was touch-and-go whether she was going to keep it under control. I don't consider barking, growling and straining on the leash to be normal adult dog behaviour when encountering another pedestrian on the street.

But the point is she had it under control. The dog saw you as a threat to its owner, but that owner had it under control.

[JDiz]

from my time in agilty, obedience and flyball, you should be wary of collies always, they snarl that much its known as a collie smile

[4Q]

Antony Moxey said:

But the point is she had it under control. The dog saw you as a threat to its owner, but that owner had it under control.

If she’d had it under control the dog would know what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. My dog never feels the need to strain on the lead and bark at strangers. Nor at other dogs.

[Boosted LS1]

George1919 said:

Antony Moxey said:

And to the OP, your point is rather moot because quite obviously she did have control, didn’t she?

Well, I could see her visibly panic for a split second and it looked to me that it was touch-and-go whether she was going to keep it under control. I don't consider barking, growling and straining on the leash to be normal adult dog behaviour when encountering another pedestrian on the street.

That depends on the pedestrian and how it reacts towards dogs. I had a dog protect my wife from harm when it was quite obvious to her the bloke in front was going to harm her. The dog knew straightaway and went up front in a menacing way. He saved her as far as she's concerned.

Obviously I've no idea about the dog you mention or you.

[Boosted LS1]

4Q said:

Antony Moxey said:

But the point is she had it under control. The dog saw you as a threat to its owner, but that owner had it under control.

If she’d had it under control the dog would know what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. My dog never feels the need to strain on the lead and bark at strangers. Nor at other dogs.

It's on a lead and under control. The lead owner decides what's acceptable. It can jump in loops just as long as the owner keeps it from harming anybody.

[4Q]

Boosted LS1 said:

It's on a lead and under control. The lead owner decides what's acceptable. It can jump in loops just as long as the owner keeps it from harming anybody.

Apologies I’ll rephrase. The dog was under control but poorly trained and potentially dangerous.

[Antony Moxey]

4Q said:

Antony Moxey said:

But the point is she had it under control. The dog saw you as a threat to its owner, but that owner had it under control.

If she’d had it under control the dog would know what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. My dog never feels the need to strain on the lead and bark at strangers. Nor at other dogs.

And? If the dog wasn’t under control presumably it would have attacked the OP. It didn’t because the owner prevented it from doing so. The dog was under control.

[George1919]

Antony Moxey said:

But the point is she had it under control. The dog saw you as a threat to its owner, but that owner had it under control.

As I've explained, she appeared visibly panicked and had to plant both feet at a stop to keep it under control. If I encounter it again I certainly will not be making the assumption that it will therefore always be under control. If it's this aggressive or defensive then perhaps it should be muzzled? At the very least it seems that it's not been suitable trained for an urban lifestyle. It must now be a 3 to 4 year old dog, so something has clearly went awry with it's training.