Mini Aussie Is Barking And Biting

by Sue
(Canada)

We have a beautiful tri red Mini Aussie who will be 1 year at the end of October. We acquired him at the end of this past December at 8 weeks, and love him. Prior to him, we had had two Rough Collies at different times.

We downsized from our house with a yard to a condo, but our boy gets daily off leash time at an awesome dog park, two good walks, two shorter walks, has lots of toys, chewies, puzzle toys that release treats, and has settled in to our new home quite well.

He does wear a citronella bark collar when we are going in and out of the building. This past weekend, when returning from a hike he barked uncontrollably when we turned the corner to our building. He did this again yesterday when just my husband was with him.

In both cases, our Mini had his bark collar on, as we were going to be entering our building. In both cases, he was driven off the property to attempt to calm him down. Yesterday, my husband pushed our Mini with his arm, as our Mini, while barking, was trying to climb into the front seat (the car was not moving, they were parked), and our Mini bit my husband on his forearm.

My husband said "No" firmly, pushed him again, and received another bite. Both bites broke the skin. When they arrived home, our Mini was perfectly fine, happy to see me, but my husband was in shock!

At the dog park, our guy is great, and usually on walks he does well, but will bark at another dog, while on leash, if the dog is smaller. We are unsure what to do; the uncontrollable barking and biting are new, and we want to get these behaviours under control in a positive way. All advice and help appreciated!

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