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Picking And Choosing Who He Likes

by Lorraine

We are in the process of adopting an Aussie who is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 years old. He makes me nervous around "strangers", i.e., my daughter or son-in-law. He barks and nips at them when they enter the house and I'm not sure what to do with him. I don't want to lock him up but they are afraid of him now. He definitely needs training but I am not sure where to start.

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Where to start
by: Anonymous

Start at the beginning. One thing I've learned training my Aussie is I'm the one that needs training... not so much him.

I hope you find a solution. Aussies are awesome dogs.

Where to start
by: Anonymous

Start at the beginning. One thing I've learned training my Aussie is I'm the one that needs training... not so much my dog.

I hope you find a solution. Aussies are awesome dogs.

My guy did the same thing
by: Jean

It sounds like your guy is trying to herd your guests and you need to distract him and redirect him in some way. My dog also did this when someone came to the door so I would have treats in a bag close by. We would throw them away from the door when guests came in. The guests would also throw treats and he would eventually calm down. After a while, I started using his favorite toys as a distraction instead of the treats. Now when guests come over, he greets them with a toy in his mouth and is much friendlier. We do need to throw the toy a couple times but it sure beats scaring the crap out of my guests!

I would also suggest that you get some friends or neighbors to help you out with this. I had my neighbor stop by everyday for a week and each time, it got a bit easier. It is not going to be fixed overnight but with some repetition, you should start to see a major improvement.

Patience is always a necessity with an Aussie!

It'll be ok
by: Anonymous

my boy does this too now, especially with males, but even with some girls who come to visit. I tell them, to just ignore him, and usually after a few minutes he comes to them, and sniffs them, and licks them (sheepisly) then retreat, and eventually he stops altogether. I dont know about you, but we dont get alot of visitors, so when we do, its a big deal for my little guy. he's just about to turn 2, so he's still a pup. patience and time is a key, just make sure you dont make it worse by getting anxious, cause he will pick up on that, and he may interpret that you are anxious about the people; therefore he will too, and feel a need to protect you. its true. dogs, especially Aussies are very sensitive and pick up on stuff from us. best to you both. take care and keep us posted

Thanks for the advice
by: Lorraine

Thanks for all the advice. Bondai, our dog, is clearly a food motivated dog so the treat idea seems to be the quickest solution. I have noticed that he does not like when people get in his face. He will not bite but he will certainly lunge and nip at them. He also likes to nip at people's hands for some reason. I think he is a sweetheart and I know it will take time but in the meantime I have bought some gates. I don't want people to not come over so I can just gate him to a certain part of the house when I have company until I get him into some professional training classes.

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