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another Queensland heeler question2007-11-25 2:58:10

Ok my dog is 4 years old. He loves me and is very protective. I am single so I appreciate the friendship and loyalty. I am having a problem right now that I need a solution for. My 26 year old son and his girlfriend are staying with me until they buy a house. They have been here for 2 weeks. My dog gets along fine with them. No problems at all. The only time that there is a problem is like tonight. My son came in my room and sat on my bed and handed me my mail. As soon as he did that my dog growled and bit him on the leg. I beleive he is trying to protect me and that is fine to a point. It is not fine when someone I know comes over or my son gives me a kiss on the cheek. I don't want to discourage his protecting me but I don't know how to make him understand the differences. any advise would be appreciated

thank you.

Answers:

Your son did nothing that would elicit a protective posture from your dog. You need to make sure your dog knows that his behavior is unacceptable under these types of circumstances. Obedience training would be very valuable here. You could then place him on a down stay and make sure your guests and family are safe. Please seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist. A lot of heelers are placed with shelters or destroyed because of their tendancies to be over protective about their owners or property.

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Even though you don't want to discourage his intentions, you still msut discourage the behavior. Bitting people should be unacceptable no matter what.. unless someone breaks into your house etc, where your reactions would relfect into th edog and he would probally go after the crook anyways. @_@;; but other than that, you still should let you dog know that it is not okay to bite people. This way i'm sure both of you will be more stress-free- you for knowing your dog will not hurt anyone, and the dog because it will not longer get scolded for things it does not know are unacceptable.

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Have you tried having the other person give him a treat as they come in the room? I've had protective dogs and this usually works. Your dog probably feels threatened by your son.

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Unless you can speak 'dogie' fluently, I suggest you speak to your son and daughter in law and tell them how that must behave around the dog.