Protective agression.

[Demarcation]

We are a young couple with a nine month old collie dog. He spends most time with my Gf but easily recognises me as alpha male and obeys me more than anyone

Recently hes got very protective over my gf. If we play fight etc he will attack me.

Im unsure on this as i would like him to protect my gf as shes of nervous disposition and the dog makes her feel safe outside the home but i dont want him to attack me.

Not sure how to approach this. Im thinking chastise the attacking me and then working on attacking by command and rewarding that.

Thoughts?

P.s. Hes normally not an agressive dog. Little bit of barking but no actual agression.

 

[goldenbear2013]

Now by attack - what do you mean? has he bitten you badly and drawn blood, or is it a lot of barking and jumping on you?

Really need to know exactly what he is doing when he says he is "attacking" you before any further advice can be given as being dominant and being aggressive are 2 very different things that needs to be addressed differently.

At 9 months old your dog is now a teenager. This will last up until he is around 18 months.

He will test boundaries and push you to your limit.

What he is doing with your girlfriend is claiming her for his own. He sees her as his and will not like it when you are near her.

If you can let us know what he is doing I if not me someone else can potentially guide you in the right direction and give you some help.

Thanks

Sophie x

 

[gypsysmum]

All the stuff about Alpha males has now been discredited. Dogs live along side us and have done so for thousands of years. They do not have the brain power to want to take over the world!

Your dog's attacking behaviour could be caused by any manner of things. It could be rough play it could be fear based. It could be that he is resource guarding. He regards your gf as a valued resource. It is not the right thing to do to challenge any of this behaviour until you have a proper diagnoses of what is causing it.

To get a proper diagnosis you need to see a professional, qualified Pet Behaviour Therapist. These can be found via COAPE or the APBC. I strongly recommend that you consult one sooner rather than later.