Need some tips for dealing with ACD pup

 I agree.  The herders, even the ACD's, are problem solvers.  That means they are quite good at figuring out a job, but also quite good at figuring out how to get what they want.  The simple truth is that dogs do what works - for them.  So, the basis for successful training is always about assessing what your dog wants, and finding a way to make them think they are training you to give it to them;-)  It's one reason clicker training is great - the dog is always figuring out how to make you click - so, to him, he's training you.  Don't get all hung up in having to be "dominant" - you will never win that battle, since it doesn't really exist anyway.

poodleOwned

Most ACDs i have met have been smart intelligent dogs that love to work with their owners. I once worked with an ACD who was owned by a friend who hadn't learnt to heel in six months of yank and crank (they are nearly immune to it) and within just three clicks had the basics pretty well sorted.They are often quite food orientated.

I do agree. But Cattle Dogs generally are not ones to perform for people they do not have a good relationship with. They perform excellently for people that have shown to be trustworthy and willing to dish out the treats and motivators, and are usually easy to motivate. It sounds to me though, this family does not have a good relationship with the dog, seeing as the dog is actively biting people and breaking skin, and is growilng and disobeying, and they have not given the dog enough high value motivators during training (or their timing with giving them has not been correct). The dog possibly doesn't trust them enough, and they haven't consistently shown him that behaving gets him Good Things for Dogs, therefor, a smart intelligent dog is going to realize that running around the kitchen is way more exciting than going into the crate, or that dancing around far enough away on recall so he cannot get leashed is more fun. They are quick to learn what gets them what, and he's most likely learned getting leashed after freedom is not fun (or not AS fun as freedom) and that going to the crate when he wants to run is not fun.

 I think it would be great if he could have a line attached to his collar at least some of the time, especially if your mum might have to deal with him.. that way if she DOES have to restrain or move him, she doesn't need to reach for his collar and can more easily escape a bite.  It would also mean that if he decided he simply didn't want to do something, you could enforce the cue (albeit gently), preventing him from making a huge game out of giving you the run around, and again, giving you some control without him having chance to bite or snap.

Have you done any clicker training with him at all?  He sounds like a smart, pushy dog, and one that might respond well to it.  I think it would also be good to do some pre-emptive exercises like the "touch my collar" game.  I am thinking that instead of "forcing" him to accept some things that he does not like, you could work on making him "like" those things.  For example, I'd pick a super tasty treat that he ONLY gets in his crate.... say, a stuffed Kong with a smear of soft cheese or liver over the ends.  Ours get in the crate SO fast and slam themselves into a "down" in anticipation of their special crate yummies.

I'd definitely get Control Unleashed and do (I think it's called) the Magic Mat with him... I think he'd figure it out SO darned quick, it would give everyone some handsoff control around him and he would get SUCH a kick out of the problem solving aspect. Win-win!

 May sound like an odd question but is there a possibility that this dog can't hear? My oldest dog has losta  great deal of hearing over the past year or so and most people can't believe that she is nearly deaf because she "acts like she can hear".

 Regardless, I would suggest Susan Garrett's Ruff Love in this situation, followed as closely as possible. It is a very strict training program but not force based. IMO it is appropriate for dogs who are biting or threatening people in their households. I recently suggested it to a student of mine for a rescue dog that has been having this sort of problem with her daughter and it has worked wonders.

http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=563

AgileGSD, you're a genius! Dalmatians contributed significantly to the ancestry of cattle dogs, and hence cattle dogs are quite prone to unilateral or bilateral deafness. All responsible cattle dog breeders routinely have their puppies BAER tested before placing them. So, the possibility of at least partial deafness is not an odd suggestion at all. And, cattle dogs are also prone to PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) which renders them blind in the affected eye(s). Although it is a bit unusual for PRA to show up at this young of an age in a cattle dog, it's not beyond the realm of possibility. I have a friend who had a lovely sweet tempered cattle dog that became extremely "aggressive" quite suddenly at the age of six, and it turned out the dog had PRA and was consistently exhibiting his "aggressive" behaviors when he was approached from his blind side. So, beyond the typical vet check, I think this dog needs to be tested specifically for vision and hearing problems.

 I've always thought of Cattle Dogs as a breed that can be the most loyal canine companion one could imagine in the right hands, or a complete terror in the wrong hands. They are great dogs, but so many people over here use them as guard dogs and just pop them in the front yard to menace passers by. They can and do take fingers off, savage faces, launch at hands trying to open gates and rip them up. The breed has kind of gone out of fashion a little in Australia, I think, due to them being at or near the top of the dog bite list. At least, I don't see nearly as many of them now as I did when I was a kid. It's a shame, because you couldn't find a more couragous, loyal, and intelligent breed if you tried.

Anyway, all that aside, there's a lot of great advice here already and I don't have much more to add. I have a cattle herder (Swedish Vallhund) as well, and he's also a plucky little so-and-so who will kick up a stink if told to do something he doesn't want to do. He managed to scare our vet into cracking out the roast chicken when he was 4 months old because he took exception to having his teeth checked. It was a wake-up call for me, because he doesn't mind if I look at his teeth particularly, but I'd never bothered to try when he was aroused. Turns out he says no to me looking at his teeth when he's aroused as well. So we've incorporated teeth checking into all sorts of low and high energy activities in any place we visit. The roast chicken did A LOT, though. Really, the key to gaining cooperation with our little upstart is to show him why he should do it. Which is, we have lots of good treats and fun games we will share with him if he works within the system. He is a fantastic little worker and throws everything he has into anything he does. The more we reward him the harder he works, the more reliable he becomes, and the more he tries to get me to train him. He lives for free shaping clicker games and will turn himself inside out for the chance to earn a reward. I'm sure he thinks he is the one manipulating us, but hell, who cares.

I made a point with him not to provoke him. I think when you have a very outspoken and bold dog it's just a good idea to work them up to doing unpleasant things with a lot of desensitising so that by the time you are asking them to do something they don't like they have been conditioned to like it. Or at least tolerate it.  

His hearing and vision are perfect, per his vet.

I have begun to keep him on his leash while we are out and am working on recall in the house since its a contained area.  When I ask him to enter his crate, he goes in and THEN gets a marrow bone wtih some peanut butter stuffed into the end.  Entering his crate is now a good thing for him.

Rusty's Momma

His hearing and vision are perfect, per his vet.

I have begun to keep him on his leash while we are out and am working on recall in the house since its a contained area.  When I ask him to enter his crate, he goes in and THEN gets a marrow bone wtih some peanut butter stuffed into the end.  Entering his crate is now a good thing for him.

 

That's a good start.  I also suggest that you work on making your recall exercises fun.  There's a great DVD called "Really Reliable Recall" that will make coming to you just about as much fun as the chase game.  He really needs to feel confident that getting to you is the best thing since sliced bread!  You can get the DVD at cleanrun.com

Corinthian

 Punishing a dog for growling is never a good idea, the growls is a warning which might be the reason you claim he flips out. You may have taught him not to give out warnings which leaves his only option - to act.

 

tenna

so suppressing growling behavior (and other behaviors that happen prior to a dog biting) takes away all your warnings... they simply no longer use growling as a warning sign.

 

I just wanted to add that these 2 statements are wrong (specially coming from people that dont use corrections). I dont try to disprove clicker training because i'm not an expert in it. The fact that some people out there can not read a dog's body language does not mean that dogs dont display warnings anymore. Growling is not the only warning sign a dog gives, or the dog would care less if he didnt growl "as a courtesy" for the human to be prepared

And because i'm not willing to explain this for the 10,000th time, here are a couple threads that talk about it:

http://community.dog.com/forums/p/97812/781104.aspx#781104

http://community.dog.com/forums/p/28523/376271.aspx#376271

I think the point is that the human reacting to the growl is wrong because the dog is being punished for a symptom, a form of communication, rather than the human addressing the actual problem - why is the dog growling? (or showing teeth, licking lips, air snapping, showing avoidance, etc)

So everyone is right.  If you correct the growling, the dog will only stop growling.  The problem has not been addressed, the dog still feels the same way and has other ways of communicating this.

espencer

The fact that some people out there can not read a dog's body language does not mean that dogs dont display warnings anymore.

 

But why eliminate a warning that most people do understand and then have to rely on even more subtle body language?  The average dog owner needs that warning growl. 

Dogs don't understand that we don't always read their body language well.  I'm using "we" in a general way, not directed at any one in particular.  All of the signals dogs use to convey their feelings and to warn of their intent to bite are not used as a courtesy to us humans.  It's what dogs do.  They do care when we misinterpret or try to eliminate those signals because the result is we often punish them unfairly, in the dog's mind.

 When humans decide that a growl is "bad" they get in trouble.  A growl is just communication to a dog.  Saying that a dog shouldn't growl is like telling a person not to tell us when they are angry or sick.  Humans can say, "Could you leave me alone right now?"  But, a dog can't do anything but warn in the only way they know how.  It's only when you realize that signals, growls, yelps, barks, and yawns are just language that dogs use, that you can attempt to interpret rather than suppress it, and do something to lessen the dog's need to warn, by utilizing management, training, exercise, or medical intervention.