Rehabbing an Aggressive Australian Shepherd

Decker seems to now have turned around for the better. Finally! Every since his child immersion treatment with the 4-H dog group, he is still way better with kids. Last week a friend of my husband and his little girl came over for a visit. They have been here many times before. And the last time that they were here, Decker started to go after the little girl, which we promptly went after him and put him down on the ground immediately. The visit was several hours and outside in the presence …

Decker has always, when released, taken off after the sheep, wherever they might be. Then he runs up and down the fence line, with an anxious mind. Lately, I have been grazing the sheep in my neighbor's pasture. Realizing that my methods of stopping him from taking off after the sheep have been futile, I decided to get much firmer with him. A few days ago, right after he took off heading for the sheep, I yelled at him not to go, and he defied me. I then took off and chased him. Boy, was he …

Decker is advancing in herding suddenly, by leaps and bounds. He almost knows his flank commands now. A few days ago, when I was working him, I noticed that he was starting to learn his flanks. Thank God! I like to move on too, and not to teach the same thing day after day.I remember when Tam, my 2 1/2 year old was on the verge of knowing her flanks. And by the time a couple of more weeks passed, she had them down. Then proofing was at play. I like to set up my dogs, when proofing, to be …

Today, I was out with John, my Canadian friend. We were working on a fifth wheel pad that he was shaping with a tractor. All of the dogs were out running around with us too. It was a rainy type day, with drizzle but no real rain to speak of. We thought we better get the grading done and the trailer back in its spot before the downpour comes. Later this week, we are supposed to get at least three days in a row of rain.My neighbor had some questions to ask me so she walked over through the pr …

As I was getting ready to host a fun trial here on the property, I decided what I was going to do with Decker. Knowing that there would be lots of people and children and herding, all of which can make him anxious, I thought immersion might just be the ticket for him. After all, what a better way to desensitize a dog than to bombard him with all that bothers him.I had planned on running him in the trial, once, in a non-compete status. Being an Aussie, I wasn't sure how he would handle the dis …