Captain Naughty Pants-is this normal?

[CalistogaPyr]

Greetings, all!  I am new to the land of Border Collie dog, so some help would be appreciated!  Our B.C mix Floyd (a.k.a. Captain Naughty Pants) is coming along nicely after being with us for almost 2 months.  My question is about his inability to respond to correction.  He gets really wired up & starts jumping & nipping and nothing we do can correct the behavior.  We've tried ignoring him, pushing him away (this makes it worse, now it's a game), sprizing him with bitter apple, everything.  He seems to get more & more amped up the more we try to redirect him.  I seem to remember reading in A Dog Year (Jon Katz) about B.C's insistant nature & constant struggle for dominance.  Does this sound accurate to other B.C owners?  We've got Floyd in obedience, which helps somewhat, but it's during these daily "freak outs" that I wonder if there's something else I can do to work on correcting him in the moment.
Thanks!!
Jenn, Bo & Floyd

[Gypsy Jazmine]

bump

[Kermit]

Is he a Border Collie/Labrador mix? The reason I ask is that I have read about that specific mix being an extremely difficult dog to work with for some reason! If he is I will have to hunt down that info for you.

Otherwise, eek, I wish I had some advice!

Incidentally, I have a friend with a B.C. that she calls Mr. Handsome Pants!

[Scootergirl]

How old is he? He sounds like our aussie was at about a year old, but the behavior settled down when he learned "sit" and "stay" and got excited about pleasing us that way. High energy breeds are difficult when you're dealing with that A.D.D. type of behavior.

Good luck! Stick it out. Try getting him interested in the Kong or Frisbee or something NOT you to focus his enthusiasm on.

Jeanne

[CalistogaPyr]

Floyd is a 14mo old Lab/B.C. mix.  Indeed, he is difficult to train.  He does well in class, but that's with his gentle leader on & in a foreign environment.  At home, he gets all spastic & runs, jumps & nips when he wants attention.  We try to redirect him with "sit", but that is short-lived.  I don't know how to teach him to "settle" which I think would be a helpful command.  I'm hoping that he mellows with age & more training! =)  Thanks for the feedback!
Jenn, Bo & Floyd

[Kermit]

CalistogaPyr,
Since your dog is a BC/Lab mix and I have this info right in front of me here, I am going to go on ahead and quote it to you. Not for any purpose other than to let you know that someone somewhere has this opinion! I have never known a dog of this particular mix before so I have a totally neutral stance on the matter! But this might be of some interest, so here goes:

(quoted from Essentail Care for Dogs, by Jackie Drakeford and Mark Elliot)
"WARNING
Because each breed has its peculiarities, and because what is unsuitable for one home is no problem in another, I have- mostly- not mentioned breeds by name. However, I am going to make a single exception as a warning to the first-time dog owner. Avoid the cross between a Border Collie and a Labrador. For some reason, this cross usually embodies the worst traits of each breed, and a great many dogs of this cross are euthanized for aggression. In experienced hands, a dog of this breeding will be a good companion, for they are intelligent, and eager for occupation, but they can easily go the other way. Should you wonder at this, I can recommend the following two tests: go to all your local rescue centers and see how many dogs of this type are in their kennels. Buy all the glossy dog magazines for two months: read their problem pages and note how many letters refer to this cross or to 'crossbred collies' or 'labrador cross'.
While there will always be exceptions, this is most usually a dog for the expert, and not for a family home. Leave well alone."

Weird, huh? This was the first time I had ever heard of a particular mix being a problem. The next time I heard it was for a husky/malamute cross... because I have one!!!

Hopefully everything will work out for you guys!

[CalistogaPyr]

wow...can't say that's terribly hopeful!  I guess everone is entitled to an opinion, and I'm of the mind that although it might be a difficult breed to work with, that casting the net over every border collie/lab mix isn't fair.  So, I guess I'll just have to be a patient, calm owner who provides limitations & boundaries for my dog(s)-a la Ceasar Milan.  If nothing else, at least I know that I rescued a loving creature from walking the last mile!  Even if he's Captain Naughty Pants of the Doggie Resistance, he's still our captain! =)
Jenn

[longshadowfarms]

Ya know, I think we have Captain's Lab half brother here.  He frequently goes by the name of "Prince Brat."  Labs are very mouthy and Prince Brat is the worst I've ever had in that regard.  I've found that if I can get a toy into his mouth, it helps tremendously to cut down on the nipping.  He's finally learning after at least a month that when I say "go get a toy" he'll go running to find one.  It must be close at hand though or he loses interest because he's too excited.  I keep a bunch of balls on top of his crate to stuff in his mouth first thing in the morning since that is a known excitement time.   Worth a try anyway to see if that Lab penchant for carrying is at work in him.  I see Captain has the same interest in destruction that Prince Brat has.  Most of Brat's stuffed animals have been reduced to skins.  Good luck dealing with it!  Hopefully with time he'll settle down some.