I volunteer with the local shelter just working with dogs and also trying to promote them to the public. We recently got a young Border collie who was in less than wonderful shape (underweight, poor coat etc.). Her background is that she has been bred twice and was turned into the shelter. It is suspected that her only purpose was to produce pups to be sold. She is a sweet, smart girl but has one problem I cannot figure out. She is totally fine with shelter dogs but barks and lunges at other dogs. (Sometimes people bring their dogs over when we have adoption days-drives the volunteers crazy) I figure the shelter dogs are part of her pack and the other dogs are not. I just cannot figure out what I should be doing. I tried using a strong "no" and leash correction which didn't work. Plus the shelter uses those **** choke collars and I didn't want to harm her with too many ineffective corrections. I tried to distract her and praise her for not barking. She fixates on the other dogs and even treats don't get her attention. (Maybe nerves, maybe she doesn't know what they are, maybe she just doesn't care.) I searched the forum but couldn't find anything that appeared to be the same situation, or at least close. I really want this gal to find a good home but that won't happen if she is barking and throwing herself against the leash every time she sees another dog. Observations? Advice? If I just knew what the behavior was I would have more luck using the resources on this site. (Can you tell I am inexperienced? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

It's quite possible that she just wants to play but knows she's restrainted. Dogs who don't have any dog-on-dog aggression issues sometimes just wanna play so go nuts barking n lunging, inexperienced people will interpret it as aggression. What's her body language like? It's tough to say without seeing the dog, but it's a consideration. The only real way to find out is to put her together with a dog she doesn't know, introduce em carefully... but there's always the risk of a bite if the BC isn't being playful but dog-aggressive.

that was my first reaction too , mike .

is there a place at the shelter where you can let her go and ( safely ) see what her response will be if she can play it out to her satisfaction . might take all the mystery out of those dogs ( sheep ) on the other side of the fence .

hope that helps . . .

Maybe have her on a longline with no tension on it as a safety net?

Those sound like good ideas. We are not allowed to introduce shelter dogs to dogs we don't know so I think I will try it with her on a long line and some one holding my dog. I'll do it in a neutral place as well. If we could rule out agression that would be great, or even just know for sure. Thanks so much for your input.

Leah,
My dog is a rescue from a shelter. Shepherd/BorderCollie mix is best guess. She also exhibited the same behavior you are describing. She is much less reactive now, however, it seems worse when she is on leash. Interestingly, my sister brought over her male cattle dog mix. My girl initially lunged & barked. We proceed to walk them together, on neutral ground. The walk was without incident so, we brought them back to my house and let them run in the yard. Supervised, and with leashes on. Me dog could not have paid less attention to him if she tried. She would however, try to herd him away from me. They have been together, on occassion, without incident. My dog seems to react most ofter to dogs she has not "met" before.
For now, I reward her with a "cookie" when she does not react. She is getting better!

Let me know how you make out!

Linda

It turned out that y'all were right. The Border Collie was wanting to play with the other dogs. Not only that, she's been adopted!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Thanks so much for your help.