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Unable to Live Without Chocolate or Coffee
Posts: 1849
   
| I'm really tore up about my blue heeler, she is not getting any better with being too excited/energetic (super high prey drive) turning into aggression. She is too hard on our cows so I can't use her. She gets so excited and crazy when driving the 4 wheelers or other ATV's that she will heel, bite and draw blood on my other dogs. We have two other dogs right now, a BC and a McNab. She bit our BC the other day and he was bleeding.... I've had enough. I don't like what needs to be done, but its looking like a one way trip to the vet for her. She will be 5 next month so its very sad. She's been a good dog, but NOT like any other heeler. She rather be off doing her own thing, than be with her owners. We give the best food and care and love her so much. She has good manners in every other aspect. She gets walked and exercied at least once a day and is never tied to a chain, she's always loose in a good sized pen! I think there is just something mentally messed up through her bloodlines.... a product of bad breeding choices maybe... I've had her since she was a puppy. :(
Has anyone had this problem with a heeler, or even any other dog?
I'm not a dog trainer but I'm really good with dogs and have never ever had a problem like this.
I am a humane person and will not leave her locked up because she is bad. I won't give her to someone who doesn't know what they are doing. I don't trust anyone with my animals. So I'm out of choices at this point. I've tried training collars and they help but sometimes she will just shut down and run back to the house even when its on the lowest setting.
Sorry if this is not the place to post this, but I know alot of you have heelers and other dogs, and might be able to give me advice? |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | imo no dog is to hard on a cow.....thats just mho.......and if you know she goes ape s$it crazy with the quad, make her ride with you.......heelers are born herders and very aggressive when it comes to that......keep her on a leash when you need to, stop setting her up for failure ...........................get her into agility, or take her swimming ...................she may just need more to do
you could also get her a muzzle (one of the soft nylon ones)
m
Edited by mruggles 2015-02-25 3:12 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1094
Location: Idahome | My heeler does not have the typical demeanor of a heeler either. When around cattle, she would have so much anxiety that she didn't know what to do with herself. Shook uncontrollably, whined and barked and just ran around because she couldn't contain herself. I put her on the Keep Cool from Silver Lining Herbs and it helped her out so much. This was when she was about 8 or 9 years old. I tried everything I could think of through the years and nothing worked. She has never been bad around the horses or other dogs, just the cattle. She will be 16 this year and has gone deaf, so she just kinda saunters around now because she can't hear what it going on. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | I will tell you.......heelers need lots and lots of room to run. I always had to buy mine bones to keep him busy because he would put his mouth on anything he could get ahold of. |
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Expert
Posts: 1314
Location: North Central Iowa Land of white frozen grass | Some times things just need to be done before things get out of hand. Now that our cattle are gone mine gets a little out of hand with the horses. I have one mare that this red healer and her go round and round every day at feeding times and one of them is going to end up dead someday. |
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Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | also....is she spayed? That might be the root of the problem as well. |
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Unable to Live Without Chocolate or Coffee
Posts: 1849
| This isn't my first heeler, so I know how they are. I'm convinced this one has a screw loose. We have 60+ acres so she has plenty of room. She goes ballistic with a muzzle I've tried that. She's been run over by the 4 wheeler, and double barrel kicked by a horse - had to go to the ER that time, and after recovering, she is still the same - didn't even phase her.
when she was younger like less than 1 yr old we could take her with us horseback riding, but after that age she just runs off all the time so that doesn't work. We can run her hard until shes gasping for air and she's still the same.
She was spayed when she was 4. It seems like it could have got worse after being spayed, but could that be?
She has been in at least 5 dog fights and that's with our own dogs! |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | A hug to you. You are in a tough situation. This dog sounds just miserable though -- and the fact she has so much aggression to your other animals is a bit scary to me. I love all of my animals, but in my many, many years of sharing my life with them, I have had to make a hard choices One was a horse who had endured an eye injury which we treated and it healed, but with reduced sight -- then he suffered an infection in the other eye which reduced sight in that eye! He had always been a tough horse (was not gelded until older); however, once he had a sight issue, he became just downright dangerous. He became so aggressive with the other horses that he injured a couple of them -- keeping him to himself just made him worse. After he nearly ran me down twice, we made the decision to put him down. We could not in good faith send him to a new home as he was -- and after a thorough vet check were told his sight would get worse -- and we imagined that would or might increase the aggression. He was an older horse by this time -- completely sound other than the sight issue -- a tough call, but the right one. I also made the tough decision to put down a lovely TB gelding who had been a champion jumper -- due to his degenerating coffin bone. He was perfect except for that one foot. When he reached the point he was abscessing twice a month - and spending lots of time down to rest that hoof, we put him down. Sharing life with animals bears responsibility and accountability. We have to be able to put our pain and emotions aside in order to make the right choices even when they are very difficult. Again - a hug to you.
Edited by Delta Cowgirl 2015-02-25 4:43 PM
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