I am looking for any sort of advice I can get, good or bad.
We have a 4 yr old border collie, who has always been a little on the mental side, meaning he doesn't like strangers (to the point of aggression and biting if ever given the opportuntity-he bit someone once about 3 years ago), he has to wear a muzzle @ the vets, he paces the house obsessively ALL the time, even though he gets long daily walks, and other little things that make us wonder seriously about his mental state, most of which are hard to describe because they are pretty strange. He has a small group of people that he tolerates, about 6 or 7 other than the 3 of us. About 2 years ago, he developed epilepsy and has had about 4 seizures. It's not the seizures themselves that concerns me, because I know there is medication for him, it's how he acts afterwards. Sometimes it takes him a couple days to come out of it and will growl at my daughter or me until he realizes that it is us. I know border collies are a little on the hyper side, but this is not normal behaviour for any sort of dog. Now we are thinking that maybe it's time for him to move on, because he is a danger to our daughter. We take a lot of precautions to make sure they are not alone together, and he is always put into his room when someone he doesn't like or know comes over, and when we are walking him we try to cross the street when someone is coming towards us. I am very torn over what to do here. He is only 4, and I am not very comfortable with cutting his life short based on a lot of "what if's", but then on the other hand, the "what if's" are fairly serious. I don't want to risk anything happening to our daughter or anyone else. On most days he is a good dog, he knows some commands and other than barking a lot and digging, he is well-behaved. I think we need an outsiders opinion, someone who doesn't have their heart involved. Thank you in advance for any replies.
We have a 4 yr old border collie, who has always been a little on the mental side, meaning he doesn't like strangers (to the point of aggression and biting if ever given the opportuntity-he bit someone once about 3 years ago), he has to wear a muzzle @ the vets, he paces the house obsessively ALL the time, even though he gets long daily walks, and other little things that make us wonder seriously about his mental state, most of which are hard to describe because they are pretty strange. He has a small group of people that he tolerates, about 6 or 7 other than the 3 of us. About 2 years ago, he developed epilepsy and has had about 4 seizures. It's not the seizures themselves that concerns me, because I know there is medication for him, it's how he acts afterwards. Sometimes it takes him a couple days to come out of it and will growl at my daughter or me until he realizes that it is us. I know border collies are a little on the hyper side, but this is not normal behaviour for any sort of dog. Now we are thinking that maybe it's time for him to move on, because he is a danger to our daughter. We take a lot of precautions to make sure they are not alone together, and he is always put into his room when someone he doesn't like or know comes over, and when we are walking him we try to cross the street when someone is coming towards us. I am very torn over what to do here. He is only 4, and I am not very comfortable with cutting his life short based on a lot of "what if's", but then on the other hand, the "what if's" are fairly serious. I don't want to risk anything happening to our daughter or anyone else. On most days he is a good dog, he knows some commands and other than barking a lot and digging, he is well-behaved. I think we need an outsiders opinion, someone who doesn't have their heart involved. Thank you in advance for any replies.
). You could also try holding special sessions for a few minutes at a time where just you spend time with the dog. Your husband should do this too. You could do something like play ball with him in the backyard, brush him, take him on a walk, or just sit and pet him for a few minutes.
