DawnElf

You know, I do kind of wonder if she is more tolerant than some other dogs might be in this regard - she (Li'l Girl) doesn't snap at him (Hairry) or otherwise react negatively when he starts to bite; she just kinds of holds still and stops playing. I guess that would be a form of the "withdrawal" you were talking about. The "vibe" my husband gets is that she is not comfortable with it. He stops, and they go back to playing. We've also talked about aggression and neither of us thinks that's what's going on. (In fact, in all my years of having/working with dogs, I can't remember when I had/dealt with one who was so affection-loving! I think "love sponge" is the term!) Also, the people at the shelter told us that the person who surrendered him said he was "crate-trained", which I think can mean different things to different people - we don't know how much time he may have spent in a crate (all day while his people were at work??) and how it may affect the way he interacts with other dogs. (They said he was a victim of a divorce, and the spouse who had him did not have a place to go where s/he could have a dog). So anyway, we will contniue to monitor these two! Thanks again for your comments and advice!!

Hi, Sue, thanks for your reply, your kind words and also the tips! I will definitely be checking out some of the previous conversations on other topics! It sounds as if my husband has been on the right track, then, because he positively interacts with him after we stop the biting. The biggest thing we are worried about with the biting is that he will injure the Lab . . . she does seem to hold her own and is figuring out what to expect from him, and they are about equal as to who initiates play. It has only been not quite three months and it was several weeks before they even started playing together; I am thinking time will be our friend here as we continue to work with him. Thanks again!! - Dawn

Hello! I am new to this forum. Almost three months ago a nine-year-old male Border Collie mix joined our family. We also have a 4 1/2-year-old female Black Lab. We have been figuring out his quirks and, overall, the blending of the family has gone better than we could have hoped. However, when the two play together, the BC bites the Lab's leg - it sometimes appears he is trying to pull her leg out from under her and even try to tip her over with his head; I am guessing this is what a BC would do while herding, if he thinks it's called for. A loud, firm "NO!" or "No bite!" following his name seems to do the trick most of the time . . . Is there anything else we should be doing to hopefully get him to stop doing this? Thank you for any and all advice!