FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Home

Aussie Herding Other Dogs

by Erin
(NJ)

I have a 2-year old male who is well behaved and very social with people and animals. However, his herding instinct tends to kick in when we go to the large dog park in town if another dog is running at full speed. He does it to dogs both his size and smaller, and I worry that he will accidentally hurt or "run over" the smaller ones. Since puppyhood he's occasionally had the natural tendency to herd other dogs, which I could usually correct by sitting him down for a minute to relax, but it has been getting more intense over the past two months; he ignores our recalls and seems more driven. It also appears aggressive to other dog owners who do not understand his herding instinct. How can I redirect this behavior to avoid disaster?

Comments for Aussie Herding Other Dogs

Click here to add your own comments

Herding
by: Anonymous

I would be interested to hear what our community has to say on this subject.

umm, have you tried...
by: Anonymous

is he getting enough exercise? My aussie tries to herd our Chihuahua often also, but we find, if we take him for long walks, it helps.

Herding Dogs
by: Erin

He does get regular exercise, but it's usually at the park. Maybe I should bring him for a walk BEFORE he goes to the park for a run? Thank you for the idea. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Herding
by: Anonymous

My Aussie has recently started this at the dog park when other dogs chase their ball. He has started growling/barking at the labs who chase their ball into the water and are swimming out and he does it when other dogs run full speed chasing their ball he sort of circles around them barking the whole time. I have had no luck solving the problem other than taking him out of the "game" and making him chill out for a bit.

Herding
by: Anonymous

We have the same issue, ours does all of the same but he also nips as well. I've noticed that when we take a walk before we go it helps get his pent up energy released. He listens a ton better when he isn't so distracted so in a large park we use a vibrating collar to distract him from herding and obey voice direction from a distance.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!

Back to Home

⌃ TOP ⌃

All Content Copyright © 2006-2024 by Anton Hout,
Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com. All rights reserved.

Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!

As stated in our Privacy Policy, Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com
does not sell your personal information.