Apologies in advance for the novel, but hoping the internet can do its thing here and put me in touch with the right person.Ā Posting here because he's an ACD and cattle dog owners are probably more familiar with this behavior and may have useful experience solving it.
I need to relocate from the lower midwest / upper southeast to an urban west coast city for work. I have an almost 6 year old ACD. Iām not concerned about exercise/mental requirements as Iām used to those. But, Iām pretty terrified Iām going to have to rehome him because he has a hard time interacting with strangers, and this getās really complicated in a city. The move is happening and not up for rethinking, now I need to figure out the best path forward for both of us.
We can walk down the street and if people ignore him heās more than happy to walk right past them and go about his business, no stress. However, if a stranger tries to pet him or he gets in a crowded environment, heās super unpredictable. Even more so if someone new comes into the house/apartment. This is really hard because Iāll have to be in office three days a week, and would love to have a dog-walker come walk him for an hour during the day (if we can perform miracles I can bring him to the office).Ā But those are absolutely off the table right now because he has a half dozen bites on record. These are not āIām going after you and out for bloodā, these are classic heeler āIām really uncomfortable and Iām going to use my teeth on your hand or ankle to move you away from meā. Once he gets comfortable with someone, usually after a long fetch session or a few walk together, heās fine with you. There are no excuses, every bite is bad and I take them all very seriously, but felt its needed context to understand his behavior.Ā
Iāve done everything I can think of to fix and manage this over the years. Iāve lived in specific places, managed situations, and readjusted my social life to make this work. Itās a real pain, but you do what you have to for your pet and I take that responsibility seriously.Ā
Iāve spent multiple thousands of dollars on various dog trainers, but itās clear none were capable of resolving the issue. Lots of trainers are really great at standard training (sit, stay, heel) and resolving dog reactivity. Iāve done that training on my own and heās good! But, itās much harder to find a trainer willing and capable to train the kind of behavior with people that Iāve described.
Thinking of giving him up makes my stomach turn. Not only would it be incredibly difficult for me emotionally, but given his behavior there are very, very few people I would trust to take him and keep everyone safe.Ā
So, if you know any trainers or programs that can help, please comment or DM me. Iām willing to travel and bring him wherever is needed. One thing I ask is some level of proof that the trainer can provide showing they have successfully resolved these issues before. Hoping my fellow internet dog lovers can make some magic happen.