I have a lovely 11 month old blue heeler boy, who is not my first heeler but is proving the most troublesome.
My problem with this boy is, I have absolutely no control over him. He has been trained and does the usual sit, drop, stay, come, heel etc perfectly....until he doesn't want to. He is an inside dog who behaves most of the time. He will be behaving perfectly, then just seems to lose the plot. If I tell him to do something he will start yapping continuously and will even nip (I'm hesitant to say bite, but it's getting there) and will also jump at me, which he has been taught not to do. He is also good at using his front paws as hands. He will chew his lead when in this state. When he is in this state, I have no control over him at all and I have no idea what to do with him. Nothing I have tried has worked, ignoring him, distracting him. I have taken to putting a halti on him at this time, as it is the only way I can do anything with him.
He started his yapping and silly stuff tonight and I didn't have the halti close by....he was on the lead with a correction chain and I corrected him to get his attention and he growled at me and slightly curled his lips. This is the first time he has done that and it worries me greatly. So with all my efforts, he is getting worse.
He gets plenty of exercise, hours each day of free running plus play time and training. He is very attached to me, he follows me everywhere (I am home all day). I can happily leave him home, but if we are out, I can't go out of his sight or he goes nuts. He is neutered. When we are inside, he will often just lay on the floor and stare at me.
If you have any suggestions, I would be extremely grateful. I love this dog to pieces but I am at a loss with him.
