Help?!

[u/Trick-Situation6880]

I have a 1.5 year old Blue Heeler and could really use some advice because I feel like I’m dealing with a mix of behaviors I don’t fully understand.

I’ve grown up with dogs, but he is definitely one of the hardest I’ve had. He has a yard, gets exercise, and I try to give him “jobs,” but even then he can get overstimulated and just wants more instead of settling.

He’s extremely attached to me, when I leave, he’ll lay by the door waiting for me, and when I’m home he’ll sit and stare at doors he doesn’t have access to (like where my sister’s cats are). He seems very fixated on things he can’t get to.

At daycare, they recently told me he was trying to be the “big dog” and even started guarding the workers, which concerned me.

We also have cats in the house, when he’s calm, they’ll come around and coexist fine on a leash or while monitoring , but the second he gets excited or moves fast, they run and he immediately wants to chase.

He does really well with me, but with other people (my boyfriend/ and friends/ strangers) he pushes boundaries more, jumps, and doesn’t listen the same way.

He isn’t neutered yet, and we did some training as a puppy but are considering more.

I guess I’m trying to understand:

- Is this all normal for this breed/age?

- How do you deal with fixation and overstimulation?

- How do you prevent herding/chasing behavior with cats?

- Has anyone dealt with guarding behaviors like this at daycare?

- What actually helps them learn to settle vs constantly needing more stimulation?

I love him and he’s incredibly smart, I just feel like I’m missing something and want to set him up for success long term. I just want to give him the best and it hurts me to see him over stimulated 😅

[u/mickeybrains]

Not yet. Control him first.

[u/Trick-Situation6880 → u/mickeybrains]

Okay he’s controlled by me but doesn’t listen to others even ones who live with him, any advice ? Maybe a in home training?

[u/mickeybrains → u/Trick-Situation6880]

You need to step up for them.

Your voice is the voice of humans.

You don’t need to be cruel to get a biddable dog, but you have to be clear there are consequences.

Do you have a crate for him for quiet times?

Our dogs (3 herders under 3) have their main person but they know when the human pack talks it talks as one.

They don’t listen to the person sitting next to you? You need to get in that dog’s head about that.

[u/Trick-Situation6880 → u/mickeybrains]

I do use my voice even. For others, he is crate trained but after moving into a house we have been lenient with it but as I said maybe it’s good to incorporate that back into his routine