About Oliver

Oliver is a 42 pound, 2 year old Border Collie/Australian Cattle dog mix and while he is generally very well behaved and good natured boy, he has displayed a behavioral issue not uncommon with herding breeds. He has on several occasions preformed corrective nips/bites on my wife's face when he was laying on either our couch or bed. This is the only aggressive behavior he has ever displayed and it appeared to be a defensive action. Oliver does not want anybody putting their face in his face and grabbing his head while he is lying down. My wife up until the most recent incident has been unable to keep herself from putting her face close up in Oliver's face despite my constant warnings (and clear instructions from a professional trainer) not to do so. She is used to therapy dogs and has been unable to change her behavior and thus continually recreates the circumstances of the bite and then predictably ends up getting bitten again. I have literally told her hundreds of times not to put her face near this animal's face but she doesn't listen which is ultimately dangerous for both of them. Oliver is no longer allowed on beds or couches but I am fearful that she is going to drop her guard and put her face right up in his and get herself bitten again. I have spoken to several vets, a behavioral specialist with the Humane Society and taken Oliver to a professional Trainer; all have assured me that he is a good boy whose behavior is not uncommon in herding breeds; we just need to keep our faces out of his and stay on top of his training. Oliver has clearly communicated his boundaries to us but my wife is unable to respect those boundaries so I am looking into the possibility of rehoming him. I very much love this dog but at present, this is not the best home for him. He deserves a family that understands his behavior and will respect his clear and simple boundaries. Oliver is trained to obey the following commands, Sit, Down, Stay (still mastering this one), Heel (he's choke collar trained), Break, Come, No, Shake & Gentle. He understands the words Potty, Outside, Dinner, Walk and he is button trained to ask to go outside (he's fully house trained). Oliver is also crate trained. He responds very well to hand signals for sit & stay. Oliver loves other dogs and plays safely with our 12 pound Chihuahua regularly. He even lets the Chihuahua win some wrestling matches here and there which as absolutely adorable. We have 2 cats that Oliver gets along with. Our old cat Bart can get a lil aggressive sometimes and scratch at Oliver so like a good dog, Oliver just avoids him. Our other cat Eevee has a more playful relationship with Oliver, they chase each other around sometimes but it never goes too far. Oliver does well with new people, especially if they have treats for him. Every once in a while he'll bark at a new person (as if to say 'hey, I'm Oliver and I've got my eye on you!'). If that person gives him some treats he comes around pretty quickly. Oliver has an allergy to grass that makes him pretty itchy but this is easily treated with 8mg of Apoquel a day before bed. Otherwise he is very healthy and fully vaccinated (he even has a lyme vaccination).

Multnomah County
portland, Oregon