Adopting a dog? I have one in mind...?

If the biting cases actually did occur what questions me is what caused him to want to bite. It may have been that he was in bad homes, i agree with what the other guy said. He does seem like a very nice dog. If you really love this dog and want him then Id go for it. Just be precautious for the first few days maybe a week, or month, to see how he does and if the cases were real. It depends on if you can handle it.

When I adopted my dog, Ozark, he had spent his ENTIRE life in the pound, and he was 1.5 years old.

He was afraid of new men and unsure of manly looking women. He however was very protective over my friends daughter. Long story short, he bit my boyfriend in the face because the boyfriend tried to treat Ozark like he would any other dog, and didn't watch out for any warning signs. He also stated to have it in for my friends husband when he would throw his daughter up in the air and actually lunged over the table to get him...

Yeah, doesn't sound like a dog you would keep right?

I did, and after alot of training and learning to watch for signs of his discomfort he is now introducing himself to male strangers and I am thrilled. He is trusted off leash, will bark at bears when we are camping, trusted around horses, livestock, and small kids. He still has some quirks about him but he has turned out to be a wonderful dog.

The moral of this story is train him and work with him. Make introductions to new things part of your routine. If you think you can do it, I think you should go ahead and do so - he will need a home that he can trust and the long her stays in the pound the crazier he will be.

Any dog can be a good dog, and any dog can be a bad dog. It sounds like the dog may have some issues. If you have your heart set on him, and know that he requires a lot of work, then be patient with him. Definitely make sure he mingles with the other dogs. Sign him up for some obedience classes as well.

I got one of my dogs when he was 9 months old. I was his 5th owner, but he is doing wonderful now. My only reservation would be, when small children are around, or strangers, you may want to put a muzzle on just to be cautious.

Honestly, all of those bite cases sound like a bad case of human error. He was in pain, and people messed with him. He was left alone in a room with a person that doesn't know how to handle him, and he bit the person. One thing you NEED to remember about dogs like Border Collies and Australian Shepherds, is that they are known for being nippy. They don't generally like strangers, older people, or small kids. They like someone who understands the concept of "walking away means leave me alone". If they aren't left alone, they will resort to their own measures to keep others away.

If I could handle owning a dog that comes from a breed that is known to be nippy, which I can (I have two border collies, one -my current profile picture :D- is a bc/aussie mix), than I would go for it. His past cases, being the situations they were, do not reflect anything more upon his behavior except that he is your typical border collie (mix).

Once again, the digging was another common BC/Aussie trait. These dogs NEED something to do. And if they aren't given something to do, they aren't going to sit around, bored, like some breeds would, they are going to FIND something to do, and you (the owner) probably aren't going to like it. Keep him entertained with physical exercise, training, and toys, and you will not have a digging problem.

If you do adopt him, make certain you are willing to make a life time commitment (15 years minimum), no matter what he does. . . The worse thing you could do to it would be decide it won't work after a few months and return it. This means working with him and not giving up, even if he bites your roommate's pets.

Talk to your roommate and be certain she is in complete agreement. Think of the absolute worse case scenario and decide if BOTH of you want to undertake a dog that is a work in progress.

I wouldn't. I mean, I normally would since he's part Aussie, but with his history, I wouldn't risk it. You don't know what might trigger him to bite you. I wouldn't want to get bitten or have someone I know bitten. Plus, he might not get along with other dogs in your neighborhood or if you take him to the park or something, and it could cause problems. It's a very risky process adopting a dog with a record. Choose a different dog and hope someone different who they are sure can handle him adopt him. :)

Hope it helped.

honestly, this sounds like a very nice dog, who has been in very bad homes.

i won't even attempt to sway your decision...you sound to me like a person who loves dogs , and are willing to accept responsibility for your animal. ( i know many who don't)

in any case, i'd ask if i could have the dog for a week and watch, or ask to spend as much time as possible working w/ the dog at the shelter to see this dogs personality.

it's quite likely this dog was simply defending itself.

and i don't believe for a minute (and i've been bitten) that a dog bite will completely heal in a week...if it was actually a BITE, and not a "nip"

that's MY opinion (the one time i did get bitten, as a kid, it took several stitches and about 3 weeks to be unnoticeable. )

GL..

I commend you for wanting to adopt this dog. He's an intelligent mix and deserves a chance. The only word of advice I have is to keep a VERY close eye on him around people--especially children and elderly. Other than that, he sounds like a keeper.