Dog Attacks People he Knows on the Swing

Question

I have a white factor collie mix by the name of Shea, he is approximately 3/4 Collie and 1/4 Australian Shepherd (and 6 years old). These details my prove to be unnecessary however I am including them nonetheless.

He is the most relaxed dog I have ever met. I have two younger brothers, one of which is a baby and he lets both of them crawl all over him--and not once has he complained, at all.

However, he has one major issue with the swings.

It has happened many many times, that when either myself, younger brothers or anyone else he recognizes decides to get on a swing he becomes a completely different animal, barking and attacking whoever is on the swing.

This has been the case for 6 years.

Important details to note:

1. It seems as if it is the case he only attacks people he knows, which led me to believe that he was concerned for our safety--thinking we were being hurt by the swing. I do not let him get near anyone on the swing however it has happened a couple times that when walking past a random person on the swing, he pays no attention to them whatsoever. After spending some time with a friend of mine, he started attacking him on the swing.
2. I am able to hold him when people he knows are swinging, he tries to get loose but does not act aggressively towards me when I am holding him.
3. The actual swinging seems to be what bothers him. If I am merely sitting on the swing he is not as bothered by it.
4. I have tried holding and consoling him when he's watching someone he knows swing, it calms him down a bit but if I were to let go he would still go after and attack the person on the swing.

My Main Questions:

1. Is there even anything to be done about this, or is this simply just my dog, and changing this behavior is impossible for this specific situation?

2. Was my initial thought that he is doing it out of concern accurate?

3. Has anyone else dealt with swing-terrified dogs?

Answer 1

The breeds your dog is mixed with are all working breeds. This could make your dog have a more heightened prey drive than normal, I suspect this is the issue.

I'm not sure that your dog is 'attacking' per se, I think that this is play/prey drive kicking in. If this was attack behaviour your dog would not be displaying what you're describing. A dog that is attacking will be rolling up their lips to show their teeth, growling/barking, they lower their head and body, pin their ears back and raise their tail in some cases, and a play bite is different from an attack bite. Does it do any of these things?

If not:

When a working dog sees something moving similar to prey (swinging moving side to side) their prey drive kicks in and they want to either play or latch on. Given that it does it to someone it knows, I'm inclined to say its play.

I have tried holding and consoling him when he's watching someone he knows swing, it calms him down a bit but if I were to let go he would still go after and attack the person on the swing.

Holding/restraining may either calm or have the opposite effect. You need to distract him, show that you are more fun than them, and he will ignore it. Like when you encounter other dogs you move away, call their name, tug, etc. This is the same.

Is there even anything to be done about this, or is this simply just my dog, and changing this behavior is impossible for this specific situation?

Distract him, show you are the source of his fun and nothing else. He will look to you rather than be as hyper-aware of other things. He probably still will want to go and engage, but when you give the command to stop and come, he will/should, as you are more fun.

Was my initial thought that he is doing it out of concern accurate?

From what you have described it doesn't sound like an attack or fear. It sounds like he wants to play.

Answer 2

An early reference entitled "Life-Saving Dogs" by Hugh B. Philpott from 1905 stated "dogs are capable not only of being the faithful companions of man, but on occasion rescuing him from deadly peril". We see many examples of dogs rescuing humans from dangers such as drowning, avalanches and attacks. These are mostly instinctual behaviors which are difficult to alter by training.

My best dog knew it was his job to protect people. Anytime anyone did something the dog perceived as dangerous, this dog would jump on them barking. He jumped on our sledding children actually dumping them from the sled. We solved the problem by anticipating activities that would stimulate the dog's protective instincts and keeping the dog under leash control to avoid injury.

Answer 3

This might be the well-known behavior of dogs chasing bicycles and cars, but in the context of swings.

The swing might create some ultrasounds (audible by the dog, but "silent" for the people) and the dog might deem the ultrasounds as dangerous. So he wants to protect his dear ones when the ultrasound is there.

A simple solution is to add some good amount of grease to the swing, to make sure all the parasitic sounds are silenced. Before that, a test is to try to replicate the behavior with different swings - ideally, of different makes: fully metal, plastic, or just hanging a tire in a tree with some rope. I expect that the dog will have different behaviors in different contexts.