So upset and shocked.....my dog bit me

foreign_correspondent

I totally agree with border collie and posted the same idea earlier - it would not hurt and may well help to get your daughter doing a bit of positive reward based training with him - getting him to sit, lie, give a paw, etc etc and giving him a treat and praise when he does so. Just 45 minutes a day could work wonders, and try a high value reward, like little slivers of cheese or ham.

It may well help develop the rapport between them, and for him to understand there are positive rewards for doing what your daughter says.

jay11_2

I am concerned that your daughter, who does not have complete control over him, is taking him out for walks. Does she keep him on the leash all the time, and know what to do if something triggers his fear/aggressive behaviour? What if a child comes up to stroke him? My teens take my dog out, but she obeys them completley, and it would stop if she ever showed aggression (e.g. snarling) without a very good reason, and we'd retrain if she became less obedient with them.

If she lets him off the leash...I hope it is a very safe, non-public area.

PLEASE take him to a behaviourist, before things become worse, don't wait until something worse happens!

eira

This dog has had by the sounds of it at least two previous 'homes'.The 'kennels in Ireland' could have been breeding farms with all that means. This dog has a troubled background. I would start with the vet a)for a health check and b) for a referral.


In my experience I used one 'behaviourist' who had a lot of advice about 'dominance' and 'pack leadership' which sounded odd at the time. Her prime advice was to feed our rescued street dogs on'scraps' as that was 'what he had been used to'! In fact because of his background his digestive system required a specialised diet as his gut was sensitive. The other one had advice that would have been practical if the dog was the size of a Jack Russell.The vet is the best source of information.

Please don't blame yourself this would be a difficult situation for an experienced dog owner

Raksha

Has your daughter ever been actively involved in training him?

If he was trained by adults, then asking him to listen to an adolesent will be different in his eyes. It might also help to get him working on a Nothing in Life is Free programme, so he has to 'learn to earn' every single bit of reward in his life - fuss, food, leaving the house to toilet etc.

If a dog does something wrong, sending it to it's bed or chastising it teaches it nothing IMHO, except that humans are not consistent and not to be trusted not to put you in a position where you can do the wrong thing - a good teacher will always steer the student towards making the right decision, and we are constantly teaching our dogs, even when asking them to do something we think we've already trained them to do. If they get it wrong, we must ask ourselves why they made the mistake, not punish them for trying.......

MRSCARNEY

If you'd struggle to afford a behaviouralist maybe there are dog training classes in your area which could be less expensive but may provide with you with some guidance (you vet might be able to give you some info)

Hopefully you can work this out with some good advice, time and patience.

davsidipp

by the sound of it you say the dog came from ireland well puppy farm comes to mind.we got a westie a few years back who came from a puppy farm with very snappy tendecies no way as bad as your lab but im sorry you have a child and no matter how scared dog was of fireworks he cannot be trusted with a child my care would be with your daughters saftey .

callywally

Please dont try following the dog whisperers methods. All he does is bully dogs and wear them out so they are physically unable to react. Watch the dogs he handles body language and see the signs of stress, lip smacking, avoiding eye contact etc. what he calls calm submissive behaviour is in fact learned helplessness. The dog is too afraid to do anything so just shuts down. Go to a good behaviourist who uses modern reward based methods.

doodlehumlucysmum

hi there,

sorry to be honest that i havent read all your posts but if there are any owners of dogs scared by fireworks my tips are:

put duvet up at windows etc to smuffle noise,
take dog out fo walk you'd be suprised how they react when they can see the noise
put cooked pasta in a bottle it will distract them and the pasta will make them sleepy

I'm also having the rehome/keep dilema. my dog is so calm around us and a pure delight but will go for anyone so much so that i worry so much about bringing people around that i usually dont. prob making it worse.

thoughts are with you

chrissiesurfergirl123

Sorry to hear what has happened ahd hope you recover quickly. You need expert help here so the situation does not get out of hand.

We had a similar problem with our golden retriever Sam who we got at 11 mths of age. He looked like an angel but within a couple of weeks he had bitten all four of us, without any warning growl or snarl. The incidents were triggered by us approaching him in various situations and touching/holding his collar. The worst incident was when he bit our 12 yr old who went to undo his halti harness. I was seriously worried and consulted the vet who referred us to a specialist vet in behaviour disorders - Behaviour Referrals in Chester.

These people saved Sam's life with their training and advice. He would have been put to sleep otherwise as he would have been impossible to rehome due to his difficulties. Unfortunately there are so many dogs without homes who have no such problems.

To cut a long story short we found out that Sam had come from a place that uses puppy farms. He had been bought by a couple with 6 children ( and one more on the way)who both worked full time and never had a dog before. IT is almost certain that his warning behaviour of growling and snarling had been ignored so he moved straight to the bite. As this had proved successful this reinforced the behaviour. (of course e were told none of this when we got him)It was a day for celebration when he did start growling at us after much careful modification of our behaviour following advice.

Sam had other problems too, being badly underweight and having never been
groomed looking and smelling like a woolly sheep. Sadly the fur on his legs was also matted together so he could not run properly.

Sorry for going on but i am just trying to say that it is worth giving him another chance with the appropriate advice. Sam's behaviour is completely different but part of this is because of the way we now treat him due to the behaviourists advice.

Good luck

toby_puppy

chrissiesurfergirl123 wrote: »

I was seriously worried and consulted the vet who referred us to a specialist vet in behaviour disorders - Behaviour Referrals in Chester.

just wanted to add, they have an excellent reputation at that centre - I was referred to them by our vet for my dogs fear aggression, but since extensive socialisation he has improved so we didn't need to take him. His aggression was directed at other dogs rather than people. I mentioned the Chester centre to a few other people in "dog circles" and they said they really are the best.