patterdale bite other dog :(

fly_dragon_fly

i got a patterdale on friday lovely little 2 year old, sweetest dog with my family and friends after the first 2 minutes of barking.

his previous owner said he was good with other dogs and we saw him with another dog so thought nothing of it ( naive i know!) took him out for a walk meet a friend with a dog and he started barking and growling and then calmed down a bit my friend came towards me and i walked slowly onwards and Alfie greeted the dog with a lick and then bite its face and held on, we got him off but he did cut this little dog.

firstly i am angry at myself for being so stupid and secondly i am angry at his previous owner as she seemed so genuine.

i don't no what to do as in the home and in the garden he is the most lovely dog so friendly and gentle it just other dogs.

i've tried ringing his previous owner but no answer.

what would you suggest as i don't no what to do, i am heart broken as i have had dogs all my life and have never come across one like this so it has thrown me!

x

Elle7

What do you want to do? Train the little dog, or give him back to the previous owner?

There are behaviourists who frequent this board, who could probably give some general advice on how to help him. You should also probably get him checked out at the vet, if you haven't already, as if the owner has lied about this they could have lied about anything. The vet will be able to tell you if his behaviour was linked to a health issue, or give him the all clear, and you'll know that he is healthy. Your vet may also be able to recommend a behaviourist, or a training course which could help him.

I grew up with a patterdale, he was a lovely dog. We got him from a rescue, and he had a bad biting habit when we got him, but he's happy (and old!) now and he was a fantastic pet.

fly_dragon_fly

thanks for this, i have spent most of this morning crying as i don't no what to do.

i would love to train him but i am actually now nervous about never being able to help him to his full extend.

i have spoke to a pet training behavior person but was quote £65 per hour which i just can't afford.

what did you do to get him out of his biting habit?

as i really don't want to give him back but i also don't want to fear taking him out for walks and meeting a dog off the lead etc.

x

suki1964

And this is why the advice that was always given on this board was to only re home from a reputable re homing centre

However now I see there people even offering their dogs up for re-homing on here

OP - you need to get a behaviourist Im afraid. No one can give advice over the net. A qualified behaviourist needs to see the dog and see its body language to see whats going on

In the mean time - keep him muzzled and on a lead when out

gettingready

You only got this dog on Friday, he already turned to bite another dog - pls do NOT assume the dog is ok with your family and "the sweetest little thing", you only had him for a very short time..

Do not know what to advice really re biting the other dog but - new owners, new place, could be stressed .. maybe it was a one off, maybe the way they met was not the "right" way - could be so many things really...

Hope you find a good solution

ameliarate

I have two Patterdales, one has had to move in with MIL because they fought and would have killed each other. One you have to be careful with because she will "nip" people the other you have to be careful with because she is aggressive towards other dogs.

They are both extremely loving dogs but though they come from completely different places, both have problems. I would never have another Patterdale. Not much help to you I'm afraid.

I think you will definitely need to muzzle whilst out and get professional advice.

trudiha

One of my dogs is dog aggressive. I've spent untold money on behaviourists, followed their instructions to the letter and he still wants to rip some other dogs to bits. He's perfect at home, he's great with people, he loves kids but if another dog shows the slightest sign of what he perceives to be aggression, he turns into a devil dog.

It's annoying and it's embarrassing but it actually got much easier when I stopped following the behaviourists advice and stopped trying to 'understand' him. It really doesn't matter if he's aggressive because of fear or a lack of socialisation or any of the other reasons I was given. He's simply dog aggressive and has to stay on a lead.

The other thing that really helped with my own stress levels was accepting that it was my dog who has a problem. Normal dogs in the park I walk mine in run around and occasionally approach him, that's normal dog behaviour, it's only on the internet that dogs have 100% recall. I don't get cross when he's approached by normal dogs, I just keep a very tight hold on him and make sure that he can't attack them.

I don't use a muzzle because dogs communicate via facial expressions and I think it's safer for other dogs to know exactly what he's trying to say, even if it's probably very rude.

fly_dragon_fly

thanks for the replies, i am going to ring some more today as i have access to the p.c / phone.

he's fine round the house, barks at new people but then calms down and lets them tickle his belly, sits next to them etc he answers well to sit, down, off, out, isn't good with a ball just tears it to bits and won't let go, etc just makes me sad that he is like this with other dogs.

if i was a person who wanted a dog as company and someone who never wanted to go for walks he'd be perfect as the garden is really large but i am not that person so i don't no what to do.

jcorbygas

This isnt going to be much comfort to you I'm afraid but we also got a 2 year old Patterdale as a rescue dog - we were very experienced in terriers and had no problems with any other dogs, but Coco is a handful to say the least. For the first week she was fine but from then on she became a nightmare for us ie people cannot get near the house or leave the house without her going totally mental, she hates other dogs, you cant let her off the lead, and within the 2 seconds it takes her to turn from calm to manic, if you dont give her a toy to bite she will bite anything in her way.
We have now had to confine her during the day to a kennel (warm and cosy) in the garden as it is in her best interests and ours to not let her get in her stressed out state all the time. We couldnt afford behaviourists either and this is all the vet could recommend. We had her spayed and that made no difference, tried a DAP collar and no difference - even tried homeopathy - no difference.
Patterdales were bred to hunt and they are intelligent and need a lot of exercise and so they are not really an ideal house dog (although ours is a very good guard dog and frightens everyone) and I can only commiserate with you, as it was the worst thing we could have done taking her on -and I get the blame for deciding to rescue her!
I am wondering why the previous owner got rid of your dog as I wouldnt dream of trying to pass my dog onto someone else as it wouldnt be fair on them.

Best of luck and if your dog is OK in the house then I would do what previous posters say and put her in a muzzle when out walking or just cross the road when you see another dog coming (like we have to do)

Padstow

fly_dragon_fly wrote: »

thanks for this, i have spent most of this morning crying as i don't no what to do.

i would love to train him but i am actually now nervous about never being able to help him to his full extend.

i have spoke to a pet training behavior person but was quote £65 per hour which i just can't afford.

what did you do to get him out of his biting habit?

as i really don't want to give him back but i also don't want to fear taking him out for walks and meeting a dog off the lead etc.

x

My problem exactly, and I did adopt him from a so called reputable, rescue, Suki.


I signed a form to say I must return him to them.
I phoned the woman who runs it. "Your dog, your problem," was her reply.

Not every rescue is good, not all breeders are bad.

As I bought him from a business, I was advised by my solicitor to take him back and leave him.
I couldn't do that, I'm a dog lover. He was skin and bone when I got him.

Dogs are classed as goods. The same law applies as to buying a fridge.
Therefore, buying a second hand dog from a private seller gives you no protection at all. No point in ringing the previous owner.

I hope you fare better than me with a dog aggressive dog, fly dragon fly. At least he's little.

If you want to see the reality, read the thread;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2522537

Padstow

trudiha wrote: »

One of my dogs is dog aggressive. I've spent untold money on behaviourists, followed their instructions to the letter and he still wants to rip some other dogs to bits. He's perfect at home, he's great with people, he loves kids but if another dog shows the slightest sign of what he perceives to be aggression, he turns into a devil dog.

It's annoying and it's embarrassing but it actually got much easier when I stopped following the behaviourists advice and stopped trying to 'understand' him. It really doesn't matter if he's aggressive because of fear or a lack of socialisation or any of the other reasons I was given. He's simply dog aggressive and has to stay on a lead.

The other thing that really helped with my own stress levels was accepting that it was my dog who has a problem. Normal dogs in the park I walk mine in run around and occasionally approach him, that's normal dog behaviour, it's only on the internet that dogs have 100% recall. I don't get cross when he's approached by normal dogs, I just keep a very tight hold on him and make sure that he can't attack them.

I don't use a muzzle because dogs communicate via facial expressions and I think it's safer for other dogs to know exactly what he's trying to say, even if it's probably very rude.

I understand completely trudiha. Not only embarrassing but isolating.
I used to look forward to walking my previous dogs with others in lovely woods etc.
Now it's me and him only, walking down muddy country roads.

To be honest, if it wasn't for my family, I would put him to sleep.

It's not just the walking, but I'm terrified of him escaping. He would attack any animal other than human, and this is horse country!


He is so confusing to me. I can remove a treat from him, no problem. Burglars would be greeted with a toy. It's the animal aggression, and I have years left yet.