I need advice PLEASE - Resource Guarding

[Milo82]

Hello everyone,

I am new here trying to get some advice.
We have an almost 8 year old rottie/german shepperd mix. He is a wonderful and very sweet dog and extremely healthy. Our only problem is his agressive behavior, he likes to steal ANYTHING in site, towels, socks, shoes, cd's, books, etc. He only does it when nobody is watching, once he got it he goes under the table for the whole day, to guard anything he caught, it is impossible for me to keep EVERYTHING in cabinets. My husband is the only one who can get the object away from him, he gets really agressive if you even walk near him, he growls, shows teeth and acts as if he is going to bite you, he never bit anybody but it is very scary when he acts this way.

We are now expecting our first baby and we are extremely concerned that he will be taking possesion of baby clothes, we dont want to give him up, we love him dearly but I cant put my newborn in danger.

Any suggestions?

[Judi W]

I'll sort of touch on this from the bottom to the top.

First of all, if you have owned him all this time and believe he might be too dangerous to live in your home (where you know him best and would love him more than someone else could), you cannot pass him on to someone else. It would be your job to either fix the problem so that he can continue in your home, or put him down. You must not pass on an aggressive dog where someone who doesn't even know him well, would be pretty likely to be bitten and injured. That is a legal liability, ethical and moral issue.

This dog really needs some heavy duty obedience so that he learns that he does not rule the world. It must be to the level where he obeys commands whether it is something he wants to do or not and whether the instructions are given by your husband or by you. You will need a professional trainer who will act as coach to the person training the dog. It should probably start out with your husband doing the work and then you. You might want to start out with the dog muzzled and dragging a leash. This is more serious than simply reading some hints on the internet will solve which is why you will need professional assistance.

I have to honest, I am rather shocked that you would have continued to live with a dog that threatens you and not see it as serious enough to take action until a child would be joining the family. If you are willing to be proactive in regards to your future child's safety, you must treat yourself with the same consideration.

[Sharon Marples]

I agree with Judi totally and am also of the opinion that since this dog has evidentally gotten away with this behavior for the better part of 8 years, that it will be extremely difficult to change it. Using as trainer as Judi said will be the only way.

Sorry, but in my opinion, with what you said about him, I would not have him in the same house as my child. What if he decides the child is his?

You need to give this situation a LOT of thought and act accordingly and right away if you are going to try the training. The dog has no respect for you at all, has placed himself alpha above you and if you bring a child into the house, he may see it as a threat to his rule.

I can't believe you call him wonderful.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Milo82

...he gets really agressive if you even walk near him, he growls, shows teeth and acts as if he is going to bite you, he never bit anybody but it is very scary when he acts this way.

Of course it's scary! We had a standard schnauzer when I was a little kid that my dad brought home. He did this ONCE. I was very young, so I don't know what happened to him, but I never saw him again. There was no way my dad would allow a dog to behave like this and threaten HIS family in HIS house.

And neither would I.

[rottcrazed]

I think the advice above is probably the best you are going to get.

I have to tell you, as a mother of 3 small children, a dog like that WOULD NOT be in my house. Period.

Many dogs have guarding issues with THEIR things, but yours has guarding issues with anything and everything. That to me SCREAMS warnings. Children, no matter how well we watch them, inevitably fall on the dogs once or twice, crawl up to them, grab their feet, look in their eyes. I honestly don't think that an infant/toddler stands a hope of a chance getting away with that kind of stuff with your dog. I have watched all of my kids do these things over the years, simply because they happen over the course of the day, even with vigilant supervision. My dogs are solid, and even then, I am watching, making sure things are even-keeled.

He is going to grab baby toys, bottles with milk, blankets, diapers, you name it. Heck, he may even take up residence under the crib.

I just would not allow this situation in my home.

I don't know the history of your dog, but his resource guarding has taken over your lives. If you cannot remove things away from your dog yourself, consult a trainer, but also consider the option that this dog is too untrustworthy, too dominant and in a REALLY bad way, too predictable.

I hope you can find peace with a decision that is best for the family as a whole.

Kristi

[MissAmy]

We had a dog like that when i was a kid. it snapped at me once for walking by to get something from my brother, and my dad had him gone right away.

Why would you want what is essentially a loaded gun laying around your house, when you're expecting a newborn? Like others said, if he decides something of the babies is his, takes it from the baby, doesn't wanna give it up, & the baby tries to take it back.. that obviously wouldn't turn out well.

[brunie's mom]

WOW!!!
I can't believe that someone would put up with this behaviour for 8 years???

I agree with the others....you need to get some professional help. After doing this to his own family for this long...I'm not sure that he is going to change his behaviour without a fight...

There is no way I would bring home a baby and have a dog like this in my home. Please be responsible parent's ,and if ,after getting some professional help with this dog you do not feel comfortable.. euthanize this dog.

In the future if you plan on getting another dog, start the dog in training classes and make sure you are the leader in the home. Your dogs behaviour is not normal, and there is no way a dog should behave this way.

Gina

[Milo82]

Id like to thank all the kind responses. Id like to also say that I wouldnt pass this dog to anyone else with this kind of behavior. I will consult a trainer and see what they say, my husband and I both thought that the best right now would be to put him down with this behavior, we will not allow our baby to come to be in danger at any time.

We'll have to give it some good thought as this is a hard choice, I believe he thinks he rules the house when my husband isnt there because I came after, it was just him and my husband for 5 years, and we got married 3 years ago, the behavior was present before but not as bad as it is now.

Well thank you again :)

[Judi W]

I'm sorry but it really would be the responsible thing to do. There is no reason why you should have to live in your own home with threats of injury either, not just the aspect of a child being present. Remember, that regardless of species, a mother who is not willing to defend herself would not even be around to defend her young.

[brunie's mom]

So glad to hear that you are trying to make the right choice.

In all honestly, it does not matter if you came into the picture when he was a pup or 5 years later.....NO dog should be doing this to the people that live in the house.
While you are waiting to get in touch with a trainer...you could do some reading on NILIF (Nothing in Life Is Free)...this is a system to gain leadership without confrontation. Do a search on NILIF.

I know that you are making a very hard choice.

Gina

[TUindecisive]

Glad you're going to get things in control before the baby is present! I think the dog will most likely be receptive to training. You do need a professional trainer to point out exactly what you should do and to show you what not to do. This dog just needs to learn that you're in control, and I suspect that the trainer will have you implement something like NILIF (nothing in life is free-you can do searches on here for it). For now, I would block off his access to under the table and start making him sit/shake/roll over or something for treats, just like you would a puppy. You should call around and find a trainer that will come to your home and is comfortable around big agressive dogs. Good luck! I bet with some hard work the dog will come around, though he may never be totally trustworthy around a child-no dog should be left alone with a child-hopefully he can prove himself worthy enough to continue living in your home.

[tomteguben]

This is definatly, as pointed out already, a pretty serious problem. And its good that you are thinking of doing something before the baby is brought into the picture. When my folks got married, my dad had a dog. My mom didn't really have much dog experience, and the dog walked all over her. It would growl at my mom and gard things from her, which my dad just thought was funny as he figured it was my mom's job to assert herself. Shortly after my elder sister was born, the dog did the same growling and snapping to her in front of my dad. He took the dog to be put down at once. My dad didn't have the forsight to realize that this might be an issue with a child, which could have landed my sister in serious hurt. Good luck and best wishes with however you resolve your dog problem.

[Judi W]

Indecisive, you have nothing to base the statement that you think the dog would be receptive to training. This is an 8 year old dog that is doing serious threats to an adult in the household.

Tom, I too wonder at one partner who believes it is OK for another member of the family that they are supposed to love whether child or adult to be treated in such a fashion. There must be some agenda involved that I don't understand.

[tomteguben]

Judi W: I just told that situation to show Milo82 that similar things have happened before and there is a credible concern with a child on the way. (I know not the best way to offer advice, but its the best I've got.) Oh and call me Tomte (As in the little elves of Sweden.)

I know I didn't explain everything as well as I should have, but oh well.... I'll try to clarify.

As I was as yet unborn when the entire incident mentioned occured, I only have heresay from my mom and dad as to what happened. My mom had only occasionally been around dogs, and my dad grew up with them. According to my father, he tried to help my mom understand how to be more dominant with the dog, but my mom never really tried. The dog never bit her, or misbehaved when my dad was around, and had never acted so when my dad was living with his brothers, so my father thought my mom was exagerating the dogs behavior because she wasn't a dog person, hence his amusement. Long story short, my dad found out rather abruptly that perhaps my mom wasn't being unreasonable with her concern about the dog. My mom, of course, was rather miffed at not being believed, and rightfully so, but at least they learned from it.

[Judi W]

Oh Tomte, I did really understand your story. But my point wanted to be that it is quite easy for the person who is not the one being threatened to think it is fine. In this specific case, the husband knows very well how the dog acts (not quite the same as with your mother and father).

BTW, my foundation stock was "Gatstuberget"............