Attack? or Play???

[rossi2007]

Hi,

Just would like some advice, I have got a 14mth old rotti (bitch) "rossi".........


Myself and my partner have been lucky rossi she's been brilliant with training etc and have taken her to several dog training sessions, no damage in house, wont go upstairs or furniture without command, wont leave my side whilst off leash.

She's a very loving dog and see's me has the dominant one I usually do walks & play and my partner treats her has a baby cuddles etc, and never had any issues untill last night.

Myself and my partner were having a drink, my partner smokes and always takes dog out to do her business whilst she's out there, I was sat watching tv when I heard my partner screaming, I ran outside to see my partner holding dog to floor looking very distressed, soon has I opened door and told rossi NO she ran in to her bed knowing she had done wrong.

I asked partner was she teasing her with toys etc but she said no dog just started charging garden thinking someone was behind fence then pounced on her.

Not sure if this was an attack or if she was just playing? just worried what made her turn? just cant understand she was back to normal self within minutes.

I have a 4 yr old son and never leave them alone but do have concerns after last night any advice would help put my mind at rest.

[Shane]

Was there an actual bite involved or did she just jump on your partner?

[RottsNScotts]

Yes, it is not at all clear what happened from your post.

Rossi charged the garden; who thought someone was behind the fence and who pounced on who (since they are both "her's") and you describe your partner as having the dog pinned to the floor (thought they were outside?) which is not a good idea anyway...

[rossi2007]

My patner went for fag outside, took dog with her, dog does usual patrol of garden & usually barks at fence etc, she then jumped at my partner, and yes did bite her arm my partner managed to pin dog to GROUND till I got there.

I know the dog being pinned to floor is not ideal but when you try command and dog doesnt stop suppose you try anything if you are scared and cant understand what has provoked her.

[crazyonehuh]

Its not usual for someone to admit when theyare wrong. Where did your dog come from? How much time did you spend getting her examined at the vet? Its apparent that something is wrong and sad that your partner took a bite to the arm. How much time does your partner spend with your dog? Sounds silly, but my ex wife never spent a great deal of individual time with my dog, Asic. Theres to much to try to pin point in your animals behavior so I would suggest taking her to a behavior specialist and get that dog in constant training. Theres no gaurantee it wont happen again and one must decide whats best for the family and animal.

[RottsNScotts]

Thanks for clarifying Rossi2007! We would have to know more about the incident and previous behaviors to really evaluate what occurred. For example, what is her usual demeanor when she is patrolling the fence and barking? Is it a "I'm free! I'm free! and I want the world to know it!" romp or a defensive "I'm out here and I will MESS up anyone who bothers me!"?

If your partner cuddles and treats her like a baby, she may have thought that she had the right to take what your partner had in her hand and brought to her mouth - we know it was a cigarette, dog might have thought it must be something to eat - and the bite was either a function of trying to grab the object and missing it, getting your partner or in response to not getting it.

In any case, Rossi did not know that "No!" meant that what she had done was wrong, just that you were angry/upset and that it was directed at her.

[cally01]

I went through a horrible time with my Rottweiler and she attacked me due to predatory drift and she attacked my Sister as well. Athena tore my leather jacket arm apart. We both did the same thing as your partner did, my Sister went the extra step and did redirectional exercises with her. With my Rottweiler it was just something that we did that put her into predatory drift. My Rottie was around the same age as your Rottie.

This is something that responded well to redirectional training. For Athena the only indication she showed that she was going to attack was the head went down & eye stalk.

I would be very concerned for your son if this was an attack due to predatory drift. It's not really "aggression" per say it's basically a dog that has a high predatory drive (which the breed was created to have) and hasn't been properly socialized or desensitized to many things and actions etc. For example running towards the dog, falling, limping etc can put a dog into predatory drift.

My Rottweiler is now soon to be 9 years of age. We worked through her "issues" with positive only training. I was starting to use some dominance type training which only suppressed the problem and in the end made her more unpredictable. So, I would suggest you work with a trainer who specializes in predatorial motor patterns/ breed speicific prey drives. I found a wonderful behaviorist who helped me immensely and learned a lot about predatory drives and dog aggression which are different types of aggression.

As others mentioned have a health check done first to rule any health issues out. For your safety, your child and your partner get professional help. It's impossible to say exactly what happened/triggered on the internet.

Good luck.