Dog bite! My 10mnth old bit me

[LavenderRott]

I'm sorry but I don't know what NILIF is? What do you mean when you say she needs to come down a peg or two? I'm new at this!

NILIF means Nothing In Life Is Free. This means that your dog must earn EVERYTHING. Everything that it gets is preceded by a sit or a down or some task that you ask. He has to sit before he can go outside, sit before he can eat, sit before he gets attention. I am sure that if you use the Search option at the top of this page you will get plenty of information on NILIF.

As for her needing to come down a peg or two - she needs to understand that SHE is not the boss - YOU are. You can accomplish this by following NILIF and being firm and fair in all corrections. You must also remember that consistancy is the key. You can't make her sit at the door to go out 2 out of 3 times. It HAS to happen every single time.

It doesn't sound like you have an aggressive dog. It sounds like you have a dog that you have let get the better of you. By not being consistant in corrections and letting the little things slide, she has decided that she is the boss. The hardest thing about fixing this is remembering to be consistant.

[sage138]

Originally Posted by Shiba

What type of training did you do?

Well he was food aggressive so I would feed him from my hands and I always had my hands on him when he was eating or had his bones. He was so bad with his bones that I could not walk near him. But now he is fine. This took a few months but now he doesn't growl or snap at me when I go near him.

[MissMary]

NILIF is a great help and the only thing I find hard about it is remembering to use it ALL the time -lol- old habits are hard to break but it is well worth doing as i have seen improvement in a short time but I know that I have to stick to it or all will be lost. It is not some thing you only do for a few weeks. I wish you the best of luck.

[Shiba]

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

NILIF means Nothing In Life Is Free. This means that your dog must earn EVERYTHING. Everything that it gets is preceded by a sit or a down or some task that you ask. He has to sit before he can go outside, sit before he can eat, sit before he gets attention. I am sure that if you use the Search option at the top of this page you will get plenty of information on NILIF.

As for her needing to come down a peg or two - she needs to understand that SHE is not the boss - YOU are. You can accomplish this by following NILIF and being firm and fair in all corrections. You must also remember that consistancy is the key. You can't make her sit at the door to go out 2 out of 3 times. It HAS to happen every single time.

It doesn't sound like you have an aggressive dog. It sounds like you have a dog that you have let get the better of you. By not being consistant in corrections and letting the little things slide, she has decided that she is the boss. The hardest thing about fixing this is remembering to be consistant.

Thank you Sandi for the message. I'm so relieved to hear that you don't think my dog is aggressive because I love her so much and the thought of her having no hope has been killing me inside. I can see that maybe I haven't been consistent with her all the time. I'm definetly on her case now. Its almost like I pick on her now. I can remember so many times that she has pushed past me up the stairs or through the door. I don't let that happen anymore. I will keep at it with her. She is way too important to me!

[Shiba]

Originally Posted by sage138

Well he was food aggressive so I would feed him from my hands and I always had my hands on him when he was eating or had his bones. He was so bad with his bones that I could not walk near him. But now he is fine. This took a few months but now he doesn't growl or snap at me when I go near him.

Shiba hates it when we touch her while she is eating. What do I do when she growls at that time? I've been told to take her bowl away by some and to leave it alone by others. I'm so confused. I'm getting in touch with my trainer today.

[Shiba]

I wish you the best of luck.[/quote]

Thank you. I need it!

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by Shiba

Shiba hates it when we touch her while she is eating. What do I do when she growls at that time? I've been told to take her bowl away by some and to leave it alone by others. I'm so confused. I'm getting in touch with my trainer today.

Do you have children?

I don't mess with my dogs when they eat and I don't let my children do so either.

Somewhere on here, there is a post on dealing with food aggression. You make the dog sit before putting down the bowl and then you walk by occassionally and drop in a piece of hot dog or something else yummy. It takes time, and patience. There may be a bit more to it, but a search should get you the information that you want.

If you take the dish of food away, you will reinforce your dogs fear that her food bowl is in danger.

[JemarsSerena]

put her in a room by herself to et in peace and there will never be an issue. When you are eating, she should be in a down-stay or in her crate.

[LolaLaRue]

I wouldnt take her food away that just reinforces the fact that you are a threat to her food. I would start with a good trainer and work on becoming Alpha. NILIF is a great place to start, I would also not allow her on the bed or couch or anywhere elevated until her position is better established, simple things like entering rooms before her and having your meals before her help too. I would eliminate high value treats for now or give them to her only in her crate. 10 months is still very young, I would work more on basic obedience sit-stay, down-stay, come, out, etc. intead of "give paw" at this point, work with a trainer who is familiar with the breed and who works with positive reinforcement. When she sees you as alpha training becomes so much fun because rotties love to work and are eager to please.

[Anne]

Originally Posted by Shiba

Shiba hates it when we touch her while she is eating. What do I do when she growls at that time? I've been told to take her bowl away by some and to leave it alone by others. I'm so confused. I'm getting in touch with my trainer today.

Whoever told you to take her food bowl away has no idea what they are talking about and they are giving you advice that will certainly lead to food aggression.

Allow the dog to eat in peace. She is already worried about losing her food bowl and to take it away confirms that people are not to be trusted around her food.

[sage138]

Originally Posted by Shiba

Shiba hates it when we touch her while she is eating. What do I do when she growls at that time? I've been told to take her bowl away by some and to leave it alone by others. I'm so confused. I'm getting in touch with my trainer today.

You never take her food away try feeding her food from your hand, but do a search on food aggression. Good luck.

[Baxter's Mom]

For me, regardless if you were taking food away or not, your dog should not have bitten you-- if that had be me, the dog would have immediately been put on his side. (alpha roll) While to a few, that sounds cruel or hard or too mean, let's put this in perspective, if you dog is willing to bite you, his owner, who else will your dog bite if it doesn't like something? Sometimes, especially when it comes to disipline, tough love is needed. I will recommend the exercises I do during feeding time, which I feel eliminates food possessiveness and food aggression while also putting you one step close as pack leader and gaining their respect. You are essentially claiming the dog food, have your dog sit a few feet away, while you stand in front of the dog bowl putting the food in it... Your dog MUST stay at a sit or lie down calmly while you are going through the exercises at all times. Pretend like you are eating the food, make "yummy" noises, touch the food with your hands, etc and then simply walk away, this will signal to your dog that you are done eating and it is his turn. Pack leaders always, always eat first that's why it's essential to pretend like you are eating the dog food because it will, just that one simple thing, will put him in his place, it will show him he really isn't ALL THAT AND MORE. I also do "reclaims" in which they are eating and I come up and reclaim the food during mid- meal, basically in dog terms, pack leader is hungry again,so back off. When you can do a reclaim doing mid-meal without your dog showing possessiveness ( head lowered over food bowl, looking you in eye) or your dog growling at you, you have succeeding in your training and your dog is no longer food aggressive or possessive. To do a reclaim in mid meal, simply walk up dominantly ( meaning don't walk up to the dog and food bowl as if you are scared he's going to bite the sh@t out of you and no talking, "oh, it's ok." stuff, that's not needed.) but also let him know you are there, by gently touching his hips( not petting), his shoulders, etc and more and likely he will look up at you and when he does, firmly walk in front of him where the bowl is directly behind you (basically you are in between him and the food). Walk forward,(dog walking backwards) you may have to block him with you body from going to the food, then when he's about 4 feet away, have him sit, then you go back to the food and pretend to eat. When you are done pretend eating, simply walk away and then leave him alone to finish the meal. Rules and boundaries have to be set up, training and exerciseing has to be done, no possessiveness or aggression with food and toys should be allowed at all. Anyway, good luck... Linnea

[LavenderRott]

Never in a million years would I attempt to do an alpha roll on a dog that is already cranked up and ready (and willing) to bite! While it may well be easy to do with a small dog - we are talking about close to 100 pounds of ticked off muscle with teeth that can be deadly. You are going to have to use your whole body to roll this dog and I'm thinking some part of your body that you don't want bit is going to be too close to those teeth. I would rather train the dog using consistancy and fairness then bullying them into good behaviour.

I'm also not sure why one would need to "reclaim" a dog's food bowl. I have my dogs sit while I prepare and put their dishes down and they wait until they are told it is ok before they can eat. Then I leave the room. I don't like people mucking around with my meals and I respect my animals enough to give them the same consideration.

If I had to deal with food aggression, I think I would prefer to add tasty bits to a dish while the dog eats. This will show the dog that I am not a threat being near his dish. Removing his dish just show him/her that they were right to worry in the first place.

[RottyMom]

I'm still wondering if you've spoken to your breeder about your dogs' behaviour....if they are indeed ethical, responsible breeders they would want to know and to help you. Good breeders should be there for you through your dogs life should any problems, health or behavioural arise.

[winniecnm]

I would never recommend an alpha roll or submission exercise for this dog either..

It puts both dog and owner at risk and is a maneuver that if you FAIL you are done for as far as the respect level goes.. and hopefully you will not lose a chunk of your face or torso in the attempt.

I personally have practiced submission exercises all three of my dogs - BUT that comes with old school training and my dogs never have reached the level of actually growling or biting me. Even with a calm dog it can be a heck of an undertaking and IMO this somewhat outdated technique should only be done under the supervision of a COMPETENT trainer.


Try getting rid of the food bowl for the first part of a couple of meals and making the dog sit as you toss the kibble at the dog so she can catch it. Hold the kibble in front of your face and say "sit Shiba" get her to look at you and then gently toss the kibble right at her muzzle. She might miss a few but eventually she will become quite coordinated. (All three of my dogs are pros with this exercise ) Then feed the rest of the meal in a bowl in the crate. Not only does this show the dog that you are the boss providing the meal, but it increases eye to eye communication skills between owner and dog. You become this really interesting person all of a sudden - and it carries through into training as the dog will wonder if she complies with your commands if food is going to just start raining out of the sky. She will also feel like she is "working" for her meal and this will make her happy.

I am a huge fan of dogs eating in crates where they cannot be disturbed. And I agree that you don't need to try to reclaim the food bowl - that is exactly the kind of attitude that perpetuates this agression problem in the first place.

And if you have a food/toy agressive animal then simply remove all high value items from this dog's posession and get going on the NILIF, obedience and do your homework on the food agression thread. (you can do a search)