Dog bite! My 10mnth old bit me

[Shiba]

Originally Posted by zorro13

Shiba: I apologize to you for going off the beaten path with your problem. I'll offer some suggestions and you tell us what you are comfortable doing and not doing with your dog, and be honest about it, there is more than one way to tackle a problem. If one doesn't work for you, I am sure some of us can come up with some other ideas.

First, I'd like to address the food aggression problem you had or may still be having. From what I understand (and correct me if I'm wrong in any of this) you are handfeeding; basically treats around meal times and also throwing some in her bowl? What I want you to do now is solely hand feed her her food from her bowl, sit in a chair, with the bowl on your lap and feed her. She gets no possession of her bowl right now. I know some people are going to jump and down about this, but you have been bit, so we are going to start over sorta, to regain alpha status. And, you don't have to feed the entire meal, you can start w/ half, then set the bowl down, but you can't leave, you must stay right by the bowl. If you feel she may growl if you do this too soon (only you can judge this), then you can feed the whole meal. If she growls around the bowl, you will need to leash her. Give her a command to come which will be followed by a pull on the leash to come now. When she comes to you, she must sit/stay. Then you go get the bowl and hand feed the rest of the meal. Then, when/if you feel comfortable, start over. I want you to be able to gradually work up to being able to put the bowl down and have your hand in there until she doesn't even blink about it. And, to also run your hands down her entire body while eating and not feel threatened by this. You can only judge when you feel comfortable to reach the next step. The last step will be running your hands thru her body while she eats. If you normally free feed, you can't go back to this until you resolve this problem first. And, when you have ended this problem, anytime you want to add something to her bowl, you can give a command to 'back' or 'back up', make her sit, then add the food to the bowl. This will be no problem for the dog, and also no problem for a dog used to you around a feed dish to walk by ever so often and lightly touch/pet them. My dogs in particular were very comforted knowing I was nearby sometimes, as they would wag their stubbys and sometimes even stop for a moment to follow me to see where I was going to.

The bite you got from taking the toy is pretty much an elevation up the status ladder for the dog. I would still let her have toys. You can let her play with toys in her crate if you are comfortable with that right now. I don't want to put you in a fight/fight situation with that right now. If you want to try, you can let her play for awhile, call her from another room. If she doesn't come, re-enter the room with leash in hand, call her again. If she comes, instant praise and go crazy with it. If on the other hand she growls, you will have to let me know. I'd rather see you spend a couple days first with the food before trying this, only because I don't want you to get discouraged nor upset and I am kinda expecting her to growl, though I don't want her to.

Throughout the day, she will need to have many lessons with you on leash. Basic commands: sit/stay/down etc. With praise (no treats, we're not begging for alpha here, I only say that because there's a problem, if no problem, regular training--the dog gets treats) Keep in mind, you are taking back control, so no treats, just praise and re-affirmation is all she gets right now from you. She must get approval from you, not the other way around. Formal obedience classes will cement the work you are already doing. But, do remember there is play time as well, to enjoy your dog. And, don't pick on her, she will read this as a sign of weakness; that you are commanding her on fear alone.

If you go up or down stairs, and I would do this even if you don't. Put her in a sit/stay, then proceed up the stairs. When you get to the top, call her to you, she is now permitted to ascend or descend if you are going down. If you need a long lead line for this, use it. If she moves before you get to the top or bottom, you will stop, put her back in a sit/stay and proceed again until she gets it. When she gets it, she will get praise. Keep your cool at all times, be patient and be cheerful.

If she barrels thru doors, like going outside etc. This will stop. She will sit/ stay. If she is too close to the door, she will learn to back up away from the door, then sit/stay. Then you go thru first, and put her on a leash if you have to while going thru the door. Then, if your yard is fenced in, release her. Same thing when bringing her back in.

On a final note: I also noticed that you said she was attacked by another dog when she was 4 months old. Now, I realize we can't go back in time, but this is for future reference for you. Being alpha means pack protection, you protect your puppy/dog, not the other way around. I don't know what happened there, but trust could have been lost back then. Puppies not to mention adult dogs find security and safety in their pack and from the pack leader. I realize that sometimes we don't think about these things, or any number of things, and accidents do happen. But, this does affect a young animal as well. This is just for your reference though.

I'll post in another post what happened to my husband and our 1st rottie. (not meaning to hijack your thread)

Thank you for your helpful quote! I will start again with the food bowl training and work my way up to training with her toys. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes.

[PerfectBlueGirl]

When I got my first rott, she had a daunting aggression problem--to the point I was beginning to feel I wasn't cut out for proper ownership. She would pretty much show aggression whenever she was "occupied" and really coveted that top dog position. But soon after I discovered that Millie and I were going to play tug-of-wills I adjusted my training on her. I made her eat dinner at the side of my chair at the table. I kept my hand on her shoulders while she ate. Soon after I kept my hand on her head, then over her muzzle (not recommended until you feel comfortable with that--I'm pretty brave). I also frequently took the dish away for a few seconds, then set it down again while she patiently waited for me. Yeah, it's not something I would want done to me, but we had to establish a proper line of respect here. When she wasn't eating and had toys or treats, I frequently touched her head and mouth, or took the toy/treat from her, then returned it. Whenever she was in reaching distance I would touch her, inside her mouth and out, ears, teeth, tongue, everything. She's nine months now. Sometimes she thinks I'm playing with her and will close her jaws around my hand (tail wagging, ears back, or in "bow" position). If she wants to "hang on" without biting, I give her the command, "Easy," in a forceful voice and let her hold for a few seconds. If she does press down with her teeth, she gets a firm "No!". If she does not immediately release my hand, I squeeze her bottom jaw very firmly and she knows then that playtime is over and she is to release immediately, no questions asked. I can give or take away anything I want with her. When I brought my new pup into the house, he immediately began eating with her from the same bowl and she allows for this every time (I do supervise them). She also knows that if anyone takes something from her, whether it's human or animal, she is to immediately relent it. She also now knows that biting is wrong under any circumstance and if I meet her eyes she immediately pins her ears back or bows.

Btw, I never hit her or inflict any negative contact with her. I use only command lines of varying voice intensity. It's taken time but it's worth it. My vets and friends pronounced her a "bad" dog when I first got her and I've been able to prove them wrong.

[DonTac790]

I believe that this is a trust issue between you and her. I had an issue with my boy at about 6 months of age. The first time we gave him a real bone from the butcher, he went a little wild and wouldn't let anyone come near him. My first reaction was to show him that I was the boss and proceeded to take the bone away (I know this seems like a trust violation, but...). In my opinion, this is no different than him running ahead during a heel exercise; he needed to learn that this was not appropriate behavior, and that he doesn't have to worry about getting the treat/bone/food back as long as the response is correct.

From that point forward, I would take the food away at my will, praise him, and then return the food. I did this to show him that #1, I'm the boss, and #2, he's going to learn the appropriate response.

Killian died last March at the age of 10, but up to then, he never showed any aggression what-so-ever, no matter what he had that I took. In fact, he was more than happy to give up whatever it was because he knew there would be not only the food as a result, but praise. The thing you have to understand is that he needs to trust you. Without that trust, in his eyes you're just making him go hungry. Ultimately, once they trust you, they want what you want, and once that's established, he/she will happily relinquish the food, toy, bone, whatever because he/she will get it back with a side order praise, the one thing they desire above all other things.