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So Stella, our almost 3 year old Morkie has some possession aggression issues. Particularly with things like socks or things that don’t have a firm middle when she bites in (like soft stuffed animals). We have tried bribing her with treats and bones, distracting her with play and love, forcefully taking these items from her (that didn’t work well), and finally today we did something that worked! We asked her if she wanted to go “out” to take a “walk” and though he ears perked up she still didn’t drop this stuffed Aflac duck she found in my office. However, once she had her leash on and saw the great outside at the bottom of the stairs she dropped it and never looked back. Do you think this trick will continue to work? Is there anything else we can do when she’s decided something she has a bite on is something she’ll get aggressive about? Thank you all for your insight and help!
My bunny has been acting very strangely lately. We put her harness and leash on her and took her to the park. We spent a lot of time with her. Then, people were watching her (family) and I wasn’t there so I don’t know what happened. When we brought her back, she looked really scared. My family said that when I left, she just sat there staring at everyone. At home, she hasn’t been eating as much as she used to. She would practically snatch the food from my hand. Now, she sniffed, took a bite and walked away. We tried again with her favorite food, but she didn’t eat it. She’s been laying and sleeping way more than usual (practically all the time). During training sessions with me, she used to care and loved it. Now, she just sat there staring me for a while. She’s also been super scared. Every time I walked in the room, she’d jump up to me, now she runs away at the slightest noise. She’s also been pretty aggressive. She was laying and I reached over to pet her. She let me pet her for two seconds before she reared back on her hind legs and tried to scratch me. Hard. She’s also pretty stressed (her breathing is really fast). What is going on with her?
I would first and foremost make an appointment with the vet to make sure she is healthy. It may be the stress of the situation (you not being there for a bit) and will take time to get things back to the way they were. I would also ask my family who were watching her if anything happened while you were away. Hope everything is ok.
6-month old Golden Retriever/Labrador mix bites me most of the time. She’s usually nice when it’s playtime or feeding time (if she’s overstimulated accidents may or may not happen). But in downtimes she just comes at me. I could be sitting quietly not bothering her and she could be lying down 1 second and the next she’s suddenly biting my arm. It doesn’t often happen to other family members. Is it because she wasn’t taught bite inhibition properly because family members don’t want to leave the room or do it nicely? Is it because they react aggressively when she bites them (i.e. they used to pinch her and step on her paw. now it’s mostly just pinning her down to the floor)?
I’m honestly tired. They think they’re doing it right, but I don’t think it’s working. But since she’s not biting them as much they think of it as working.
I’m literally the only one playing and exercising her and I think that factors in a lot. They just leave her and aside from feeding her in the morning, they really don’t do anything else.
I got a response from another site a few months back and they said I had a people problem, not a puppy problem. Is there anything I can do though? Is it something that’s wrong with me?? I don’t know anymore please help :(((((((((((
You do have a “people problem”, but that “people problem” has now caused a dog problem. It sounds like the pup is bored and wanting to play, but hasn’t been taught the social niceties of the “human world”. Retrievers are very mouthy in general because that’s what they’re bred for; picking up and carrying things. But there are actually several things you can do to help.
First things first: If she comes at you and bites down on your arm, yell out, “Ow!”, in a loud and high pitched voice. As hard as it might be to do, try not to pull your arm back as this may trigger the tugging instinct. Even at six months old, she can be taught bite inhibition. It’s not too late!! Yelling out in a high pitched, loud voice may startle her into letting go. After all, her goal is not to hurt you, but to play and get some attention. Think of puppies when they play. When one yells in pain, the other usually lets go. That’s our goal here. If she does let go, offer her a toy that the two of you can interact with: a rope for tug, a squeaker for catching, a ball for chasing. Make sure, when you are with her, you have a toy that she likes with you at all times. Because once she lets go, you want to say, “Good girl!” and give her the toy immediately and then a bit of affection for doing the right thing. Most retrievers have high drives and love a game of fetch.
If the yelling doesn’t work, you can yell “Aaaanntt” and push your arm firmly into her mouth. This losens her grib by widening her jaws and most dogs don’t like how it feels. As soon as she releases you, say “Good girl” and offer the toy and your time.
If neither of the above works, you may have to try a bit of nose pressure. When she bites down yell “Ow!” and then place your hand (thumb on one side and index finger on the other) over her nose so that the meaty part between your thumb and finger are applying pressure to the top of her nose. You want to place it about a quarter of the way down her nose. Then squeeze your index finger and thumb together as if you’re trying to make them touch through her nose. You’ll have to supply a decent amount of pressure for this to work, but you don’t r ally want to harm her. The top of a dog’s nose is VERY sensitive and a. Other dog will bite a pup here with some force, when the pup has gotten out of hand. You want to mimick a mother’s technique, sans the teeth. Once she releases you,give her the toy and affection. She may yell when you do this, but I promise you are only causing a bit of discomfort and no large amount of pain.
Lastly, if all else fails you’ll have to become a bit more aggressive in your tactics. -sigh- Ehen she bites you, place your thumb behind her upper canine by the same means as applying pressure to the top of the nose, but apply no pressure. Instead, run your thumb down to her upper lip and push it into her mouth a bit. This will cause her to bite down on her own lip (we all nonhow horrible this feels!) and in most cases, she’ll let go of you almost immediately. Give you, “Good girl” and affection immediately. And bonus, she’ll get to experience her own bite strength, which promotes bite inhibition.
I wish you two a lot of luck. If you have any questions about technique, I’d be happy to send you videos. I’m a Canine Behaviorist and have worked with dogs for over 30 years. Just email me at: tishtish1975@yahoo.com
Hello, a couple months ago my home became a multi-dog household, with the newest addition being a now 10 month old GS/lab mix, and our resident dog, a 3 year old beagle/rottie mix, both males. They are both very well behaved and have never fought. However, they were not socialized properly as puppies—or at least we did not adequately socialize our beagle mix when he was a puppy, and GS mix was already 6 months old when we got him and we don’t know if or how his previous owners socialized him.
The results of their poor socialization: resident dog does not seem to recognize playful behavior from new dog and thus becomes uncomfortable, clearly cares for new dog (acts to protect new dog if anyone is playing rough with him) but won’t play with new dog, and seems to sometimes even avoid new dog.
New dog is a little better with socialization, but his main fault is that it seems he doesn’t know how to recognize resident dog’s “corrections” to him and to back off (even if most of the time he simply wants to play with resident dog), and he also has some bullying tendencies, some intentional and others not (wants to play with whoever resident dog is playing with, sometimes bugs resident dog to move if new dog wants to lay down in that spot, etc; though never has shown any physical aggression).
Resident dog is, personally, my dog, and I love him dearly, though I love new dog too, and would love to see them bond and play together, only I don’t know the best course of action to achieve that.
I would greatly appreciate any help with ideas on how to adjust these behaviors of theirs, as well as weigh in on the idea of setting up a doggie-play-date with a friend (with a stable and model dog, of course) so that maybe visitor dog can teach them how they should behave.
Hello,
Is everyone spayed or neutered? Have you seen your vet about any of this? Can you reach out to a local trainer for help? I would start with these and remember exercise and training are super important for all cases of behavioral problems. I hope this helps. Please keep us posted
I have a 3 month old siberian husky. He loves everyone and is never aggressive besides play biting, and even then it’s not bad. I live with my dad and my grandma, and he loves my dad. For some reason though, he’ll random run up to my grandma and start barking. She gets scared and says he hates her, but I try to reassure her otherwise. Why does he do this?
He wants attention from her. If you don’t want him doing this I suggest keeping a leash on him when he’s out of his crate, so you can pull him away from her (while calling him to you, to reinforce recalls).
That’s what I thought, but she gives him treats, let’s him out sometimes, and talks to him. She doesn’t want to give him too much attention because she’s afraid of him charging at her (which I try to remind her that he’s not like that). He’s fantastic otherwise though, and it’s so random when he barks at her that it would be difficult to have him on a leash.
I try telling her to just give him time and attention but she just gets stressed over it and says he is going to attack her when I know he won’t.
Okay, so this is where a drag leash REALLY comes in handy. She’s encouraging the behavior, so you need to step in. At this age he should have a leash on him and either leashed to someone or dragging it behind him (and confined to areas where you are, to ensure he can’t get into mischief, or crated when you can’t supervise him). It isn’t hard – just leave it on when he’s in the house and supervised, take it off when he’s crated. SHE needs more education on puppies and puppy behavior, and if she isn’t comfortable with puppy behavior she needs to stop encouraging him with treats. Remind her he’s a baby.
I just got an 8 week old puppy. I just picked him up today and took him to meet my other dogs he started acting aggressive he started growling and snapping at them. How do but an end to this aggressive behaviour before it turns into a problem?
Hello-
You’ll need to take a step back and introduce them more slowly. You may want to enlist the help of a good trainer/behaviorist. Your vet may be able to help you find a reputable one. In the mean time, I would keep the dogs separated when you cannot be there to watch them and try to slowly introduce them under supervision a little at a time. Crates in different rooms may be a helpful idea. Good luck.
I agree with Sarah.
Most likely this is fear, not aggression. He’s been taken from the only home he knows and thrown into a household with strange dogs…anyone, human or animal, would be overstressed. Introductions need to be slow and gradual, with protection of every dog in the situation as your main priority. You really, really need to contact a good trainer who can work with you AND your dogs.
My new cat (have had for 3 weeks) and resident cat refuse to tolerate each other. I brought Louie home with the knowledge that they might never like each other but they would at least learn to tolerate. The first week seemed to go pretty well because when we let Louie roam and get a feel for the house Mia avoided him… but now… things seem to be getting aggressive. It doesnt matter where Louie goes or what hes doing (even just sleeping) Mia wants to attack him. Granted, as soon as he sees her he starts growling… but he only started doing that after she batted at him the first time. The episodes seem to be getting more and more aggressive. I would keep him in my room but its clear he wants to roam. And i find it unfair to lock her in a room after 6 years of letting her roam around the whole house. Before we got mia 6 years ago we had an older male cat, they got along well but he passed about 2 years ago. And according to the shelter Louie was surrendered with a sister but she was adopted without him. I need help on this one
Thank you Sarah, the baby gate didnt work… i had one up and then a door screen up but no wwy to secure the screen so he found a way to get out of his own space. For the most part, he does confine himself to his own space still but now its more so the residemt cat that is ckming to him. I have thoe litter trays and food/ water areas still seperate so theres really no reason for him to HAVE to leave his room or for her to come in to his room but they still do. I just dont want this to be a stressful situation for either of them. Mia has never been a fan of any large cat toys (trees or posts) both of my cats are declawed (adopted that way) so they dont tend to “scratch” other than the occasional carpet scratching after a stretch. Shes afraid of the tree we have for her and hes too heavy for it, he knocked it over. (Hes 22 lbs) Any other ideas are welcome
3 weeks in is still a fairly new situation. This will take more time than that. Having said that, keeping them together but separate may help. For instance, a baby gate or two could possibly help you confine them and keep them separated when not supervised, but still allow them to see each other and continue getting used to each other. It also gives them their own space which may help with the adjustment period. Just make sure each has access to their own litter tray and food and water. A few kitty “distractions” might also be helpful- for instance a cat tree and some scratch posts. If they have an outlet for some pent up energy, they may not use it on each other. Don’t give up? There are lots of people on this website that have lots of helpful ideas to share. Hopefully they will add more. Best of luck!!
Traveling multipurpose non aggressive protective multipurpose service dog trainer that’s willing to travel to Kodiak Alaska and help me out with my dog training program for the two years thanks
Are you trying to post an ad? We aren’t an advertisement listing service. You may be better served by looking for training or dog groups on Facebook and posting there.
I have a 6 month old, female border collie. We are having a hard time with food aggression, especially towards our two year old daughter. What can we do stop the food aggression?
I would involve a professional, someone who understands the breed quite well. If you’re in the US, I would go to the nearest chapter of the breed club: http://www.bordercolliesociety.com/affiliate-clubs/
I would also search Google for “Border collie club $YourState.” They’ll be able to refer you to a GOOD trainer for the breed.
Feed your dog in the crate, to prevent stress at meals. If you don’t have a crate, now’s the time to get one. Step up your obedience training, too – remember, you have THE smartest breed on the planet, and your dog needs a job or she will become a neurotic mess. If you haven’t worked on anything beyond basic obedience, start. BCs need to herd, or they need a sport that fulfills their need to work.
I agree with both dr. Magnifico and Laura. Please do not give up on your pup. Find a behaviorist/trainer that can help you in the right direction of what you need to be working on with your dog. Very best of luck to you.
Hello,
I’m sorry but these questions are often difficult to answer as they have a complicated and multifaceted evolution. Please ask your vet to guide you to a trainer who can come to your home and help understand the situation your dog lives in and the relationship they share with your family. In some cases this requires reestablishing boundaries and going back to basic obedience. Regardless always use positive reinforcement and understand that your dog is adapting to your family and there is a responsibility that you all have to helping her learn to be respectful and safe with your family.
My eight year old Cocker Spaniel is a great wee dog, friendly and not at all cross and super with my grandchildren. However when the baby visits and cries Holly gets agitated and restless. No sign of aggression but the sound seems to really upset her. Holly is ok with my two year old grandson though when he was a baby she behaved in the same way. Any ideas?
Many thanks for your reply. I do make sure that she does not feel excluded and give her reassurance that really all is well. She would never ever be left alone with any of the children and if when she has had enough she just gets offside to her own spot. Do you think Adaptil plug in would help?
Hello,
If she is anxious it is important to respect her discomfort and either remove her from the area to a safe and quiet place and/or start working with her so that she begins to get used to the crying and baby noises so you don’t have to worry about either of them. Ideally everyone needs to feel safe and secure in their own home. Please talk to your vet about a good behaviorist. They can help. Best of luck.
Hello,
I think that the “exchange” option, i.e. “I’ll give you something of higher value to surrender the item you have” will work for a little while. But it leaves you constantly set up for being her servant. Life is all about compromise, but, not fear based “I’ll bite the hand that feeds me to get my way” compromise. Respect is earned, not traded. I would strongly recommend a basic puppy and obedience class. All should be based on positive reinforcement methods. If you try to reason with her by intimidation or reprimand she will up the ante and retaliate with excessive force (is my guess). good luck