Deaf Dog with fear aggression. Please Help

BettyBlue · 23-11-2010 8:17am #1

Hi all
I have a Beautiful English Setter that is a rescue dog we have her 3 years now ,I won't go into our whole life story because I would be here all day but she has snapped at myself and my 11 year old a few times since we've had her, nothing serious but last month she bit my sons face and cut his nose. We now have a 1 year old who has just started to walk , she snapped at him the other day .. I have spoken to a couple of rescue centres about what I can do now but no joy , has anyone had any experience with this and how do i prevent this from happening without upsetting my dog , as she is deaf and I don't know what she has been through as she was confiscated from a man with 8 other dogs and in a terrible state . Please any advise that could help me in any way i would really appreciate it

portgirl123 · 23-11-2010 9:16am

First of all well done for taking a rescue dog.

I cant really make any comments as ive never had a deaf dog but one thing i would do until you get proper advise is never leave your kids unsupervised esp the 1 yr old, as been a baby he will end up startling the dog and will be bit. im sure this is most of the problem the dog been startled. the dog has already bitten so please please be very careful with your kids. im sure many on boaRDS will have great advise for you, and you, your kids and dog will be able to live together with no further accidents.

seamus · 23-11-2010 10:48am

portgirl123 wrote: »

im sure this is most of the problem the dog been startled.

+1
This is a fairly common problem with deaf dogs because we tend to forget and just appear out of nowhere, giving the dog a fright. It can be particularly bad with children around who tend to run everywhere and grab things randomly.

I would recommend speaking to a behaviourist who knows a bit about dealing with deaf dogs. Obviously your aim here is to teach the dog to not nip or bite on reflex when they get a fright, but a secondary goal is to teach yourselves to be mindful of the dog's condition when you're around her.

As portgirl says, I wouldn't leave the dog and the baby unsupervised under any circumstances. In fact, I wouldn't even have them within 3 metres of eachother in case the child managed to get at the dog before you have a chance to react.

TooManyDogs · 23-11-2010 11:06am

+1 to well done on taking a rescue deaf dog, I have one and I know how much hard work they can be.

First thing I would say is that your post comes across like you still feel sorry for her both because of her disability and her past - this can be a huge mistake. It often means that you don't come across as someone who will be in charge that she can trust, I've found with my rescue dogs that they seem to settle in quickly because they know it's my house, I make the rules, I'm in charge and because of that I'll protect them from any percieved threat.
My deaf dog is a little mini JRT and to be honest with the exception of sign language I treat her exactly the same as my others, both in exercise and disipline. So first thing I'd suggest is forget about the past, and to a certain extent forget about the fact that she's deaf.

When does your dog snap? Have you noticed a pattern? It could be a case where you need to de-sensitise her around your children. Like the other poster said never leave them unsupervised together. Things like asking your older child to approach her in her direct line of sight, ask her to sit, give her a treat and then walk away will help re-inforce the idea that the children are sources of good things.

Does she startle if she's approached/touched from behind? If so then there's a 2 way method of dealing with this. Teach your kids to only approach her from a direct line of sight and not go near her when she's asleep (I realise it's nearly impossible to teach the 1 year old but this is where the supervising comes in). You or other adults in the house can help de-sensitise her about being touched while asleep or unaware. If you get really smelly treats like frankfurters or liver and gently wave them under her nose while she's asleep to wake her up and when she's awake and has seen you quite close then give her the treat. The same should work if she's awake but not watching you. When she's completely calm about being woken up by the smell of food then you could add a very gentle touch as well as the food to wake her up, gradually you should be able to ditch the food when she's completely calm about being woken. The reason I'm suggesting you or another adult do this is that there's a certain truth in 'letting sleeping dogs lie'! They really can startle quite badly!

Another option is to teach her to watch you more. You can teach her a 'watch me' command by letting her sniff a treat and slowly moving it up to beside your eye, when she looks you in the eye give her the treat. If she's more in the habit of watching you then she won't get as surprised as often.

Let us know if there is any pattern to her snapping and we may be able to help further.

If you want to go down the behaviourist route then I'd recommend Siobhan from Dublin Pet School, she helped me train my girl, and she has tons of experience with dogs who have snapped. Her number is 086 3218132

lorebringer · 23-11-2010 12:46pm

One of my guys is deaf. He is also a rescue. He was very badly treated in his former "home" (I use that term very loosely here) and came to me with some aggression issues (esp. concerning food). Through exposure, lots of praise and treats he has gotten much better. He still snaps at the other dogs every so often if they get too close while he is eating, treats or food, but we can now feed him in the same room as the rest of them and he no longer goes for anything that moves while he's eating.

He also has dodgy eyesight (bit of an OAP!) and sometimes things catch him off guard, resulting in either aggression or screaming and whining for help (he has become used to the good life, and the cavalry that appear when he calls!

). I can really only echo what "TooManyDogs" has already said, you need to minimise the chances of her getting a shock (and as a result snapping). It is likely to be an automatic response that needs to be broken, ether by letting her know that being surprised is not always bad or by preventing the surprise happening.

Another thing you need to remember is that the past is the past - she may have had an awful life before she came to you but she is now a member of your household and need to learn to behave as such. She needs clear boundaries as to what is ok and what is not.

A trainer may be your best bet to curb this problem, they will give you very clear instructions and hopefully make dealing with this problem easier.

Good luck!

BettyBlue · 23-11-2010 1:20pm

Thank you all soo much
It means alot to here such good advice . The snapping has been a couple of times when she was sleeping and I know and understand that she has been startled also having a new member in the family has upset her routine and when she snapped at my 1 year old I was sitting between them I think she was jealous or protecting me

She is very insecure and needs someone with her all the time so its hard to keep my baby and dog separate , I also don't want my dog to feel like i am punishing her because we have a new son but ye are right i need to watch them like a hawk. Thanks "TooManyDogs" I will give that girl a call
Keep the advice coming

I will be reading these posts over and over :rolleyes:

Thanks again all of ye

TooManyDogs · 23-11-2010 1:58pm

BettyBlue wrote: »

when she snapped at my 1 year old I was sitting between them I think she was jealous or protecting me She is very insecure and needs someone with her all the time

The chances are that she's not as insecure as you might think. Alot of people talk positively and negetivley about a 'pack leader' but in every dogs life there needs to be a clear leader, someone they can depend on to make the rules, protect them and make the decisions. If you've been feeling sorry for her then that's coming across as gentle and a bit weak, and not as the leader of your house. If there's no clear leader then the dog often feels they need to assume the place which is good for no-one. Her snapping at the baby could be as simple as her saying 'I'm the boss, and I didn't say the human could stop petting me to pet the baby'. If you assume the leader role then she'll realise that you make the rules, and you'll decide who you pet without any assistance. You can easily take back a leader role by doing simple things
1 - Stop feeling bad about her past, the past is gone and by the sounds of it she has a fantastic home now. Focus on that and feel strong
2 - Don't feel bad about her deafness, again it doesn't help her
3 - Don't feel afraid or nervous about what she might do, it normally only results in that exact thing happening, think about what you want to happen and go with that feeling.
4 - Simple things like ignoring her until she calms down when you come into the house and then greeting her.
5 - Walk her with the buggy so she gets the idea that the baby is in front so deserves respect
6 - Exercise her as often as possible, get a local teenager to take her out for a few quid. It's far easier to train a tired dog.
7 - Make her work for any food or treat you give her, your older child could enjoy teaching her basic tricks.
8 - Teach her a 'leave it' command, it'll help if she goes near the baby or he goes near her.

If I think of any more I'll give you a shout!

Deaf Dog with fear aggression. Please Help

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