Dog biting if take something off her

samsonite

Hello,

We have recently rehomed a 13 month old Labrador, she is a lovely placid dog except when you try to remove something from her. Now she loves nothing more than picking up rubbish and eating it when she is brought for walks. Recently I removed a plastic bag from her mouth and she growled and then bit me (tore clothes but didn't pierce skin however huge bruise now). It has happened a few times now and also if I remove something from her bed.

What can I do to stop her doing this? Do you think it could be insecurity on her part as she has only been with us 5 weeks?

Any advise is very much appreciated.

Noopti

I'm no dog trainer but it looks like there is a dominance issue here. It needs to be made clear that you are the dominant person in the home, and this needs to be done with every activity:

Example 1. Feed her at set times, make her sit before giving her the food. Take the food away after 15 minutes
Example 2. Don't give her any treat or toy without making her sit, or lie down, give the paw etc first

Basically, she should be receptive to pleasing you before getting treats, hugs or anything really until she learns that she must be responsive to you, the pack leader.
You should also try and start training her to "Drop" things. Maybe play fetch and get her used to "Dropping" items. Which you can then apply to anything really.

There should be more experience trainers on here that can give you better info!

looserock

samsonite wrote: »

Hello,

We have recently rehomed a 13 month old Labrador, she is a lovely placid dog except when you try to remove something from her. Now she loves nothing more than picking up rubbish and eating it when she is brought for walks. Recently I removed a plastic bag from her mouth and she growled and then bit me (tore clothes but didn't pierce skin however huge bruise now). It has happened a few times now and also if I remove something from her bed.

What can I do to stop her doing this? Do you think it could be insecurity on her part as she has only been with us 5 weeks?

Any advise is very much appreciated.

This is pretty serious, do you have children?

Do you know anyone who has experience with training large breeds?

I think any advice you'll get here other than bringing the dog to an expert or at least someone with a lot of experience with large breeds will be ineffective.

The Sweeper

Yeah +1 on the above.

You're likely to get all of the correct theory from this forum, but you're going to need someone who knows their stuff there physically with you to help you correct this.

Dominance and aggression issues are very serious - I'd be straight onto the pound or shelter who rehomed her to you in the first place. I doubt this has just manifested and you should have been warned about it (it's very possibly the reason why the original owner gave the dog up).

samsonite

Thank you very much for your replies.

I was hoping it was an issue we could resolve but you are dead right we need to get professional help.

She is so good in every other way, she sits on command, walks perfectly on the lead and gets on brilliantly with our other dog and family except when it comes to anything in her mouth.

Can anybody recommend somebody in the Dublin South area?

wolfpawnat

Sorry to say I dont know any training schools in the dublin area, perhaps there is some in the golden pages, all the advise I can give is from the sound of things past experiences have taught this dog that it has to fight to get anything, and that does need to be sorted, as owner if you decide to take the food bowl, then it is your right to do so without the dog thinking twice. I know with rehoming abandoned dogs people feel sorry for them and leave them get away with this and that cause "they've had it rough", I am an animal lover like no other but even I have to say, I rather be strict and train the dog right from wrong that have it hurt someone, get killed and put a person off dogs for life, not too mention, obedience schools cost a few bob, but its better than a law suit, solicitors fee and dead dog. Good luck with your dog

Rabies

We recently got a puppy. Shar Pei x Staffordshire.
Got a great tip from our vet.
Once or twice a day if your puppy is small, hold him/her in you arms (craddle like a baby). If they start to squirm, hold them, growl back at them and don't let go until the relax and calm down. This can be done on the floor for larger pups. Put them on their back, place your hands on their chest, don't press hard, but hold them. Allow them to get up when you're ready, only a short time (15-20secs). It asserts your dominance and has worked wonders with our 13 week pup.
Our pup is great now, he won't touch food until told. He'll sit and look at the bowl. Sits on command almost every time. Returns to a call, even if he's playing in the park, and his fetching is improving.

andreac

try this site
www.irishdogs.ie/forum


There are loads of great ideas and advice there which shold be able to help you. I would be very careful with that dominance thing. Your dog is very big and if its not handled correctly it could go the other way, i would def seek professional help before attempting anything like that.

peasant

samsonite wrote: »

She is so good in every other way, she sits on command, walks perfectly on the lead and gets on brilliantly with our other dog and family except when it comes to anything in her mouth.

Which to me would mean that your dog doesn't really have dominance issues ...she just does't want to release anything she has in her mouth.

You can train for that:

Introduce a command for relaesing things ...something like "gimme" or whatever word you prefer.

In order for her to give you things try swapping. Let her have something rather unattractive and unimportant (i.e. no food or her favorite toy) in her mouth and offer to swap it for some food she really likes.

When she drops the other thing (and she will if the temptation is big enough) introduce the command and give her the treat.
Practise and repeat until she starts dropping things on command. Then practise and repeat some more, alternating between giving a treat and just praise.

Do it at home in a calm environement first and in a playful manner. Only when you can be sure that the command works (after a week or two) can you use it outside and in earnest.

You may want to carry treats with you initially to swap, but after a while the command should work without treats and praise only.

Good luck and patience.

peasant

Rabies wrote: »

We recently got a puppy. Shar Pei x Staffordshire.
Got a great tip from our vet.
Once or twice a day if your puppy is small, hold him/her in you arms (craddle like a baby). If they start to squirm, hold them, growl back at them and don't let go until the relax and calm down. This can be done on the floor for larger pups. Put them on their back, place your hands on their chest, don't press hard, but hold them. Allow them to get up when you're ready, only a short time (15-20secs). It asserts your dominance and has worked wonders with our 13 week pup.

Just don't try this method once he gets older and/or goes through his "teenage rebellion" phase.

You might not come out the winner.

BlackCat2008

I agree with what pheasent has said swop a treat for what ever she has gotten hold of, how ever the dog can take advantage of this and pick up everything for a treat.

My advice is to go back to were ever you got her from and try to find out as much info on her as possible, were did they get her from ? if she was handed over why ? was she with other dogs ? removed from a puppy farm ?

Finding out as much about her histroy is the first step, then you can work on the problems.

I have a girl like this my self she had bitten three times before she came to me, she is food aggressive and nervouse aggressive, the first time she went for me was the last time, I grabbed her by the scruff and roughly put her out the back for ten minutes and didn't allow her back in till she sat that was how we came to an understanding as to who was boss, this methood is not for the faint hearted or big dogs that could get free and attack (mine is medium), but there is alot you can do.

Post as such about her history as you can, and I'm sure my self and others can help.

For the time being the only thing I can tell you to do is find away to make a connection with her, you must find commen ground that pleases both of yous this will help to build trust, I know you feel you can't trust her now and will find it hard to make that connection but it will help yous both, watch her and find out what she likes and try to join in and show her yous can have good times with out it turning into a battle of wills.

Refuse to move on when she picks something up until she drops it and keep repeating drop or down or give what ever words you want to use, do not try to take it from her or you will give her power over you as she will smell your fear as such when you try, if it takes all day then so be it don't allow her to think she has worn you down and stand your ground, if you see her going for something pull her away, say a sharp no, and at no time stop walking, just keep moving.

lorna100

BlackCat2008 wrote: »

Post as such about her history as you can, and I'm sure my self and others can help.

For the time being the only thing I can tell you to do is find away to make a connection with her, you must find commen ground that pleases both of yous this will help to build trust, I know you feel you can't trust her now and will find it hard to make that connection but it will help yous both, watch her and find out what she likes and try to join in and show her yous can have good times with out it turning into a battle of wills.

above advice is good imo, Im no behaviourist or trainer however I would avoid going down the route of trying to dominate the dog - at least not yourself. I would be advisable to seek professional advice from a reputable behaviourist or trainer, depending on the circumstances. It may be helpful for you to dintinguish if this is a response of your dog simply not wanting to let go and so her reaction is because of this (in which case a trainer may suffice) or is it a more deeply routed problem?

If she shows any tendancy to do this in other situations and circumstances, Id say a good behaviourist would be more benificial in treating the root cause of the action rather than the response itself. I would imagine that if this behaviour is not only on her own property (ie. her bed) but on walks aswell that this problem has the potential to develop into an even more serious matter. Better to start now imo and get it under control.

Has she settled in well during the five weeks she has been with you? Also may I point out that your vet should generally be your first point of call on issues like this. Behaviour is very much linked with health - though it sounds unlikely from your post that it is health related matter, it cannot be ruled out completly until after a vet examination.

Wishing you luck with her.

luckat

Peasant offers good sense.

If your dog came from a pound, she may have been living rough for a while, and have a terror of her food being snatched away. It will take gentleness and patience to free her of this bad habit.

May I suggest that you always carry treats when you're walking. Give her treats for all kinds of desirable behaviour - and not always, so she's encouraged to gamble that there *might* be a treat in it! And when she has something in her mouth that you know is dangerous, say "give", or whatever your signal is, and take it; give her a treat, and then say to her: "This could hurt little dogs", and put it immediately away.

I know it sounds a bit crazy, but dogs do understand a fair bit of simple human speech, in my experience.

samsonite

Thank you all for your replies unfortunately she had gotten alot worse. Last night she had a toy in her bed with her and I just glanced at her to see what she was doing and she sat up and growled at me for ten minutes, I was quite shocked and I was too scared to do anything becuase I honestly believe if I had of done anything she would have bitten me.

I know this isn't her fault, she obviously needs help so if anybody could recommend a behaviour professional for her I would be very appreciative.

many thanks

Toulouse

Post over on http://petsireland.invisionzone.com/ Several good trainers and behaviouralists are on that board and should be able to point you in the right direction or at least recommend someone reputable to help you.

LisaO

Contact Dog Training Ireland

http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/home.php

IMHO far & away leaders in the field of dog training & well worth travelling to.

fits

Good advice from Peasant as always.

I have a dog who lived on his wits for a time before we found him (emaciated and mangy). For the first while, he thought very badly of walking past any bit of food cast away on the street, and was really protective of what he had. When he realised he wasnt going to starve with us, he relaxed on it a bit. Train your dog to let go of what he has. I cant see this being an insurmountable problem tbh.

samsonite

Thank you very much for your help.

I contacted Dog Training Ireland and they were extremely helpful and offered me loads of advice.