Small Dog - First Bite

Saganist

Hi Guys.

Looking for some advice.

I have a small breed of dog. Hes about 9 months old.

When we first got him we where always worried when he found small things ( plastic tops etc. ) around the house and started to chew them, so I was doing my best of taking anything like that off him for fear he'd choke.

So yesterday I did the same, expect when I did he he snapped and bit my hand. He got really aggressive. I never seen him like that before.

So the advice I'm seeking is, should we just let him play with items that could be potentially dangerous for him ? Or should I continue to remove these and discipline the dog ?

Thanks.

suziwalsh

You would be best teaching him leave it rather than taking anything from him. Plus you are naturally going to be nervous the next time.

Make sure you reward him for leaving it and exchange the forbidden item with a tasty treat etc.....so you are making a trade...begin to add the words leave it so once repeated a few times he will begin to drop things in advance as he will expect a reward. Then you can phase out the reward....

Ailishcrehan

get a tasty treat in your hand and have another tasty treat in your other hand. Hold one hand behind your back and present the other hand with the treat in it to your dog. When the dog goes to take the treat, say 'leave it' and pull your hand away. Keep repeating this, telling the dog to leave it and once the dog looks away and does 'leave it' when you present the treat, give him the treat from behind your back. Keep doing this and I guarantee the minute you say leave it, your dog will drop whatever he has in his mouth. I taught this to my German Shepherd x over a year ago and it has been the best command we ever taught her as it works with everything..even if she is being boisterous with the cats, we'll tell her to leave it and she backs off.

It is not so much about disciplining your dog, its more about him learning what is acceptable and what is not. There has to be boundaries and simple training will make a huge difference. We have taught our dog to go 'easy' when playing with smaller dogs, so when she plays gently we say easy and she now knows what this word means in terms of play. This is hugely beneficial in cases where she gets over excited during play, because she is a big dog and can hurt if she plays rough

Saganist

Thanks for the responses.

I will try the leave it command and let you know how I get on.

Thanks again folks.