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on Aggression or Fear Biters
I try and answer every question I receive on dog training. I may often come across as a little on the blunt side, (some may call it brash). That is because I consider myself an advocate for dogs and not dog handlers. I am an advocate for common sense dog training and not the latest fad that appears on the horizon. Good dog training is not rocket science. It's common sense. The Theory Of Corrections in Dog Training
PRONG COLLAR WARNING: When you use your Prong Collar, we
strongly suggest you use a Leerburg
Dominant Dog Collar as a safety backup.
Hi Mr. Frawley, I could write all day, but I have made so many mistakes,
that I just need some help to get me started on the right road. I still have the last two due to their fear of people and no one wants them and the rescue people wanted to put them to sleep as they didn't have time to work with them. I want to get my house in order, help in correctly working
with them, so they can find other homes. I know I am a mess. Just a little advise where to get started and which DVD I should start with. I had one of the Jerk-yank people come over last week for a Demo, it was awful. He didn't speak, just jerked one around the over hide for 2 hours after he left. Of course is also wanted $1000.00 for 5 classes. I wouldn't let him do it for free! Anything you can tell me, I'd appreciate. ANSWER: All I can do is offer you the information to fix this. I know it can be done, I cant tell you if you have the resolve to do it. A big part of the solution is handler education. I recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there.You will see what I say about trainers like the one you had. I also have a Q&A section on fear biters. Your dogs are not aggressive (yet) but the two are only 8 months old and it will come. Read the article I wrote titled Training With Markers There are three phases of training, the learning phase, the distraction phase and the correction phase. We use markers to introduce our dogs to the LEARNING PHASE of training. I recommend that you visit my web site and read a training article I recently wrote titled THE THEORY OF CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING. The reason I wrote this article was to help people understand how to motivate their dogs in training. Most people either use the wrong kind of correction or over correct dogs in training. I am not a fan of “force training” (although I definitely believe that every dog needs to go through a correction phase). By exploring corrections in training you will become a better dog trainer. The fact is fear based dogs must learn obedience. If they don’t they can become dangerous. These kinds of dogs have weak nerves. The role of the handler is to teach them the meaning of the command so they understand what’s being asked. When they know the command they then must learn that UNDER EVERY CIRCOMSTANCE they MUST OBEY or face a correction that is worse than the GHOSTS in their heads. This is the part where owners fail. They are not prepared to apply enough force to make the dog comply when they are afraid. Dogs like this want to feel secure. Your role is to teach them that if they comply you will insure their security. The dog must respect the consequences of not minding more than it fears the GHOSTS. I recommend that you get my 4 hour DVD Basic Dog Obedience.Also get a prong collar and/or a dominant dog collar. Only you can fix these dogs' problem. The vast majority of local trainers are not qualified to do the work and they certainly don’t have the time it takes. But then you already found this out. Good luck
COMMENT: I want to tell you about a success story or one in progress. Alaska, my 4 year old white Shepard male, is aggressive. He has never bit me or attempted to and at this point he is so docile at home you would never know he is aggressive. I had him neutered shortly after getting him for two reasons, 1) so we do not produce more aggressive dogs, 2) thought it would calm him down (wrong)! He was obviously attacked when he was young, he has some scars to prove it! I attached a picture, he has papers and is tattooed in the German system for White Shepard's. He was given to me about two years ago, because no one would take the time or had the time to work with him. I am 50 years old and have never trained a dog in my life. I must say this was and still is a real challenge! When I first got Alaska, his rear toe nails were so worn down they were bleeding, from pulling so hard on the leash, he was completely unruly! He almost killed the next door neighbor's poodle, (he got loose one time) that to me was my wake up call. I needed to get him some training. I forgot to mention I am living in Germany and there are so many Hundschules here it's not funny. But, I had to find one that specialized in training aggressive dogs, Ralf Heik, of Hundschule Heik in Rodenbach. I have allot of respect for this man, he has probably 25 years experience with aggressive dogs of all breeds. His preference is German Shepard's. I asked Ralf how long would this training process take, he said at least a year and "it also depends", his exact words! I now know what "depends" means. Alaska will never be 100%, I know this and am on guard constantly. We have become a team, he listen to me and I take care of him. We have rules, never allowed to come into my bedroom, sleeps in his kennel at night, sits and stay till I enter the house, sit and stay at the top of the stairs till I say OK for him to come down, etc. this training for me included learning "dog psychology to understand the training process, I'm still learning! So in retrospect, I mentioned earlier I needed to get Alaska trained, that is a false statement, I am the one that was trained! Alaska and I were on a rigorous
training schedule for at least one year, then I started noticing the
improvements.
Alaska's toe nails have grown out, he will walk with me in "heel",
he will alert on another dog or cat and immediately look up at me and
I will as NO! and 9 out of 10 times he will calm down and pass it off.
Ed, this to me is the success part, I know he will probably never get
rid of the "ghost's" in his head, I just need to stay one second
ahead of him. I owe all of this to my trainer, Ralf. I'm also trying
to
be responsible by ensuring he is on a leash but, at the same time he
goes where I go as much as possible, I think it's very important for
him to
experience as much as possible with me, (in charge of course). I live
in a small farm community and from my house to the fields is a 3 minute
walk. I now am able go for walks with a electric collar. He responds
very well to this, I can tell he likes it.
Alaska - a success story for an overly aggressive dog. Sincerely,
I saw a Q/A that you had on fear biting and I was hoping that you could help me out with something... We adopted a female (2-3 years old) lab/boxer
(or pitbull not sure) mix. She is a well tempered dog, very loving,
plays well with
other dogs (from what we can tell) and with cats. She has not exhibited
agressive behavior with the exception that she barks a little at The thing is that she is very timid. Numerous times she will roll on her back and freeze. We thought this was a "rub my belly" thing.. However, I have noticed that she appears very scared when in this position and she has snapped at me a few times trying to move her when she is in that position. Today my son went to give her a hug (he is 3) and it scared her and she bit him (he is OK, just a bit scared). I have 2 children (3 and 7) and we are wanting to make this work (this dog is perfect for us with this exception). We are not wealthy folks and one of the people that were recommended to us were asking more than $2000 for training. What would you recommend?? thank you so much for any help you can provide. Gods Blessingz, Answer on fear biters: Here is some reading material that may help: 1- Preventing dog bites in children. You can find these if you go to the list of training articles and scroll down. 2- You may want to read the article I wrote on GROUND WORK BEFORE OBEDIENCE TRAINING. 3- I also recommend that you go to my web site and read the article I wrote on my philosophy of dog training. I think you will get some good ideas there. While the roots of this may be fear - (I cant be sure from an email) the dog cannot respect you if it tries to bite you. When a dog respects its pack leader it would never try and bite him. Not ever. Bottom line is the first step in controlling ANY behavioral problem is to go back to basics and this means a well structured obedience program. I recommend my dominant dog collar. Many times dogs become too hyper or hectic with prong collar corrections. Some dogs even become aggressive to firm corrections with prong collars. Those dogs need the dominant dog collar. Read the write up and look at the photos of how to size them on my web site. I recommend that you get my 4 hour DVD on Basic Dog Obedience. You may think you have an understanding of training, my guess is with problems like this you are off track. As a general rule dogs with weak nerves (fear based dogs) respond well to a sound obedience program that includes a distraction and correction phase. They want to feel comfortable and they find their comfort in minding a strong pack leader. I think you will find that this information (if you follow it) will solve your problems and for somewhat less than $2,000.00. You may also want to consider the DVD and eBook I did on Dominant and Aggressive Dogs. Ed
My dog, which is now 4 years old, is a lab mix whom we adopted from a shelter. Since she was a puppy (Mattie) she has exhibited signs of weak nerves. We always attributed her aggression toward people as acts based out of fear or lack of trust. She has also exhibited problems wanting to dominate relationships with other dogs and, in doing so, displayed signs of aggression. As far as we were concerned, we had raised and trained our dog very well. She follows all commands with the occasional exception of the Come command when she is distracted by other dogs or people (usually during this time she is exhibiting aggressive behavior). For this, I worked with her on a 100 foot rope and tried to introduce distractions. Additionally, we introduced a radio controlled electric collar. This tool has worked well and has all but eliminated that problem. However, the aggression is still there. During her four years, she has bitten someone unprovoked, has chased roller-blader’s, snapped at people that have visited our house, and has gotten very aggressive with other dogs. In all these instances, we have blamed ourselves for lack of command or training and her background (as a shelter dog – we adopted her at four months old). As such, we focused on correcting our actions and our control over her versus getting to the root of her problem (the aggression). With the latest incident, it has prompted me to investigate aggressive behavior in dogs. The latest incident has involved our dog acting aggressive toward another dog (my in-law’s) that she has been very accepting of for the past several years. Our house has been under construction / renovation for the past few months and I am trying to blame my dog’s recent behavior on her unrest about the construction. My dog weighs about 60 pounds and the dog that it attacked weighs 15. The dog suffered a nick on the ear, head, and under the eye where it seemed apparent that my dog had clamped down on it. This happened again at my in-law’s house over the weekend. This time there wasn’t any blood drawn but the behavior has all of us on edge. I have a nephew that is 1 year old and I don’t trust our dog around him. To this point she has not acted aggressive to him as we have tried to introduce them in a happy setting with lots of praise. However, I am concerned that something could happen out of our supervision, especially as the child grows older. Based on the information that you have been provided, I would like to know what things we can do to correct her behavior. We have found her aggressiveness / mistrust toward people has almost been exclusively geared toward men. Our goal is to be able introduce her to children, adults (particularly males), and other dogs with confidence that she will act appropriately. We love her dearly and I don’t want to put her to sleep but, the more I research, the more I fear this action is not correctable. Can you please advise? Kindest Regards, Answer: Your goals with this dog are 100% unrealistic. These goals set you up for failure. When one trains a dog they have to be realistic in any goals they set. You have not done that. This dog is weak nerved, dog aggressive and a fear biter. Your goal should be “to establish a plan to live with this dog and learn to control its environment so that it does not hurt anyone or anything.” Before I get into what I think you need to do I will say that a professional dog trainer may be able to accomplish what you want, but it will take a great deal of force and pressure on the dog. So much so that it could also cause health problems with the dog. Stress causes dogs to get sick - often their pancreas fails. So with that said I do not think that the force needed to do what you want is worth the problems it would create for the dog. I NEVER allow my dog to come into contact with other dogs unless I know the other dog and unless I am 110% sure the dogs will get along. Your dog should NEVER be around other dogs. I also NEVER allow a dog to come in contact with another dog unless my dog is 100% solid in obedience under extreme distraction (i.e. another dog is extreme distraction). Also I NEVER allow people to pet my dog. Why should I? Why should someone touch my dog? I have never come up with a reason to allow people to pet my dog. As far as I am concerned I want my dogs to think I am the center of their universe. I don’t want them to think that they can go to strangers or other people to be petted. Besides that when a dog goes to another person and expects to be petted it is often exhibiting a sign of dominance. (telling the stranger to pet it) Read the article I wrote on dog parks. Read the Q&A on fear biters. You can go to my articles at http://leerburg.com/articles.htm You need to get a dog crate and crate this dog when strange people or dogs visit. You need to keep the dog in the crate when children are around. When you take the dog outside you need to take it to places where there are not people or you need to make it wear a muzzle (we sell inexpensive plastic muzzles - but the wire basket muzzles we sell are the best). It should not be out without the electric collar on. Dogs like this do not need to be put to sleep if the owners are responsible and understand what they are dealing with. I compare it to police officers with very very aggressive tough dogs. They seldom have accidents with their dogs because they train their dogs to mind under distraction. They also control the environment where they allow their dogs to be off leash or loose. So with this said – this is more of a people issue than a dog issue. If you like this dog – control where it goes and whom it comes in contact with. Then continue to train it. Training NEVER stops. Ed Frawley
I'm suffering terrible from guilt. One week ago I put our 9 year old Fox Hound to sleep. He was a wonderful dog to the family. We got Gage when he was 5 months old from a local animal shelter. He was very fearful of people. When we brought him home he stayed in his kennel for 3 days, except when we physically removed him to go potty. Once he warmed up to us he was great! Very loving. However, he was always very shy around people. When he was 1 we took him to the vet, because we noticed one of his legs was not as large as the others. The vet discovered that at some point it had been broken and had healed incorrectly. Five hundred dollars later, he was ok, with the exception of battling arthritis. At around the 1 year mark he became very aggressive towards anyone who came to the house. Once the person was in the house he would warm up. As the years past by, it got worse. At one point, when he was 8, he lunged at a friend and tore her shirt. I took him to canine good citizen training and intermediate training. However, we continued to battle his attitude towards strangers. Two months ago, we had to move from our home of 10 years to an out of state home. We did this move for our son, who was diagnosed autistic. We moved to a state where he could get the educational help he needed. Unfortunately, we had to choose to rent for 1 year and the landlord would not allow the dog to stay. We found a foster family, who agreed to keep him for us, until we purchased a house. Everything was OK until the 6th week. He increasingly became aggressive to people coming into their home. A close family friend was bitten and did bleed. This was actually the person who got Gage into the foster family home. They called and asked to have him removed immediately. Luckily, this man did not need stitches and felt bad for the dog! The day before we were to pick him up he bit the baby sitter in the face. It did not break the skin, thank god. Our landlord agreed to allow the dog, for $50 more each month. When I went to pick Gage up, he did not recognize me. He growled and snapped. I was scared. It took 10 minutes for him to allow me in, and another 10 to recognize me. I took him to the vet, for help. The vet advised me to put him to sleep, noting the fact that I had 3 children under 6. He felt the children could be injured or someone else and we would be liable. It had been 12 days since the bite that bled, so we could go ahead with it. I felt he was correct and followed through, staying with Gage (alone) while it was done. My children were with Grandma at her house. My husband was in Washington on business. I felt horrible doing this. He was the most loving dog to us and I feel like I betrayed his trust. My husband feels he had 9 great years with us, and that he came into our family with a lot of mental baggage. I know this is true, because the dog had many odd behaviors. Do you believe I did the right thing? I don't want my family to know how upset I am. I need a unbiased opinion on this one. Sincerely, ANSWER: This is a no brainer - this dog got 8 more years of life than he should have had. The problems with this dog (which was a fear biter) were genetic in nature and not environmental. Simply put it was bad breeding that caused this. Had it been environmental you would have fixed it in the 8 years that you had it. The bottom line is that people make the mistake of forming emotional attachments to dogs with bad temperaments. It's difficult to have a dog put to sleep, I don't question that. But the fact is that there are so many nice dogs in animals shelters that these kinds of dogs should not be placed in homes. What if this dog had taken an eye out of this little girl? You need to look for a dog with better nerves next time and don't listen to these animal shelter people who say "THIS DOG HAS BEEN ABUSED" While this happens, the majority of the time it's a dog with a bad genetic problem and it's in the shelter because the original family did nothing wrong, it just could not deal with the baggage that came with the dog and did not have the guts to have the dog put to sleep. I have an extremely aggressive 2 year old Brazilian Fila male and a shy female of the same breed. The problem is the male. He is very sweet to the family, you can take his food when he eats, he wants attention like a puppy but when seeing strangers he becomes wild and dangerous, almost out of control from anger. I physically stopped him a couple of times in the past in the middle of an attack. I worked with him when he was younger on the basic commands, “sit,” “come,” “down,” but not enough. Is there a way to control his aggression despite the fact that protection of the family is deeply rooted in the bread and is it not too late to try and train him properly? Thank you, ANSWER: This dog is more likely a fear biter than a tough confident personal protection dog. This is a genetic issue. It can be controlled through strong obedience training. The key word here is 100% control. This is accomplished with a prong collar and taking the dog through sound training phases. I would recommend my video Basic Dog Obedience and a prong collar. The dog must learn that it HAS TO DO WHAT YOU TELL IT or it will be severely corrected. It must fear the correction more than the intruder that is making him nervous (because that's what his problem is - being nervous). The key here is that you want to maintain the dogs bond with you - so you can not just go out and beat up on the dog to make him fear you. That's why you need to follow the correct training steps.
We had a very unfortunate accident happen last Sunday evening. Our neighbor’s dog bit my husbands face. I would like to give you a little history first. The dog is a German Shepherd. She is 3 or 4 and has been spade. They have another dog that is younger than she is and is a male. He is part lab, part chow. I should also mention the German Shepherd has been to obedience school. Last November the wife was home alone and asked me to come over to see some new furniture she just got. I rang the bell and she came to the door along with both of the dogs. She asked me to come in and kinda pushed the dogs away so I could get in the door. I kinda stuck my hand out, not too much just calmly and the German Shepherd bit my hand. It did not bleed, but it did turn black and blue. Nothing came of this bite. We just figured the dog was being a little territorial since her husband was out of town. The neighbors are friends of ours and they are concerned about the dog’s barking and being too loud for the neighborhood. They bark at my husband and me any time we are outside or go on our deck. The neighbors asked for us to come over and play with the dogs and talk to them so they could get to know our voice, with the hope that they would stop baking at us so much. We played ball with both the dogs. Sat down in the yard so we were at their level. I suppose we spent about 30-45 mins with the dogs & the owners. The owners gave us some milk bones to give to them over the fence and asked us to talk to them when we are in the yard and tell them "no bark." Last Sunday I was watering the bushes on the side of the yard the dogs are on and asked my husband to come over and see what I planted. The German Shepherd started to bark. My husband started talking to her, telling her it was okay, it was just us. We started to walk over to the fence, 6 ft. privacy fence that dips down to about 5.5 ft. in the lowest part. I told him I would get her a bone. I was about ten paces behind my husband when he got to the fence. Then the German Shepherd jumped up and threw her neck over and bit my husband. We went to the emergency room and he had about 50 stitches in his top and bottom lip and 2-3 under his eye where her front tooth hit. About a day or two after the accident we walked back to the fence. My husband is not that tall. When he got to the fence we figured out he didn't look over the fence, or he would have had his hands up on the fence and would have been on his toes. Being a male, he really does not think he would have been on his toes. And he does not remember doing any of that. And I was right behind him and did not see him do that. My question is... Is this dog dangerous, do you think she would do this again? My husband feels bad for the neighbors and really does not want the dog to be removed from the home. My spouse was hurt, so naturally I am angry and would like to see the dog gone. I would just hate for this to happen to someone else, or a child. We believe the dog will be labeled dangerous by the county because the injuries were to the face and it was not a provoked attack. I would just like some understanding on whether the dog is dangerous or this truly was just a bad accident. Thank you for your time, I certainly appreciate any insight you could give me in the matter. Sincerely, ANSWER: There is no question that this dog is dangerous and would bite again if the possibility presented itself. Knowing what you already know, how would you choose to live your life if this dog bit a child in the face the way it has already has bitten your husband. This dog needs to either be put to sleep, moved to a new and more secure home or kept in 100% confinement. If you ask me I would vote for the first option. This dog is an accident waiting to happen again and again.
Hello Ed, I hope you can help with my problem, as I have not had much success with advice I've been given from other people. I have a 1-year-old Labrador Retriever, my second from the same breeder. She is a healthy dog from a good line, but has recently developed an unusual fear of strangers, mostly males, bicycles and crowded sidewalks. From a young pup, she has been walked on busy urban streets with lots of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, with no problems or signs of fear. At approximately 8 months, she started to show fear of strange men outside of my home. This then developed into fear of any stranger, male or female, as well as bicycles, stroller or busy sidewalks. She cowers, puts her tail between her legs and tries to run away. Only recently has she shown any signs of aggression, but she has barked occasionally and growled twice at strangers. (Normally she does not bark at all) When crossing at an intersection when other pedestrians are crossing from the other side, she frequently freezes and I need to drag her to the sidewalk. When leaving my condominium, she frequently looks up at the ceiling as if something up there is going to attack her. She runs to the door when we enter the building, and if allowed to will flee when she sees a stranger in the hallway. I live alone and do not have a lot of company. Some have suggested that a construction worker in my building may have unintentionally frightened her during a fear period when she as home along in her crate. I suspect this is possible but do not know this for sure. I'm afraid that over time she'll turn more aggressive if I can't help her to overcome her fearfulness. Please help. Kathleen Mansfield ANSWER: Your dog is a product of poor genetics and bad breeding. This is not meant as a slam on you, and not necessarily on your breeder. If the litter was the first litter from these parents it could have been an honest mistake. If it was a repeat breeding then the breeder is at fault. These kinds of dogs only respond to obedience training. They find comfort in doing what is expected from them. They need to understand that there IS NO OPTION - they must mind and they will get copious amounts of praise when they respond to commands that they know and understand. The concept is that these weak nerved dogs must fear the results of not minding more than it fears the boogie men in their head. They also need to know that if they obey commands they will get praised.
I have a 10-month-old Beagle puppy. I got the dog from the SPCA when she was two to three months old. She is a terrific dog, very friendly with all people and other animals. I have trained her and although stubborn she responds very well and listens. My question - I have seen her on three occasions since owning her become somewhat aggressive and always under similar circumstances. Each time it involved her finding some candy or sweets and attempting to eat it. The first time she had a piece of taffy in her mouth and I attempted to get it out of her mouth. She growled as I was removing it and I had to force her mouth open to get it away from her. She calmed down immediately. The second time she had a piece of candy and ran and went under a bed. She growled when I pulled her out from under the bed and removed the candy. The third time was the other night and she had some candy and went under the bed again. I pulled her out and she snapped at me and seemed to be in some sort of frenzy. She had eaten the candy and all that I found was the box. I put her in the back yard. Her eyes seemed glazed. Once I put her in the back yard she calmed down and cowered and seemed almost embarrassed as she came to my side with her ears back, head down and cuddled up next to me. She loves to eat chew toys, pigs ears, beefs noses etc. I have taken these chew toys out of her mouth many times and she is fine. I also removed a piece of plastic from her mouth yesterday and she had no problems with this at all. In fact she seemed to want to play with the plastic as if it was a game. When giving her food she is very calm and always sits politely and gives me her paw before each meal. She eats politely. Is there any advice you can give? Is it possible that the candy (sugar) does something to her system since this only happens with candy? Other than this, she is terrific and very playful and loving. I am concerned about this behavior and will do anything to help correct it. Please let me know what you think. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. ANSWER: The answer is to keep your candy picked up. This seems pretty obvious to me. I also think it is counter productive to take raw hides and other food objects away from a dog. It serves no purpose other than to cause anxiety. There are times when you have to take things away from the dog but it's not food items. The dog lifts it's leg to you before it eats because this is a sign of submission. It has nothing to do with anything else other than submission. When a dog sits by your side in the heel position and picks up one foot - that's a sign of submission to a higher-level pack member. If the dog snaps at you (like it did when it was under the bed) you need to increase your level of correction ten times. The dog must learn that if it ever snaps it will think its life is over. It can never think that this is an option as a solution to a problem. It can only think - if I snap I get killed with corrections so I have to find a different way. So when it snaps - you start screaming and hollering NO NO NO NO!!! Get a damn broom and poke the snot out of it until it is a cowering fool - chase it out of the bedroom and outside. Then leave it outside for an hour or so to think about what has just happened. When you go out, call it over, give it a treat for coming to you and then praise it to show that you do not hold a grudge and that you still love it. That is important. I also suggest that you make an effort to obedience train this dog. Get my Basic Obedience Video Dear Ed, Hello there from Australia and thank you once again for your invaluable advice and information provided through your web site. A while ago you advised me (via email) about training my German Shepherd. Upon purchasing your Basic Dog Obedience video and applying the training techniques within, I am thrilled to report overwhelming improvement in the discipline and relationship with my dog as a direct result of that video. Thank you 1 million times over!!! Zach is just over 2 years old now (male - not desexed) and really does obey my commands - even distraction training is coming along tremendously. That said, I would appreciate your opinion / advice on a habit he has developed lately. Zach is quite aggressive (if that's the right term) - charges the fence and fetches the ball etc. with passion and doesn't take very kindly to strangers at all, despite being well socialized from very young. His animosity is not so bad in public (some days completely non existent), though as a result he is an excellent alarm dog at home. This isn't really a problem to me as the yard has the appropriate fencing and space etc. and I am a very responsible owner, but it would be nice to try and 'tone it down' a bit. Also, lately when there is a visitor at home he will occasionally sneak up behind them (after they have been on the property a while) and give a single quick nip with the front teeth, usually on the lower leg or elbow, and then back away. The last incident he actually jumped up (front paws off the ground) to do it. This has never happened to anyone 'in the pack' - it is only ever to strangers/visitors and always adults - kids seem to be fine. Could you please help me understand what causes this behavior and how (if at all) I can go about training it out of him. I always give him a level '15' correction upon doing this but he just can't seem to resist the urge. Regards and best wishes, ANSWER: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your dog has weak nerves and is a fear biter. I have written about this. You will not change this behavior but you can control it through strict obedience. When people come - send the dog to his rug or crate. If he gets up - KILL THE SOB - make him fear for his life if he does not mind. But ALWAYS GIVE A RELEASE when he is allowed to leave the rug. If you don't you screw up the dogs mind. It must be very, very clear to the dog - go to the rug and be happy - get up before my owner says I can and die or wait until my owner says its OK to get up (by the owner saying OK) and have a happy time with the owner. Dogs understand black and white issues - people see in shades of gray - dogs do not. I have a 5 yr old Old English Sheepdog. We purchased this pup from a private breeder who I now feel, gave little regard to temperament. From the very beginning, he has been a "nervous" dog. When Barnaby was 6 months old I took him to a local basic obedience class. During a session of “meet your neighbor,” where the dogs were allowed to sniff each other, he lunged and pinned the other dog to the floor. I soon realized that all dogs were considered the "enemy" to him and avoided contacts with other dogs. However, he was tolerant of dogs that he knew like my sheltie, my mother's and brother's smaller dogs. Although, he had also "gone after" them on occasion, they just learned to avoid him. None of the "incidents" resulted in any wounds until last year. Last year, he attacked a neighbors Husky, unprovoked by the dog. In fact, he surprise attacked the dog. Barnaby NEVER shows any warning before he attacks, except staring. There is never any barking or growling. He did hurt the neighbors dog... I mean that he broke the skin. Since that time he has unpredictably attacked my cats and other dog. Honestly, I have done everything I can think of, but there doesn't seem to be any “rhyme or reason” to the attacks. In general, he is very nervous with new situations, he shakes and whimpers. Okay, here's my question. I am concerned that since he first "broke skin" on one of his attacks that they seem more INTENSE. The last two cats have received wounds. We are seriously considering have him "put down." What is your opinion on this? Thank you for your time, ANSWER: I am aware that many in this breed has temperament issues. I would begin by trimming the hair around the dogs eyes. Many times this breed has so much hair over the eye's they cant see well. With this said I also would not be quick to kill this dog until I had exhausted behavior modification issues. I don't believe that you have done this. Dogs are pack animals. They need to learn to respect pack leaders and pack leader rules. One of your rules is that there should be no unwarranted aggression. Take this dog through my pack structure program ( Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Dog) Then run him through a serious obedience program. (Basic Dog Obedience ) This dog should not be off leash unless the training has incorporated remote collar work. In addition the aggression is partially controlled by you controlling the environment that you allow this dog to be in. In other words - why take it near other dogs. If it were my dog it would be trained with a remote collar. ( Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner) This starts on leash and the dog would get high level stimulation when it looked at another dog. Not when it was in high fight drive. That's how to use a remote for dog aggression. Once the dog understands that it gets stimulation for looking at another dog the level can be reduced to a very low setting. At that point it's just a slight warning that say "HEY KNOCK IT OFF - LOOK AWAY" The issue of killing cats is the same. The behavior of chasing cats is "SELF REWARDING". This means the dog gets pleasure from the chase. No amount of motivational training is going to change this. So the behavior needs to be extinguished. That means high level stimulation from a remote collar for even looking at a cat.
Dear Leerburg Kennels: I have been searching the internet for information to help me with a tough decision. It was refreshing to find a site that was realistic and practical to those who submitted questions. Furthermore, I was very pleased that help was available from people so knowledgeable. I have a 2 1/2 year old female (spayed) golden retriever that my family got as a puppy after our 9 year old Sharpei died (the Sharpei was a perfect dog in many respects). The golden has always been fearful of anyone entering the home or the yard. She would cower or run and hide. About a year ago, I dropped something that ended by her food bowl. When I reached to pick it up she growled and snapped at me. This brought swift and forceful correction as well as the removal of the food. We worked with her on this issue, and things seemed in check. Just recently, the problem came back. We have moved to a rental house while a new house we are buying is being finished. So, she is living with friends in a large outdoor run. While pulling her by the choke chain to bring her to get sprayed for flies, she snapped at me. This brought swift correction across the muzzle, at which point she retreated to the dog house. I reached in to grab the collar and now have three large holes in my right hand. The next day at feeding time, she growled and bared her teeth at my wife who was putting food in her bowl. My wife, standing back while the dog ate swatted a mosquito on her leg and the dog again was aggressive with growling and baring the teeth. The dog is scared of many things and aggressive at the same time. In reading, it has become clear that this dog is submissive in many ways but seeking dominance in many others. She nuzzles you while reading the paper. Paws at you incessantly, sits on your feet, etc. I have two small children and am not sure I will ever trust this dog. I think she may in fact have a screw loose. I don't know if I should work to rehabilitate her or if I should put her down. Any advice would be welcomed. Thanks, ANSWER: The dog is a fear biter. She is not a dominant dog. What you see as dominance is in reality a need for security. Your choice is to put the dog to sleep or train the dog. By training I mean serious obedience training with a prong collar and a sound foundation of step by step training. If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. As far as the issue of food and the dog biting you when you reached in the house - that's a handler mistake. If I have a dog that is aggressive around food I do not make an issue of it. What is the point? Feed the dog in a secure location. Twenty minutes after you put the food down - call the dog away from the food bowl. Put the dog someplace and pick up the dog bowl. If the dog does not eat - tough - pick it up - it will eat tomorrow. Most fear biters that feel stressed, (like this dog was when it knew it was in trouble when it went into the dog house), are going to bite you because they are afraid.
Mr. Frawley, We have adopted our son's puppy that I believe is about 6-7 months old, his name is Ozzie. We are not sure what kind of dog he is. We know that he is part chocolate Lab and the other half looks like it might be a Daschund (spelling?) or a "wiener dog." Anyway, he has been an excellent puppy. We have him house trained and we have all fallen in love with him. We also have a Newfoundland female that is about 10 years old. Just this past week, we had Ozzie out for a walk when we saw one of our neighbors and went over to say hello. Ozzie kept barking at our neighbor, so she extended her hand to say hello and show that he was not afraid of him. Well, he snapped at her and, I think, may have nipped the tips of her fingers. I felt horrible and was so angry with Ozzie. Then yesterday, my parents came to visit and the same thing happened (inside our house) with my mother. I have been reading up a little on alpha males and I was wondering if you could offer any insight or advice. We really love this dog, but don't want to have a dog that acts this way. Does it have something to do with having the other dog in the house? Thank you for your time. ANSWER: This is not an ALPHA male issue. It's a "fear biter" issue - two totally different issues. I have a section on fear biters. Go to my web site and read it. Bottom line is the dog has poor nerves. This is a genetic issue that you are not going to change. His actions can be controlled through training. But you need to make up your mind to train the dog to mind - he is not trained now. If he were he would not bite when told not to. If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. Get this tape and a prong collar - learn what is necessary to get your dog under control. Good luck Hello, I read your web site and found the information very helpful. I did, however, want to place my situation before you. If you would be kind enough to respond it would be appreciated. My background with animals is fairly strong. I have worked for the Humane Society as well as with veterinarian, I have taken dog behavior courses through college and strongly believe in dog obedience classes, socialization from an early age and firm correction (very sharp words and correction of leash - but nothing that is physically harming). Our pet of choice has been the Doberman. I am very aware of the social stigma of owning these dogs. People are naturally afraid of them and the owner has to understand this. Our last Doberman died of cancer at age eleven - he was the favorite of the neighborhood - was well socialized, obedience class (by the way - my dogs are always neutered ). Anyway, three years after his death we decided to research breeders (the one we got Mags from was no longer breeding) and we finally decided on a breeder just south of us. We visited the mother and father (prospective parents) and they seemed fine. We visited the pups at various ages and stages until it finally came time to make choice. We took Luke at 8 weeks of age. He wasn't submissive in the litter and seemed confident. Anyway, from that point on I had him out in the car with me, took him along a busy walkway in our town often, and when he was old enough took him to obedience classes. I noticed that at about 4-5 months of age he started shying away from strangers and in particularly - men. There is no known reason why he prefers women - he just does. My father came to visit (3-week stay) and though eventually Luke let Dad pet him - it was always when Dad was sitting in the family room and Luke very carefully approached - he never really warmed up to my Dad and would run away when Dad walked about the house. I tried having my Dad feed Luke, I tried having my Dad be the one that opened the back door (the way Luke had to come in from our fenced back yard). He's always gone ballistic at the mail coming through the slot and despite heavy correction from me, the behavior really didn't lessen. It didn't help that we could never know when the mail would come. We ended up putting an outdoor mail box in to stop the mail from getting chewed. I have a crate for Luke - have had since he was a pup. He goes in it very willingly. Now here's where it gets difficult. A few months back, (Luke will be 2 this November), Luke was on a close line run on the front garage. We were all working out front (it was summer - and we thought rather than isolate him in the back yard we would bring him out front with us - it would also help him to see the activity of people going by). Anyhow, a little boy on roller blades came scooting up the drive to deliver paper. We were all surprised and bottom line - Luke ran up behind him and nipped his leg. Seems like a very classic fear bite. He didn't break skin but left a bruise. SPCA came out and took pictures. We spoke at length and over several days with the neighbors to check on the boy. They were very nice and left the matter as it stood. I also told them their son didn't have to deliver paper to us if he was afraid and we assured them Luke would never be out front again under those type of circumstances. This was the first incident of this type of behavior. One odd thing: prior to all this, many weeks earlier, I was holding Luke by his collar - we were at my mother-in-laws - my nephew with his two year old daughter came in and the visit ended with Luke taking dried cranberries from her hand - very very very gently. Yesterday I returned from a conference - I was away for several days - my husband had cared for Luke, took Luke with him to his business. He has a fenced yard, has a tow/car storage business. Luke had been in the fenced yard a number of times before - it is well over an acre. Anyhow, Luke was running around playing with the dog there, two men came in - others had been coming and going prior. Luke specifically zeroed in on these men, and he got them by running behind them - one in the buttocks, one in the leg. I don't believe skin was broken - but I'm sure there was/is bruising. We are seriously thinking of putting Luke down. I am taking him to the breeder tomorrow as she wants to see him and judge his behavior. I told her that she might find it hard to view this behavior (unless she has a number of men lined up). Would you be kind enough to give your opinion? V. Andrews ANSWER: This dog does have some temperament problems. Rather than put the dog down why not make him a security dog at night in your husband’s business? That makes a lot more sense. It is pretty obvious that he is not going to be your family pet. These kinds of dogs require a lot more supervision and training than you are providing. Hi, I have a male, deaf dalmatian that's seven years old. My boyfriend and I got him when he was a puppy - not knowing that he was deaf when we got him. This dalmatian has always lived with two other male dogs in the house. My boyfriend and I broke up a year ago, and he has had the dog. The dog is perfectly fine with either of us (other than some incessant whining). However, he is fearfully aggressive with kids and men. He is also extremely aggressive towards other dogs when he's exercised. He's 65 pounds and is sometimes too much for me to hold him back. He hasn't bitten anybody, but I don't let him get near kids because he acts so confused and scared. Now I'm moving to a place that allows dogs so I'll be getting him back and he'll be the only pet. It's a pet friendly condo building so there will be lots of people and other dogs he'll be running across. I really want to fix this situation with him, and make it work. I fear my only other option is to put him down before he bites somebody. I will get him the first week in May. Have you seen dalmatians rehabilitated? What is your experience with deaf animals? What recommendations would you make to me? Thanks so much for any help you can give. I found your articles very informative. Thanks, ANSWER: Nice to hear from you. Your dog falls under the category of being a FEAR BITER. I do have a Q&A section on this that you can read. If you want to make this work you should do 4 things:
Hello- I have a five year old Dalmatian very alpha male who has bitten people, including my kids in circumstances when he is frightened or is "guarding" me. He is not a bad dog or a mean dog. He may not even realize that it is my son when he bites. It seems to be an automatic response. For example, he was lying in a curled up position, next to my chair, the wall and the desk, no room to move, and asleep. My son came up to him and reached down to get his collar to take him upstairs. The dog bit his hand, in a knee jerk reaction without determining who it was he was biting. I've had his teeth filed down so that a bite is less damaging, but I cannot expect my nine year old to always remember how to approach the dog. Normally, the dog sleeps in my son's room, and stays by his side when he is not with me. Is it possible to teach the dog to stop biting? We got him when he was a year and a half old from a guy who kept him for eight months after finding him running down the street. No one claimed him or placed any ads looking for him. He was neutered and trained to sit and stay out of the kitchen. Please let me know if there is any way to change this biting behavior. Otherwise I'll have to have him killed, as upsetting as that would be. Thank you, ANSWER: If this were my dog I would put him to sleep. Do not for one minute think this dog bit your son and did not know who he was biting. These dogs are notorious for bad nerves and this behavior. In my opinion it is cruel, foolish and irresponsible to file a dogs teeth to stop a biting problem. While I appreciate your concern I question what you are doing here.
Dear Mr. Frawley: I am writing to say I felt great comfort finding your site with your wisdom about dogs. Yesterday, I took our new puppy (18 days with us) to my vet and had him put down. He was a pit bull mix and approximately 4 months old. When we adopted him from the shelter he was a shy, fearful pup who let me carry him into the car. He had been dumped on a highway at about 2 1/2 months and spent the next at this local kill shelter. I was advised to that training him was key. He was crated and gated and the journey begun by me and especially my 9 year old son. What an incredibly intelligent responsive dog he was. Sit, down, wait, stay, go in your crate, make a pee pee were working wonderfully. At the first vet visit he growled at the vet and the assistant. The vet warned us to be very wary and train, train, train, socialize, socialize, socialize. He was taken on 4 walks a day and a half dozed pee tours, ball and stick throwing tours as well. When meeting strangers he'd back up, bark and growl hackles up. I'd sit him, he'd relax if he saw them coming. It seemed to be working. One day we took him into Queens where we used to live. He was a great car dog. He did well with the crowded streets until a big guy who was asking allot of questions moved in too fast. He backed up, hackles up all way to tail, barking and growling and then lunge. If I did not have the pinch collar he would have bitten. The next evening my husband came home from work when we were leaving for his walk. He greeted my Husband with barks. When Y put his hand down gently below the dogs face he went for it. That was it. I knew it was fear aggression. My son has it. He has ADHD and ODD. My son is medicated and works with a psychiatrist. I can't put my son down. But I put the puppy down. It broke my heart but I know I did the right thing. I took his body and buried his 26 pounds in a 3 1/2 deep hole that I dug myself. Your site has helped me dealing with this painful lonely day the first day after I put the puppy down. I think there are some very misguided people in these shelters trying to find homes for domesticated dogs who should be put down. To read about the insanity of wolf hybrids as pets was a helpful distraction. One of my great aunts designed a standing screen. On it she wrote "L'imbechillita umana non ha limiti." Translated it means "The imbecility of man is limitless." Thanks for having the tenacity to inform all of us. Lucinda K. Gavielatos, Long Island, New York ANSWER: It sounds like you did the right thing. Some dogs (either because of their background or because of their genetics) need to be put to sleep. It is a very sad thing and certainly not the first option. You did everything that you could to save this dog but in the end made the right decision. Next time you may want to get a dog from a reputable breeder or do your own selection testing on the new dog from the shelter. Many times shelters will tell people that a dog has been abused, when in fact the dog in question has bad temperament as a result of his genetics and is in the shelter because of the bad temperament, not abuse. A lot of people will simply not make the hard decision that you made. Hello, I am writing this out of desperation!!..I have been reviewing your web site and other Q & A's about dog's with behavioral problems, and I am finding that we are now in the same boat with many other dog owners!!!..We own a spayed female German Shepard since she was 8 weeks old (she will be 2 this year)...First mistake was I got her from a backyard breeder and I was clueless what I was doing...I just wanted a German Shepard and I found the cheapest one in an ad in the paper..(how stupid, now that I am learning about the breed!!)...Anyway, right away, I noticed she was a little nervous and VERY car sick ..still hates to ride in cars...But I figured she was just taken from her "pack" and she is scared...She has always had this nervous side...We introduced her to the neighbors, gave her lots of attention and even as great dog owners we took her to obedience class which I found was more for training the owner, not the dog..ha ha..Anyway, she did pretty good and she still does...BUT, she is VERY aggressive towards strangers ...I mean she acts like she wants to maul them!!..WE throw her on the ground and even sit on her sometimes to "put her in her place"...however right or wrong that may be, our only objective was to keep her from biting...Well, last week while she was out on her runner, she did bite one of the neighbor children playing in the yard and who got into "her" area!!..The boy is fine, she left 2 teeth marks, but drew no surface blood...This will NOT be tolerated in our house. But she is a total Jeckyl and Hyde...She is very loving and affectionate towards us and our kids (one and nine), we are part of her pack, but bring in a stranger, especially a child, and she goes bonkers!!...We are seriously thinking of having her put to sleep, but I have put a last call into a local pet behaviorists and am trying to get other suggestions or perhaps the OK that putting her down is what we should do....HELP!! Thanks, ANSWER: Either put the dog to sleep or confine it. Tying a dog like this out is a serious mistake – which you found out. You could be held for criminal charges if this dog bit a child again. You ALREADY KNOW THE DOG IS DANGEROUS – if you act irresponsible again you could find yourself in real legal trouble. If you choose to keep the dog you will need to:
Get my Basic Dog Obedience video. We utilize a muzzle and choke collar in training. She is dominate aggressive and used to be a fear biter however that is changing with socialization and the prudent use of a muzzle. The dog has been checked by a vet and the vet found no reason for this behavior. she was adopted from a shelter with very little background known. We have had to string her up twice. The problem of dominance shows basically when she is determined not do something that is asked of her even though she is fully capable of following the command given. Like kenneling, extended sit stay..etc. What needs to be done to completely break the nature of this dog..Any suggestions are greatly appreciated... Lynn S. in IL ANSWER: You don’t understand what you are talking about. I don’t mean to be blunt but I don’t have time to hold your hand. It is impossible for a dog to be a fear biter and dominant at the same time. This would be an oxymoron. There are little to no reasons for a dog doing a long sit stay. If a dog has to stay in one position then it should be a down. You need to learn how to obedience train your dog. YOU DO NOT STRING A DOG UP FOR NOT SITTING. If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. Get this tape and a prong collar. If you do not have a prong collar, we also sell those on our web site. I was reviewing the Q&A section on your web site regarding fear biting. My questions were not really answered. Here's the situation. We have a 1 year old Lab Shepard mix. We are not sure if she has other breeds in her. We also have 4 children. 3 weeks ago, she growled and nipped at our youngest, who is 2, unprovoked. She was boarded at the vet over the weekend, and they were unable to give her a bath or give her a heart worm test. Every time they approached her to put a leash on her, she would bite. The vet said she was friendly and would let them pet her, but would not let anyone near her with a leash. When I try to put her leash on her collar at home, she pees. The vet said she is a fear biter. My question is, how easy is this to reverse, and what is the long term prognosis for reversal. Will I ever be able to trust this dog, or should we have her put to sleep? I would appreciate your response. Lynn Eldredge ANSWER: You cannot “reverse” a dog being a fear biter or bad nerves. This is a genetic issue. It is not something that can be trained out of the dog – it will always have it. What you can do is obedience train this dog. By this I do not mean to train it to sit down and stay in your home – I mean you need to train it to sit down and stay in the park, downtown or anywhere else you can think of. The dog should wear a drag line attacked to a prong collar in the house. Anytime the dog even growls at anyone it needs to be corrected – WITH A HARD CORRECTION – not a nagging tug. I would get a dog crate and use it in the house. I would begin obedience training right now, I would train this dog that you can walk up and put a leash on it and it does not mean that it is going to get a correction. Take the leash on and off all day long – give it a treat every time you put the leash on. Get a muzzle and put it on the dog before you go to the vet. The dog should not be allowed in public without a muzzle on. I sell some inexpensive plastic muzzles. If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. Get this tape and a prong collar. If you do not have a prong collar, we also sell those on our web site.
I have two dogs. My first is the younger of the two, she is a Rout/Beagle mix who was trained as a pup to work with handicapped children. She is well trained but sometimes refuses to go outside because she escaped once and the pound picked her up and had her for a week. My second dog just turned 4 and is a GSD. He is papered and was neutered. He is leash and house broken but does not respond to commands like sit, stay, and come. Is he to old for obedience training? He is very well behaved and non-aggressive. He is incredibly timid and visibly shakes when he is in a store or around lots of people. I am extremely interested in buying the basic obedience video, but I want to make sure the video will work for a 4 year old GSD and a 3 year old mix. I have had the GSD for only 6 months and the rout/beagle for 1 1/2 years. I want to keep my dogs for a long time, I am a pastor and I need well behaved dogs, is it to late to train my dogs new commands? I am a new dog owner and inexperienced in training animals. Is there another video that you would recommend. I do have a prong collar for my rout/beagle. I use it only on walks and correction is rarely needed. She was a puller/tugger until I got that collar and her attitude changed considerably. Thanks you... Answer: It is never too late to train any dog. That is an old wives tale. The tape is very good – but if you get it I would also recommend getting a prong collar for the work. It just makes things easier and more clear for the dogs. I would recommend taking the GSD everywhere you can. I would let people give him pieces of hot dog so he can learn that strangers are nice people. Be a little careful about allowing strangers to pet the dog. We do not want him to learn that growling will make people stay away from him. That’s when they start to become fear biters. Just have people toss a small piece of food on the ground in front of him – if he take food gently from the hand then let them give it to him on the palm of their hand (not by the finger tips – that’s how they get fingers pinched).
I have a 3 year old neutered male boxer that was
bought at a pet store and given to me as a gift. I
received him at 8 weeks old to find the next day at
the vet that he had a respiratory infection and would
need to be hospitalized immediately. I knew then I
should have taken him back to the pet store but knew
they would destroy him. Well, they paid the vet bills
and everything was fine. Rhonda West Answer: This is classic fear biter. I have a Q&A section on my web site. A shock collar is not the solution. A collar to just administer punishment If you would like to learn more about the principles of obedience training
a Hi Ed, First, I want to thank you for having such a wonderful site. I have
read it I just read your section on Q&A on Fear Biters,
and either I missed it or it Roark is a friendly and loving animal. I have him neutered at 10 months My trainer feels that he is a fear-biter and unsafe
(especially in my |
