Question: My mom's 13 year old dog has been a biter since he was a pup. He is my mom's master and has bitten her several times severely enough to require trips to urgent care. Any thoughts or advice?
Hello.
I'm looking for advice regarding my 75 year old mom and her 13 year old miniature schnauzer mix dog. Her dog, since a pup, has been a biter, snipper, growler, barker, etc. not to mention overly aggressive. He has to date biten my mom several times resulting in trips to the urgent care or Dr. She is slower to recover from wounds as the most recent was a day ago. My response has been to put the dog down because I don't see how he can be trained after all these years from bad breeding to bad training, etc. He is my mom's master, not the other way around. She is passive and excuses his behavior constantly, not to mention, blames herself for his bad behavior. He sleeps with her and she will rearrange her entire lifestyle to accommodate her dog. She has her own place with a doggy door and fenced yard. He attacks if disciplined for peeing in the house (even with a doggy door), if you touch him the wrong way, if you come near his food bowl or treat and so on. Any thoughts or advice? TY
Cindy's Response:
Unless your mom is willing to make HUGE changes, nothing I can recommend will help.
Allowing a dog to be a tyrant in a home for years is unbelievably common but unless the person enabling the dog is willing to do what it takes to change the situation it’s usually futile.
Personally, I’d take away every privilege this dog has. He’d be in a crate or on a leash 24/7. No more dog door, no more furniture.
I’d get him a muzzle and make him wear it. We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.
It’s actually unfair to a dog to allow them to behave like this, because it’s usually the dog that pays the price in the long term (euthanasia).
For dog owners that want to put in the work, we also have some videos that can help.
Pack Structure for the Family Pet
Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs
Cindy Rhodes
For more questions on this topic, see our Q&A on Aggressive Dogs.
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