May 19, 2011
I would like to know how to handle a dog that tries to bite his handler when it becomes frustrated in bite work during sport training.
Full Question:
Mr. Frawley, I have a question about bite work and the times when a dog may show aggression towards it's owner/handler. I am currently training a Dutch Shepherd in Schutzhund. I have been training for only a year. I have very little experience. I have two very good people teaching me all phases of the sport. One day while I was watching one of these guys do an exercise where they had their dog on a leash while the helper teased the dog. The dog wanted the helper bad, but this was an exercise to pump the dog up, then put him away and later bring him back out to give him a bite. He then should bite hard and full. Well, what happened was that when the handler took his dog away, the dog wanted to bite so bad, that he turned and tried to bite the handler. This surprised me and I wondered if my dog would ever do this, how should I handle it. This particular person who is very experienced just said it happens, you have to deal with it. If you discipline him he may actually bite you. Has this ever happened to you, I'm sure you have at least seen this? My question is how do you handle that situation. I want to teach my dog that he should never under any circumstances try to bite me. Also, what do I do if he does bite me?Derrick
Cindy's Answer:
This is a good question.
My first thought would be that this is not an exercise that this dog needs. But if the decision is made to frustrate the dog and not give him a bite, then it is the helpers responsibility to keep the dogs attention on the helper and not the handler all the way to the car. The fact is that if the dog has the drive to go after his handler because he is frustrated. He probably needs some other exercises.
The same methods would be true for police service dogs.
My first thought would be that this is not an exercise that this dog needs. But if the decision is made to frustrate the dog and not give him a bite, then it is the helpers responsibility to keep the dogs attention on the helper and not the handler all the way to the car. The fact is that if the dog has the drive to go after his handler because he is frustrated. He probably needs some other exercises.
The same methods would be true for police service dogs.
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