September 21, 2011
Our new dog keeps biting at us. Is this fear biting? And how do I correct him when he does this?
Full Question:
I adopted a Boston Terrier from FOHA a week ago. He is a sweet little guy to everyone he meets, and loves to give kisses. He loves car rides, walks, toys, sleeps in a crate and is not food aggressive. He plays well with my 4 y.o. F Boston, but snarls at my 15 y.o. M Westie. He is estimated 5 y.o. and neutered. But, HE BITES!!The 1st night home, he jumped up on my daughter to be petted and he was licking her face. Evidently she touched him somewhere on his back or belly and he swung around to snap at her hand. He has done this 4 times now.
Another time my son accidentally stepped on his foot while playing and he tried to bite him.
I am quite certain if I physically reprimand him, he will retaliate. Last night I reached into his crate to pet him goodnight, and he drew blood. Won't do that again! His foster mom only mentioned "he doesn't like to be picked up."
He goes to the vet tomorrow to rule out anything physical.
Is this fear biting? And how do I correct him when he does this?
Cindy's Answer:
I’d read the article Ed wrote on introducing dogs. This covers how we introduce new dogs into our home with our existing dogs.
It sounds like this dog has dominance issues, jumping up and demanding to be petted, biting when touched, etc... I’m glad you are having him checked out for a physical issue before starting training.
If he checks out ok, I’d take away his freedom and privileges while you incorporate him into your family. Start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.
You may need Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.
We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.
Many dominant dogs are friendly UNTIL you do something they perceive as breaking “their” rules.
For future questions, you might benefit from learning to use our SEARCH function, which is located in the top left corner of every page of the website. If you type in your key words or question it will find you articles, Q&As, free streaming video and links to threads on our discussion forum. Our website has over 16,000 pages and it’s very likely you’ll find the information you are looking for. I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
It sounds like this dog has dominance issues, jumping up and demanding to be petted, biting when touched, etc... I’m glad you are having him checked out for a physical issue before starting training.
If he checks out ok, I’d take away his freedom and privileges while you incorporate him into your family. Start with our groundwork program and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.
You may need Dealing with Dominant & Aggressive Dogs.
We also have a number of eBooks, which include topics that may help you.
Many dominant dogs are friendly UNTIL you do something they perceive as breaking “their” rules.
For future questions, you might benefit from learning to use our SEARCH function, which is located in the top left corner of every page of the website. If you type in your key words or question it will find you articles, Q&As, free streaming video and links to threads on our discussion forum. Our website has over 16,000 pages and it’s very likely you’ll find the information you are looking for. I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
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