My 3 month old GSD bit me in the finger. It required medical treatment. What should I do?

Question

I read your article on "Dealing with the Dominant Dog" about a year ago. At the time, I thought that perhaps you were a little heavy handed. I have since eaten my words...more than once. I had asked my mother to search the net for articles concerning GSDs. That was the one article that she decided that I needed. (Indicating her feelings about the breed, apparently). At the time, I filed the article in my "K-9" file after reading it. It did not apply to the(AKC) female GSD I had at the time. I had rescued her from a neighbor who had neglected and abused her (apparently) for two years. She was a phenomenal dog in every respect except one. She simply could not cope within a multi-dog household and attempted to kill one of our smaller dogs. After 8 months of trying, I reluctantly gave the dog to the breeder she had originally come from. I had an opportunity to have one of her pups, and now own a beautiful little male (I'd have taken a female, but they were all spoken for). He is bright and I suspect he will be a terrific dog with the proper handling. He is currently 3 months old. However, the other evening, we had one of those scenes that can make or break a relationship between an owner and a dog. He had raided an older dog's food dish when she'd gone to get a drink of water. I told him "out" and he obediently dropped the mouthful of food and scurried into his kennel. I turned my back and he slipped behind a piece of furniture to try again. I grasped him by the scruff. He began to "cry," which he does at the first sign of any correction, usually ending in an assertive bark, if he thinks he's won. I reached for his muzzle to push his head to the floor. He bit me. I yelled "NO!" stuffed him into his kennel, and went off to clean up the bite. My husband retrieved him shortly after that, showed him his crime(my blood soaked finger) and scolded him as well. Ed, I've been bitten before by larger, older dogs (worked in a vet's office...) but this little pill drove his teeth into my forefinger and left a bite that that required a tetanus shot and antibiotics (skipped the stitches because I play guitar). While I'm not inexperienced with dogs and have a little know-how, I am a little rattled. He was not reacting aggressively, as I know aggression, but was probably panicked. However, I am now a little confused as to how to deal with him. In our short (5 minute) training sessions in the last couple of days, he has snapped at me once in response to my grasping his collar (accidentally pulled hair) and I have had to take a tougher, but less physical approach (training collar) and he does seem to be responding to this. I don't want a "beaten" dog, but I have four children and other (not accidentally well-behaved) dogs. I have a Border Collie that I track with. I have a passion for the four-footed, but I don't want to be stupid. I would appreciate any and all suggestions on disciplining GSDs. He seems to be calm and bold by nature. I like this and I'd like to see that continue. I dislike admitting to this, but I am nervous around him now. I don't want that to continue. I very badly want this to work.

Accepted Answer

These problems are 100% handler problems and not dog problems. You (not the dog) have created a bad situation.

To begin with you should not have fed 2 dogs at the same time. The dogs should be fed separately and alone. So you created this problem with the pup sneaking over to the food. What do you expect? The pup would not have gone there if he wasn't hungry, and how fair is it to put pressure on a 3 month old pup for going to food (this makes no sense.)

You got bit because you put the pup in "fight or flight." Three month old pups do not bite through aggression, they bite when they are in "fight or flight." You put him there, you got bit and you are blaming the dog - this makes no sense. I won't even attempt to explain how to stop this because it never should have happened because the food should not have been out there.

Your husband going over and pulling this dog out of the crate to show him what he did was also not the smartest thing to do. It accomplished nothing - NOT ONE THING - other than to panic the dog. Pups do not and can not understand a correction several minutes after doing something wrong. Any book on dog training is going to tell you this. He reacted as a result of his temper and nothing else. It only accomplished scaring the crap out of the pup.

As far as his snapping when you grab his collar - this goes right back to the "fight or flight" from before, he has learned that he is in deep trouble when you grab him like this - he does the only thing he knows has worked in the past (snap at you.)

If you want to make this work you are going to have to learn something about dogs. It does not seem that your time at the vet has taught you enough about raising puppies. If you want to learn, get my video Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months and Basic Dog Obedience. If you are not willing to make the effort my suggestion would be to find a home for the dog where someone knows how to work with pups.