Hello!

I have spent all weekend looking around the forum at old posts trying to get a feel for how to handle my dog, but I am unsure if I am finding the right information for my situation and I thought some fresh eyes might be helpful.

Some background: I am not new to owning dogs. We had a very large mutt when I was growing up, a German Shepard joined the family when I was 10 (HUGE, I will add) and when I moved out on my own I worked with Pit Bull rescue and had between four (mine) and 8 (rescue) at any given time.

I had great success with all of the above dogs. None of the dogs had dominance issues, all were (IMO) ridiculously easy to train, and life was relaxed and enjoyable with my dogs.

These days my husband and I have a nine month old, neutered Italian Greyhound puppy, who we adore, but more and more often are referring to as our lovely little terror.

He is a sweet puppy, very playful, a cuddlebug, blah blah blah.

Our major issue with him is the biting. We trained using the method where you teach not biting hard, then not biting at all. With success, or so we thought. At about 8 months, he began biting again, only the puppy teeth were gone and the bites HURT.

We went back to the original training (sharp OW, then standing back to him, then leaving the room) at first it worked, and now he doesn't care. It will start as almost playful, a kind of "Hey guys, its me me me me me time" and then escalate to the his eyes darkening and getting a little snarled face if we do the "Ow!" If we stand and put our back to him and ignore, he'll attack our pants. If we leave the room, when we come back, he's at it again almost immediately no matter how long we leave.

He doesn't growl, just goes from looking playful to "I will bite off your head".

I do not want to use his crate as punishment, but I had a phone consultation with a trainer who advised me to put him in there when the biting escalates. Isn't this a bad thing?

She also suggested that this was a dominance issue, as he will also occasionally hump, or try to put himself over our heads in one way or another.

Right now we are implementing a schedule in which he is getting more walks. We unfortunately do not have a yard, so we try to play as many physically and mentally stimulating games as possible every day in addition to the walks, and we have semi-regular playdates with the same small group of dogs in someone's fenced yard.

I am basically looking for suggestions on regaining the upper hand dominance-wise and to stop the biting. I have a feeling one will help lead to the other and once he has respect for us again, it will be easier to retrain not to bite.

Hopefully someone can see something I am not, or ask me something I may not have thought to mention that will help gain some insight.

I am almost ashamed to ask since I had an awesome pack of very powerful dogs in the past, and yet this tiny little thing manages to win the dominance game!

I thought I should add:

He was sleeping in our bed. He is now sleeping in his crate, which we began at our bedside, moved to one end of the bedroom and are phasing out of the room entirely and into another room across the hall.

We tried cold turkey, but he was loud enough to anger the neighbors and the leasing office was not pleased. Gradually moving him seems to be working at leaving him content to sleep in the crate at night.

Cristy, some pups are just plain mouthy, although most will outgrow it.
It's good that you have been implementing some pack structure into your daily routine. If you haven't read Ed's free e-article on pack structure, here's the link:

http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf

A few things you can try, to control the mouthiness:
1) Keep a light drag line or leash on him in the house; it's much easier to calmly take hold of the leash and redirect him off you with it. Trying to grab or push him off you will just result in working him up more.

2)quit saying 'ow' when he mouths you. If a dog has a decent amount of prey drive, that just makes him bite harder.

3)redirect him off you and then move right into a quick obedience session (marker training/clicker training) This will distract him enough to make him forget about biting. Here's the link to the marker training article:

http://leerburg.com/pdf/markers.pdf

4)Get him outside to burn off a little energy.

Good luck!

The lead is an excellent way to stop determined biters when you are present. You can also drop the lead end onto a wall hook. This instantly prevents the dog from continuing his biting when you move out of his reach. You can also check the dog with the lead, giving maybe 4 or 5 checks within a few seconds. The point is not to hurt the dogs neck but to stop the undesirable action. This is uncomfortable for the dog, it is quick and it makes the biting no longer fun for the dog. By using the lead and collar you are not touching the dogs body, which he might mistake as rough play or reward. Never push the dog away or scream at him. This makes it even funner for the dog. And if you lock him up in her crate, the dog may think he is dominant and has won the game. You can also try concentrating on the down/stay position. You can command this when he starts to bite. You can also redirect the dog from your hand or body by throwing a ball or toy. I have also used deterrent sprays to stop biting.It works on some dogs, just depends on the dog.

Follow Lynne's advice.

I wouldn't correct the dog for it, or "check" the dog as Lisa puts it. The pup is 8 months old, they grow out of it on their own. Simply redirect the dog and channel him into something productive.

The crate is also an option, but if the situation permits, redirecting the behavior and using that drive and enthusiasm from the dog to channel into motivational obedience is far more effective.

By throwing a ball at the wrong time you are rewarding the dog for biting you. Timing is everything in dog training, it is the difference between redirecting and rewarding.

Lynne, I have printed off your post to show to my husband and will read the articles. (We do both, but I think reading the Leerburg take on both topics will be helpful).

He's a sighthound, definitely has a pretty good prey drive and I think because he's such a tiny guy, we tend to forget that.

Thank you for the advice, it helps to read something specific from an outside party, especially for my husband who is much more disturbed about this recent development than I am (he's also the one who tends to be on the receiving end of the teeth the most often, but I think in reading this advice, it's how reacts vs. how I react that allows it to escalate with him and not really so much with me)

Lisa, I appreciate the advice, but anything involving tugging on the neck area of an Italian Greyhound is inappropriate for the breed.

Hi Christy,

Whatever method you choose just remember you and your husband need to be on the same page, you don't want to confuse the dog. Correct or redirect every time he bites using the same method every time. As for the clicker training, as Michael said, timing is everything. Marking the behavior with the clicker at the wrong time is the same as throwing the ball after he bites you, not before he bites. Toy or clicker, it doesn't matter, if your timing is off it will not be effective.

As for the leash correction, an Italian Greyhound is a sensitive, intelligent, submissive breed for the most part, however this is a hardy dog, and should not be treated like a helpless baby or tiny guy as you put it. I would not use a pinch or choke collar on this breed, however a nylon check chain or mountain rope collar will not harm this breeds neck if used correctly and humanely. There are different levels of correction. He probably bites your husband more because he has not established leadership over him.

Good Luck !

 Quote: Cristy Strauss

anything involving tugging on the neck area of an Italian Greyhound is inappropriate for the breed.

How do you plan on teaching the dog to walk on a leash?

I use a wide martingale collar, which is unsafe to keep on when not walking the dog. I do not need to tug his neck, or allow him to pull and cause damage in order to walk my dog. I don't recall saying I had an issue with walking him, because I do not.

Unfortunately, not all dogs are physically built the same way, and what works for the physical build of your dog, and my other dogs, does not work for a sighthound.

A martingale doesn't pull on his neck?

No, you didn't say you had an issue with walking the dog- you said you had an issue with tethering your dog to a fixed object and moving out of reach to teach him to quit being obnoxious. I was curious what would be more harmful about that for his neck, than corrections during a walk.