We had been working on Jake's food aggression with keeping his focus on training prior to feeding. Kept on a leash and under a heel command, his food would be prepped and half put in his bowl while he was walked past bowl. If he would look towards food prep or at bowl, he would receive a correction and continue with his heeling training. He then is put in a down command an with a wait. When he lays he head down (resting) , he receives a "look at me", sit, and then take it. All seemed to be going good until recently, he bit my youngest teenage daughter when she reached for his toy about a week ago ( I wasn't home) and today when he was in truck to head back south for a week (on front seat), Hilary (my oldest daughter) and owner sat next to him to say goodbye for a day, she noted he looked different, went to pet him, he growled (curled lip) and she pulled away and he bit her. I heard this from inside the house, went out and dragged him out of the truck and corrected him rather forcefully, but to the point. We plan on taking him to the vet, to verify good health (again). See a behaviorist and if attitude can't be changed, he is gone. Truely at a loss !!
I am so sorry to hear that Jake bit your daughters. What surprised me was there was no food associated to his aggression at those times.
I would also drag him forcefully from the truck and show him that was not an acceptable behavior. I hope he got the message.
I understand where you stand. You have been trying to correct his behaviors but you would not want to risk your daughters or anybody's safe being. I hope the behaviorist can give you some helpful advice. I am also out of witt.
Hi Jaker and thanks for your post, At this point I would definitely agree with your plan to seek help for a behaviorist. When a dog has bitten several people it is extremely dangerous to attempt training on your own and a behaviorist in your area will be able to work with you and your dog individually and provide the regular observation, feed back and support you will need to get through these problems. When choosing your behaviorist try to find one who uses positive reinforcement rather than punishment as punishment tends to exaggerate aggression problems. Don't feel that your dog is at the point where you must give up because almost all dogs with serious aggression issues can be treated when there owners are committed like you are and with regular contact with a behaviorist.
Keep letting us know how your getting on and we wish you all the best.
Hi there, thanks for the update. I'm not sure if you saw my reply to your other post, I had a few questions for you, like what other steps you take to establish yourself as the pack leader? It would be great if you could give me some more details if you have the time.
One thing that really stands out to me is how much stress and tension is involved in the feeding ritual. In nature the Alpha dog or Alpha pair would eat first, then the second or third ranking member of the pack, then the next ranking member and so on... The pack leader would eat as much as he or she needs and then walk away. The Alpha would not return to the food or remove food from lower ranking members once he/she has finished. However lower ranking members might challenge the eating member of the pack and would, of course, be growled at.
It sounds as though you are effectivly showing your dog that you are lower ranking by challenging him and by taking his food away, or making him leave it in order to do commands.
My suggestion would be to prepare your dogs food as well as your own, then eat in full view of your dog (even if it's just a little snack) then make your dog sit and wait. Put the bowl down, say "okay" or whatever command you use and walk out of the room. It might seem like submission to you, but it is a very powerfull message that you send to your dog telling him that you are the alpha.
I know what you mean when you said that you want your dog to be reliable and not growl at feeding time especially if children etc are around. I think however that it's up to you to manage the situation at the moment by making sure the dog can eat in peace and no accidents happen.
Of course your dog needs to realize that this is not acceptable behavior, but once you are the pack leader this won't be a problem anymore.
By using a choke collar, corrections etc during feeding you will only confuse the dog. He will be able to sense your fear, insecurity, tension etc and react to it.
I have trained many dogs and still I don't know everything, I'm still learning and I know that there is not just one method that works for all. However, I have come across dogs that are much more agressive than Jake and they respond very well to the method of establishing yourself as the leader.
I never use force. In the animal world only a weak leader has to resort to force. A strong leader can just look or growl to put a member of the pack in it's place.
Again, I would recommend to ignore your dog for a while, especially when you have been seperated and get back together (after work etc). One of the strongest instincts of every dog is to belong. By ignoring your dog he will realize that good things only come through you and he will accept you as a leader.
I woudl be very interested in what other methods you use and whether you would be willing to try mine. I'm more than happy to explain it in more detail. John
John, I've tried sending you privatemessages a couple of times, apparently you haven't received them. To answer your question, yes I would be willing to try your method(s). Hope to hear from you soon. [email]pni6449473aol.com[/email] Thanks,
