Hi my dog has started ,well its more snapping than biting. He doesnt break the skin latch on or anything but if someone knocks on the door and i try and grab his collar he snaps at me. If i go in the garden to peg washing out he starts at my ankles and wrists. He has bitten someone who grabbed his face and they addmitted it was their fault as they approached him from behind and grabbed him! I was to stop this behaviour, no i need to stop it as i have two kids. I know the dog has problems and also know its mainly because of our family breakdown when my partner left us. I love my dog and dont want to give up on him but i need help and have no idea what to do. I have taken the advice of a trainer and put him on tablets to calm him Then i will work one to one with her. My main worry is me and the fact ive lost all confidence in the dog and my abilitys as his pack leader. My worst fear is he will bite someone and be destroyed. I will try everything i can any tips please?
I think biting and snapping/Nipping are very different and dogs do those for different reasons and triggers. I would like to know more about your dog.
Can you let us know:
Your dog's breed and age How long have you had him? If you adopted him, do you know anything about his previous life? If you have had him since he was a puppy, when did this problem start? Have you given him any obedience training? Does he gets protective when you or your children try to take his food or toy?
Also, how old are your children?
Was your dog very attached to your partner?
Sorry for the numerous questions. I hope we can help you out. Thanks.
Hi MaxHollyNoah, Thanks for repling,i dont mind all the questions I owe it to my dog to help him and im doing a rubbish job! I should have mentioned too that my son has aspergers and adhd. ok your questions.... My dog is a weimeraner he is 18 months I have had him from 8 weeks I saw his mom and dad who were very good natured the problem started when my partner left but got much much worse when we moved house He has his bronze training and in the house will sit stay and wait for his dinner not go through doors before us the lot! he is not protective of his toys or food i could litraly stick my head in his bowl and eat with him! children are 6 and 16 the dog defo saw my partner as his alpha and me as mom hope all this helps please ask more if you need and i look forward to any advice x
This is a real challenge, both because of the breed and the age
This breed really needs a strong willed owner and the loss of his leader (your partner) might have made the problem worse, as you said.
First of all, please consider neutering him if he is not yet fixed.
Then, enroll him at an obedience class and I recommend all three of you (you, and your 2 kids) attend the class. Those classes are very helpful for the 3 of you to learn how to handle, take control of your dog. I hope you will keep going on such class for at least until he becomes 2, once or twice a week or so.
Once you and your dog learn a pattern of communication, which is:
Good behavior - gets him attention, praise and treats Bad behavior - gets ignored or time-out (no fun) and no treats and attention
He will start getting more attentive and settled.
Also, Weimaraners are full of energy and they are very smart so they hate to be bored or neglected so make sure give him a lot of physical and mental excercise everyday.
When he snaps you (I assume he is just putting his teeth without pressing), shout "Hey!!" and see if that will startle him. If he does, tell him to sit and praise/treat him. Once he gets used to be stopped by "Hey!", I hope you can tone it down to "Uh-uh" to just get his attention.
Use walking time as training session too. Before he spots a squirrel, make him "sit" and give him treats. Do this every 20-30 feet so that he would learn that paying attention to you brings him rewards.
I see all my time spent with my dogs are a training opportunity. By making this as a routine, things usually get easier and it will be more fun to be with your dog, rather than a headache but you really need to be determined.
It's me again. I am sorry I totally overlooked the statement "my son has aspergers and adhd".
You might want to reconsider keeping this dog. Please don't take me wrong. I feel it will be hard for both the dog and for your son.
One of my colleagues has a son with autism and his family got a trained therapy dog and it seems like helping. It is a very calm (of course she is professionally trained) adult female Black Lab.
I don't know your son's behavior patterns but it is possible some of his behaviors might provoke or agitate dogs and your Weimeraner can get agitated easily and that might cause his nipping and snapping. There are calmer and stable-minded breeds, as well as older in age, that will be more suitable for your family.
I understand you have had the dog for 8 wks and it looks like a long time and I know you are so attached to him but please think this way:
I have been fostering dogs and sometimes I have one dog for 3 mos and during that time I train/correct behaviors and take care of both their physical and mental needs. I treat them like my own dogs and those dogs get so attached to me. When you think of the dog's future, 8 wks is not long.
I just told you my honest feeling. It is YOU who knows the dog and your family situation the best so please disregard my comment if it does not fit your case. Anyway, I wish you, your family and the dog the best.
Unsure if you've owned them before, but from my experience Weimies can be very high strung and become very attached to one owner. Thus, its understandable that you're having trouble with your dog now that theres been a breakdown in the family, and a big move on top of that. Your dog is now unsure of who is the alpha dog (if he didnt look to you for that role before), and is stressed because of all the big changes!
I think if your kids enjoy the dog, and everything was going well before the move, that you can try to calm your dog down and get things back to normal, but it will take some work. Sounds like you're willing, so here goes!
I whole-heartedly agree with MHN's suggestion of taking the family and dog to obedience training. This is a GREAT way to form new bonds, and get control of your pups stress and attention too! He'll learn to look at all of you as dominant figures (as you should be), and will start responding well soon I'm sure.
At home, try going through our alpha training with him (you can find how to's under the downloads section). Eat before you feed your dog, and eat in front of him. You go through doors before him. You decide when he gets attention (dont give it to him when he begs for it). When you come home, ignore him for the first little bit. I know you already do some of this, but its worth going through it as a "unit" again, just to re-establish some normalcy again.
To assume your ex's role as dominant/head of the house, you're going to have to remember to be stern, and be consistent. Your dog will respect you for it, and will behave much better with stability in his world again. It sounds a bit rough, I know, but its honestly the best way to get things going in a positive direction again.
Please let us know how you get on, and if we can be anymore advice. I'd love to hear progress is being made!
It's me again. I am sorry I totally overlooked the statement "my son has aspergers and adhd".
You might want to reconsider keeping this dog. Please don't take me wrong. I feel it will be hard for both the dog and for your son.
One of my colleagues has a son with autism and his family got a trained therapy dog and it seems like helping. It is a very calm (of course she is professionally trained) adult female Black Lab.
I don't know your son's behavior patterns but it is possible some of his behaviors might provoke or agitate dogs and your Weimeraner can get agitated easily and that might cause his nipping and snapping. There are calmer and stable-minded breeds, as well as older in age, that will be more suitable for your family.
I understand you have had the dog for 8 wks and it looks like a long time and I know you are so attached to him but please think this way:
I have been fostering dogs and sometimes I have one dog for 3 mos and during that time I train/correct behaviors and take care of both their physical and mental needs. I treat them like my own dogs and those dogs get so attached to me. When you think of the dog's future, 8 wks is not long.
I just told you my honest feeling. It is YOU who knows the dog and your family situation the best so please disregard my comment if it does not fit your case. Anyway, I wish you, your family and the dog the best.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for all your help guys! I have noticed the more i try and take charge the worse the snapping at me and my son is becoming is this just him trying to stand his ground? I feel I owe it to him to at least let him grow up a bit as i know his age is a big factor in his behaviour. As well as posting on sites like this for advice im reading all the info i can on becoming a pack leader and Im trying everything everyone suggests. He is on tabs to calm him them as well as resarting classes with all 3 of us im going to get a few one on one classes too to mainly show me what to do! Ill keep you all posted !
I do think his reaction to your taking charge more is expected - after all, he didnt look at you as "pack leader" before, so its a bit of a heirarchy mix up to him at the moment. You just need to keep on with it - don't let him walk over you AT ALL! Be firm, it seems a bit mean right now but it will honestly help you so much! Remember you're not trying to hurt him, but dogs in his position do respond to forcefulness - some owners have to pin their dogs down, belly up, until the dog "gives up" - it might come down to this sort of thing for you. Just remember its not a bad thing, its necessary, and plenty of people go through it. He needs your guidance after all!
Good going with the re-training and classes again, I think they will help you a lot! Dont hesitate to ask more questions, and please let us know how things go!
I am so glad to hear that you are enrolling him in an obedience class and atteding it with your children! That will be wonderful
I just want to make sure that those classes are using "positive reinforcement" training. In other words, encourage good behaviors by praising and giving treats. Instead of punishing bad behaviors.
They don't use any physical force or negative approach. Therefore, I don't agree with what KOPcaroline described as follows:
>some owners have to pin their dogs down, belly up, until the dog "gives up" - it might come down to this sort of thing for you.
Instead of "taking charge of him" by force, you would rather have him learn to choose to obey what you ask him to do . I don't think the reason why he is not responding is like he is challenging you to get higher position. He is simply stressed or confused. He doesn't know any better way to express himself. He has no idea why all of a sudden you (who used to be a nice mom) started acting and taking charge.
Instead, I would try to mend once-broken relationship with him. It doesn't mean to spoil or indulge him but introduce him boundaries and rules slowly in a positive manner.
For example, you said he would snap your hand when you grab his collar (when someone at the door). I think that is his way of telling you that he does not get grabbed by the collar. Instead, call his name to catch his attention. When he looks at you, tell him "Sit", "Good boy!" followed by a treat. Then, I would lead him to another room using a treat in a friendly voice "Come over here" and give him a praise and treat and close the door to answer the front door. This way, you are not giving him a chance to do a bad behavior (snapping). All he is getting is a praise and treats.
By doing this kind of approach, your dog will look at you as someone he can trust and he wants to listen to.
Eventually, you might want to introduce "grabbing his collar" game, which is giving him a warning before grabbing his collar. Stand in front of him and say "Got ya!" and touch his collar, and treat! By doing this, he will associate that being grabbed by his collar is a good thing, at least nothing to threaten him.
I know it sounds like it will take a long time but remember, what is the most important thing between you and your dog. It is trust Dogs don't perform anything if they are skeptical about you or afaid of you.
I personally don't like Cesar Millan's way of training. Maybe HE can do it successfully, but it's not for you and me.
Hey Guys me again! Spent the afternoon in tears and re evaluating what to do with the dog once again He bit someone again today and I'm feeling a total failure. I really feel like I'm letting my dog down but I'm trying so hard to train him and on the surface it seems to be working. He will sit for as long as I ask him to for his food, he wont wlk in front of me on his leash or in the house. Yet when he gets out the front he runs around and cant even be coaxed in with treats. This is what happened today. My son attends a club which is in the middle of no where so I took my dog for a long run in the woods as I know how important it is for him to have a free run. All was fine until I went to put him back on his lead, he waited for me to so it and i slipped he then ran up towards the road and then just started running around. Some of the club membore got treats and he ran up tail wagging but when the man grabbed his color he started rolling round on to his back he still hadnt bitten him but as soon as I came near him te get him from the man he bit him. I was mortified and increadably upset as the whole situation was my fault. The man in question thought the whole thing was normal!!! He said he has had much worse bites from his own dog!!!!!! Needless to say I am now back to square one and have someone comming round at the weekend to look at the dog and maybe take him. Him being re homed or worse put down is so upsetting to us all we are desperate for help............
I am so sorry to hear the episode today. I can feel how upset and discouraged you have been since it could have prevented as you know.
First of all, did your dog break the skin of the man? How bad was the bite? If it didn't break the skin and it just gave him a bruise, there is still good hope so don't be desparate. If the man needed to get stitches then I would think a professional trainer needs to get involved in my opinion.
I wasn't around to see it with my own eyes and ears so I only have to guess why it happened but I think your dog was as terrified as you were.
>Some of the club membore got treats and he ran up tail wagging but when the man grabbed his color he started rolling round on to his back he still hadnt bitten him but as soon as I came near him te get him from the man he bit him.
I think your dog was submissive to the man since he rolled on his back when the man grabbed his color. He bit the man when you aproached to him shows that he tried to escape from the situation.
I wonder what happened after he bit the man. Did the man keep grabbing his collar and gave the dog back to you? How did the dog behave then? Did he realize right away that he did something wrong, or did he kept trying to get away by lunging or biting more?
Also, how did you treat your dog after he bit the man? Did you scold him right there? If you did, do you think he realized that he did something terribly wrong?
As you can see in this forum, there are a lot of dogs that bite their owners or other people, due to fear and distrust, or just to want his own way. I am not sure but I don't think your dog bit the man out of fear because he came to the man to get treats and he showed him his submission. Maybe he just tries to get away from the situation just because he didn't want the fun time and his freedom is getting over once he got leashed by you???
I think the approach to correct biting behavior is different between "out of fear" and "getting his own way". Everybody must have been chaotic at the time trying to catch him so it is possible that he did it because of both reasons.
>Needless to say I am now back to square one and have someone comming round at the weekend to look at the dog and maybe take him. Him being re homed or worse put down is so upsetting to us all we are desperate for help............
Anyway, if you think he is out of your hand, it can be a good thing to find him a strong owner, rather than he gets put down after some more serious bitings in the future.
Let us know what you think how it happened and how bad the biting was. You might think it is so terrible since it was your own dog and it did happen just in front of your eyes and you became so emotional. However, it might not so serious after all. Do never let him put down. He can be either re-homed or retrained.
Thanks I really needed to hear that because I cant even think of putting him down without tears streaming down my face.
It was a case I think of him feeling very scared and cornered as several people were round him, he did break the skin but it wasnt a bad bite at all, and that is according to the man he bit! who also keeps dogs who have in the past bitten him.
I did scold him and he dropped to his belly he really really knew how upset/angry/dissapointed I was with him because he then trotted along by my side with his head down and tail down.
On the way home he kept putting his head down when I looked at him but I was so upset it could have been that. It really seems fearful as you can see how scared he is.
The first person he ever really bit was the vet, he had always been fine with the vets until he hit a year old. I took him in for a routine check and he ran to the vet tail wagging and walked happily into the room. the vet continued to pet him in there then the dog suddenly hid behind me when this guy got his stethescope out. he pushed pased me to look at the dog and the dog bit him. The dog was shaking and ever since then he is very scared when he feels cornered.
After that my partner left things just got worse and you know the rest.
A lot of his behaviour seems like play rather than challenging us like when he gets out the front he runs round and round and the more we try to tempt him in or catch him the more he runs, if you approach he drops on his front paws bum in the air.
The only reason I am even concidering rehoming him is the reservations I have about him ever being able to be trained with my son controdicting everything I do and like you say I just dont feel I have the tools/ability to handle him, and I really want him to live a long healthy happy life.
My fear about rehoming him comes from one of the proffesionals I saw who told me a dog always pines for its owner and is always waiting to see you again. Given how intelligent my dog is, it is breaking my heart to think he will pine for me as much as I will be pining for him, I am with him 24/7 and I cant begin to describe the hole he will leave in my heart. But I want him to be balenced and healthy and if someone else can give him that then its best for him.
I am relieved to hear that the biting was in fact too bad.
As you learned from this hard lesson, if you want to keep your dog:
1) Don't let him run loose if you cannot control your dog 2) When he escapes, don't try to chase him since he would think it's a fun game. Instead, run in the opposite direction with a happy, inviting voice calling his name 3) Do obedience training 4) Keep socializing him with new people 5) Be firm and consistant with the rules and boundaries 6) Provide him plenty of daily exercise (both mental and physical) 7) Take him to the vet even when he doesn't need to and have him meet the vet just to say hello and get a treat (I take all my 3 dogs even only one needs to see the vet ~ I always give them treats to be good dogs and they LOVE vet visits even though each had bad experiences such as getting neutered, getting stitches, etc.)
And the list can get longer and longer because there is such thing like "Enough" or "End of it", same as parenthood of human kids. However, it is really rewarding when your dog gets over each issue as a result of cooperated efforts between you and him.
On the other hand, let me reassure you that rehoming him is not as bad as you are worried of. Provided you find a suitable home for him. I didn't realize this until I got involved in fostering/adopting out shelter dogs.
I truelly belive that dogs can be happier when they find more suitable owners. Of course they will pine for their original owner for a while but they will get over it rather quickly, provided the new owner gives them a lot of love, attention, care, and most of all understanding their needs.
I have fostered 3 dozens dogs in the last 3 years. They all got attached to me rather quickly, except for a couple of dogs that were really mistreated before. I know they all miss me when they go to their new forever home. I keep in touch with most of the new owners at least for a few months, sometimes years. I get to see them from time to time, sometimes after one year. They still remember me as "their first person they trusted after being abandoned" and are happy to see me, but their "person" is no longer me... They have well adjusted to their new home and being happy
So, in case you have to rehome him, make sure you will find a person/family you can trust and who are willing to keep in touch with you. You are not getting rid of him but you are doing this for him. He has 10-12 more years to enjoy his life as a part of his family. If you think you are not the one, then find the one for him might be the best for him although it is so heartbreaking for you.
I would start with Weimeraner rescue groups since they are really dedicated to find perfect homes for the breed. I got my 2 border collie mixes from a Border Collie Rescue Group in Pacific Northwest. You can just call them up and consult with them.
Sorry, have been out of town camping this past week, so no internet access. Didnt mean to ditch in the middle of problems!
Sorry too, to hear about the set back, but as MHN said, it could have been a lot worse. I definitely think it was done out of fear, with the showing of submission. It makes sense too, if the man grabbed him by the collar suddenly, even though it wasn't threatening, obviously your dog has some confidence/trust issues that need slow working through. So yes, its not a good thing to happen, but as its been said above, it doesnt mean its the end of the road for your relationship with your dog. It can be worked through!
I really can't add much at all to what MHN has said - its all exactly what I would say. Take your dog to the vet just for a visit and treat, don't let him off lead around other until you can control him, don't chase after him in the yard - either do what MHN suggested, or ignore him completely until he comes back to you, then give him a lot of happy pats and praise Obedience courses would help a lot, I think, as would slow, calm introductions to people when you get the chance.
For example, when you ran into a group of other members with your dog, it might have made him more comfortable to stay on lead, and slow approach the group. When he stopped, you stopped, and then you might ask a member to slowly say hello, crouch down to his level, and wait for him to keep approaching. You don't want your dog to feel cornered or advanced on, so try to let him do the approaching if possible. Then the other person could offer a hand and a friendly pat, all the while the two of you speaking in calm tones. This sort of introduction to new people often works well for anxious dogs, so it might be worth giving a go in the future.
Im sending nothing but good luck your way, I'm sure we can get through this!
