Help! Foster dog has started to bite!

[jeanarrett]

I don't know what to do about this. We've had him for over three months and he has started to jump and bite at people when they come to the door, including kids! He doesn't break the skin, but he scares the heck out of people and me too. I don't know why he has suddenly started doing this unless he's become overly protective of us, "his family." But he bit my five year old twice in the last week and I'm at my wit's end. Any ideas?

He seems very jealous of anyone being around me. Also I just took his "neuter" stitches out and he seems better, so maybe those were bothering him?

Now, though, I am wary and distrustful of him and that is no way to live with a dog. He's German shepherd and we think, lab, so he is a big dog.

[Sanity Claws]

1. This may not go over well with some people but

your highest responsibility is to your child. This dog has bitten your little child twice. You must give the dog back to the foster organization and tell them what happened. The dog may be placed with another foster home without small children.
If the organization does not understand this, you should not do any more fostering for this group.

[IndyOp]

2. I would encourage you to get help *immediately* --

from the group you are fostering for or from another source. Our local Humane Society has someone that people can go talk to for advice about behavioral problems. A big Shepherd/Lab cannot be a jumper or a biter or it won't be adopted.

I would separate the dog (put it in a crate) before anyone outside your family enters your home to prevent it from acting inappropriately. Whenever a dog acts out and 'gets away with it' -- the behavior is self-reinforced. So put him in a crate to prevent the troublesome interactions.

It is not acceptable for the dog to show 'protective' behavior that is aggressive in nature -- not at all. You must have a way to correct his behavior the instant he acts out.

He needs a ton of exercise and formal training (sit, stay, come) and work with him very, very consistently so he does *not* jump up on anyone -- putting his paws on a person is a dominance move and he must be trained not to do that. Work with him with adults until he is very, very good then introduce big kids and then little kids (like yours).

Talk with your behavioral consultant to find out how to correct him if he acts dominantly towards your kids. Only you and your spouse can discipline your kids -- the dog cannot.

For his own good - he has got to tow the line.

You are just fostering him, so if this is too much for you to take on, I suggest you inform the rescue/shelter you are fostering him for and get them back to them and on to another home that will work better for him. Maybe a home without kids while he is being trained.

If he has been a sweet puppy and this behavior is just starting to emerge then consistent, firm training should set him right and he can be a good family pet - maybe for a family with big kids.

Good luck! :)

[HamdenRice]

3. Do you have a slip collar?

With some dogs, you can train them out of this behavior quickly. Put one of those slip, ie choke, collars on him. Then have a person to whom he has acted aggresively, ring the bell and come in the house. When he barks or lunges at the person, give a quick hard yank on the chain and say loudly, "NO."

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

The main thing is to keep that training collar and leash on him a lot, and create negative reinforcements for his bad behaviors. The yank is not painful, but it is annoying to them. Also, this does not case an association between the negative feeling and "you," as hitting a dog even with newspaper does.

If he is trainable and does not have severe agression problems, a dog can be quickly taught not to bite or jump on people -- unless he's a golden retriever, in which case it's hard to get him not to jump on people and lick them. If this doesn't work, then his problems are more severe.

BTW, it is very hard to get Shepherds to allow visitors to come in without their becoming agressive. But even a shep with that problem usually doesn't bite family members.

[CountAllVotes]

4. a couple of stories ...

Scenario #1:

As a child growing up we adopted a German Shepherd from the local shelter. The dog was a fine dog we all thought.

However, one day while I was home alone with the dog (and I had been home alone with the dog for very long time due to a serious illness so we are talking months, not days). One day the doorbell rang. I went to open the door and the dog was as usual right behind me.

There was a little girl there and she was selling Girl Scout cookies. The dog jumped her and threw her on the grass and then quickly came back inside the house. The little girl was ok, just really upset and crying. The dog had not bit the girl fortunately.

She went home and told her parents what happened. They contacted my father and my father refused to do anything about the dog. He considered it to be an isolated incident being the dog had never done anything like this to anyone before.

Rather than get rid of the dog, he agreed to pay them back by working for them for several months by caring for their yard. My father kept his good word and the parents of the little girl dropped the matter once he had paid his "debt" to them.

The dog never did this again. My father was right, it was an "isolated" incident. I believe the reason the dog did this is because I had been the only person around her for a very long period of time and was alone in the house with her. For some reason, she did not like that little girl and knocked her down on the grass it seems.

The dog went on to live a few more years without incident.

Scenario #2:

Very recently my neighbor that has a young baby (>1 years old) owns a black Labrador Retriever. It became highly jealous of her baby and bit the baby on the face! She wanted me to adopt this dog and I told her, "No way!".

I advised her to find a place for the dog - perhaps the local no-kill shelter might take her I suggested. She didn't want to get rid of the dog however. I told her she really should because if this happens again to someone else you can be sued or even worse, it might kill your baby!

After I told her that she somehow managed to find another home for the dog. I don't know the specifics, but the dog is now gone. I just hope she was honest with whoever has the dog now and told them that the dog had bit her baby on the face! :shrug:

My advice to you is to find another place for this dog. It is a potential danger to you and your children. If someone else gets bit, you are liable and they can and perhaps will sue you. :(

I suggest to you that you do something ASAP as this is a very serious situation for everyone involved and that goes for the dog too. :(

[jeanarrett]

5. Thank you all for your replies and insight.

I realize that we will have to return the dog. I find it sad because he truly thinks we are his family now and my older kids are a little upset, but like many of you said, he can't be trusted not to do it again and I don't want to look over my shoulder every second. I have five kids and they have lots of friends and with summer coming on, there will be a lot of kids around.

I would never want him to hurt my five year old again--and I have seen what a dog bite to the face looks like on a five-year old having been a legal assistant for 25 years. I wish I had the time to do the training and discipline, but I don't.

Thanks again for your replies and advice.

[CountAllVotes]

6. I'm so sorry for you ...

I know how you must feel. I've been there too (having to give up an animal I really loved and was very attached to). Luckily, in this case I mention (it involved a Maine Coon), he was adopted by a millionaire just south of where I live that has NO other animals (cats nor dogs) and he needed a good rat catcher. My Maine Coon was the perfect "fit" as he spent most of his day hunting.

I had to take him to the no-kill shelter after he had nipped a woman on the ankle that had been teasing him for several months. I had told her to knock it off, but she wouldn't stop. Then he nipped her on the ankle one day and she was making a BIG deal out of it acting like she was seriously hurt (which was NOT the case on any level).

After this episode, someone tried to poison my beloved Maine Coon. Luckily he survived the attempted poisoning. I then realized I had to do something ASAP otherwise he was going to either *disappear* or be poisoned. I told the no-kill shelter the situation and I was very honest about the fact he nipped this woman on the ankle but the owner of the shelter agreed to take him despite what had happened.

My Maine Coon wasn't at the no-kill shelter for very long (less than 2 weeks). Hopefully they'll be able to place your puppy somewhere where he will fit in ok. That seemed to be the key to successfully placing my Maine Coon (the correct environment). As far as I know, he is in fact still alive. :) This happened ~5+ years ago.

I still miss him, yes. However, when I consider the options I had at the time (which were indeed few), I realize how lucky he was to have found a new home. My home was simply not the right place for him as there were too many people and other animals/kids around and one highly curious cat that never seemed to sleep as well (aka "the bully of the block")!

Hang in there and realize that you are doing the right thing for everyone involved, especially the dog! :hug:

[IndyOp]

7. It is best for the dog to be placed with another foster who has the time..

and experience to give him the best chance possible for getting on the right track. Fostering is a great way to find out if a dog is really the right dog for you and your family or if it isn't.

:hug:

[Eurobabe]

16. You did the right thing, obviously this dog

needs to be placed in a family without little ones. Your heart was in a good place, take solace.

[radfringe]

8. is this aggressive biting or just greeting people biting?

our airedale use to "bite" as a way to greet people - as well as jumping on them. A playful "nip" is a typical way a dog may greet people and other dogs.

when our airedale would "bite" we would force our hand into her mouth and keep it there until it became uncomfortable for her. (repeating a command of "NO BITING" ) took a few days - but it stopped.

as far as jumping - when she would start to jump - we'd grab her, force her to the floor and hold her there giving the command "NO JUMPING"

if it's aggressive (protecting territory) - talk to a dog obedience trainer

[jeanarrett]

10. No, he actually does the growling coming at you thing.

He doesn't break skin, but it is terrifying for the person on the receiving end (and me too!).

At first, this seemed to be just toward adult men, too, and I thought maybe he had a male abuser in his "other" life, but now he does it to everyone, even kids. However, in the last week or so, there have been no incidents, but I can't take the chance. My SO will bring my youngest home from school (before I get home) and he would bring a treat for the dog, make him sit, etc. and the dog was fine with him (my SO does not live with me so is not around 24/7). Then suddenly, he started the growly, in your face thing, to my SO, who is now afraid of him and asks that "the wolf be put up" before he gets my little one home. This is a guy that has taken in numerous stray dogs in his life and is very loving towards animals. He had even offered to take our foster if for some reason we couldn't keep him, but now, of course, he doesn't want to.

[radfringe]

11. sounds like he's in PROTECT TERRITORY mode

I'd be talking to someone who does obedience training

[wildeyed]

9. My rescue dog has been exhibiting some over protective

behavior recently. He barks and growls viciously when anyone comes to the dog. He particularly hates strange men. Now when the doorbell rings, he rushes to the front door and goes into his frenzy. I tell him "Quiet". If he doesn't "Quiet", I put him in a sit/stay and keep him there until the person is in the house. Once the person is inside, he is a big wiggle butt. It is just the transition that freaks him out. I am seeing improvement in his behavior. Luckily, he is stable with the kids.

[shireen]

12. try to get Cesar Millan's book or watch his shows

He deals with cases like this. From what I've learned, this is a case where you are not being the pack leader and he is exerting his dominance.

There are ways to establish yourself as the "alpha dog" -- it's hard to explain, so I strongly suggest you get Cesar's book or tv shows. He'll teach you how to practice a calm assertive demeanor and not be intimidated at all because dogs can sense fear and anxiety. He also teaches things like walking up to where the dog is standing and "claim" that space as yours. When you take him for a walk, you step out of the door first and during walking, never let him lead or wander around -- you need to be in total control at all times. Don't show affection or anxiety when he's misbehaving because it's a way for him to get attention, so just Ignore him (except where there's biting involved). When people come into the house, put him on a leash before they enter the door so you can better control him and correct bad behavior. Most important of all, exercise the dog with long walks or runs. Cesar's manta is exercise, discipline, then affection, in that order.

That's just some thoughts that come streaming through my head. I strongly encourage you to watch Cesar on the National Geographic channel if you have it, or get the first season of his tv show on dvd, or get his book (currently on the NYT non-fiction bestseller list). He's absolutely amazing.

This is a manageable problem, you can do it! Please keep us posted.

[jeanarrett]

13. Thank you for this. That was my gut feeling what

was going on with him. I even used the term "alpha" dog when talking to my rescue contact. It's as if he "thinks" he is the boss. My rescue contact said he never gets to be the boss of ANYONE and is trying to hook me up with obedience training. Our rescue is in dire need of funds (as all are--I'm sure) and I even paid for the neutering of this foster because they were out of funds. I don't want to put out for the obedience too, if we aren't going to keep him. I'm pretty broke right now with everything going on with the high gas prices, heating, etc.

We have had no more incidents since I took out his stitches. He hasn't even barked at anyone coming in the house, but we've been watching him like a hawk too. I've been working with him more and my ex (who lives with us) has started to play with him more and interact with him and this is definitely helping. My ex basically ignored him before but they are bonding and I think the dog needed that from an adult male. We'll see what happens in the next week or two. The rescue is full up and has no place to place him, except back to the shelter, and I took him off death row there with four hours to spare.

He has also taken to sleeping right next to my bed every night (and on it if he can get away with it). I think he IS starting to look at me as the pack leader now and that's good. He is constantly under my feet though as he follows me from room to room and everywhere! lol


I will definitely look up Cesar Millan's book--there are so many out there I wasn't sure which to choose--so your post is a big help. Thank you!

[IndyOp]

14. Sounds like a little progress --

Don't let him on the bed or any furniture. People (the bosses) get to sit/lie the high (dominant) places. Dogs stay on the floor.

Little bits of training here & there can help too - put a little bowl or jar with dog treats up high in kitchen or living room and put him through a series of sit/down/stays while you are cooking dinner or watching TV. Little exercises interspersed throughout the day so it isn't a big project.

Keep taking the situation seriously and maybe it will get better - :-)

[shireen]

15. Cesar's Websites

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/channel/dogwhisperer/
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/

I love Cesar Millan -- he's amazing!
Useless trivia ... he said, on the Diane Rehm show (audio archive available at her show website), that he came here as an illegal immigrant, paid a coyote to get him here. He wanted to pursue the American dream. And he did it! :)

[jeanarrett]

17. Wow. These are great.

How come I've never heard of this guy? I don't watch a lot of tv though, so that could be it. Unfortunately, the show in Michigan for August is already sold out, but I'm thinking about traveling to Columbus in July to see this guy. Amazing stuff!