(Now NOT) Biting dog

[Leather]

I will fully admit that I haven’t read this book, but it’s highly recommended by the dog trainer that I’ve listened to on a local radio station for years. Whenever someone calls in and mentions that they have an adult dog that bites/snaps she recommends this book to help understand the dog’s point of view and how to help overcome it.

People Training for Good Dogs by Melissa Berryman

In the meanwhile it might be helpful to employ something that I’ve recently become very familiar with as we have a 10 week old puppy - the house line. It allows you to manage dogs in the house without having to reach to grab their collar, which can sometimes be seen as an aggressive posture by the dog.

We use a cheapie 6 foot leash with the loop cut off or a homemade version from a piece of poly rope and a snap. With a puppy he’s either in his crate/ex-pen or under supervision with the house line attached. If it’s time to go outside for a potty break but he has different ideas you can just step on the line, pick it up and say “let’s go” without having to chase/grab the puppy.

When we first got him I used marker training to teach the him that good things happen when I do grab his collar and put the line on, so he has no problems with us doing that because there was no negative association.

Good luck to you!

[SummerRose]

@Leather, thanks for the book suggestion! I had to LOL when I was reading the “Look Inside” for that book because the author definitely speaks my language. She’s talking about the importance of having training and experience before trying to train a completely untrained dog. “A great many riders would be severely injured, if not killed, if they had to learn to ride using a horse that had never been ridden before.” Yep, I get that.

And funny you should mention the house line. The owner is a relative and she had asked me to dogsit him when he was about 5 or 6 months old. I took him on a 1200 mile (each way) road trip to the lake and he was a superstar - great traveler, great attitude, and at that age, no sign of biting. When he first got here a few weeks ago and was snapping, I put the house line on him again for a couple of days and it really was a lifesaver while he was starting to adjust.

Brodie on our trip with his house line:

And for the fun of it, Brodie as a puppy enjoying the lake (sorry for all the pics, but he’s pretty darned adorable, despite his current “challenges!” )

[Casey09]

Is it touching certain parts of his body or grabbing his neck/collar area?
I think typically if it’s that he doesn’t want his feet touched, you would just go very slowly and have treats to reward him as you go farther down his leg. Obviously the key would be rewarding him when he is calm, so it would kind of take as long as it takes.
If it’s more that he doesn’t want to be grabbed or his collar reached for, then I would think that you might make those motions farther away from him and reward him when calm and just gradually inch closer. I would also try to teach him a really good behavior for where you would need to grab him, such as sitting in front of you (obviously you’d have to use food), and patterning that once he does that you will reach down and clip a leash on and then he will do something fun.

[stargzng386]

Trazodone is a really light level anti anxiety med both my dogs are on. It’s not one of the stronger ones that takes weeks to build up in the system - it’s short term they get half a tab 2x a day. It was prescribed by my regular vet and is really inexpensive, I think 100 tabs is $14. I used it when I moved a few years ago and they had trouble settling (lived at the previous house their entire lives) and recently used it when the stress of Covid in the household added to their stress and we had a dog fight. I did also change up the environment stressors at home and did a lot of positive training. Same with ppl, I wish we weren’t so afraid of medication when it can really help our mindset and daily lives. It’s never the only answer but just another tool in the toolbox. It’s important to look at all avenues, what’s causing the stress can I reduce that? What positive training can I do to reduce the stress response? What medications might help this pup have an easier time with the stress?

[SummerRose]

He’s not an “ankle-biter.” He doesn’t go out of his way to bite any people (though vacuum cleaners are his mortal enemies). In fact, he’s usually very friendly and outgoing with strangers. I don’t know how his owner handles him around other people, but given that I know he has the propensity to bite, I generally keep him away from other people to avoid any possible liability.

When he bites, it is usually because someone touches him in a way that irritates him. He is most reactive around his face and paws but if he’s not in a mood to be touched, he’ll snap if you touch him pretty much anywhere. But he isn’t very consistent - I can routinely wash his muddy feet under the faucet, but otherwise, sometimes he’ll tolerate having his feet touched and sometimes not (though nail trimming is an absolute trigger). When he’s in a good mood, he’s a complete cuddlebug, but if he doesn’t feel like being handled he might snap if you so much as reach for his back. He’s definitely in a good mood far more often than in a bad mood, but he’s been a lot more likely to bite lately. I think it’s at least in part because of his high stress level. Still, even understanding why he’s more sensitive, I’d rather he not have the habit of biting at all.

He’s most likely to bite if you just reach down and try to hook the leash on while he’s lazing around or trying to avoid being caught. I’ve found that I don’t have any problems if I call him to the door with treats, then work on some sits, downs, and “wait” before attaching the leash. When I get him into work mode before trying to attach the leash, he won’t try to bite (of course, I’m getting better at reading him so if he looks like he might bite, we just keep working on the obedience stuff with treats and judicious warning “ah!s” until he’s cooperative). This works to keep me from getting bitten, but he doesn’t seem to be getting any less likely to bite, he’s just much more cooperative with routines. Which I suppose is better than getting bitten, even if it isn’t a real fix.

Oh, well. He isn’t my dog so I guess as long as I keep him out of situations where he might bite anyone, I guess that might be the best I can do. Thanks, everyone!

[Casey09]

It sounds like you are doing the right thing by re-engaging him in work. Honestly, even if he were your dog, this would likely be a management thing. It definitely sounds like what I would do to get his attention and redirect him.

[Weezer]

I have a fair bit of experience with terriers and this sounds like a classic case of a dog that has been allowed to get away with bad behaviour because he is small and cute. I think you are doing the right thing by incorporating more training into his day. Terriers are very smart and high-energy. If you can start your day by taking him for a long walk (3 - 5km), that could go a long way toward helping him chill out. I have also found that not pulling away when they bite quickly teaches them that they can’t get what they want by biting. I have put on a thick glove and done whatever triggers them so that when they go to bite, I gently push my hand further in their mouth until they pull away. It only takes a few times before they give up on biting.

[endlessclimb]

When he snaps, can you control your “snatch your hand back” reaction? I know that’s hard, especially if he’s willing to back up his threat, but I wonder if you just kept your hand where it was when he snaps, even if he tries something stupid, and then only retreated when the biting reaction was null and void, if he would learn that it doesn’t work in getting him what he wants at that moment.

You’re doing a great job with him, and he sure is a cute bugger.

[SummerRose]

Thanks, all!

He’s getting much better with me. I don’t think he’s getting any less likely to bite in general. In fact, he bit his owner again yesterday. I’m not excusing it at all but I saw where the owner mishandled it. She had walked outside and he went and stood just inside the door. She called him repeatedly to come and he wouldn’t, so she reached down to grab his harness and he bit her.

I don’t think she would have been bitten if she had addressed his refusal before trying to hold his harness to physically urge him out the door. When he refuses a command for me, we go through the dog equivalent of round penning (hands-off exercises until he will sit for me to put on the leash). And then, we’d go back and through the the door (no pulling, just working until he’s going through willingly on command). When I first got him, it would take a lot of work before he’d realize that yes, he really does have to do what I ask. But now, we still have moments, but it only takes one or two sits or downs before he decides it’s easier to do what I ask.

He really is a very sweet, affectionate dog. And fortunately, most of the time, he really loves to please people so even when he’s being stubborn, it usually only takes a verbal reminder or two and a lot of effusive praise when he starts behaving so I think we’re on the right track. At least, as far as his behavior with me.

Oh, and he went to a skilled groomer for a spa day. According to the groomer, he had his moments, but they said his eagerness to lick everyone was more of a challenge than the snapping and that overall, he was a sweetie.

[S1969]

Sounds like a bad combination of owner and breed, as well as individual in that breed - some terriers are more easy going than others, but in general, they are not known to be easy temperaments. At least, not compared to other breeds that are known for their easy temperaments (Goldens, Labs, etc.)

I have a very active and somewhat difficult specimen of my chosen breed. (Brittany). He is not “incorrect” in terms of breed characteristics but he’s not typical. In the wrong home, he would have been a nightmare. While they are affectionate, they can be a difficult breed in general, because they need a lot of physical and mental stimulation…and on top of that, he’s a little quirky. In a 1st time Brittany home - he might have been in Brittany rescue by now.

Any chance you’ll be able to keep him?

[SummerRose]

@S1969

Any chance you’ll be able to keep him?

The owner really does adore him so she wants him back. But he’s starting to grow on me so if she ends up having to give him up, I’ll definitely keep him! I think we’re getting to a point where he understands who’s in charge at my house (and it isn’t him!).

[Weezer]

What great news! I think you are making wonderful progress with him. With terriers, at a certain point, you just have to agree to disagree. His haircut looks great and hopefully the time he spends with you will help rebalance his perspective. What a cutie!

[Gesaffelstein]

I hope you can keep him.

[SummerRose]

(Less) biting dog update:

The owner moved and her domestic situation has calmed significantly. So, much to the happiness of all, she and Brodie were able to reunite.

He had come to me from an extremely volatile environment so he was already highly stressed before he made the move to my house. His biting was serious and it didn’t take much to set him off but by the time he left me, we were pretty much past the biting issues.

Apparently he was a monster for the first couple of weeks back with his owner in her new house, biting her hard enough to draw blood several times. But I’m happy to report that he’s settled down tremendously now that he’s back with his family and in a comfortable, happy, and relatively peaceful house. Just within the last week, he’s become significantly more tolerant of handling and is much less likely to bite. (Except for groomers - he still tries to eat them.)

I’m sure he will still snap if he’s annoyed enough but as he’s settling in, he’s becoming much less reactive.

Sensitive pup! It’s clear that the stress really affected his behavior. But now that his stess level has eased, his behavior has improved tremendously. Happy dog, ecstatic owner, and happy me.

[Weezer]

Thanks for the update! Hopefully he settles into a more peaceful life. It’s so great that you were able to help him out.

[Bogie]

I hope your training with the pup worked out. I adopted a Westie years ago from a shelter. He was about a year old and he definitely had the tendency to nip, although he wouldn’t full on bite. I brought in a trainer who helped me establish boundaries and a pecking order for him – he was mostly snapping at the kids. We also gave him a safe space where he could be left alone. Working with him on obedience training and getting him out for plenty of exercise worked wonders. He turned into the BEST little dog, and once he understood his place in the world, was very patient with my kids and their friends. Westies are smart and independent!

[SummerRose]

One more update to the now NOT biting dog saga -

After he got home and things settled down into relative peace (and I say relative because he was back with a now-single parent and three kids under 6), he turned back into the sweet, tolerant, amazingly wonderful dog he was to begin with. (And the owner found a skilled groomer that he doesn’t try to eat! )

He came with his family to my house for Thanksgiving yesterday and he was a sweetheart. Lots of noise, lots of relatively unfamiliar people, my mother’s puppy … he was perfectly tolerant of all of it and was happy to hang out with anyone who would pet him. And we had fun with him and Mom’s puppy, doing synchronized obedience exercises. Two rock stars!

He’s a very sensitive dog, but when his life is stable, he’s such a good boy!

[Lunabear1988]

What a wonderful update!!

[JBCool]

Hooray!! So glad he is a happy boy again! He is certainly as adorable as advertised.

[Weezer]

Great news!