Author Topic: Help !!! Rocky is starting to bite  (Read 2725 times)

Offline barbiedoll

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Help !!! Rocky is starting to bite
« on: October 26, 2006, 01:46:31 pm »
Hi all,

In the summer Rocky started to growl at anyone who tried to touch him while he was chewing a bone.

At that time I took the bone right away from him and advised the kids to stay away when he had a bone in his mouth.

Last week my son had a friend over, Rocky was lying on the floor chewing on a bone and the friend went to pat him (my back was turned) Rocky bit him, no blood but puncture marks.  He didn't growl at all.

My husband went over to take the bone away from him and he tried to bite my husband as well. No growling again  (my hubby has quick reflexes!!!)

This week, I started holding a bone in my hand and letting him chew while I petted him.  Trying to make him feel o.k. about it.  He was fine.  I let him chew by himself tonight and my six year old daughter went to pat him (I was standing right there) before I could get the words "stay away from him" out of my mouth he bit her in the hand drawing a little blood.

I am very worried.  What can I do to stop this behaviour?  I worry because he is 115 pounds and compared to my kids he is huge.  What really scares me is that I was right there when all the bites happened!!!

Help I need some advice.

Barb

Offline longshadowfarms

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Re: Help !!! Rocky is starting to bite
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2006, 02:52:39 pm »
I'd start by not feeding him any more bones.  If he does get something that he is guarding, trade it for something that he values.  With our last Pyr that was tuna fish.  I NEVER took anything that he had and wanted without trading for something he wanted more.  I never gave him bones unless we intended that he see them through to completion in complete peace (no one coming near him) once we discovered that he wanted to guard them.  I could put him out a distance away from the house though.  No kids or dogs to get near him.  Frankly, with kids in the house, I wouldn't give him ANY bones.  Then start a "nothing in life is free (NILF)" plan to teach him that you are the pack leader.  Lots of threads here regarding that.
Daphne

Offline Lucah's Folks

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Re: Help !!! Rocky is starting to bite
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2006, 08:56:53 pm »
Our trainer has told us that if this becomes an issue (it hasn't yet) then you can feed the dog by hand.  This way they know that hands mean food and that biting them will get them no food.  I would definately keep the kids away while he chews a bone.

A thing we also did with Lucah was to always stop him mid-meal and take his food aways.  He would then have to SIT before he got it back.  Now we have it so that if we say "Off!" he backs away from his bowl and sits without us touching him at all.  Practice and patience is what it takes...as I am sure you already know.

Offline Leah...

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Re: Help !!! Rocky is starting to bite
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2006, 03:25:08 am »
I agree with what the others have said.

do you or your kids play with the dog on the floor? Is the dog allowed on the couch? do you have kids that are shorter than the dog? handlers being above the dog are the bread and butter to being top dog.

i would also suggest that the dog ALWAYS be on a tab in the house. a tab is a short leash that hangs from the collar. if you have an old leash you can cut short, that works well, or you can just use rope. this way, you can always grab hold of the dog when you want to take something from him. a tab should hit the dog at the top of the shoulder.

Along with taking the bowl away while they are eating, my dogs are constantly touched while they are eating. when i got my puppy almost 3 weeks ago, he would stiffen up every time i walked by while he had something yummy. after touching him and poking him and brushing him and looking at his butt and in his ears and touching his food etc. while he is eating i can now fully examine his teeth while he is eating.

during meal time, touch him all over, comb thru his coat, snap on a collar, take the bowl away from him and return it after a sit, take him away from the bowl, look in his ears, under his tail ( :-[ ), at his feet, etc. while he is eating.

does your dog like Kongs? if so, give the dog the kong with something sorta boring, like cat food, in it, then take the Kong away, and give it back to him with something WAAAAY better in it (ie: peanut butter, squeezy cheese, hot dogs, tuna) so he learns he can get it back, and it is generally a good thing in the long run when he gets something taken away.

always, always always give him a good treat at first when you take something away, but as he is learning you are dominate over him, give only the occasional cookie after you take something.

teach your dog the trick "play dead" (or roll over) have them stay in the upside down position and you can sort of tower over him and look him in the eye when he did something very bad. when a dog bears his stomach, that is a gesture of submission. when a dog is forcing another into said position, it is a sign of dominance. you must be the dominant dog in this picture. (you don't have to actually force the dog physically into the position, just teach the trick)

i would say the very, very, VERY most important thing is to be consistant. NEVER let the dog get away with biting w/o quite the punishment. i am not telling you to be mean to the dog here, but in my home biting someone is the absolute WORST thing a dog could ever do. the one time i was bit by one of my own dogs the punishment was the dog rolling over on it's back, me staring in strait in the eye until it tried to look away, then the dog promply having the toy taken away. he went to his crate for some "cool down" time (this is NOT like banishment!) for about 10 minutes, then he had to come out, and roll over on his back again.

this may seem harsh, but it is the absolute ONLY way to keep you and your family safe.

one thing i forgot to mention was BEFORE you take anything away from a dog say a certain word like "give" or "let go" or "out" so the dog isn't suprised by having the thing taken away.

i hope this helps!
Leah
Leah
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