Need Great Pyr help

[iluvbigdogz]

I have a 2 year old gr. pyr. I have had him since he was 8 wks old. He started having agression issues when he was about 6 months old. I had him neutered he seemed to be much better. The agression I should mention is only when he gets a bone,something real good ut of the trash or there was atime when my husband whacked him on the snout for getting up on the table. He backed into a corner and growled and showed teeth. This was at 6 months old. Now he ate my daughters food she left on the counter and my husband tried to get it and yelled at him at the same time and he bit his arm no blood. He bit my foot the other day when I tried to push him away from the table after he was already chewing the food he grabbed off of it. I tried for the last time today to give him a rawhide. He seems to go into wild animal mode. He was growling at anyone who came near him and of course I was afraid to take it away. Finally I fake dhim out like I was feeding him and he dropped and I grabbed it. After that he searched the house for 20 minutes before he layed down and relaxed. It really scared me. We love him to pieces and am wondering what to do to stop this.

[DixieSugarBear]

First off I would try putting him in his create or room when ever you have food out. Have you tried to give him a bone take it away and then give it back a few times.  What happens when you feed him small treats by hand? 

Lisa

[iluvbigdogz]

I could put him in another room when anyone is eating. As far as treats go, I can easily give treats no problem. When he eats his food there is no problem. You can't give him a bone and take it away. He grabs it and starts drooling profusley and walks all around to until he can take it outside. If he can't go out he will find a quiet spot alone. I love him so much and it hurts me to know that he gets this way with certain things. When he bit my foot. I walked away from the situation and called him to me, made him sit then coaxed him to lay down and he turned on his side and laid his head dow. He was kind of shakey. Like he was not in control of himself. He does not like to be in trouble. It is like he feels threatened and his instincts to protect himself come out. I have never had a dog like this before.

[chaos270]

I'd suggest looking into the dog psychology type stuff that Cesar Milan does.  It's based on being dominant and claiming the bone as yours and make sure that in any situation he is upset not to get upset yourself or to try and comfort him because its praising the anxious mindset.  The main idea is to remain calm and assertive and he will feed off that energy to become calm himself.  I know it easier said then done but maybe it can help you.  Plus put a leash on  in those circumstances where he is in the room so you have more control.  But seperating him from the problem is the best idea until you come up with a plan of action for stopping it.

[PupDaddy]

your dog think he's the boss, you have to change his attitude, inform him YOU'RE the BOSS. You both need to go to APLHA BOOT CAMP!











read this: http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm

[iluvbigdogz]

I must be a failure at alpha boot camp. I have been pracitcing this since he was a baby. I guess I do get lax every now and then. I have to admit, I get scared of him when he acts that way. I do watch Cesar Milan and I am amazed by him. I do try. I am actually going to try and go to a seminar of his that is in my area in May. I will not give Busa a bone again, ever. I thought it would be good for his teeth. Thanks for hte info and I will keep trying. He is a great dog and listens well except in those couple of situations.

[patrick]

This is called resource guarding and the first thing you have to realise that if the dog has a bone in HIS mind it is his - it is not yours.  Swatting him on the snout is not the way to take it away.  Aggression leads to aggression.   This is not to say that his behavior is acceptable but you can certainly change it. 

First he shouldn't have opportunities to have something to guard.  If he has a goody it should be something he has earned - NILIF works wonders here.  Second if you have allowed him something then he should be allowed to go somewhere quiet with his goody so he doesn't feel threatened.  You need to work on his impression that you are going to steal his bone.  A very effective way is to 'trade' - if you want the bone trade a goody for the bone - that way you start to implant in his mind that you are not going to 'steal' his bone.  And the way to discipline is not to'snatch' it away or physically reprimand.  If he needs discipline a spray bottle is very effective. 

We had a very food aggressive dog come in last year for training.  The first thing we taught him is that no one is going to take his food away.  It only took a few days.  The second thing we taught him is that if we gave him something it was his and we weren't going to take it away.  Then we taught him that if for some reason we wanted something of his he got a really yummy reward for giving it up.  Within 3 weeks there was no more food aggression and to this day he is no longer food aggressive even though he doesn't live here.  The first thing we had to change was the owner's belief that it was her bone and not the dog's.  If he has it is HIS bone  And if you leave food on the counter top and the dog steals it guess what - it is your fault if the dog eats it!!

[iluvbigdogz]

I agree with everything you said. I have always worked with him and then  slacked off. I am totally sure it is all my fault I just want to try and fix the problem. The very few times he has had a bone, He has acted growly and I had to sneak and "steal" the bone back and get rid of it. So really I guess I made him that way. He thinks oh she is going to take it away and I won't let her this time.  I tried the water bottle and the food trade off last night. It did'nt work. It has in the past. He just got too smart for that. He really reacts agressivley to any agression towards him. I have never had a dog like that. I am always so quick to say it is the breed and I don't want to dismiss any issues that I may be causing myself.

[patrick]

Well if you tried the food trade off were you trying to take his bone again?   If for some reason you have given him something then you should let him have it-  one of the reasons he is doing this because he knows you are going to 'steal' it and sure enough  you were stealing it again.  At least in his mind - you need to change how he is thinking - if he thinks you are going to take it and sure enough you do  GUESS what - he was right!  And you have now once again reinforced in his mind the need to guard it! 

This resource guarding takes weeks to change and the first thing that needs to change is his perception.  The dog we took in for training on food aggression the owner was very afraid of him also and there really wasn't anything wrong with the dog.    The problem developed with how he was handled at home not because he was a mean or aggressive dog.  But once a PROBLEM then more of the same wasn't going to fix it.  Actually we did the most training with the owner- the dog was relatively easy once in a different environment.

If the dog is going to be aggressive over bones/rawhides etc he should not be allowed to have them  PERIOD.  Not until he can be trusted.  A professional trainer or obedience training would go a long way here.  If you are becoming afraid of the dog and you can't modify his behavior then you should consider euthanizing him - aggression in a big dog is not acceptable. 

[Gypsy Jazmine]

Please do yourself & your dog a huge favor & contact & behaivoralist!...My Kuv mix Rosie was on her last days here last week & then I called the behaivoralist/trainer...Best $ I ever spent!!...I found I was reading her wrong & found out what to do about it!...Since last Wed. I feel we have made great progress!...Good luck!...I know you can do it!

[iluvbigdogz]

There are'nt any good behaviorists in my area. There is a lady I know involve in pyr rescue who is very knowledgable with these dogs. I am going to call her. He is NOT going to get any more bones. I am going to be spenging more time with the obedience training. We did this when he was a pup. I am the one who got lazy and stopped practicing. I now know this will be a continual thing with him and he needs this to be the great dog i know he is. Thank you all for your help!

[longshadowfarms]

We had this same issue with our Pyr, Thor.  If he had something, nobody had better try taking it!  He was a rescue and definitely beaten but we have no information on other things that might have happened to him.  I do know that he tried to take DH's arm off once one of his first days here when he had a deer leg and we tried to get it away from him.   I foolishly gave him a bone once in the car after a trip to the vet and could NOT get him out!  He didn't touch me but he made it quite clear vocally that he was NOT going to allow me to have it.  It was 90 degrees that day so I ended up parking the car in the shade and just left the door open.  I had to use tuna fish in a dish to lure him out of the car hours later since we needed to go somewhere again.  Basically after I learned my lesson, he was never allowed anything that I did not intend he finish.   If he got something, it belonged to him.  Occasionally I would use the bait and switch method if whatever he had was a danger to him or to another dog that tried to approach him but if it was safe, I'd mostly just move him to an area where he could eat it in peace without any interruptions.  We lived with the uneasy peace since he was a gentleman in all other respects.  Now after reading this thread I'm understanding his thinking and that perhaps we weren't just handling this the woosy way.   With Thor, it was not food, just bones and very exciting treats (road kill and other grossities  )

[iluvbigdogz]

Longshadowfarm s, we have had Busa since he was a baby. He and Thor sound exactly the same. He only acts that way with really special things. Everything everyone said makes total sense. I am glad to hear this about Thor and I am glad to hear about the way you handled it! Thanks!