surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA
Oct 25, 2004, 8:56 PM
Post #8 of 12
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Re: [jacng] Puppy Biting causing harm pls help
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Hello ...
" ... Up till today, my dog has bitten me and my hubby numerous times.... At times, his bite has drawn blood. A few days ago, when I brought my dog to the vet for grooming, he was given a slight sedative. However, even in his groggy state, he has given the vet's helper a nasty nip which has drawn blood ..."
Ok ... your Bischon/Shiz is no longer a pup, and the situation you have is no longer a puppy-attitude issue ...
It is not good for an adult male is allowed to bite so hard until it draws blood - and you are right to be concerned, especially when are going to have children in the house.
Let's summarise the basic characteristics of your dog:
" ... My dog is a Bichon/Shihtzu mix. He's about 1 year and 9 months now. I got him when he was about 2 months old. He is ... intelligent dog. He learns new tricks in days but will refuse to perform until "food" comes into the picture ... my dog understands the tone of our voice and also the sound we make and also our body language ... I have tried teaching him the "Give" command ... I am unsuccessful as he will growl and try to snap my hand ... holding the treat ... so that I am unable to take that one away from him ...if I try to get the treat ... with my other hand, he will snap my other hand instead ... I will hit his mouth but that will make him growl even more and show his teeth ... And sometimes if I am not fast ... he will bite my hand and sometimes draw blood. I have tried tying up the rawhide bone that I gave him in the with a string ... But I am still unsuccessful ... He has no choice but to let me drag the rawhide bone away from him, growling all the way but when I have the bone in my hand, he will be so sweet and sit up to beg so that he can have the bone again. I tried hitting him with a cane to let him know it's wrong to growl and ignore him for about an hour after that but still I am unsuccessful in teaching him that it's wrong to bite ... I am running out of ideas ... I think he is by nature aggresive but very intelligent ..."
Ok ... From the above - what do we know?:
(i) I don't think your dog is "aggressive" ... But I think your dog is both (A) Dominant and (B) Food, toy and/or treat possessive.
If your dog was overtly aggressive - then I'd suggest that you consult a good dog trainer and seek assistance. With dominiance & basic possessiveness ... you may be able to turn the situation around by yourself.
(ii) The usual training methods are not working. This could be for a whole host of reasons, from failing to carry out the training consistently, to not handliing the issue of dominance sufficiently early or effectively enough ... etc ...
I am going to say something that may hurt your feelings (... if so, I apologise) ... But we need to get this correct, right from the beginning, so that we can concentrate on the correct remedies and solutions ... and see things from the correct perspective.
Where a dog is badly behaved, it's very temptiing to hold the dog solely responsible ... And that would be wrong ... because often, we as owners "create" the problems we face (sometimes accidentially, usually because we do not have enough understanding of dog behaviour ... etc) - including problems of dominance & food possession ... and the dog is not always the only party to blame.
It is too lengthy & complicated to write out all the various training method in detail in a forum like this- I can only set out the basic guidelines - a good dog training manual & dog behaviour book, will provide the details.
Things to do, remember & understand:
(1) First ... Get a good training manual for dogs (check the bigger book shops, use search function) ... and if possible get a good dog behaviour book. The more you understand - the better equipped you will be to handle your dog.
For suggestions on dog manuals ... Use Search Function ... and the words "dog training manuals" ... "dog training books"
(2) Second ... whatever training method you use ... make sure the rest of the family follow the same method. Consistency is key. If you cannot get other family members to cooperate - then ONLY you do the training ... all others to just leave dog alone during the training period.
(3) Third ... Accept that issues of dominance can be stronger with a male dog and accept that ... there is no short cut ... if you want a real solution ... then time & patience are BOTH required for a real solution, because it takes time & patience to effectively and properly re-condition a dog's behaviour.
So, if you choose to go with the suggestions below, please keep all the above in mind - and training will go better.
It is difficult to try and "individually" train out a bad behaviour ... overall training is required ... and overall training will invariably assist with "problems" ... Sometimes to remove a particular behaviour - we need to carry out overall training ... to establish bonding, and establish our position as leader ... and to also give the dog a chance to understand & learn what we wish from the dog ...
Suggestions:
The issue of dominance & food possesiveness are related ... and you need to deal with both simultaneously.
(A) Do basic overall training:
So, Start a basic training regime - teach stay, sit & stay religiously ... everyday ... 15 or 20 minute daily sessions will be sufficient. Use food, praise & treat methods ... Your dog is intelligent ... He will learn.
The purpose here is to re-establish your position as leader of the pack. Other members can carry out training sessions too. But use the same methods and same reward system..
You also need to simultaneously incorporate the basic training into your feeding regime. Dog sits, then dog gets food ... as training progresses ... dog has to sit & stay ... then dog gets food ... As dog gets better trained - expect dog to hold sit & stay for longer before getting food.
(B) Together with the above - you need to incorporate "anti-dominance" reconditioning into your daily life with the dog
The purpose here is to show your dog that within the family - the dog is at the bottom ... To do this, you need to understand the effective & correct method of relating with, co-habitating with a dog.
For example: Learning when, how & the correct way & time to pet & giving affection to your dog ... Learning when its necessary to ignore your dog ... Learning how to establish dominance over the dog and earn respect from your dog, without resorting to physical punishment ...
Again - the dog training manual & dog behaviour book, will provide the details.
(C) Re-condition food possessiveness
Once you have established (A) and (B) reasonably well ... then its time to deal with the food possession.
Don't worry about the toy or treat possession yet. Deal with basic food possession first ... If your dog will let you give and take its food away, the toy & treat possession will also be easier to resolve.
Your dog books will have various method as to how to teach a dog that YOU can and must be allowed to control, take & give food as and when you wish. Read the books and then apply ... consistently. This may take days, weeks or months ... depending on how consistent you are.
The purpose here is to use food, as a direct means of establishing your dominance & leadership over the dog.
With the above - you will also be training the command NO ... what it means and what is expected from your dog when the NO command is given.
Conclusion:
Don't expect to do the above in days ... we are looking at weeks & months ... of consistent training.
If you can do ALL the above consistently ... you are almost home. Once you get basic training underway ... and the dog obeys ... And once you can control its food ... and the dog obeys ... Then you are ready to apply the same training methods to deal with the issue of toys/treat. possession.
The training methods you learn above - will also be directly applicable to training your dog NOT to use its mouth or bite.
FINAL CAUTION: Use of physical punishment? ... Personally, I would be very cautious about using any form of physical punishment ...  ... I really believe that it is better for us average dog owners and handlers to use praise & reward methods.
Rarely, and I emphasise the word "rarely" ... it may be necessary to administer some form physical reprimand to drive a message home to the dog ... But a dog owner should ONLY use physical reprimand if the dog owner knows exactly what he/she is doing, when & how to do it ... and when it is necessary.
If physical punishment is applied without understanding pack behaviour or dog behaviour, without understanding issue of dominance - then you are just asking for trouble and more problems. Unfortunately, I see more problems caused by wrongful physical punishment than cures!!! ...
When physical punishment is applied without understanding ... what reaction can we expect? ... Well - when a person hits a dog, the dog will bite to defend ... that's the natural and basic reaction (defence is basic instinct even for humans) ... So, dog that is regularly physically punished will learn - before the person hits, bite first lar!!!
So, if a dog owner applies physical punishment without knowing what he/she is doing ... without first establishing leadership position, and carrying out overall training in a good and proper manner - that dog owner is just asking to be bitten - And it will not be the dog's fault. But the dog will have to pay for the owner's mistake! ...
All the best 
Cheers
(This post was edited by surchinmy on Oct 25, 2004, 9:00 PM)
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