Dog Community

Boyfriend's dog went from friendly to growling

Posted : 8/30/2006 10:18:29 AM

Been dating this wonderful guy over four months, always got along with his intact basset hound who is turning two soon. We belly rub, wrestle, play with his face but he is possessive about objects. He warning bit me when I tried to get a dead bird from him - jumped up to bite my arm. Two weeks ago I fed him and noticed he knocked a few morsels out so I picked them up one at a time and was throwing them back in the bowl, on the fourth one he bit me - a meaning to bite, got my finger good. I told him bad boy and he growled, I stayed out there staring him down telling him no bad boy for a while, the growl got lower, then I told him if he was going to be in my life, he couldn't do that and asked if he was sorry, he came over and licked my toe and we loved on each other.

The next day I was rubbing the eye boogers off him and loving on him and he started growling again and went behind his daddy (my boyfriend) under his arm. I went into the house and he has on and off growled since. He wants me to come and see him because he whines outside the door when I come home and I had clearly been his favorite for a while between the two of us. He always greeted me at the fence and wanted me to pet him. I don't wear different clothes, smell different, have a different hairdo, or is either of us having problems or are stressed. I don't hit him and every animal but him has loved me. I even tamed a wild cat into a sweet cat. I have two little dogs of my own that are well behaved. He tried to eat my boy pom, they both think I am theirs. My dogs are kept at my house, but have visited twice and not even lately. Boyfriend roughhouses with him, they roll around on the porch and dog chews on him and jumps on his back when he is sitting down and stands with his head above his head.

I think since I have challenged his authority he is peeved. Dunno, we should get him fixed next week but boyfriend doesn't want to get rid of him unless it is absolutely necessary - ie. he bites again. He has moved the food bowl from the doorway. He now makes him sit before eating, doesn't aggressive play, and is stopping him from jumping on him. They still have a wonderful time together. I want to pet him but for right now, I can only look through the door and fence at him, it hurts my feelings bad.

When I wander up to the fence, he is ok until I am close, then he adjusts his body posture, lowers his head, looks up at me, I look him in the eye and he growls. I even sweet talk him and appear very friendly. Boyfriend is now resorting to misting him with water which stops the growling. He is ok with boyfriend's guy friends, we haven't tried any female visitors out back because we would hate for him to bite them.

Does anyone know whazzup with the boogerhead? Thanks for reading and trying to help. I do believe fixing would help a little but this is crazy![8|]

luvmyswissy

Posted : 8/30/2006 6:18:01 PM

At two years old your dog BF's dog is taking over the leadership role, or at least over you. I would suggest bring a behaviorlist into your home for an evaluation. Does he do ANY of these thing to your BF, maybe object or food guarding?

In the meantime, I would suggest you don't challenge a dog who is already engaged in a protective or aggessive mode. At these moments try and distract and change the mind set so you don't get bitten.

Google NILIF and begin using these technique in your day to day dealing with your dog. For the food guarding what worked for us was the following. In order to show our dog we were the giver/provider or food and not the taker our behaviorlist had us use this simple technique. I took a couple of weeks to see some improvement and months of both NILIF, this feeding technique and some other operant and positive techniques to bring our dog around.

When feeding your BF dog buy a new bowl. The reason for this is so he is dis-associated with the fact it is his bowl. Measure his feeding into a seperate dish. Throw/drop (making some noise for his attention) on the floor, as he approaches it have him sit and drop a small amount of kibble into the bowl. WALK AWAY, don't talk to him and don't acknowledge him in anyway. When he "come to you" looking for more. Walk over to the empty bowl and pick it up and move it to another area on the floor. Have him sit, and drop another small amount into the bowl. Again, walk away = no acknowledgement. When he COME TO YOU again, repeat until his dinner is done.

Your dog is only feeling uncertain to his position in the pack, its normal for an adolesent dog of 2 years old. Implementing some basic rule changes you can turn him around. Good luck.

spiritdogs

Posted : 8/30/2006 10:11:39 PM

Get a copy of "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs" and don't touch any of this dog's stuff until you read it!!!! If you continue to "test" him, he will bite you, probably worse than he has already. Also, don't stare or threaten, or lean over him - you risk a bite. If your BF wants his dog, he needs to enroll the dog in a positive class, and take you with him. Another reference that both of you need: "How to Be the Leader of the Pack and Have Your Dog Love You For It" by Patricia McConnell.
And, it's probably a good idea to neuter this dog - no dog that displays aggression toward humans and has an uninhibited bite should be bred anyway, IMHO.

Suzanne Keller

Posted : 8/31/2006 10:57:48 AM

[

] Bless ya'll. Thanks so much. I can't get back into boyfriend's yard to garden and it is starting to look bad because of the growling dog. So I can't look him in the eye? It's hard not to lean over him because he is a low rider basset. I used to squat. I better get that book, tried but Books a Million didn't have it. I got two others. We are going on a road trip Saturday so I can do some serious reading and discuss it with the BF. I agree, he should be fixed pronto. I think BF is scared to take him to the vet because he gets all crazy. He attacked him after he got home last time from taking him to the vet just to have his toenails trimmed, it took three people to trim the nails! His vet classified him as obnoxious!

Sorry, didn't answer questions, he does the food guarding/object guarding with BF too. After he gets too bitey when playing with BF, BF yells ouch and lightly pops him on the shoulder. Then Einstein gets all excited and starts bouncing around thinking they are playing. We don't have people over so he isn't used to alot of handling, BF plays with him in the afternoon and when he feeds him at night. He did just get a new food bowl when he bit me. We used to dump it on a piece of wood on the porch because he ate everything else (bowls).

Thanks, I have to persuade BF to get Einstein fixed asap! It's sorta like the doberman's pinched brain syndrome - don't breed a bad dog - perpetuate the behavior - I agree! I am handling my own little babies differently now too, just to make sure they do not have behavior that can lead to future aggressiveness. Tiny dogs if not trained properly can be obnoxious too, I just gotta be sure mine are all good citizens.

Thanks so much!
Suzanne

luvmyswissy

Posted : 8/31/2006 11:18:13 AM

Amazon.com carries the reads spiritdogs suggested try there. And yeah, any direct eye contact is a challenge to the dog. Neutering him is must but it will not stop his aggression automatically you will need to work through his issues. A behaviorlist wouldn't be a bad idea if you can afford one. No matter what your course of action is I would highly recommend NILIF in conjunction with the training method you use with all dogs and puppies. It is a great program and easy to implement.

Good luck - you can also start to develop a relationship with this dog it will be slow, use positive methods, treats and training.

Suzanne Keller

Posted : 8/31/2006 1:41:38 PM

Thanks! The NILIF Training sounds pretty easy. I think BF will do it so we can get everything under control. Then we will all be happy and be able to keep his baby boy. I do believe we need to take him to training classes too. BF said that has been mentioned several times to him. I took my little boy Pom and had a lot of fun. It's amazing how smart they are when you take the time to work with them! My little Willie can even peel an orange and the other day he picked a tomato off the vine, peeled and ate it. He loves fruit and vegetables - I only give them in moderation. A furry behinded dog with an upset stomach isn't fun! Silly little dog!

Thanks, it's cool reading the NILIF thing, I do some things right with my "short people" - they live in my house and I pay attention to them when I want to, Willie taps and smushes toys into my leg and even barks at me to get my attention, now I will ignore that behavior and play with him after I initiate it. It's sorta hard outside though, it is so fun to be outside and have him chasing things I throw. The other dog will just let things hit her if I throw them at her. She just is a cow chewing grass! I like the idea of hiding things for them to find. Keeps them busy!

Thanks ya'll!
Suzanne