She bit the VET and US!

    • Gold Top Dog

    She bit the VET and US!

    I am so bummed.  My puppy that is a GSD mix bit the vet today and he was just petting her. 
    She has always been a little on the nippy side, but lately it has been way worse.  It is like she has changed personalities or something. 
    Health wise she is perfect, she just wants to hunt and run and fight and wrestle and it is not puppy like anymore.  Reminds of a K9 unit.
     
    She bites us all, all of the time, she will jump up on us and bite our hands we cannot sit on the floor she just walks up and bites us.
    If we try to do anything to her, put on a collar, put her outside she will growl, snarl and bite us.
    Everyone in my family and most of our friends have been bit and have had blood drawn.
    When we walk her she lunges at anything that moves or makes noise. We are at a loss on what to do with her.
    I dont want to get rid of her, we really want a second dog, but I do foster care and cannot have a biting dog.

    We dont know what to do. we have a trainer coming out on Monday and hope that might help but at this point we cannot even take her walking anymore, we cannot get a gentle leader, a regular leash or a choke chain on her without her drawing blood, by biting and scratching.

    HOHUM!! I hate this!!!!!
    • Gold Top Dog
    It's normal for dogs to nip out of pain, so if someone tells me their dog bit the vet, I ask what was happening at the time.  But, it's not normal for one's own dog to continually bite family members.  This sounds like a naughty puppy that has learned by practicing this behavior that you are not going to do anything about it.  She sounds pushy and rude, and in need of NILIF.  My advice, before she really does some harm, is to seek help from a motivational trainer in your area.  You can find one here:
    [linkhttp://www.ccpdt.com]www.ccpdt.com[/link] or here: [linkhttp://www.clickertraining.com]www.clickertraining.com[/link]
    Also, be sure this dog is getting enough of the appropriate kind of exercise.  And, when she is rude to you, simply ignore her and disappear into the bathroom for a couple of minutes.  She will learn that her rudeness doesn't get her anything.  NILIF - nothing in life is free.  She should work for everything - Wanna go out?  "sit"  If she sits, the door opens, if not - too bad.  You need to politely take back the leadership role in your household or she may become CEO - not good.  But you need to do it positively, so that the behavior you want is repeated, and the behavior you don't want extinguishes, but the dog retains a good relationship with you.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have been practicing NILIF since I brought the puppy home at 8 weeks.  I have always done it with her.
    The vet was not hurting her in any way he was simply talking to me and petting her at the same time and she turned and bit him.
    I try to excersice her with fetch and things but I CANNOT get any type of lead on her to walk her, she bites the heck out of us and is growling, snarling, and freaking out.
    We do have a trainer coming out on Monday to try and help, but if that doesn't work I cannot keep this dog. I do foster care and cannot have kids being bit.
    Thanks for the suggestions.
    • Gold Top Dog
    You are going to have to treat this problem very aggressively.  Having a dog that shows handler aggression can be very complicated.  I would love to hear what protocols your trainer determines necessary for treatment. If he doesn't have any ideas feel free to shoot me an email and I can help explain how to handle it. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    It sounds like what might have happened is simply that you have a bossy pup that you are ill equipped to deal with without some help from a pro.  If you work with a training facility that does play groups, all the better.  The best prevention for mouthiness involves sufficient exercise (a tired dog is a good dog), interaction with puppies and adult dogs (some of whom can put her in her place using canine tactics LOL), and training (that reinforces your position as her leader). 
    It is somewhat typical of bossy outta control pups to turn and "discipline" a person who dares to pat the top of their head or shoulders with a nip.  Some of these dogs will actually go belly up to keep you from patting their heads.  Humans often mistake this for "submissiveness" or they assume a dog that ducks away when they try to pat has been abused.  Often, it's just that the dog is trying to assert status.  Keep in mind that a lot of dogs who go through this are not abnormal or aggressive.  They just haven't properly learned how to live in harmony with humans yet.  I would not give up on a puppy this young without getting some advice from a trainer.  While there are some truly aggressive puppies, the percentage is not that high.  It's way more common to be dealing with just a "juvenile delinquent" who, once you send them to "reform school" turns out to be a great dog. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Guess what nippy, pushy herding pups need-- a lot less freedom, and lot more work. This pup should be on a tether at all times (get a leash on him, and leave it on) when he's not confined. This pup should be made to work for each and every bite of food, each play session, everything. Get hold of the book Ruff Love and implement the entire full-blown NILIF program.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Can someone school me...what is this NILIF stuff? where do I find it?  Jules
    • Gold Top Dog
    Jules,
     It means Nothing In Life Is Free
     
    You can google it and find a direct path, but it basically is that the dog works for everything, pets, treats, love..it works as good as the poeple teaching it if you know what I mean, the better you stick to it the more the dog learns from it