How do I react to growling or biting?

I worry about health issues here, 3 years old and all of a sudden? I would definitely take him to the vet for a full work up.  

My only experience with aggression in a dog is when I first met my darling hubby, he already had Chubby. Chubs wasn't too sure about another woman coming in here and taking things over and let me know it too!  

What I did….  

I took his butt to the FLOOR!  

Seriously I did, I started playing all nicy nice with him, I had every intention of dominating him but he didn't know that! I did the puppy bow down come play with me body lingo until I got him started playing. I took the play up a few notches when I stopped going under his nose to over his head then right for his throat. He didn't like that, growled and gave me 'the look.' I growled right back moved in flipped him got his throat and pinned him. He didn't know what happened!  

I played with chubby for weeks like this until suddenly he gave up decided I was top dog and we are great buddies!   I don't think this is what you need to do with your dog though, it really sounds more like some kind of med issue.

Siana--Your methods are extremely dangerous.

Willowchow is right on that. Have you read lots of dog books or have you gone to any training classes?
 
I guess what gets me is deciding what, or, in this case, who a dog "likes" or "doesn't like." I know Spiritdogs is right--80% "aggression" is fear related and that is very difficult to monitor, control, and change. It's very unpredictable since, as we know, dogs aren't machines and we're not always sure why they interpret a specific situation the way they do.
 
A lot of people in the Behavior Group here either have a dog who's fearful and unpredictable, or are trainers and behaviorists working with such dogs.
 
I'm not sure a whole lot of people will agree with this method. I know my fearful dog could very well bite my face and then the damage would be done. Loser situation for the dog and for me.
 
For Birth32--it's interesting how Sam might have been telling you things and you've misinterpreted! And, it's interesting if/what medical issues he might have. Being in pain or perhaps not hearing well (with infected or plugged ears) could cause him to be more paranoid than he used to be. And, true enough, we've just (in some cases, barely) ended our lovely 4th of July--perhaps this, too, has contributed to his heightened fearfulness. Sometimes it seems dogs take matters into their own hands, and it's usually a disaster (of course).
 
Let us know what all he's doing with his muzzle and how it's going.
 
And Willowchow? I like the practical approach with Willow and the muzzle. Nice! []

I appreciate all the replies but I prefer the non aggressive approach. I don't believe that being aggressive with a fearful dog will help anybody, including the dog. I'm trying to make him understand that there is nothing to worry about. If it takes the rest of his life to make him understand I'm willing to do that.  

If I were working with this dog I would use a mixture of all the advice given here.

1st, N.I.L.I.F is a must.

2nd, hand feeding is a must.

3rd, restriction of toys, treats, games, furniture/bed laying & sniffing and leisure walking (letting him sniff around, etc) is a must.

4th, I'd say get an experienced trainer to teach you some Alpha/ leader training skills and techniques.

5th, *And this is if I personally were working with her and all health issues were ruled out* I'd introduce her to the Alpha Roll WHENEVER she growls, shows teeth, snaps, lunges or even attempts to bite. Now remember, this is a technique you MUST be well versed in to use, so hiring an experienced aggression dog trainer would be the way to go. When I do my aggression sessions and I feel I am in a compromising situation of taking a bite, I use a towel to throw over their head which allows me to firmly and appropriately grab a hold of the nape to do the take down.
Again, I DO NOT RECOMMEND YOU DO THIS YOURSELF. But with my dogs, and most of my sessions are aggression sessions, I have a ZERO-TOLERANCE policy pertaining to aggression (whether dog-human or dog-dog).

Now having said that, I do subscribe to the adage that violence begets violence, but you must remember we are dealing with a different species, canis lupus familiaris, not Homo Sapien. Their processing of thought is different than our own.

Dogs DO NOT have an innate desire to please us (though you can't tell 98% of our population that w/out getting laughed at). They do what will have the best outcome for themselves. They live in a Dominant or Submissive world. If you don't stand up and lead, they will, and that has some serious negative ramifications.

I believe a mixture of pos. reinforcement and dominance theory is a very good and most of all effective way of training. It has worked for me for many years and many others I know.

I wish you the best of luck with your pooch. Just remember that avoiding his aggression will only give it time to escalate, and if you have your guard down for a split second, literally, avoidance methods can bite you in the butt (no pun intended).


B.B

Oh gosh, Birth32, I hope you know that I'm right there with you on the nonaggressive approach. Right there with you. I think you're figuring it out--it's just frustrating, isn't it, to think that WHAT we thought they were meaning/saying/doing wasn't really what we thought it was . . .
 
Oh boy--keeps things interesting.
 
As for HeSaidSheSaid, alpha roll away, if it's your thing. I won't be joining you on that one, though. While I agree that dogs don't want to please their human companions/owners, I don't think physical force (if force ever truly works) will accomplish that. I think making the dog "smarter" than he/she really is isn't fair--so I prescribe to the Culture Clash idea--we love them, small brains and all.
 
I've gone to both types of classes in my lifetime and I know which one tends to last and tends to be wholeheartedly accepted. While dogs may not want to please, they do want some kind of paycheck and positive, hands-off training, with positive reinforcement, does work. They learn by rote, just as we do, and they like learning when they can see a paycheck.
 
Training a dog takes a lifetime, and they can learn out of fear or they can learn out of willingness.
 
You decide.

Well count me in that 98%............
 
My dogs DO want to please me and they make that very clear.
 
Alpha rolls AND a towel over their heads?  Yikes!  What a way to confuse, terrify and reinforce bullying behavior.

Alright, Glenda, you've got me there. I suppose my dogs want to please me, but as you can see by my dog (in the picture), she's a terrier (terror) and I'm not convinced she always wants ME happy, though I know she wants things to be happy so it all works together. So, please me or enjoy a pleasant situation--I it works.
 
She's a toughie, for sure. Somedays I jsut don't get little miss independent Ellie. []
 
Next time I might get a GSD . . . (ha)
 
Anyway, you've got great insight and I appreciate your posts more than you know.  

I honestly do believe that most dogs would rather please us than to displease us.  But, yeah, terriers can be a bit more of a challenge!
 
When DH lets the boys in after their after dinner romp, when I'm settled in the living room, it can FEEL like an explosion.  But, IF he reminds them "mom doesn't like it when you run and bark in the house" they'll enter quietly and with the sort of dignity one would EXPECT from a shepherd.  So, they definately aim to please.
 
Yeah, go for a shepherd next time......just be sure you're ready to get a LOT of exercise!

Seriously I did, I started playing all nicy nice with him, I had every intention of dominating him but he didn't know that! I did the puppy bow down come play with me body lingo until I got him started playing. I took the play up a few notches when I stopped going under his nose to over his head then right for his throat. He didn't like that, growled and gave me 'the look.' I growled right back moved in flipped him got his throat and pinned him. He didn't know what happened!

 

  Siana--Your methods are extremely dangerous

 
I have to agree with Lori here, if you try that with certain dogs you are liable to be bitten quite seriously.  I've seen play escalate into a fight between two dogs that were friendly...because of situations just like you described.
 
 

I personally would never even consider "owning" a wild animal nor do I think it's right to deliberately breed wolf dogs....but perhaps this is how one must act with a wolf dog?  If I had to behave this way with my german shepherds, I wouldn't deserve to have them.

I agree with Hesaidshesaid 100%!


  HOWEVER I don#%92t think this particular dog should be handled that way, I think its something medical, there HAS to be a reason a 3 year old dog would SUDDENLY start behaving this way! Some medical reason, or someone has done something to him without the owners knowledge? I would start out with a full vet work up, if nothing is found then I would suspect someone hurt this dog recently and now he is trying to protect himself.


  I am a firm believer in the alpha roll, it has worked wonders on every dog I have ever owned! I also agree that dogs live in a dominance or submissive world, let them think you#%92re a pansy and they are gonna take full advantage of that.


  Chubby, the dog I had to teach wasn#%92t gonna be above me in pecking order isn#%92t a wolf dog, he is half sharpie half chocolate lab. He is VERY aggressive, yet is sweet as pie if you#%92re a member of his pack. My husband wasn#%92t too sure about me performing the dominance play with chubs but I told him if he bites me he bites me, I bite back.


  I grew up in a world where you had to be tuff, you hade to be strong enough to pull a baby calf out of its mother, that takes some serious muscle by the way. We bailed a lot of hay, we broke up dog fights, ok well ahhh I broke up dog fights and got scolded by my mother for it too. I got bucked off many a horse and got right back on them, I learned from a young age animals, namely dogs, live in a military type world. You have your commander, and then those who are below the commander, or alpha. The one on the bottom of the totem pole eats last, and asks permission for anything and everything. In a dogs life this is the norm, they are NOT humans and they don#%92t think like humans either. Although we love our dogs best when they behave like us.


  I#%92m not some beat your dog down type, I like my dogs having their own personality#%92s, I love the challenge Sasha gives me being part wolf along with her natural alpha tendency#%92s. If I were the beat your dog into submission type Chubby wouldn#%92t be as aggressive as he is. It#%92s a part of his natural personality; we love him for who he is. Heidi is a sweetie, loves everyone and is willing to adopt the next stranger on the side walk, Sasha loves people but is shy of them, a natural wolf trait, she isn#%92t ready to accept anyone else into her pack unless I say so, that#%92s the way it should be in her world; chubby is a loving boy, loves to cuddle, loves to play fetch, loves to swim and listens to us very well, however I don#%92t recommend anyone coming to our house without us home and opening our door. Chubs has an alpha side to him as well and sees himself as the great protector when we are away.  We are ok with that, and when a stranger comes calling we take steps to keep chubby away from them, unless we are willing to allow him to meet them and become ‘friends.#%92


  I don#%92t want ya#%92ll to think I#%92m so kind of mean person, I just do what looks like needs done. I firmly believe in talking the animal#%92s language and using it in my best interest. If what you do works for you and your dogs then so be it, I#%92m just saying I have never found being submissive works with dogs.


  Stepping out of the line of fire now.

How is being a benevolent leader being submissive?

I think that very rarely do dogs respond well to being "rolled" by another species.  It keeps getting mentioned that they are not humans, well we are not dogs either. 
 
I don't think you are as much leader as you think you are or your dog would not be so dangerous around others.  Willow attitude has softened significantly since she's figured out her place in our "pack" or family.

Thank you Lori for a LOGICAL post.  And for saying it so nicely.