My naughty dog bit someone's ankle :(?

Question

I adopted a rescue dog 18 months ago. He's a mongrel and came from a nasty background of alcohollic adults. At the start he was aggressive and antisocial, but somehow with patience I was able to get rid of the bad traits and simply learned that there are some people and situations he doesn't like to be around so keep him out of trouble by avoiding them if necessary. Recently I left him for 5 days with my friends (who he adores and knows well). Everything was ok until they had visitors (whom my dog had met the day before on their own territory, with their own dog), when he suddenly launched himself at one person's ankle and bit them badly, all for no apparent reason but as I wasn't there I can't say. Now my dog is under 21 day observation with the vet (we go every 5 days for a checkup), who knows how hard I've worked with the dog and what progress we've made together. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can teach my dog to trust more when left with someone? He's clearly territorial.

Many of you have made some valid suggestions so far - I've already used a muzzle during improving his social skills, and my mutt had stayed with those friends before overnight with no probs. I'm inclined to agree with those comments suggesting
1. he relies on me (which is actually a compliment)
2. further training (which is actually what I was asking about in the first place).
Comments suggesting putting him to sleep aren't very useful, please don't post any more such responses! I have no reason to believe it's a permanent situation with my pooch, I've worked hard with him and I don't intend to give up, he's only 2 years old and I know these things take time. Poor guy must've seen some nasty stuff when he was a tiny pup :( Looking forward to some more responses. Thanks :)

Answer 1

I dont think it has anything to do w/ territory. It may be association. For example: I had a conversation w/ a trainer who works w/ the FBI. She trains overly aggressive dogs (mostly drug dogs) and rehabilitates them. She also traines police and search K-9s.

An officer had arrived back to the station late w/ his K-9 after a shift and decided to take the dog home instead of taking it to the kennel, which he should have. This dog was still in training and rehabilitation.

He called Robin (the trainer) in a panic because the dog, the dog he's been working with for the past 4 months was growling at him, in an aggressive posture, hackles raised ready to kill him!! She asked him where was and what he was doing. He said in the kitchen, cooking eggs. She asked what did he have in his hand, he said a spatula. She instructed him to put the spatula down and start talking calmly to the dog.

As soon as he put the spatula down the dog was okay. Turns out the dog had been severly beaten w/ a shovel by his previous owners. Anything that looks REMOTELY like a shovel he freaks out.

So in your case whatever happened to your pup previously may have resonating affects now. Unfortunately you'll never know so you have to be very observant to what sets him off. It could be certain actions, clothing, beards, hats, a certain cologne or perfume. Really anything!

Good Luck

Answer 2

Such a pity if you had made so much progress, but well done for what you have achieved with your dog.

I recommend first of all that you get him muzzle trained and then at least you can put one on to prevent anyone getting hurt. I would use it whenever he meets new or fairly new people etc.

I would also recommend finding a very ood dog behaviour specialist in your area, your vert should be able to help you with recommendations.

I know these things might sound a little horrible or expensive but they are both worth it if they prevent your dog from biting someone else and maybe having to be put to sleep for it.

I really hope you manage to find a solution to this new problem as it sounds like you really have done well so far.

Answer 3

My family is renowned for being a circus, every stray, unwanted cat/dog (and many other animals), we have had many rescue animals with many different pasts, any animal attack is unacceptable, and the past history doesn't mean its any less serious, you need to make sure he is in a proffesional kennel when you go away now and ensure they know the situation, including this incident, from the sounds of it the dog has learnt to trust you and therefore when you are with him you should continue your good work with him, unfortuanatly i dont think you will be ever able to trust him 100% and that is always hard, remember, you haven't got rid of the bad traits at all... you have just shown him that humans can care and can be trusted... more precisely you... each new scent/vision is something which will make him wary and maybe even aggresive, you need to be there to control and reassure him. I would consider professional dog schooling though. Dont give up though, all ours worked out in the end!!!!!

Answer 4

I reccommend you get him used to wearing a muzzel. This will help in situations where you have no choice but to go somewhere where he might react. You will feel more confident in him as you know he wont be able to bite. This is not the solution however it is the first step in building trust between yourself and the dog again. Classes are good for socialisation, if you can talk to the trainer beforehand they will beable to reccommend a suitable course to take. As for him staying with friends, it appears from what you have wrote they trusted your dog. This is fine however if they let their guard down and trust him too much then accidents will happen as they are not anticipating his behaviour to change in different enviroments. Him not reacting the previous day does not mean he will never react in a totally different setting. You have learnt a hard lesson and if you have to leave him again you will have this doubt going through your mind and the people you trust next time will be more aware of how he might react. The more people you get him used to (under controlled conditions) in all sorts of enviroments the better chance of him adapting. However also be aware that he might never be trusted with people he does not know and this is no failure on your part. He has been hurt and it will take a long time for him to trust again.

Answer 5

I agree with petlover, you are his pack leader and he trusts you, he is obviously not ready to be left with other people, or if you simply have to go away for a short while then your best bet is to leave him in a boarding kennel where people are trained to cope with this type of behaviour and you will have piece of mind, you may never be able to leave him with friends as his problems may be so deep seated, perhaps it would have been better if you could have left him for a couple of hours to start with and built it up from there, I actually don't think it is a territorial thing rather than a 'missing you' thing and he probably thought you had deserted him.

Answer 6

Hard one this.On the one hand you say you kept him away from situations where he might have reacted and then there are times when you need to leave him with friends and you have no control over what might present itself to him.
The best advice I can give you is to carry on as you were but if you need to leave him in the future then kennel him.By doing so you will place him into a controlled environment where the staff can be forewarned as to his possible unpredictable behavior.I know you may think it kinder to board him with friends but you can't afford to take the risk.
I have a rescue dog and am fortunate in that despite abuse he is a 'softy' .But with any rescue dog you are inheriting a problem and often a deep rooted one for which a seemingly innocuous 'trigger' can take him back to the abuse scenario.
Get your dog back and keep working with him but stay close to him as you have done to date.Always remember his ability to revert back but try not to worry too much.If he's now 90% good then you've done as well as you can-just keep him out of trouble
and away from temptation!

Answer 7

As you are his pack leader you cannot expect him to be well behaved in your absence.
You should always supervise this dog as he is your responsibility and you are aware that because of his bad experiences he does have aggressive tendancies.
Well done for making so much progress but you must not put other people or your dog at risk by leaving him with other people in strange situations.
It isn't fair.

Answer 8

I would get sum advice from a dog trainer....my dog has gone thru something similar..he was such a placid puppy and all of a sudden has decided to nip people's fingers if they reach out to stroke him.
My trainer has said that he just seems to be getting a little too big for his boots...!
So iv had him to some xtra training classes, maybe something for u to think about..?

Answer 9

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Answer 10

That's not a "naughty" dog - that's a dog that needs training. An incident like that is YOUR fault, not the dog's. If you are not going to put him down, then you have to train him.

If you don't know how or don't feel qualified, speak to your vet, who should be able to put you in touch with a trainer - ideally someone who will train you how to train your dog.

But to have dog that bites is unacceptable, and in law, YOU are liable for the actions of your dog.