Adopted dog from shelter. He has begun growling and snapping. What do we do. We love him, but worry?

Question

He is a small dog, advertised as a purebred lhasa. However, we dont think he is, as we have a purebred lhas and he really does not fit the bill.
we got him in December, he is about two years old. He was very lovable and sweet when we got him, but has begun to snap when we pick him up and growl at us.
He snapped at my daughter and hit her so hard in the nose with his mouth that she has a black and blue face.

My little lhasa that we have had since she was three months old is the sweetest dog ever and would never growl at us or bite us or snap at us.

What can we do to control this behavior.
He is very very active and full of life and energy.
If it werent for the problems as described, he would be almost as perfect at the other one.

What suggestions does anyone have for breaking him of this bad behavior

Answer 1

"He snapped at my daughter and hit her so hard in the nose with his mouth that she has a black and blue face."


with his mouth? are you sure?

Answer 2

If he is white and has a little moustache he might be my daughters Lhasa. He sounds very much like my daughter's dog, Bubba. He is usually very sweet but he is such a nut when he thinks he's not top dog. He's a very sweet guy to a little girl Lhasa but he's heck to people. Does that sound like him? He was such a good doggie husband but he was what we called 'grumpy'. So my daughter kept him for breeding and we never tried to 'cuddle' him because of his .. yes.. shoving his face at you.. he tries not to bite but only give you a head butt.. I had two dogs (my limit) and working full time+. My daughter moved to a college dorm and gave the little guy to a shelter. He was housebroken and a good watch dog for a little grump. If you want a watch dog he's your little fuzzy man. The personality seems to come with the male of the breed.. although the closeness of an available female might have a lot to do with his demeaner. If you have a little female, she might be coming into heat. He did make beautiful puppies. You might try a trainer but otherwise, you have a sweet little fierce watchdog. I don't know if neutering would make his into a loveable slob or if you would even want him if he was all that loveable. but.. If you have very small children, you might consider either giving him back with a warning about his head butting and grumpiness or have him euthanized if they won't give you a trade-in or your money back. ( I suspect my daughter's boyfriend might have abused Bubba also ).. I went to pick up Bubba and have him euthanized but somebody fell in love with him before I got there. So you might have him.. yes he is pettigreed and cost $900 dollars, and loves to go for a ride wearing a harness because we used to tie his harness so he couldn't fall and let him hold his nose out the window as far as he could. He thought he was making the car go or something.. if he could, he would have sat on the hood of the car. His favorite treat was cut up hot dog. He was a good daddy to all his puppys and played nursemaid to his preggie wife, both pre and post partum. He wants to be good.. I hope you can find a trainer or a good training book.. Try the local library for help if you can't afford a trainer. Good luck with little Grumpy (if you have him) :)

Answer 3

Well, I'd check for mental or possibly physical problems. If he growls and snaps when you pick him up, he might be having pain somewhere that you make worse when you pick him up. When you got him from the shelter, they may not have told you about physical or psychological problem he may have had. Most shelters do evaluations (food aggression, getting along with other pets and children) on dogs of all sizes and breeds before putting them up for adoption. From the sounds of it, this shelter either didn't do the evaluation or missed something. I wouldn't go back.

However, as for correcting this behavior, I don't know if there's much you can do, other than obedience training. If your willing to pay for it, there might be a trainer in your area who will come to your home. There may not be, but don't give up.

Take him to the vet and get him checked out. Maybe he got ahold of something that's making him act this way, or he might not be getting enough exercise. If he's full of energy, he needs a way to release it. Find a dog run, leave him in the backyard, something where he can run it off.

Good luck and I hope that helps.

Answer 4

The people who are telling you to take him to the vet are right. Mkae sure that this problem is not physical... dogs can tolerate an extraordinary amount of pain and function normally with spats of irritation. It does not sound like it is physical but you can't take the chance.

The next thing is to find a trainer/behaviorist. Look for someone with credentials of Dog Behaviorism... they are worth the money (probably $40/hr and upwards to $60/hr or more). The good ones are the ones that won't interact with the dog but will show you how to handle him. A good behaviorist will let you handle the dog while he instructs you and your family. This way the dog won't be confused by who is in charge of him. Don't trust the trainers that get New Agey on you and say THAT ALL DOGS LIKE ME... Dogs are like people in this sense: sometimes they are suspicious of someone without any reason. Every behaviorist has been around a dog that was suspicious of them. It doesn't mean they can't help you if your dog doesn't trust them right away... The training is really for you.

This problem can really be fixed but just know your whole family will have to participate in the training.

Once you have a dog under control he will love you for it. Don't worry about breaking his spirit or thinking of this in those terms. Think about it as stress. Your dog is exhibiting stress and he wants you to be the leader; if he thinks you are in control then he won't be stressed. Think of it as this: Do you want to be the president with all his responsibilities? Most dogs want to be followers and they want a place in a pack.

Answer 5

I suggest a visit to the vet first to rule out any physical pain that may be causing him to lash out with aggression... you say he does it when you pick him up, maybe it hurts him and causes pain aggression. If there is nothing wrong with him it may be a dominance issue or something associated with a bad experience in his previous home.. either way I suggest adding a more rigid social structure to his life to establish that you guys are the bosses and he has no right to snap at you. An easy training technique to try is NILF(Nothing in Life is Free) you can learn it here... http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog_nilf.htm

Also I suggest a lesson in becoming alpha.. it will give you more control over your dog and make him respect you as a leader which makes it far less likely that he will bite or snap at you... http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-alphadog.htm

Good luck! It is a good thing you did adopting him and I know it can be hard when you didnt raise a dog from a pup but dont give up on him yet he can still learn to be a well-adjusted dog that is just as well-behaved as your female.

PS If it is a dominance issue the NILF will start to work right away and you will see a marked difference in his attitude towards you and your family.. It is important to include your daughter in this training as she should be considered above the dog in the social hierarchy as well, perhaps even more so.

Answer 6

Give the dog time. Take the dog on WALKS. I mean really walk her. Dogs love to walk, walk, walk, smell and pee and poop. After some time, take her to a dog park, gradually let the dog experience---so gradually, more and more. Get toys for the dog, geared for that breed. Even talk, and even bring the dog into Petsmart. They have knowledgable people who could give you more information. Care for the dog, bathe, towell dry and play with the dog. f she came from a puppy mill- consider that like an abused child! Be very sweet, very loving, even a pit can be wonderful if raised very carefully. Months ago, I happened to see a young man bring 2 pits into the dog park. He had those dogs under HIS control, and those dogs didn't do anything, unless the owner gave the o.k. That's nice to see!- View Cesar- has a whole pack of dogs-and they all walk BEHIND him!

Answer 7

Well obvouisly don't go to that shelter anymore lol. Um try contacting the ASPCA and see if they know anyone who is great at working with dogs who have behavior problems. I'm sorry to not be giving as much info as I'm sure you would like but this has never happened to me before, hope everything works out for you and you're pup.

Answer 8

When my dog was younger and wild, he was out of control. Instead of taking him back, I went to my local pet store and bought the biggest dog crate I could find. Then, when ever my dog did something I didnt like, I took him and put him in the crate in my garage. I put him in there for a couple of hours with food and water. After doing this a view times, my dog learned not to be dumb and out of control, but rather to be a good dog. He doesnt want to go to his crate. I say crate and his ears drop and he gets his sad puppy dog face. Anyways, he is no longer wild and I am much happier.

Answer 9

Got kids ? get rid of it ! if no work with him alone a flick to the nose if he doesnt stop I found although not policticaly correct to bite it back if it bites you not hard enough to break skin but I have yet to be biten twice by the same animal whther it be goat dog horse snake what ever

Answer 10

Instead of punishing him, try treating him with kindness and rewarding him when he does something right.