I'm scared my dog might bite someone someday. Need advice?

Question

We have a small dog for 5 years now. He loves us and the new baby but we haven't been able for years to bring in visitors because he wouldn't stop barking. At anyone. Most of the time I'm a stay at home mom.

Doggy has a huge yard, frequent trips to the dog park (where he behaves bad, too). We don't leave him alone at home after 1 messed up carpet and a scratched door. If we have to, he stays in his crate for a few hours.

So yesterday there were 2 kids playing outside and he just ran off and barked at them. Hubby had to get him back in the house again. We were so mad..
This morning he almost bit the maintenance guy even though our dog knows that person well.
What can we do? Every try to make him obedient failed so far. My husband just wants to get rid of our pet.

We don't have time for this. My husband is on a very tight work schedule and I'm alone in the house with the baby.
Our dog just won't listen. He even growls at us when we pick him up after he tried to get into trouble at the paw ground..
Now that we're in this new house the landlord comes over every few days and she already said she can't stand the little monster........

Oh, and we tried the tips you can read online.... Didn't help.

Thanks c.j.. That's just what we've been doing for years.

He can do the SIT thing. It's not that we didn't train him. And being around people is impossible. For example, my mother in law stayed at my house and he kept growling and barking even after 2 weeks.

Answer 1

I will first tell you there is huge room for improvement with your dogs behavior. It is never too late to make a positive change. Although, I would love to give you all kinds of advice, unfortunately, I can not evaluate effectively what is wrong with your dog over the Internet. So, my best advice to you, is to hire a qualified animal behaviorist or dog trainer that is experienced in aggression and who only use positive reinforcement methods.
He is not a bad dog, he is making bad choices, his behavior works for him. He just needs some redirecting and taught a new way to behave and you do too. This is something that will take a deep commitment from you and your family for change. But, it is well worth the effort for you and your dog. There is a lot of miss communicating going on in your home which = frustration. When families get a dog, most of the time they have no idea the type of commitment a dog truly needs. The best information isn't always easily found and are households are in turmoil. Early socialization and being a benevolent leader from the beginning prevents most problem behaviors from occurring. But unfortunately, most of us are unaware of these things when we get a dog. It is never to late but it is easier to prevent then to cure.

Hang in there, hire a professional, have patience and understanding and you will all be much happier, including your dog. Aren't you all worth that?

Recommended reading:

The Power of Positive Dog Training , Pat Miller
The Other End of the Leash, Patricia McConnell
The Loved Dog, Tamar Gellar

Answer 2

The dog is taking over as alpha. He's running your life, and he knows it. My advise is to stop indulging him and treat him like a dog, it's your house. Your dog will come around, and the appropriate roles will develop into a healthy environment where you can all co-exist.
Some things to consider:

- People go first through doors
- People eat first
- People sleep in the bed- dog sleeps on the floor.
- People walk in front- dog walks behind.
- When dog does something people don't like, dog is corrected
- When dog does something people likes- dog is praised
- Keep the dog on the leash in the house, and in the yard so the behavior can be corrected in time. Poorly timed corrections do nothing to rehabilitate a dog.
- No trips to the dog park until you can control him. You're reinforcing his behaivor by praising him (play time).
- Also, ask yourself what other behaviors is he getting away with because he's little? Think of him as a 100 pound doberman for a while and see how permissive you are.

Practice these things in order to re-establish youselves as the leaders of the house.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

The first thing I see is that he/she thinks he is the top dog, the alpha. Since dogs are pack animals, they need leadership. In cases such as this, obedience training works well - for both the dog and owner.

Expect leash training using a choking chain. When Puppy begins to behave poorly, a sharp yank of the chain will definitely get his attention. You are not doing this to be mean, but you need to show him who's in control. Right now, he thinks he is.

I've had many dogs, and all of them knew who the boss was without being mean to them. The best was a Chow/Shepard. Cinnamon wouldn't let anyone in the house unless I pet her and let her know she did a good job. Once that test was past you could come in.

And as far as the children, she knew the difference between children and a threat. Kids ran in and out of the house all day, and often new ones that I had never seen before. She'd just ignore it. But let an adult try that - and she was at the door snarling and growling.

Trust me on this, I know you have not taught the dog who is the boss. If you think you have, he doesn't. But that all can be changed with training. Try watching Good Dog U on Animal Planet. You'll learn lots of good tips.

Answer 4

the dog has the idea that he is the alpha and that it is ok to bark and yell at those that enter into his space. he is guarding the space he see is his. This is a huge risk. IT will take a lot of work and training in order to fix this. If you do not have the time for this you do have the option of rehoming the dog, but know that if you don't tell the new owners of the barking and snarling with your fears of biting they can come back to you and sue to for a bite. If you are not wanting to take that responsibility then putting the dog to sleep is another option.

Answer 5

If you had a leak in your bathroom, you would call a plumber, so why not call a dog trainer and get them to help...If you ever watch the "dog whisperer" on TV, you find out real fast, the problem is not the dog, it is us..LOL,,,

It is a question of being firm and in control. I learned a lot from that show. I was having trouble with my little cat, using the backs of my dining room chairs, to sharpen his claws or whatever they do that for.....after watching the show, I would just walk over and in a firm, quite voice, I would say no, and remove him..I am having a lot less trouble with him now.

Answer 6

For one thing you need a leash. This type of dog needs to be on a leash. The neighbors could get mad because your dog is 'at large'.
Getting him used to a crate is fine, put a nice doggy bed in his crate for him to curl up in and with time he will think of it as a 'den' of sorts.
It just sounds like he needs leash time and more time with people. Give him lots of positive reinforcement, comfort him with praise. Teach him to 'sit' and then 'come'. My poodle responds to 'stay' instead of come, he thinks 'stay' means come so when I want him to pay attention without a leash I just tell him to 'stay'.
Your dog would like to be trained to sit, most dogs really do like to learn this. It gives them a way to communicate with us directly and know exactly what we want. Teaching a dog to 'sit' is absolutely the easiest thing! All you need is some doggy treats, you and the dog. You hold the doggy treat over the dogs nose, tell him to sit. If he doesn't do it on his own when he looks up at the treat, spot him by pressing on his hind until he sits. When he sits give him the treat, pet him, tell him he's smart and good, etc. Do this over and over and you would be amazed at how quickly the dog learns it and it will make both of you happy because your dog has a command and you can show him off.
This is the beginning, you can work on other commands after you train him to sit. It really doesn't take as long as you think and can end up being a good experience.
If he keeps barking maybe you just have to put up with it? My poodle is a barker, but he doesn't do it in the house, outside he never stops. Inside he stops when we tell him to. He does pretty well around people when we are there. Hmm. All I can say is keep trying...take your dog to different places, like Pet Smart, get him out of his 'territory'. See if you can get him more relaxed on neutral ground. Good luck.

Answer 7

Your dog is displaying bad behavior because it was never taught good behavior or had bad behavior properly corrected. You need to learn how to do this. Enroll in a dog obedience class. They will teach you about dog behavior and how to teach and how to correct your out of control dog. You need professional instruction. You are not going to control this dog just from suggestions (most are very bad) on this forum.

Answer 8

If you have tried all this, and you have no time or inclination for anything else, what makes you think you will find the majic answer here? The only thing left to do is to put him down as an incorrigable dog. Do not pass him off to someone else with all of these issues. Do not be irresponsible. Good luck.

Answer 9

Have you hired a professional obedience trainer? I can't imagine getting rid of a dog you have had for 5 years because you haven't trained him properly.

Answer 10

What kind of dog are we talking about here?

How about a behavorist? You need to have someone really evaluate this dog that knows about aggressive behavior before one of you gets bit.