How to curb agressive great dane from biting?

Question

Mo (1 year old) has snapped at both myself and my husband in one days time. Mo's teeth scraped my skin and he actually drew blood when he got my Hubby. Hubby wants to kill him if he does it one more time. This is Mo's last chance. Hubby said he would not pass a dog that bites onto anyone else and would rather put him down. What can I do?

Answer 1

Dogs are like little kids.

If you don't teach them right from wrong, they don't know any better, and will make dangerous mistakes.

Take an obedience class. Hire a private trainer (the best option, it's not as expensive as it seems). Get a book from the library.

EDIT:
Hitting is the WORST thing you can do for a biting dog.
Think about it, if someone hit you in the face 3 times, wouldn't you be plenty pissed? Dogs don't have fists, they have teeth. He'll bite you for hitting him, or he will learn to fear your touch.

Answer 2

A very strict Nothing In Life Is Free regimen should begin imminently. There are some great websites that explain the routine in great detail. It also sounds like you need to establish some house rules for the dog. Here is a link that explains the NILIF and rules of the house http://www.kippsdogs.com/pack.html

I would also consider contacting a behaviorist. They will be able to help you determine why you are seeing aggressive tendencies in your dog...it may be food aggression, toy aggression, resource guarding, fear aggression, etc. Your vet should be able to recommend someone in your area that would come in to work with you, your husband, and your dog. Make sure you do not go with someone that using pain and fear in their trainings. Regardless of what some trainers will tell you, using aggression to fix aggression problems does not work.

I do have to agree with your husband about not re-homing. Re-homing a dog because of biting is simply shoving your problem on someone else. Out of sight, out of mind will never correct the problem and it could cause someone to get seriously hurt.

Answer 3

Some questions...is this a new behavior or has he done it before? What type of training has he had? Is he neutered? Waht was he doing & what were you/husband doing when he snapped?

He needs to go to the vet for a complete exam including thyroid testing...if not neutered he needs to be.

I'm thinking that he hasn't had proper training and that he has been allowed to call the shots..if this is the case then he needs stepped up training and NILIF (Nothing in life is free) needs to be implimented immediately. He can not be allowed on beds, couches etc. He needs to work for everything he gets including his dinner, he needs to learn respect for humans and needs to learn he is not in charge and that he is not thepack leader. he needs some very serious obedience training and behavior modification. I suggest you find a good reliable, responsible trainer to help you out.

Answer 4

You need to talk to a trainer in your area. There are a lot of ways to curb aggression. It just takes someone who understands aggression in canines & canine behavior.

You have a strong temperamented dog & it will take strong corrects to stop it. You just need someone to show you what to do.

A trainer will asses the dog in different ways & will come up with the reason he does it. Then he will show you what to do to stop it.

Dogs bite for different reasons so you need to know what it is that triggers that behavior. Once you know the reason then there are different methods & ways to go about modifying that behavior.

Answer 5

You obviously haven't trained him NOT to bite. Consider actually sending him to a dog trainer.

Answer 6

Consult a behaviorist and figure out why he was trying to bite.

Answer 7

We had the same problem with our dog. Instead of $$$ for personal dog training, we had to get rid of him :(

Answer 8

Try this it might help you regain control of your dog.

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Answer 9

Get trained on how to train and know your dog.