my dog bites people, what should i do?

Question

I have 4 dogs, they all bark when people walk in my house but after one of them had puppies, she changed. It's been about 2 years since she's had puppies and now when people walk in or out of our house, she bites them. But she'll only do it to some people. Not everyone. why is she doing this and how do I make her stop?

Answer 1

Honestly, if your dog is biting people she needs to be euthanized. You should not tolerate this behavior. She is dangerous. You can try working with a behaviorist first, but biting is not something to take lightly.

Answer 2

How old are the puppies? Female dogs can be very protective over their puppies, especially toward strangers/people not member of your family, and especially while the puppies are still young. The protectiveness usually fades by the time the puppies are about 2-3 weeks old. If she keeps it up much longer than that, it could be a sign that she has a weak temperament.

Obviously she's feeling threathened. Where do you have the puppies? It's best for mother and puppies if they have a bit of peace during the first weeks. If there is too much going on around her, such as visits, family members walking back and forth through the puppy area, the other dogs walking around the puppies etc., she's bound to feel stressed. I would give her a bit of peace and quiet. If the puppies are older than 2-3 weeks, you'll need to supervise her behaviour closely, as puppies learn behaviours from their mother and this is not a behaviour you'd want them to pick up on.

Also, one of your main priorities should be to make sure nobody is harmed. If she cannot be trusted, then you need to put her somewhere else (preferably with the puppies) while you have guests.

Answer 3

From an online message no one can say why your dog is behaving the way she is but it doesn't matter so much, you work on the behavior the same way, whether she's afraid or aggressive. Though understanding your dog's behavior would certainly help you, but it sounds like you'd need a trainer to look at the dog.

First you need to stop her from practicing the behavior, that includes the barking that gets her aroused and precedes the biting. You need to prevent it from happening or stop it when it does. You don't do this by yelling or punishing but by training the dog to focus on you and respond to a command, like come/sit/stay/wait when people are around. This takes time and training and if you're not going to follow through with it, you should think about how you are going to manage this dog to prevent future bites. You also want to replace whatever negative feeling the dog has about people with a positive one. You do this by feeding great treats when people are around and she is sub threshold.

You need to learn about triggers, thresholds, counter conditioning and desensitization.

There are good books to read at this site
www.fearfuldogs.com/books.html

Feisty Fido
Click to Calm

for example.

Answer 4

You'll need to work with a trainer to find out why she does it, and how to stop the habit. While you're at it, work on getting the others not to bark. (Fun fact: Barking dogs are the *single most common* non-emergency complaint to police.) In the meantime, slap yourself for not training them properly in the first place; your neighbors probably hate you.

Answer 5

she is being protective... do you ever notice the people she bites.... maybe its because the are wearing a hat or something that makes the dog feel uncomfortable....i know a few people wh have dogs like that... if it comes down to it you might need to get a kennel and put the dog away while people visit

Answer 6

Only some people not everyone makes it sound like she senses something about them and you are unaware of. Maybe she senses danger to you or her from them.
Dogs have an extraordinary sixth sense about things like that.
I'd be extra cautious around those people if I was you.
Either that or they are afraid of dogs to start with and she senses the fear in them making her think you or she is in danger from them.

Answer 7

You need to restrain her before they come in, so there's no opportunity for her to do it. Then introduce her to them. If she shows aggression, put her out of the room. Typically, a good dog will take that as punishment enough. You might have to be very firm with her.

Answer 8

call Cesar Milan the Dog Whisperer :)

Answer 9

It sounds like you have not bred her again - 2 yrs. ago - good for you...

Don't let her around people if she is a biter.
Confine her when guests are there.

Answer 10

I'm sure others will be able to give you behavioral advice.

Please spay her and stop adding dogs to this world! Her temperment is obviously not breeding quality.