Are there ill tempered dogs?

Question

My small dog has always been somewhat overly aggressive. What to do against this?
Walking him for long hours doesn't do the trick. Neither did socializing as we have to leave the paw ground after a while, especially if there are other males.
He's not fixed and I am not planning on doing it because my dog is a mexican hairless and they can't take the normal anestesia. He is also slightly shaking in his sleep. We've been to the vet though many times and he's fine.
I bought the little guy when he was 10 weeks old from a family in Italy. We drove by there to pick him up and his mother was just the same - Too nervous and constantly tense, even in her sleep. At that point in time I didn't think of anything bad. Now I see he's like her.

Are there solutions you know of?

Oh and he won't listen to you, no matter how you try to get his attention.
He starves himself if there was trouble again, like when family comes over and I put him in the other room after he doesn't stop barking etc.
I read A LOT about dog training online and we tried to train him but doggy doesn't bother.
He also won't play with us. There are toys in the house and we've tried them all.. No success. He would only growl and take his toys away from us.

He doesn't really bite, just likes to "attack" people or scare them. Everyone. It's nerve wrecking.
I would love to have people coming over.. We have a beautiful shady yard in Florida and he hates being there even for a few minutes.
Our landlord already had to have one carpet replaced and the backdoor will probably be the next thing we need to shell out.

My husband wants to get rid of our dog but I still love him.. I mean it's been 5 years and you can't give a pet away like that.

I read EVERYTHING already. They're usually nice pets.

He sometimes also scratches himself pretty bad. We changed foods to test for allergies but I've noticed that the scratching is a mental problem.

His breeders are not actual breeders. They got their dogs from Mexico and had one litter for sale.

Answer 1

I would try to have him neutered... Have a full panel done to see if he is a good candidate.. Most dogs, even small ones, can handle surgery. I've actually noticed the large breed dogs to be a bit riskier for surgery rather then the small ones. If you do get rid of him, you'll want him to be neutered anyhow to keep him from ending up with a backyard breeder or puppy mill..
There's nothing different about a mexican hairless in terms of genetic make-up that would make the entire breed bad candidates for surgery.. Many dogs also shake in their sleep. All but one of mine do and they have had surgery a couple times with no complications.. A full panel test though, would tell you how his organ function is. If they're fine on that, there's no reason not to neuter him..
Most little dogs are pretty nippy anyhow. Another thing you can try is NILIF- Nothing In Life Is Free..
http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

This guy also has some great articles, many of which are free to read online..
http://leerburg.com/aggresiv.htm

My parents poodle is the same way.. He'll attack if you sit down near him on the sofa.. When they actually work with him and do NILIF, he's a lot better. But, it's something you have to do all the time..

Answer 2

WHo told you your dog cannot have anesthesia?? It was probably the breeder- breeders give a lot of false information to owners and it makes me very sad. I took anesthesia in school, and believe me, there's always SOMETHING you can give an animal to knock it out for the 10 minutes it takes to neuter it. Take it to a reputable veterinarian- he will explain to you why anesthesia is perfectly safe for your dog.
Some dog breeds cannot handle certain drugs used for relaxation, pain, or induction of anesthesia. This is usually avoided by using different drugs, or directly gas anesthetizing instead of using those drugs. Believe me please- whoever told you that is misinformed. What will happen if your dog needs emergency surgery one day? Will you say no because someone once told you he cannot have anesthesia?
Neutering is probably the best thing you can do for this dog. It will help aggression and sometimes helps skittishness.

Answer 3

well, you can tell a lot about a dog from its mama... this dog could grow up the same way.


"can't take normal anestesia" than why don't you talk to your vet about different types? I guarantee he will calm down if you get him neutered.

I read this in a book:

"If the dog is a small dog and aggressive or dominant, when it does something bad, lift his front feet off of the ground and give a verbal correction. or you could put him into a submissive posture."

I don't know if it works.

you may want to contact a pro trainer.

good luck! hope i helped!

Answer 4

That is what I talk about all the time.. The fact that dogs are BORN with their temperaments, their owners do not make them. Your dog has a genetic problem and you better either take care of it in a constructive manner because he sounds like an accident looking for a place to happen!!
Be honest, is that dog spoiled in any way by you?
He needs real training or as someone else mentioned to be contained in a manner that will not cause you issues!!!
Good luck!

Answer 5

Read everything you can find on this particular breed. I would consider talking to a trainer to see if anything can change this behavior. It takes alot of patience and time to train a dog but it is worth it considering how many years you will have the dog. Good luck.

Answer 6

Bad breeders purposely or ignorantly breed bad temperament into dogs. Good breeders try to improve temperament in their breeding stock, but are not always successful.
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your dog's breeding, he could have an in-bred temperament issue that you won't be able to correct. Unless you can calm him down around other dogs and people, you might have to keep him isolated from situations where he can get hurt, or where he can hurt someone else.

Answer 7

While the slight shaking in sleep in probly him shivering he is probly cold give him a blanker. Unforantly most little dogs are aggressive. Imagine when you mange to get on your hinds your 2 feet at most the world looks big and scary from that angle. Take him for short walks and try to avoid other dogs. Unforantly sounds like its to late to train him for wanted behaviors and I know training dosen't work on all dogs.

Answer 8

about the scratching, your dog may have allergies. not all allergies are from the food they eat. my mom had a dog that was allergic to flea bites and one that was allergic to grass! have your vet try an allergy medication to see if the scratching stops(or at least, slows down).ask the vet how long it takes for the meds. to work, also. good luck with the other problems :-)

Answer 9

I would take him to a trainer. Dog parks aren't always the best place to"learn" socialization. He is actually training you guys how to treat him as opposed to the other way around. He needs to learn that you are the pack leader and not the other way around.

Answer 10

We had a rat terrier that only loved one person and developed into an indiscriminate biter. I'm sorry to say, it cost him his life.