Need advice, got bit by a dog......my own

[F2CMaDMaXX]

There are many people on these forums that are not animal lovers or understanders, and they don't need to defend themselves, that's just a section of people, and that's fine.

However, i wouldn't take advice from them on dogs

People suggesting the staring part are correct, when they stare at you, they're testing their position in the pack, you need to win that one, not hard, square up to them (don't need to close distance) and don't blink whilst staring right back into their eyes, wait for them to break.
They should break quickly, if not, keep it up once every so often until they do - your subsequent posts and descriptions sound like it was very much a space invasion issue, in portion with a little 'place in pack' testing, with him being two, it's not surprising.

He understands what he did from your descriptions, that's very important, it doesn't excuse the behaviour, but it means you don't have a big problem to deal with - additionally, nothing wrong with the breed.

We just adopted a 13 year old Dachshund, mostly deaf and unfortunately incontinent, owners dumped her on the pound, neither the pound nor the vet would put her down as she is healthy, they just didn't want her anymore.

Tell me who is going to adopt her?? she would have just lived out the last of her days alone, in the pound



Anyway, she's sweet but after a week or so, she's now accepted us as her pack, but has started acting up whilst she begins the process of determining where in the pack hierarchy she sits (3 other dogs & us) so if she's unsure or we're 'invading her space' then she nips at us, she's nearly through it all now, careful punishment when it happens and lots of love when she accepts it along with some staring contests and we're all good to go.

 

[BillGabby1]

The dog apparently is being very possessive of his kennel/crate. Due to the dog's breed, and with him being a male, he may be a little more aggressive than a female.



Finally--if not already done--think about getting the dog neutered.

At 2 years it's already too late, our older male was neutered at around that age, and between him and his kennel mate he is still dominant dog, I have chastised him strongly for whipping on the younger dog, and now all I have to do is give him the eye and point my finger at him like pointing a pistol and he'll get a funny oh shat look on his face that says oops I screwed up! He still "forgets" now and then. It is a dominance thing and he's never drawn blood just being a bully.
I've given my opinion earlier so I'll leave it at that.
Gabby

 

[BillGabby1]

Dog Dominance ... Old Story ... All True ... 25+ Years Ago ... Narrative ...

I adopted a stray lost Yellow Lab German Shepard Mix. Looked yellow lab with a narrow muzzle. Did not want a dog at that stage of my homestead life but what the foook are you going to do? She had some issues at first. The major one was who was boss .... me or her?

We, (her and I) were out hunting for the pot with my very nice .177 scoped spring gun. I shot a nice rooster Chucker. She thought it was hers. I knew it was mine. Our dinner. This is all true. She did not want to give up the dead bird. I insisted she did. I won. She lost.

The violence included me getting snapped at and her being slammed dunked hard against the ground via a hip throw. Then I BIT her hard on the ear(s) several times while holding her down and clamping her jaws shut. Quite a struggle. I did not want to did what I did.

But .... I also knew it had to be done right there right then and not softly. I growled while biting. Bit through in a couple of places. I tasted her blood. She did not taste mine. That was the first and last time she exhibited dominance traits against me. The rest took time.

She was extremely gun shy when I adopted her. That slowly changed over a couple of years. The last 10-12 years we were together were great. She loved hunting. Loved the beaver pond. So did I. Summertime bathing. She loved the steel head I poached.

Barking up the wrong tree had real significance. I got two squirrels. She got one. Goldie did love kids and other dogs. Strange. Her best doggie buddy was a huge male pit bull. She hated cats and skunks. Overall one of the best friends I ever had in my whole life.

She lived 15 years or so. I gave her the ending needle shot into her foot vein myself at the Vet. She died in my arms. Very hard thing to do putting down your best friend. Every man has the right and duty to kill his own dog. I did. Bad dog behavior can be corrected.

Changing her bad character into good character took much time, consistency and love. Never had to hit her. Never had to use a loud voice. She knew. Bad people behavior I am not so sure about. It was easier letting and watching people die than watching her die.

Respectfully. Now I only remember the fun times. All true. Remote Illinois Valley SW OR.

Where the heck did you find a Chucker? I've seen grouse and quail, even wild pigeon here but not a chucker. Turkeys out the wazoo!
Gabby

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, his breed and size mean you need to immediately knock off the play fighting, it blurs the line between playing and fighting, they struggle, well all dogs do, but the size of these dogs mean we will and can play.

By all means, play with him, just don't play fight.

 

[BillGabby1]

I've had dogs that I loved, and that were the greatest companions. That were also very much attuned to me and my family. The best 2 were a German Shepherd, and a Vizsla that saved me from walking right into a Black Bear sow and her half grown cub
from that day on if we were outside together she was near by and kept me in her view, I didn't need to call her, she was there.
I have her photo on my PC wallpaper and the photo of my GS directly above my desk, looking much like his grand sire Rin-Tin-Tin. He could read my mind! If dogs can really love these 2 did.
Gabby

 

[Jamie6.5]

I find it odd that you have a dog that's supposed to 1/2 Pit and 1/2 Rottweiler, it's 2 years old, and only weighs 40 lbs.

The Rottie parent must have been a runt.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

In my experience, When my dog had done that I let it know who the alpha was. Hard, swift and with little mercy.

I had to do that all of two times before the dog realized there are some people you can bubblegum with and there are some you simply do not.

Try the tough love approach. Smack the hell out of its rear end.. no, Im not saying beat the dog and of course don't be "cruel" (thats a given). But teach it a lesson, show it whos boss. Grab it by the neck and keep its head on the floor while you smack its rear end so it realizes you're an insurmountable force to be reckoned with. Sure it'll yelp or growl but it does gets the message, you're the alpha and its lucky to even be close to you. Once you strike fear in that dog it will also respect you (granted you must also show the dog love, which I know is a given)

Of course once dominance is established it should be all downhill from there. My dogs were great up until their passing 10 years later.

 

[DirectDrive]

I've NEVER been rough or abusive with him, nor hit him or otherwise. I have scars on my arms from sharp nails and wrestling around. Never has bothered me when I get a wound or two from playful fun.

The dog sees you as a peer (rival) and not as pack leader.
In my opinion, after reading the 1st post we have a dog being a dog and an uneducated human.
I think though, after reading the whole thread you are getting educated in regards to animal behavior.

 

[Pete F]

He had a neural seizure as a pup and spent two days in puppy ICU when he was just 4 months old. I cried like a b**** and slept for three nights on the couch holding him because I was afraid he would pass alone in the dark. I transferred him to the best doggy doctor in the state on day two because I was so worried. Make no mistake here, putting him down is soooo far beyond my realm. But, I appreciate the feedback.

I'll try this one more time and then quit. I have never had a dominance issue with a dog in my 62 years and have had many dogs - doesn't make me an expert though. IMHO these may be seizure related episodes. Our dog with epilepsy showed the same reaction after the episode, tail between the legs and belly crawl. She knew that she had done something wrong, loss of bladder control, but we never gave her any indication that she had done something wrong. She wouldn't bite during the episode, just wanted to be held in our lap. This is a fear reaction. Different dogs, different reactions. The kennel may be his lap (safe place). I would at least try to rule seizures out. I can't remember how they test for it, but it seemed to be easy and inexpensive. By the way, she was half wolf mixed with Rhodesian Ridgeback and Husky. Looked like a blue eyed wolf.

 

[Kruel J]

The dog sees you as a peer (rival) and not as pack leader.
In my opinion, after reading the 1st post we have a dog being a dog and an uneducated human.
I think though, after reading the whole thread you are getting educated in regards to animal behavior.

I've owned several dogs, and never had this issue. Maybe more like an inexperienced human with this kind of thing.

 

[Defense Minister]

I sometimes play rough with my dog and her teeth end up against my skin, but she never bites. If she accidentally closes a little too hard I call her on it and she immediately stops and cowers a bit, acknowledging that I'm her master and she's sorry.

A dog will never bite its master, so your dog doesn't see you in that role. With a rot/pit mix, that is a very dangerous situation that I would put an immediate end to if I was in your shoes. I'm not, and you have to decide, but the consequences of keeping that dog around could be disastrous both emotionally and financially.

 

[mtm68]

Sorry, didn't read all 7 pages; have you checked his kennel for anything odd without him around?

 

[Kruel J]

Sorry, didn't read all 7 pages; have you checked his kennel for anything odd without him around?

Yeah, we did that while he was outside. Nothing but blankets.

 

[mtm68]

Yeah, we did that while he was outside. Nothing but blankets.

Bummer, sorry, should have read the thread.

 

[Hawaiian]

There is no reason to not expect it to happen again. You can seek out a professional dog trainer and get reliable advise for dealing with this. We all have suggestions, but a professional trainer will give you better advice. Know that when you went to the doctor for treatment, they were required by law to file a report with animal control. If you go to the doctor a second time, you will be contacted and action may be taken by animal control. You now have a dog that is known to show aggression. If he bites someone else, your knowledge of this will be used against you when the lawsuit is filed.
I am sorry that this happened.

 

[cayuse24]

I have a pit mix, about 7 years old. when I first got him he was a pound adoption, there was some issues at first. He nipped at me a few times. Once when he was in his crate he wouldn't come out and nipped when I tried to touch him. I watched an episode of the dog whisperer and Caesar said something he says pretty frequently, walk your dog, there is too much stored energy. I started walking him every day and have had zero aggression problems ever since. Maybe I'm lucky, and you have an isolated problem but maybe he has too much energy. At least you might be able to start there, if that doesn't work out give Caesar a call haha. I get it, they are family and I couldn't put the little dude down either good luck to you.

 

[DirectDrive]

We used to have a Rott/Lab mix.
Large dog around 110 and looked mostly Rott.
Very, very gentle female.

One day a neighbor that knew Gretchen was visiting.
Gretchen was laying in her bed and this neighbor thought it would be cute to
get down low and say "Hi Gretchen."

Very close. Too close.
Gretchen gave out a loud warning bark.
I didn't see this as it was happening and hopefully I would have stopped it, had I seen what was going on.

As in the OP, I think the dog's defensive perimeter was being challenged by a peer.
Gretchen was in a corner and the OP's dog was in a kennel....nowhere to retreat.
The neighbor "made herself appear smaller" by getting low and then she came in too close.
This was the only aggressive behavior I had ever seen from Gretchen.

 

[billdeserthills]

There is no reason to not expect it to happen again. You can seek out a professional dog trainer and get reliable advise for dealing with this. We all have suggestions, but a professional trainer will give you better advice. Know that when you went to the doctor for treatment, they were required by law to file a report with animal control. If you go to the doctor a second time, you will be contacted and action may be taken by animal control. You now have a dog that is known to show aggression. If he bites someone else, your knowledge of this will be used against you when the lawsuit is filed.
I am sorry that this happened.

Happened that way to me, the second time the dog bit someone, the humane society called. That taught me to tell the Dr from now on that I fell off the roof
maybe even landed on some nails too, cause self-incrimination should be against the law

 

[Hawaiian]

Or tell the Dr. that a stray dog bit you and ran off.

 

[DunRanull]

"The first bite is free...", someone wise in the ways of dogs once told me. Under the circumstances my own reaction would be to get rid of the dog. The first time he cuts loose on someone else, could be tragic and costly.