If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
My Dog is getting more agressive every time
I have a two year old Sharpei-Viszla mix, who's been always pretty
stubborn and neurotic, but he's a great dog who has never showed me anything but affection. The first year I tried to train him as much as I could, but because of my wife being sick in the hospital for two moths, just a few weeks after we got the dog (from the pound, when he was 4 months), the first four to five months in the house I couldnt give him too much attention and train him when the time was right. I did socialized it as much as I could, although now I think it should have been more. We have always taken him to the dog park and to the dog beach and before he had never showed any agressive behavior, just got scared of other dogs, some of them. He has basic obedience training, and even though he knows the commands, some times he just doesn't do it, he becomes stubborn, but most of the time he obeys well. Another problem is that my wife has always spoiled him very much and I'm out of the house 9 hours a day, when she stays with him and lets him do whatever he wants. So that's the background, and the problem is this. Last year only once he showed a sign of clear agression towards a nurse who came to the house to do a treatment to my wife, he got really crazy as soon as the nurse entered the house, but since he had never done this before she let him stay around and when she was not watching he almost bit the nurse, and got too agressive. Fortunately, the nurse was not afraid, and she didnt get upset, although my wife put him away in case he was gonna do something again. I wasn't home that time, and couldnt do anything about it. Though I was pretty shocked when I heard this. We always have visitors in the house ever since he was very young, and he'd been used to be around strangers inside the house. And then, this year, like six months ago, it has happened three times already, to my brother (who knows him well), and a couple of friends from out of town who were visiting (at different times). They tried to pet him, and he got scared and try to bite them, luckily nothing happened, just scared us. And finally, last week, and that's when I thought I had enough. I did something a little stupid but something I had done before a lot of times. When he was chewing a rawhide, he had been with it for over an hour, and I went to him, grabbed the rawhide with my hand, and held it for him to chew it better. I had done this many times, with bones, with rawhides, and other things when he's chewing them, and I thought he trusted me that I'm not planning to take it away from him, just help him chew it. And I did this all the time to make him trust me more. But this last time, I was holding it for like 5 minutes, and just when I was about to leave it to him alone, he got crazy and tried to bite my hand (he actually snipped my hand and left a small but painful mark, no blood though), and I saw him and he was completely mad growling at me. I backed of a little, and immediataly I went to him as soon as he became normal, told him to go down, and started talking to him, saying No and Bad, and other things. The problem was that it took me so much by surprise that I couldnt figure out what to do, so first I let him smell me and let him calm down. Right away he showed signs of regretness, and he tried to aproach me but I kept my distance. I was totally shocked and finally I went to sleep and in the morning he woke up next to me in my bed. I know it's not like that, but his whole behavior after the incident was like he was telling me Im sorry. By the way, two weeks ago he got into a fight with a dog in the dog park, which he had never done before. Normally when a dog scared him or attacked him he just got scared, backed off and go to the next dog, but this time the dog attacked him and he fought back, and they bit themselves pretty bad. The owner of the other dog told me his dog had never bit another dog, and I told him, the same with my dog. So I don't know what happened. So the question is this: I know I have a big problem here, I tried to let it go on its own, and deal with it when something happened (which has happened already, and I'm not planning to wait for the next one). I need to know whether to find a professional who can guide me, who can analyze the situation and give me an opinion and some advice. I'll start reinforcing obedience training, and that's what Im planning to do next week, we enrolled in a class already. I dont know if it will be enough, though, I think I might need a little stronger advice than what a obedience trainer can give me. Like in many cases, my dog is 99% of the time a very good dog, and funny and nice, but 1% he can get very agressive, and I can't take any chances. Obviously I dont want to get rid of him, and I'm scared that I want to have kids soon and I dont know if he'll get better or worse. I want people in my house not to be afraid of him, or him not to be afraid of them. Right now, when somebody he doesn't know comes over, we just tell them to keep their distance, and let the dog aproach them instead. That works, but is not a solution I like. I would appreciate any comments and if you have any recommendation for a good professional who can help me, I would be very thankful. I live in Orange County, CA, by the way. Thanks again. Alfonso Moran. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
shelly DETHRONES NESSA as MVP (Most Valuable Psychotic) of dog newsgroups!! | _michael 2.76 | Dog breeds | 0 | September 20th 04 01:28 AM |
Happy Dance time | Amanda Tikkanen | Dog activities | 9 | August 16th 04 08:58 PM |
IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE PRACTICES OF THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY!!!!! Introduction | WalterNY | Dog activities | 0 | February 4th 04 12:22 AM |
Dog sleeps all the time. | pyr | Dog health | 16 | August 24th 03 08:47 PM |