My Dog Basically Attacked a Man This Eve

Im glad you posted to, everyone here is always willing to share advice, they are a nice bunch.......well the majority
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Be firm with your guests and tell them to respect your wishes esp whilst u are working with his issues, people should def not be forcing themselves upon him, infact less interaction will bring him out by himself,most dogs are inquisitive animals and hate to be ignored
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but on the other hand some hate their space invaded and will go on the defence to protect that, it's a bit like us saying p!ss off I dont know u from adam and you are practically sitting on me
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If you can learn how to be confident and project firmness u may one day beable to let him off and keep him close by on command alone, I have a fear aggressive dog and he will walk by my side and ignore the world and as long as im here, anyone can walk into the house, however if im not here, he would eat someone, and he looks far cuter than a lab, as he is shaggy so attracts attention with his cuteness
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however he knows he will be reprimanded if he displays the behaviour in front of me, but then I wont let anyone force themselves upon him, I tell them to be seated and he will make his way over, and indeed he does.

You always have to exercise cation but u can improve the behaviour both but u have to play a part in that.
 
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Im glad you posted to, everyone here is always willing to share advice, they are a nice bunch.......well the majority
smirk.gif
grin.gif


Be firm with your guests and tell them to respect your wishes esp whilst u are working with his issues, people should def not be forcing themselves upon him, infact less interaction will bring him out by himself,most dogs are inquisitive animals and hate to be ignored
grin.gif
but on the other hand some hate their space invaded and will go on the defence to protect that, it's a bit like us saying p!ss off I dont know u from adam and you are practically sitting on me
grin.gif


If you can learn how to be confident and project firmness u may one day beable to let him off and keep him close by on command alone, I have a fear aggressive dog and he will walk by my side and ignore the world and as long as im here, anyone can walk into the house, however if im not here, he would eat someone, and he looks far cuter than a lab, as he is shaggy so attracts attention with his cuteness
smirk.gif
however he knows he will be reprimanded if he displays the behaviour in front of me, but then I wont let anyone force themselves upon him, I tell them to be seated and he will make his way over, and indeed he does.

You always have to exercise cation but u can improve the behaviour both but u have to play a part in that.

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OK, cool.
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He let's kids tug his ears and jump on his back, you wouldn't have guessed he is like this! But hopefully some trainers will get back to me tommorow. We usualy don't give himattention and he will run past the guests to one of "us" and get his attention fix!
Thanks.
 
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Thanks.
1) My brother wrestles with him a lot. We are in control in the house though, he goes to his bed, waits beofre eating his food - though I haven't used dog psychology so I'm not sure.


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For a start NO WRESTLING!!! I'm not a behaviourist but thinking dog, if I was a bit nervous and wary of men this wouldn't teach me good stuff however playful it seems.

I'd muzzle him, get advice from someone on how to socialise him with male visitors and don't let him off the lead again if there is any chance he will run home, be out of your control and perhaps next time bite a child.
 
Sorry but as another poster said this dog by law should have been on a lead in public, it is an offence not to have a dog under control in public places. And he has shown warning signs of a dislike of certain people, typically gender determined before this it should have been addressed then. Hiding and growling is not acceptable. Castration may or may not help, usually does not is cases of fear agression. I certainly would not trust the dog to "play" with children, you did not expect him to go for an adult's face (who was standing in his way back to his security of home but that is NO excuse), just think of the damage it could inflict on a child's face.
 
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Sorry but as another poster said this dog by law should have been on a lead in public, it is an offence not to have a dog under control in public places. And he has shown warning signs of a dislike of certain people, typically gender determined before this it should have been addressed then. Hiding and growling is not acceptable. Castration may or may not help, usually does not is cases of fear agression. I certainly would not trust the dog to "play" with children, you did not expect him to go for an adult's face (who was standing in his way back to his security of home but that is NO excuse), just think of the damage it could inflict on a child's face.

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He didn't actaully bite the man and or simply went for his face (its just my dogs face and the mans face were in line as hes a big dog) He just jumped up at the man and wasnt actually going for him. I said he was trying to go for the guys arms/face but I have spoke to the police dog trainer (like next to a training yard) and he said as the guy just stood there (didnt put up a fight) my dog would have bit him if he wanted to, but he didn't and tbh I beleive the trainer.

And he hasn't shown agression outside of the house! He is undercontrol offlead, i always let him run home from the field as we like in a rural area and no cars etc. the man was stood outside my gate and i still dont know why.

also, hes not agressive with children full stop. in fact, there are 2 children in the house right now and he wouldn't attack them. they sleep on his bed with him and I won't let the neighbourhood kids come and play with him anymore in case a man appears or something.

I also wanted to ask, today i just got back from walking him and towards the way back to my house he started pouncing on me the same way he pounced on the man the other day and biting at the lead, my clothes and trying to pull me. Anyone know why? It was the exact same jump he was doing at the man, and once i had stopped and waited for him to sit, he was fine again.
 
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Thanks.
1) My brother wrestles with him a lot. We are in control in the house though, he goes to his bed, waits beofre eating his food - though I haven't used dog psychology so I'm not sure.


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For a start NO WRESTLING!!! I'm not a behaviourist but thinking dog, if I was a bit nervous and wary of men this wouldn't teach me good stuff however playful it seems.

I'd muzzle him, get advice from someone on how to socialise him with male visitors and don't let him off the lead again if there is any chance he will run home, be out of your control and perhaps next time bite a child.

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He wouldn't attack a child, there are always children playing outside our house who used to (from yesturday!) come and ask if they could play with him. It's just older males, NOT CHILDREN/FEMALES/DOGS/HORSES!

He isn't scared of teenage boys, only older men and my brother is only 14 and the dog usually starts it. Come to think of it, the same way he starts a wrestle/play time with my brother, was the same thing he did to the man, (run and pounce a few times) I wish I had CCTV on my gate or something as the "attack" wasnt the attack I think most people are thinking of.

Oh and I don't let him wrestle anymore, he still does it though.
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I also wanted to ask, today i just got back from walking him and towards the way back to my house he started pouncing on me the same way he pounced on the man the other day and biting at the lead, my clothes and trying to pull me. Anyone know why? It was the exact same jump he was doing at the man, and once i had stopped and waited for him to sit, he was fine again.

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That's an insecurity/nervous energy thing, most likely, don't tolerate it, ignore it, and stop whatever you are doing, then calmly resume after a short break.
My dog does this if he is being asked to wait for something (a jump at agility) or if I am asking him to do something that he doesn't want to do (jump in the car when he'd rather stay outside).

I know it looks quite sweet/funny but don't let him away with it, there is a dobe at our club who does it (he was never told to stop as a youngster because the kids thought it was funny and kept encouraging him) and he has caught his owner badly several times on the hand. A very firm, calm 'NO' and stop whatever you are doing, don't get him more excited/nervy.
 
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I also wanted to ask, today i just got back from walking him and towards the way back to my house he started pouncing on me the same way he pounced on the man the other day and biting at the lead, my clothes and trying to pull me. Anyone know why? It was the exact same jump he was doing at the man, and once i had stopped and waited for him to sit, he was fine again.

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That's an insecurity/nervous energy thing, most likely, don't tolerate it, ignore it, and stop whatever you are doing, then calmly resume after a short break.
My dog does this if he is being asked to wait for something (a jump at agility) or if I am asking him to do something that he doesn't want to do (jump in the car when he'd rather stay outside).

I know it looks quite sweet/funny but don't let him away with it, there is a dobe at our club who does it (he was never told to stop as a youngster because the kids thought it was funny and kept encouraging him) and he has caught his owner badly several times on the hand. A very firm, calm 'NO' and stop whatever you are doing, don't get him more excited/nervy.

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Yeah, I need to stop it. He does it with my brother to start a play session which I try to stop, but still happens. Its what he did to the man im almost certain so im happy its nothing to vicous (obvously jumping on anyone isnt good) but i think it wasnt as bad as i first thought. Still leash him though etc untill trainer comes.
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He has never done anything like it before, exept maybe growling at visiting males in our house but he usualy just runs and avoids or growls at them if they try to touch him.

He just ran up to the man and jumped/growled at him and tried to bit his arms/face. He didn't get the man but he said he was calling the authoritys?! The man didn't do anything, barely even looked at him and I was to far away to get him as he litrelly ran for the man.

Why would he have done this? What will the autoritys do?

Will castrating help? He is 1 year old lab and well tempered with kids/females/younger males. My dad refuses to get him castrated, I WANT him done, he just refuses to let me take the dog. It's so frustrating!

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Right well firstly a dog that shows aggression, sensibly, should not be let off the lead in a public place. Prevention is better than cure. And I echo people saying you need to get some serious training done. Castration certainly wont do any harm but whoever is this dogs owner really needs to step up to the mark before someone gets injured and the dog PTS.
 
Just a brief comment, you say your dog is starting the play sessions with your brother . You should not let him do this, everything you do with the dog should be under your terms.
In your OP you did say the dog tried to bite the mans arms/face although now you are saying he was possibly initiating play, either way I think if you are struggling to control him on lead it would perhaps be as well to muzzle him on walks. ANother thought, sorry if its a personal question, but how old are you, if under 16 I think this lad should really be walked by an adult until his behaviour is improved.
 
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Just a brief comment, you say your dog is starting the play sessions with your brother . You should not let him do this, everything you do with the dog should be under your terms.
In your OP you did say the dog tried to bite the mans arms/face although now you are saying he was possibly initiating play, either way I think if you are struggling to control him on lead it would perhaps be as well to muzzle him on walks. ANother thought, sorry if its a personal question, but how old are you, if under 16 I think this lad should really be walked by an adult until his behaviour is improved.

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I'm not inder 16, - I'm 19 (though probably look 16 still
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) and I am the owener of the dog. Also, he wasnt on the lead when it happened. He is easy to control, its just he was doing the usualy run home and he jumped on the man before I could get him, however he did come back as soon as I called him. I know I said he was goin for him arms etc, but the guy wasnt moving at all and he would have bit if he wanted to.
 
Jakejake - I think you probably have handling and discipline problems with this dog - rather, perhaps, than a dangerous dog.

He doens't sound like a dog with any barriers to me - by your own admission he is jumping up at you, grabbing your clothing etc.

As others have said - get some help with training him, get him castrated, and get him disciplined.

Good luck
 
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Jakejake - I think you probably have handling and discipline problems with this dog - rather, perhaps, than a dangerous dog.

He doens't sound like a dog with any barriers to me - by your own admission he is jumping up at you, grabbing your clothing etc.

As others have said - get some help with training him, get him castrated, and get him disciplined.

Good luck

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Yeah, emailed abiout 7 trainers yesturday and not 1 has replied yet, so I will ring next week. We live next to a police dog training unit and as the trainer was passing I asked him about it and he thinks it was just me basically too. He doesn't act this when walked by other people, (well they say that and I never believed them, but maybe it's true) So i just need to work on it. We did obedience training for a long time and we passed all the stages so I guess after that I stopped training and assumed he would be well behaved forever. He does know some amazing tricks though.
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Well, at least you're going to take control of the situation, that's a real positive. And as it's your dog, it's up to you whether he's castrated or not - not your father.

Let us know how you get on.
 
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Well, at least you're going to take control of the situation, that's a real positive. And as it's your dog, it's up to you whether he's castrated or not - not your father.

Let us know how you get on.

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Yeah, but my Dad paid for the dog, so he won't let me. He says its wimpy enough without being fixed. But I will take him, once it's done, I doubt he will notice.

A trainer just emailed me back so hopefully we can get it sorted soon. The trainers a man, so he will see 1st hand what he's like in the house. There were no women trainers in the area that I could find.
 
OK, well you can tell your dad from me, I have a 40kg GSD and I have had him neutered, it has not made him 'wimpy' but it has helped calm him down and stop being so bloody over-protective and wanting to attack other dogs.

If you think the problem is you, then do consider your own behaviour.

I was unwittingly making my dog's problem worse because I thought 'oh crap - there's another dog, I hope he behaves' he read that as 'wow, there's another dog, she feels and acts really scared, I am gonna show that dog not to mess with us' - and so forth. It manifested itself as dog aggression.

A lot of the work I have had to do is teaching him that, no, I am in charge, not him, he does not have to or indeed GET to protect me from other dogs.

Do you think, because of his initial nervousness, you might be transmitting panic about strange males onto him?
Maybe act more confident yourself and he might follow suit.
 
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OK, well you can tell your dad from me, I have a 40kg GSD and I have had him neutered, it has not made him 'wimpy' but it has helped calm him down and stop being so bloody over-protective and wanting to attack other dogs.

If you think the problem is you, then do consider your own behaviour.

I was unwittingly making my dog's problem worse because I thought 'oh crap - there's another dog, I hope he behaves' he read that as 'wow, there's another dog, she feels and acts really scared, I am gonna show that dog not to mess with us' - and so forth. It manifested itself as dog aggression.

A lot of the work I have had to do is teaching him that, no, I am in charge, not him, he does not have to or indeed GET to protect me from other dogs.

Do you think, because of his initial nervousness, you might be transmitting panic about strange males onto him?
Maybe act more confident yourself and he might follow suit.

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Yeah I am like that. When someone knocks at the door I start to get all panicy and rush about to put the dog in his crate. On walks I do think "oh no theres a man" and sometimes change my path/side of the road. But I also do it with dogs as once he got attacked by a german shepard (twice
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) and a dalmation. My dog didnt fight back but now I always panic with bigger dogs around in case he will.
So I just need to be more confident with him I think, I am quite a wimp as when he was getting attacked I actualy just stood there and did nothing.
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It might be worth you watching some of the Cesar Milan programmes on tv. The most important lesson he teaches is that you, the owner, must be pack leader. the fact that your dog is jumping up and mouthing means that he disrespects you. When you answer your front door, put yourself in his path and block him from going to the door.
 
Hi Im new here and this is my first comment but having read the above I just wanted to say have you watched 'The Dog Whisperer' on national geographic channel? It shows examples of how to be a pack leader and why it is important for all dogs to have a leader. There are also books written by the same guy (cesar milan) which you can order on Amazon that might help too.
I have a rescue border collie who used to have loads of behavioral problems but after reading the above and a book The Dog Listener by Jan fennel she is now an absolute angel and very happy.
Fear aggression is no less worrying than other forms of aggression and even tho its only been a one off problem getting help in case it happens again would be the best....the trainer who said 'its only fear' is completely wrong....you could do with finding a way that your whole family is happy with to make this dog more confident so this doesnt happen again. I would really recommend the books but also finding a behaviourist not a trainer to help you put these things into practice....to be honest I found all the methods extremely easy and less hassle than what i had been told before. I hope this helps a bit
 
Thanks
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The trainers I have called all said they deal with aggression and one said it's his specialty so I'm hoping that will be OK though I might try the book first as the trainers are in the reigon of £120 for 1 session of 3 hours!
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Well done you for coming on asking for advice, taking all the comments and advice calmly and also for sounding like there has already been considerable training and understanding of the dog already. There have been lots of sound and sensible options and possible reasons for his reaction on this occasion and it does look as though he's not a lost cause.

I agree - get his nads off and keep us updated.
 
Tell your father to start being sensible, and you need to stand up and be counted as the dogs owner.

The dogs nads will be useless when he's lying cold on the vets floor after being PTS for attacking the wrong person.

Sorry but thats the sad truth, I have had aggressive dogs myself so feel your pain but its all up to you now - hopefully you can turn this dogs life around before its too late. Best Of Luck, you seem really sensible and you will get there with time.
 
Hello,
Know its a bit late but thought I would just add something. Well done for not just ignoring this and passing it off as a 'one off'. As the others have said a dog does not have to bite to be deemed dangerous.
Personally, if a dog is not going to be bred from, castrate. I know there is a bit of a male camaraderie about male dogs having bits off, but this is ridiculous. It is kinder on the dog
1. It will stop him wanting to search for a mate and just relax + you wont have to worry about him procreating and having a litter of puppies on your hands.

2. He will in general live longer than if he wasnt castrated, and you eliminate testicular cancer and other such diseases linked with entire dogs. So if your dad pays for him, put it in the sense of he could cost you money if you dont!

I am sure it will help, personally having worked with a dog trainer for quite a while, keeping him entire to make him less whimpy isnt always the right answer. I feel that it certainly aids in development, thats how it supposed to be after all, and i dont think a dog should be castrated till a year old. But once he has developed it could fuel it as he is on edge more etc.

My golden retriever Ronnie is the most soppy thing ever, and we thought would never hurt a fly. Unlike our labrador, he didnt see every female as a potential lady friend so didnt get castrated as we hoped to maybe breed from him because of his almost perfect conformation and superb breeding. But one day on a walk he suddenly turned and pinned a springer puppy, completely out of character and unpredictable. He was booked into the vets the next week (and was kept on the lead until then and till the testosterone had cleared out of his system) and since then he has never done anything, he is now 7 yrs old.

Hope it helps, without seeing the incident no one could really judge either way, dont give up hope and I hope it turns out well for you and your dog
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Elle
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