Biting ... do I need to rehome him*

[Mary4]

Charlie is our beautiful 18-month old Yorkie. (We think. He may not be a full Yorkie.) We got him at 12 weeks old. Long story short, my cousin's wife made a post on Facebook that she knew of a beautiful Yorkie puppy who needed a home. We had lost our toy poodle the year before and everyone was heartbroken. At the time, I said never again, but at that point I thought we were ready.

I have four kids (19, 16, 13, and 12,) and they are great with him. In hindsight, I believe we got him from a BYB. At the time, I knew nothing about any of that. (Or puppy mills or pet stores.) It was after I found this forum that I realized how bad they all are. But at that point, he was on his way. And we got lucky. I took him to our vet, and he was healthy.

He was 12 weeks old and perfect. He just was a great fit for us and we for him. From the start, he was anxious around men. Little boys were okay but when a man would come in he would get nervous, shake or run away. My own boys he was fine with. My dad, who lives with us, he would stay away from. Even my 19-year old daughter's male friends he didn't like.

Time goes by and he doesn't get much better with the men. Then he started barking (primarily at men.) If my dad comes into my room, Charlie gets very aggressive, barking, etc. In the past few weeks, instead of just barking or getting anxious, he's started acting like he's going to bite. He got my brother on the pants leg, and I just found out today he bit my son's friend (who's 12) and left a mark, though didn't break the skin.

I got home today and found out he bit my son and did break the skin. My son was running down the stairs and Charlie went running down after him and he jumped up and bit him on the thigh. He's not afraid of the kids. If they had to take his food away or went to add more food to how bowl, he doesn't get aggressive with that. He sleeps in my bed and if my son comes in to watch a movie and falls asleep, Charlie will curl up next to him.

When we first got him, I was wondering why he was so nervous around men. I had asked my cousin if he had ever been abused and he told me know. Same cousin came to visit 3 weeks ago and I mentioned again how skittish and aggressive he can get with big boys/men, and then he said, "Yeah, I think he may have been abused a bit."

Question is: what do I do? Do I need to rehome him? My kids are already crying about this. I love Charlie and I'll be heartbroken if we have to give him up, but I can't have a dog that bites with so many kids coming in and out of here.

I hope someone can offer some advice. If I do rehome him, how do I go about that? He is truly a lovely dog, and I would want to make sure he was with the right person. I can't believe I'm even considering this. But I don't want a child to get hurt and I don't want to get sued.

[Tae1107]

Have you consulted with a dog trainer and your vet about his aggression? I would start there....

[yorkymom1]

If he means that much to you, I would consider a trainer. I've heard about trainers that have helped people work wonders with just a few tips but the job is mostly on your part to follow the recommendations. If it were me, I would be afraid to rehome him if I hadn't tried to correct that biting behavior. I wouldn't want him to hurt someone else either.
Trainers don't have to be expensive. Check with your local kennel club. I'm sure they'll have a good recommendation for you.

[susan lynn]

Hope you can find an answer for his biting, it would be sad if you had to rehome him.

[Rhetts_mama]

I would work with a trainer first. But if you do decide to rehome him, please use a reputable rescue that can properly screen him and all potential homes. The last thing the little guy needs is to end up in a situation where he bites someone else and is put down.

[McheleM]

There are ways to correct his behavior. The barking and biting is his way of being alpha dog. He needs to relearn his status in the pack. I wouldn't rehome him unless everything else had failed. Maybe isolating him while the behavior is worked on, so he can't bite?

Originally Posted by Mary4

Charlie is our beautiful 18-month old Yorkie. (We think. He may not be a full Yorkie.) We got him at 12 weeks old. Long story short, my cousin's wife made a post on Facebook that she knew of a beautiful Yorkie puppy who needed a home. We had lost our toy poodle the year before and everyone was heartbroken. At the time, I said never again, but at that point I thought we were ready.

I have four kids (19, 16, 13, and 12,) and they are great with him. In hindsight, I believe we got him from a BYB. At the time, I knew nothing about any of that. (Or puppy mills or pet stores.) It was after I found this forum that I realized how bad they all are. But at that point, he was on his way. And we got lucky. I took him to our vet, and he was healthy.

He was 12 weeks old and perfect. He just was a great fit for us and we for him. From the start, he was anxious around men. Little boys were okay but when a man would come in he would get nervous, shake or run away. My own boys he was fine with. My dad, who lives with us, he would stay away from. Even my 19-year old daughter's male friends he didn't like.

Time goes by and he doesn't get much better with the men. Then he started barking (primarily at men.) If my dad comes into my room, Charlie gets very aggressive, barking, etc. In the past few weeks, instead of just barking or getting anxious, he's started acting like he's going to bite. He got my brother on the pants leg, and I just found out today he bit my son's friend (who's 12) and left a mark, though didn't break the skin.

I got home today and found out he bit my son and did break the skin. My son was running down the stairs and Charlie went running down after him and he jumped up and bit him on the thigh. He's not afraid of the kids. If they had to take his food away or went to add more food to how bowl, he doesn't get aggressive with that. He sleeps in my bed and if my son comes in to watch a movie and falls asleep, Charlie will curl up next to him.

When we first got him, I was wondering why he was so nervous around men. I had asked my cousin if he had ever been abused and he told me know. Same cousin came to visit 3 weeks ago and I mentioned again how skittish and aggressive he can get with big boys/men, and then he said, "Yeah, I think he may have been abused a bit."

Question is: what do I do? Do I need to rehome him? My kids are already crying about this. I love Charlie and I'll be heartbroken if we have to give him up, but I can't have a dog that bites with so many kids coming in and out of here.

I hope someone can offer some advice. If I do rehome him, how do I go about that? He is truly a lovely dog, and I would want to make sure he was with the right person. I can't believe I'm even considering this. But I don't want a child to get hurt and I don't want to get sued.

[ArmaniMan]

I would certainly consult a trainer or behaviorist before I considered rehoming for a behavioral issue.

[Teresamag]

Originally Posted by McheleM

There are ways to correct his behavior. The barking and biting is his way of being alpha dog. He needs to relearn his status in the pack. I wouldn't rehome him unless everything else had failed. Maybe isolating him while the behavior is worked on, so he can't bite?

Barking and biting like this is very frustrating isn't it? You are right to be concerned and to look at fixing this before it gets worse. One thing I thought to ask right away - is your boy neutered? Sometimes hormones can make a dominate dog worse and he is at the age where dogs sometimes think they can challenge the "pack leader". If he isn't neutered I would suggest you check in with your vet about getting this done as well as making some changes in your home.

#1 if you are able enroll him in an obedience class and do either # 2 or #3.
#2 work with an animal behaviorist or
#3 Teach him that you are the "pack leader" and do the Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) program.

You can google this program and find sites that tell exactly how to implement the program but basically it means acting like a good "pack leader" so he will respect you. (Barking, biting, growling are all a show of disrespect or trying to take over leadership). Some things you do is making your dog work for everything - food, attention, exercise, etc. I.E. he has to sit before you put his supper bowl down. Make sure you eat before feeding him (pack leaders always eat first and lower ranking animals eat after). Always make sure you are the one who allows him outside and you go out before him, he has to follow you. For the time being don't allow him to sleep with you or be higher than you on the couch. Allowing him to precede you out the door, be higher than you on the couch, sleeping in your bed, eating when you eat are all signs that he is equal to you or higher than you in the pack and just enforce his right to be disrespectful or to let him think he can take over. I would also put him in another room when visitors are over for the time being, it keeps your visitors safe and prevents reinforcing his bad behavior.

A dog that knows his place in the pack is much happier and feels more secure. After all, it's your job as pack leader to provide food and keep the pack safe and he won't have to worry about it. Make sure your husband and all of your children participate in the program as well. The dog should always be below them in pack ranking also, otherwise he will try to push the kids/spouse around too.

Good luck with your boy, you can PM me if you have any questions about this program. It works wonders with dogs.

Teresa

[McheleM]

If your 2 yr old bit someone would you rehome him? No, you'd correct the behavior....

Just sayin!!

[GoofyBritt]

I highly recommend Cesar Millan's techniques. We've used them on our dog and he is a perfect angel, other than not eating when he's supposed to... It sounds like that program someone mentioned is probably along the same lines as Cesar's ideas about pack leadership. I'd definitely google that program and Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer) and work on that. You wouldn't "rehome" your human child for a biting problem, you'd correct the behavior. My mom didn't adopt me out because I had a biting problem (which I did), she asserted her dominance over me and bit me back (not breaking the skin) and I quit biting.

When your dog bites or lunges at someone, Take your your index and middle fingers, point them like a gun, straight out. Poke the dog's neck. Not hard! But firm. And say NO. The dog may act confused, he may whimper at the touch but I assure you that you did not hurt the dog. You are telling him IN DOG TERMS that you do not approve of that behavoir. That's what dominant dogs do in a pack, they nip the neck of the other dog to show disapproval. Dogs will respond to it. It may take a few tries to get it right, and for the dog to back down. He may even turn his back on you or look away and refuse to look at you after that. That's a good sign. He's respecting your dominance. You are pack leader. You have the final say in all that he does.

[DvlshAngel985]

I don't know if he's biting out of aggression. From the original post, your pup was fine with your 12 year old, correct? I think he's playing, and play is getting to be too rough. As far as other men, I have a pup who also dislikes men. He has the "flight" response instead of the "fight." My boy will run and hide, even from me, when he's scared.
If you don't know how to correct the behavior, find a trainer that will help you.

[Ringo1]

Nothing in Life is Free

Here's a good starting place.

[kjc]

My Sapphire is afraid of men, and anyone she doesn't know! At the same time, she can be protective of me. People walking fast definitely will set her off, but if one walks slowly past her she's fine with that.

I keep a container of Gerber Graduate puffs by the door, when anyone comes in they know to grab a few a just toss them to her (one at a time). This has been the ultimate ice breaker for her, I can see the tenseness go right out of her body. But the person still has to walk on the slow side through the house. After a few days she would take the treats out of their hands.

As I don't have much history on her (she was 2 when we got her) I don't know what has caused her to be like this. She has bitten people in the leg on a number of occasions, when they forget and are walking fast or running through the yard or house.

I just have to be on top of things, and remind people to slow down or restrain her before she goes off. I am hopeful she will grow out of this behavior eventually, as I continually work at alieviating her fears.

At times I have had to put a leash on her so I can stop her quicker, but it's important that I stop her reaction before she takes off, afterwards it doesn't teach her anything.

It's like teaching her a different way to react to things that set her off. If I stop the reaction before it happens, I'll eventually break her habit of reacting that way. Or that is the plan anyway!

Good luck with your baby, I hope you can work around this and get him straightened out.

PS: If you do the 'Cesar jab in the neck' thing, be prepared as he may transfer his aggression to your hand and turn and bite you. That's what happened to me!

[McheleM]

Sounds to me like your baby was abused. Poor thing!

Originally Posted by kjc

My Sapphire is afraid of men, and anyone she doesn't know! At the same time, she can be protective of me. People walking fast definitely will set her off, but if one walks slowly past her she's fine with that.

I keep a container of Gerber Graduate puffs by the door, when anyone comes in they know to grab a few a just toss them to her (one at a time). This has been the ultimate ice breaker for her, I can see the tenseness go right out of her body. But the person still has to walk on the slow side through the house. After a few days she would take the treats out of their hands.

As I don't have much history on her (she was 2 when we got her) I don't know what has caused her to be like this. She has bitten people in the leg on a number of occasions, when they forget and are walking fast or running through the yard or house.

I just have to be on top of things, and remind people to slow down or restrain her before she goes off. I am hopeful she will grow out of this behavior eventually, as I continually work at alieviating her fears.

At times I have had to put a leash on her so I can stop her quicker, but it's important that I stop her reaction before she takes off, afterwards it doesn't teach her anything.

It's like teaching her a different way to react to things that set her off. If I stop the reaction before it happens, I'll eventually break her habit of reacting that way. Or that is the plan anyway!

Good luck with your baby, I hope you can work around this and get him straightened out.

PS: If you do the 'Cesar jab in the neck' thing, be prepared as he may transfer his aggression to your hand and turn and bite you. That's what happened to me!

[dands]

I suggest getting some ceaser Millan books or DVDs to get tips on how to train him. His methods and teaching about dog psychology has been very helpful for us.