Snarling & Trying to Bite People - What to do?
 

Briefly, at a party, the bad behavior was snarling and baring his teeth and trying to bite the fingers of adults and children who tried to pet him while I was holding him. It happened repeatedly, and I was incompetent in what to do. I think now I should have removed him from the party. But I need a long-term solution--training.

Long story: I took my 7-year old male to an outdoor Halloween party and dressed him up as a spider. (We do costumes now and then and he's gone to the hospice home as St. Nicholas and was sweet and adorable. We went last year to the same Halloween party, only he didn't have a costume--he was Toto and I was Dorothy.)

When people would try to pet him, especially his head, he'd try to bite them. Sometimes he'd first bare his teeth and growl. I was at a loss for what to do, and feel so ASHAMED of myself for not knowing how to control him.

I had given him about 7 mg of benadryl 5 hours before, hoping it would relax him (the vet had said it was OK when he got excited by fireworks and storms, and it worked before). Maybe it had worn off. But meds are not the solution I need.

At this point, I know I cannot take him anywhere around people--adults or children--until we're trained in how to overcome this.

So, I need HELP in how to train myself to help him.

After a lot of research, I've come to the following conclusions:

1) Benadryl (1 mg per pound) 5-6 hours before made him aggressive when it wore off.

2) Socialization. He needs more socialization. So I'm taking him for car trips whenever I can (it wasn't safe to take him in the car on errands for 5 months because of the heat). There is a dog park, and he's up on all the shots (including influenza), so I will try that too.

3) Advocating. I should have advocated for him and warned people that he was feeling nervous, so not to pet him.

Good job on the research! I would never take a small dog to a dog park though. Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Better be safe than sorry.

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