Adopted dog is biting.

[pup-man]

As some of you may know, we adopted a 1 year old Bichon about 2 months ago. We were told at the time of adoption that he may be fearfull of MALES from his previous experience. When we met him, he was sweet and loving and thought we shouldn't have a problem helping/training him to overcome this fear.

Since having him 2 months ago, we have had 2 bite incidents... both being a male friend and my brother (luckily they weren't strangers). My friend was bit in the ankle and my brother in his back. Both bite incidents were identical in the way it "triggered" him. When any MALE comes in to the house, he gets a little excited and welcomes them with a growl..... we would then ask him to stay and lay and give him a firm "no" and he stays put...... we then allow him to smell our visitors (we supervise this) and he doesn't have any problems with them afterwards...... it's only when they stand really quick or make a loud sound or scream is when he will run and give and snap at them realy quick then go back to his place. For instance, we were watching the game last night all of us on the couch..... somebody hit a home run and my brother got up and yelled "yes" and our Bichon ran so quick and bit him on his back then came back to his place.????? I'm not sure how I go about training these kinds of issues? He doesn't do that to me or anybody else in our family.... I can do the same thing and he wouldnt even think about biting me? Any help would be appreciated.'

Thanks!

 

[Herschel]

Keep him crated or otherwise leashed so that he doesn't have the chance to run over and bite. That way, if he is startled and starts growling you can treat him for not biting.

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

If this were my dog, I would eliminate this issue by crating the dog when people arrive.

It can be a nice wire crate in the area where people will be, but he would have zero opportunities to do this again were he my dog.

 

[Giny]

Well I don't know if this will help but I thought I'd share what I do with my rescue dog, Tilly. Maybe other's response to your post might help me also.

Tilly does the same exact thing you described, except she'll charge the person but never bites(yet and hopefuly never will). When ever we get company over I keep Tilly tethered to me the entire time company is over or I'll have her crated. I don't know if I can ever trust her with strangers in the house, maybe some day but we have lots to overcome first. She's fine with people outside the home, it's only when we're in the house that it occurs. When company arrives here I make sure to walk over and great the visitor, while Tilly is still tethered to me. This shows her that this person has been welcome in my home by me. I also keep treats out and ask the company to give her a treat after I asked her to sit. Then when we sit down and enjoy our visit and Tilly starts to bark and attempt the beginning of a charge I redirect her to sit and praise when she does. I think consistency with this will work though I know it's going to be a long road ahead for us.

Edit, I'm a slow typer, lol, 2 people responded before I did.

 

[pup-man]

I agree with you all and will start crating her... but what else can I do to build her trust besides crate her in the presence of company? My brother is willing to help even though he's been bit before. We were thinking of tethering him and trying to recreate the moment again and continue to correct him when he attempts to bite or charge him. What do you think?

 

[Giny]

I really think tethering is important in trying to desensitize the situation in a control environment. I don't know about recreating the situation though, I'd go through this slowly. If you know that you and the company will be making lots of noise, like watching a game, then I'd keep him crated and out of the room. It's too overwhelming for him at first. I'd only take him out on a tether when you know it's going to be a calm visit. In time you may want to increase the excitement during the visit but not for a while.