sproulman

if you have dog that bites,no way they should ever be around small kids up to about 18 years old..
you are dealing with a DOMANIANT dog or one that has FEAR AGGRESSION or both..

here is story on mine today.. my mother died and ambulance came.my dog is deathly afraid of anyone in a uniform or company vehicile..

today i had store man arrive,i asked him if we could try to break my dog of this.
he was willing, i said dont touch his mouth,UNLESS I OK IT.

WELL, he came in home ,my dog was outside...
he went back out and my dog was on steps not letting him by, he puffed up, hair up and showed his upper teeth..

the repairman said in firm voice,STOP THAT and go get your ball..

well, my dog ran off, grabbed ball, and brought it to him, he even left him take ball out of his mouth...
he even licked repairmans bald head..

BUT,if repairman would have acted timid and reached his hand down, dog would possibly bit..

this is only way i know to correct a dog like this, person he is afraid of must show DOMANANCE,a kid cant do it ,so you must keep small kid away from dog that has this problem..

Straightarrow

I have tons of experience training all kinds of dogs - mostly hounds, but plenty of guard-type dogs like boxers, pitt bulls and rotties. Very few dogs are beyond training against aggression as a pup. A very small percentage have some kind of short circuit which keeps them from respecting humans, but most can be made to - without any physical damage.

They are not like humans. They are pack animals who respect a social order, but they have to be taught that order. They do not respect kindness, they attempt to dominate people who do not first show dominance. Kindness and affection come after you and your children demonstrate that you are the dominant ones. Most dogs will attempt to get to the top of the social order of a household through aggression. The aggression gets worse and worse until the dog is either put in it's place or it obtains the top - pack leader. I've seen many families where the dog is pack leader and it's sad. They are almost all dangerous to a degree. Remember, a dog want to be leader or it wants to be led. You can't allow them to settle in. You and your household members have to lead.

Not all dogs are food aggressive, but many are. The ones that show it, are simply attempting gain a higher position in the pecking order. Dominant dogs eat first. That can't be allowed. Children eat first. They give the food to the dog and in a very organized, controlled way. In my home, my children were brought up as pack leaders. They gave the dogs commands before the dog was allowed to eat. The dogs had to sit still and quietly before they would be allowed to approach the food bowl. All of our many dogs had to obey each child, even when they were very young. I trained the kids to train the dogs. There are literally a million ways to control dogs and gain their respect. The most effective require force, but nothing that hurts the dog. ie. holding them on their backs and controlling their stuggles to get up until they submit. Not allowing them to eat until you give the command and then being able to stop them just as readiy. If they don't, once again you have to control them physically - but not by hitting or screaming. Dogs that are frightened do not learn nearly as well as dogs that are controlled.

Your pup is showing nothing unusal, but no pup should be allowed around small children until training is complete and thorough. This is an easy one to correct if you want to take the time and have the desire to have you and your children become the dominant members of the household. If not, you shouldn't be a dog owner.

sproulman

straightarrow,you have any suggestions for my dog that acts territorialaggressive if someone comes to home or yard that he does not know.

he hates anyone in uniform,postal etc..

Straightarrow

sproulman, it can be difficult to figure out what will work with a particular dog without being there. It can be even more difficult to try and explain the training procedure. You have to recognize dog behaviors that indicate what the next step is. I've give a few basics.

Some general behavior clues - staring from a dog is bad. Staring is a challenge. This is also why strangers staring at dogs is bad for the stranger. Staring is a form a agression. Do not allow your dog to stare and you can keep the aggression from escalating. With the use of a leash and light jerks of the leash, you can keep the dog's attention on you or at least away from the uniformed person.

Excitement is bad. Barking, lunging and moving towards an object escalates excitment. Dogs must be kept calm. This can be difficult. It requires a calm person (dogs take their clues from the trainer) who will firmly and consistantly prevent the dog's excitment from escalating. This can take hours of repetition. Most people who attempt to train dogs, give up too soon. Twenty minutes/day for 10-15 days will probably be enough if you do it right. After that, once/month sessions to re-enforce. After awhile training will probably not be necessary.

I would start the training away from home. Expose the dog to uniformed people when under your control and not with the extra excitment of a home territory. You don't want the dog to associate uniforms with pain, so training must be firm but nothing that causes excitment or stress. Therefore, remain calm, and control the dog by not allowing it to move towards the person. Do not even allow it to look at the uniformed person. After it's calm and controlled, you can start exposing it gradually to more excitment. Have the person walk towards you (helps to have a friend in the uniform). Instruct them to not look directly at the dog. Then move it to your property. Then to your front door. If at any point the training is not working, take a step back and go to something less exciting.

A final note: it helps to run a dog before training (long brisk walks are okay too, but take longer). A lot of aggression comes from too much pent up energy. Training is also easier with a tired dog. Whenever I train high strung bird dogs, I run them for an hour before. It makes a world of difference on how easy it is to get their attention during training.

Good luck.

Straightarrow

I thought of one important thing I forgot to put in the post. Verbal commands are not necessary. Loud voices are definitely bad. It cause excitment, which is the enemy. Dogs react much more readily to body language than they do to verbal commands. It's how they judge and react to each other and it's the best way for humans to communicate with them.

All obedience training should be accompanied by hand signals. Soon after, the dog will respond to the hand signals more readily than a verbal command.

Don Fischer

A one year old child fooling with a 10 week old pup while it's eating. Someone needs their butt whipped and it's not the kid or the pup!

springerDIVA

Jackie,
This is going to explode into something much bigger. You need to contact your breeder. You have a young pup and a young child. You should have an older dog (kid proofed) or wait until you child is older and has learned when to pet and not to pet.
Roxie is obviously alpha over your child which is not to be permitted. What are you going to do the next time this happens and God forbid it's your kids face and Roxie has another 10# on her. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE PRETTY. Roxie needs to be with home without small children. It's not fair to the kid or the dog. SEND HER BACK TO THE BREEDER.

sproulman

very well said, my sister has a 10 year old dog you could put your hand in bowl while eating,no problem..

thats dog to have with kid..

my dad did not have a dog while we were young under 8 years old, over 8 he got us a dog..
not 1 of those dogs ever bit us,most were beagles..

no way with kid under 8 i would ever have dog in home,put dog in kennel in your yard until kid gets older if you want to keep him.....