5 year old westie/maltese agression and biting

[Rd12345]

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Hi new to thw forums here. I have a 5 year old westie maltese cross who we adopted 5 weeks ago and initially things went well. After around a week we had 2 incidents of full on snarl/ snap over food he shouldnt have which he thought was going to be take from him.

This has now progressed to a turn of aggression at any opertunity when he is not getting what he wants and has now resulted in a bite on two occasions.

Currently we are just isolating him for 20 mins when he does it but it does not seem to be improving leading to family members being scared to put their hands near him or catch him off guard.

At this age I understand this behaviour will be well established but is it treatable?

 

[Gustavo]

This absolutely can be resolved but you MUST seek help from a reputable behaviourist. Http://www.apdt.co.uk or http://www.imdt.uk.com

 

[gypsysmum2]

The above links are to dog trainers rather than dog behaviourists. They are both excellent organisations for training but I would recommend either COAPE or the APBC for behaviour problems that are not training related.

In the meantime do not try to teach him a lesson when he guards things. It will only make things worse. He is guarding things because he sees people as a threat and you will only make things worse if you threaten him.

Leave him completely alone when feeding him. It is his right to eat in peace. His previous owners may well have tried to "teach him a lesson" by removing his food or prized possessions.

Prevent him from guarding things which are not his by keeping them away from him. Call him away from things he is guarding by using a tasty food reward. It can be tossed away from you if you do not trust him to take it nicely. Use distraction techniques like asking him if he wants to go out etc to get him away from valuable objects. If he gets hold of non valuable objects then just ignore him.

Yes he can be cured but it will take time and patience and professional help.

This problem does need proper help from a behaviourist because it can escalate to include the guarding of ever wider areas.

 

[TashaBellDog]

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[JoanneF]

I am sorry to throw cold water on this but the sort of material that makes good tv viewing is seldom consistent with supporting a dog with behavioural issues. You have refused on another forum to say who the trainer is and what methods he uses. Also, as Gypsysmum (who has a great deal of experience and is highly respected) said, this dog needs a behaviourist and not a trainer. And last but not least, if your trainer is using the sort of intimidating gestures shown in your graphic, nobody with any sense would go near him. The fact you have used that image in itself evidences your woeful lack of understanding of canine behaviour.

 

[Rd12345]

Thanks for the reply gypsysmum. Problem is it is not even just when he is guarding food, it occurs simply when he is being disobedient and we make a move towards him or he doesnt like the you trying to move him out of the way.

One bite occured when he had vomited for whatever reason and my other half attempted to move his paw out of the sick.

The worry then is with younger kids or strangers making the wrong move and he might turn without warning, the bite is the warning

 

[gypsysmum2]

Oh my word, you did not say that there were children around!

This makes things much more worrying. Aggression in dogs is almost always based in fear. A dog that bites when people try to approach or take things from it is acting defensively. Steps must be taken to keep everyone safe.

I would suggest a long line that he can trail around with him and which can be used to move him when necessary. Do it in a neutral way. Do not try to punish him for his behaviour. He is not doing anything deliberate it is all instinctive. He may have learned that aggression works to get you left alone. If punishment has been tried then his worst fears are confirmed that he is right to be fearful! This makes him escalate his aggression. All a nightmare for you of course.

Do seek help urgently from a fully qualified Pet Behaviour Therapist from either COAPE or APBC. They will require a vet referral so a trip to the vet to make sure all is well with him is a necessary first step.

It is possible to overcome problems like he is displaying but it will be a long road, involving lots of intensive work for you, with the support of the behaviourist. All through it you will have the added worry of keeping children safe. They must be your priority of course.

Do not think that he should know it is wrong to bite. Dogs do not have morals. They just act on their instincts. If they feel threatened for any reason they can react badly.

 

[Rd12345]

Thanks again gypsysmum, we are feeling a bit out of our depth with him at the minute. How should we be treating him in general? I read that small steps must be in order for him to realise you are the leader and not vise versa.

Instances of this arw fairly few and far between, about 4/5 times in the 6 weeks we have had him. But then again I myself am weary about how I act around him and therefore avoid confrontation.

Any advice on what to do then immediately following an intensive growl or even bite?

 

[gypsysmum2]

You are right to avoid confrontation. He is not doing it deliberately but because he sees he has no other options open to him.

The old theory of dogs being "dominant" has long been disproved. Read "Dominance - Fact of Fiction" by Barry Eaton for more information. Cesar Milan needs to read it too but he is making too much money to bother.

New research shows that dogs have all the emotions that we do. The biggest of these is fear. They are much more in touch with that side of their emotions than we are. We tend to reason ourselves out of fear. Dogs cannot do this. The Fight/Flight emotion kicks in and, if they feel trapped in a building/enclosure/on a lead, they will feel they have no option but to fight. They do not have language to use instead. We should read the signs of anxiety and try to prevent the dog escalating into aggression. It is not showing weakness to respect a dog's feelings.

Long term we teach the dog that he can trust us around his possessions, space etc. He may have many unpleasant memories that need to be pushed out by better ones. It will all take a long time.

I have spent the last eighteen months working on my rescue dog's resource guarding. He is much, much better but every now and then we see that "look" that means he has dredged up an old memory of being challenged and punished for having something or lying somewhere. We just stop what we are doing and work around the problem. Last night he caught a pigeon in the garden and decided to guard it. He gave me the "this is mine" look so I just stayed where I was for a while to allow him to relax. I then ran towards the house calling him in an excited tone of voice. He picked up his pigeon and ran with me which allowed him to forget previous memories of standing guard over something. I was then able to call him in to the house for a treat which is something that has been well trained into him. I was fortunate that he was struggling to cope with lots of feathers too! Had he not responded I would have left him to it. No big deal if he gets a pigeon so not worth ruining a relationship over.

You should seek professional help to resolve these issues with your dog as you have children around. and every dog. and every family situation, is different.