My one year old Westie bit my 7yr old nephew today and caught him on face, cutting his lip.  I dont really know what happened as I wasnt looking but from what I can gather George, (nephew) put his face next to Becks (Dog) when he was sitting next to his pigs ear and Becks bit him.  He has previously bit my daughter when he was about 5 months when she picked up his bone to put it back in his bed but after that incident we worked hard to let him know that our hands give food not take, plus he has pigs ears all the time and never seems to guard them.  He didnt give any warning as I was only on the sofa and would of heard, I just dont understand and dont know what to do?  He is such a lovely boy and the kids love him to bits but I cant take the risk that he will bite again. Id appreciate any advice.  Thanks.  PS I am registered as Becksmum but for some reason I cant log on tonight.

Firstly, dogs warnings aren't always verbal - the initial warning often takes the form of a 'Paddington bear' style stare........  My 7 year old is only just learning what dogs body language means, so I have to watch out for him.

Have your lessons invloved others outside the immediate family?  Dogs don't generalise when you really need them too, so he may now undestand that his family aren't a threat to his food/treats, but not that other humans aren't :(

For the immediate future, until you can get 'hands on advice' from a APDT member, or a member of the UKRCB (try and get a referral from your vet) I wouldn't give him such hugh value treats when there are other family members around.

How does he re-act if you pick up his pigs ears or try to take his food? If hes the same with you, simple answer, when the children are around NO Treats or food, save them for when the children are in bed or gone home.  If he bites again then I'm afraid you have a problem and would need to think about rehoming him where there are no children.

You need to show him that you are in charge. He think that he is the alpha male and you are lower that him. Start by when you put his dinner down take it up straight away, then put it back down again. This is to show him that you are boss. Do this everyday and vary how many times you pick up and put down his dinner. That way he will know that you gave it to him and you CAN take it away from him. Also I agree with Sharon don't feed with the children around. If the problem persists maybe you could get a behaviourist to help you both.
Good Luck!! :)

Sarah xxxx

You need to show him that you are in charge. He think that he is the alpha male and you are lower that him. Start by when you put his dinner down take it up straight away, then put it back down again. This is to show him that you are boss. Do this everyday and vary how many times you pick up and put down his dinner. That way he will know that you gave it to him and you CAN take it away from him.

By giving & then taking food away he will guard food even more, you are not showing him whose boss at all doing that. You will only make a bad situation worse

To make him see people as a good experience feeding a little at a time ensures that the dog sees you as a food provider & no threat to him over food. This can be done easily by putting a small amount of food in his dish & when that is gone a bit more

I did think that your showing the dog whose bosss thinking had gone out with the Ark obviously not

moonmaiden, Sarah is only 13 or 14 (sorry, I can't remember which!)-I wouldn't expect her to have a complete grasp on training methods and dog psychology!  Sorry if I offended you or anything Sarah, that wasn't my intention, its just you have to be careful when handing out advice incase you may be doing more harm than good... :)

What does age hae to do with training abilities & not using cruel methods like taunting the dog with food by giving then taking away ? If this is how Sarah thinks at a young age someone must have taught her. I know lots of handlers younger than 14 who would never use the giving & taking away of food as a training technique

Nothing to do with an indepth knowledge of "bahaviour"(I am not a behaviourist), but common sense

Sorry if I offend you with my posts I've only been training dogs since I was 8 & never used the then accepted method of give & remove with my first GSD bitch who was very food possessive I simply fed her one piece at a time for giving a paw & eventually she learnt that people were a source of food-didn't take long either we ended up working in the top class in obedience together when I was all of 13 years old a long long time ago-at the time I was one of the youngest handlers in obedience

I agree that putting food down and taking it away is probably the best way to get a dog to guard it!
Sorry Sarah, :) I know you are trying to help but you do have to be so very careful.

Take a peek at www.dog-dominance.co.uk

Lindsay
X

Im so sorry :( I read that info in a book, the last thing i wanted to do is give information that i thought was wrong. I just wanted to help....

Don't worry Sarah - we can't all be perfect - unlike others :rolleyes: :D

Moonmaiden, I was not defending the post Sarah made or its content, I was just being sensitive to her age and saying to take what she said with a pinch of salt as I can say that at her age, my knowledge of training dogs was fairly minimal.  Not everyone has the knowledge and experience of training dogs since the age of 8, I certainly didn't, but what I have learnt over the years has come from, as you say, common sense and also with experience-something Sarah may well lack, if she has had minimal experience as a handler or trainer. 

I suppose what I am trying to say is that while I think it's great that you are on here sharing your knowledge and expertise, I feel it would be put to better use if you shared it concisely rather than berating those who given their circumstances may not know any better. 

And no, your post did not offend me :)

Trouble is that everthing written in books is not always correct if it was we would all still be dog breaking & using Barbara Woodhouse's technique with the chokers(anyone remember the yorkie who flew through the air when she "gently"jerked it)

I was laughed at when I started training because I used titbits & toys Now nearly 50 years later it is the norm

I suppose I could always write a book on my experiences picking up the pieces following others training methods with dogs. There are lots of people who still believe dogs "set out"to "dominant" their owners when in fact they are simply being a dog doing what comes naturally(like puppy "biting")

<<<<<I WAS LAUGHED AT WHEN I STARTED TRAINING BECAUSE I USED TITBITS AND TOYS NOW NEARLY 50 YEARS LATER IT THE NORM>>>>>

So you are telling us that you were the first person to use positive training at the age of 8 and everyone laughed at you? Your are making it sound like you inspired all the people of today who recommend clicker training. When lots of them where doing it way before you.

<<<<<I SUPPOSE I COULD ALWAYS WRITE A BOOK ON MY EXPERIENCES PICKING UP THE PEICES FOLLOWING OTHERS TRAINING METHODS WITH DOGS>>>>>

Who do you think you are?! You sound like the only person who can ever train a dog the right way. So come on then why don't you write a book as it sound as if you are never wrong and if we all had you as a teacher then all the dogs in the world would have no problems at all.

Hope all goes well for you picking up the pieces after other dog trainers have ruined them.

Good luck!! :)

Sarah xxxx

Please do not quote me using capitals-it makes it look like I used them & of course on the net it is shouting & rude

!. I have never put myself forward as the person who"invented"titbit training or clickers. when I first started training dogs I was trained by an ex MET dog handler, who had always used reward training & I have never used a clicker. I was laughed by the l;ocal obedience handlers not ALL the obedience folk tho').
2. I don't think anyone in dogs used clickers in the 1950's Dolpin & Killer whale trainers maybe
3. I never said other dog trainers had trained the dogs I train They are on the whole either totally untrained or trained from books or by force
4. I don't need to write a book about training dogs as there are already many GOOD books out there
6. Now my experiences in rescue & dog retraining is a whole different ball game(like when I rescued a GSD & the large white Sow & piglets he was housed with or when I scaled a twelve foot wall to rescue an abandoned GSD only to find a abandoned billy goat instead(boy did he pong)
7. I do not train people don't have the patience to do that, I train dogs

Listen, I don't think that we should get into an argument over this. Yes, I was wrong in my first post and I said that that was what I had read in a book. I totally agree with positive training that I why I clicker train my dog, and there is no way I would ever train her by shouting at her.
All of these posts have got confused. I replied to you in that way because I didn't want you to think that I was a horrible person who does use cruelty to 'train' a dog, but I had used info that I had got from a book.
I am sorry that I replied in such a way, and I hope we can forget this. I have now learnt that the stupid 'dog trainer' had given advice that was wrong and I now know how to train a different way. I appreciate your advice but I think that this argument would have been avoided if had been slightly more polite to me in the first place.

Sarah xxxx

Sarah

I wish some adults were able to reply in such a mature manner :)

Daisy

Hear hear, Daisy!
:)

Indeed Sarah - all very well MM saying that using capitals is rude....I've seen FAR ruder, more abrupt and downright santcimonious posts on here than yours :D

If that was meant for me Chloe re being perfect & also rude that is offensive. I have never said or believed that I am perfect far from it otherwise my dogs would be the best trained in the world & I would be very rich

As for being rude using caps on the net especially quoting others is rude however Sarah did apologize for that (at least I think she did)

As for me being rude to her ? perhaps what I put was too direct sorry but being a Yorkshire born & bred person I prefer not to dress things up with pretty words & we Yorkshire folk are known for being direct & open(ie what you see is what you get with no side to us)

I would hate for the original poster to have taken the advice given( re giving & taking food away)& made the situation far worse that it already is

I did think that your showing the dog whose bosss thinking had gone out with the Ark obviously not

And thats not being rude?

I was stating the obvious not being perfect my apologies for the bad spelling

Perhaps you think I should have written

"Oh dear I do think that the advice above is not the politically correct action at the moment, however if this has worked for others & is advice given by qualified dog trainers & behaviourizts & is to be found in text books giving advice & instruction on dog training, it could be correct.

May I offer a different suggestion .............., but that of course is IMVVHO

I do realize that the above poster is giving you advice from a source that they may consider to be the best & in no way wish to critize the poster nor their post"

If that meets your approval I will use that form in the future unless of course you object

No, thats perfect. Thanks

Thank you Daisy, jeanqenie and chloe!! :D

sarah xxxx

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