Hi all,

I need some advice on the best way to deal with dog aggression. We have a 2 year old dog who has always had a strong attack instinct. He is obsessed with certain things in the house such as the broom, the dishcloth or the vacuum cleaner and will jump up and try and bite them. We have tried various different methods to stop him from doing this but none have worked yet. Anything new that comes into he house he wants to attack, or anything that makes a noise.
But the main reason i am posting is because he has recently started biting people. A moment ago he was shut in the kitchen behind a gate when the vacuum cleaner was turned on, without warning he bit the first thing he was close to and that was a family members foot. We can normally predict what kind of thing he is going to react to but lately he seems to have become unpredictable, and has started biting more often. He usually jumps up to try and get the dishcloth, so he is put into bed before anybodies uses it. But the other day somebody picked it up and he ran from his bed and bit the persons leg. He is very sensitive to noise and reacts to it the most. A loud crashing of baking trays or something will make him bite the nearest thing to him, or he will run and attack the blankets in his bed. It's like he is unable to control himself and his reaction a lot of the time. He is much better when there are no other dogs in the house (we have another 3) but this is obviously not an option.
We really would like to sort this problem out, but feel that if we can't, rehoming is the only option.  We really don't want to rehome him as when he's calm and settled at night he's lovely, but we feel that his biting really is not acceptable. I realise i'm rambling slightly, but this has all come to a point where enough is enough. Any advice on the best approach would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You need a vet referral to a good behaviourist. You need to find out WHY he acts like this (and any measures taken to stop it will depend largely on what the reason is), and can't really even consider rehoming a potentially dangerous dog before you know what is the reason for it all. I'd call the vet, get a good examination to make sure there is nothing physically wrong, and if the dog is well, get a referral. It's by far the safest and best option for everyone.

Marianne is right but first and foremost take him to the vet and get him thoroughly checked over- he may have something wrong with him. Thyriod problems, for instance, can cause aggression. He may even have a slow growing brain tumour. I hope you are insured and if you are check out what you are covered for and if it includes behavioural problems.

We have had him physically examined and there is no medical reason he is acting like this. We wouldn't rehome him like he is now. His half brother seems to react the same way to noise and things like the dishcloth etc. I think you're right, a behaviourist is needed. Like i said, he has only recently started biting but it is of course unacceptable.

If his half brother is very similar that is really quite worrying. What kind of dog is he?

He's a Lakeland terrier.

Silly question perhaps, but have you tried correcting him?  I would suggest seeing a behaviourist to find the best approach in working with him.

I've never known a dog be territorial over a dishcloth. :-D

Looks as though this is a game that your LT has made for himself along with all the other household appliances, he is playing hunt and territorial games with them, and you have allowed him to do this, perhaps from a pup it was funny, but you are realising there are consequences.  Easy to eradicate, :-) you need to give your dog some other mental stimulation, how do you fancy some sort of agility classes, or something of the like in your area?

Obviously voice control is not working, and to be honest LT's are very happy to go quite deaf :-D so invest in a clicker, start by click and when he comes give him a treat.  Once he realises that the clicker is his friend and promotes something good, you can click when he becomes interested in something he shouldn't and bring him to you instead, play ball, give him a kong to keep him occupied.

You need to re-direct his focus, give him some mental stimulation and he will no longer be interested in the dishcloth etc. :-)

Mm By all means get a behaviourist in but make sure they are very, very experienced, that they have lots of experience of more tricky terrier breeds, and ideally know something about Lakelands.

Have you spoken to the breeder and what do you know about the temperaments of Mum and Dad? Did you meet the parents?

Who owns the half brother? How are they coping?

Yes we have tried many methods. From telling him off and putting him in his bed, distracting him, putting him in his bed before something sets him off, making him sit while the dishcloth is being used etc.... but nothing seems to work. It's like he really can't control what he is doing. If he steals something he's not meant to have like a sock, i can normally get him to drop it by just shouting. But if he gets a 'prize possession' like the dishcloth he is that wound up he doesn't listen to anyone. We have had dogs (terriers) for over 13 years so we are not novices where training is concerned, but he is completely different. None of the normal training methods we use seem to work on him, i do believe its not solely down to our training, and that its more psychological. It's also quite interesting that his half brother is the same. He has very very high terrier instincts and he just reacts instantly in situations. He would make a wonderful working dog lol but his behaviour is becoming a real problem in the family home. 

Edit: We met both the parents and although they seem to be quite highly strung, they didn't not behave in the way that our dog does. The people who own the half brother are coping, they react in the same way that we do, they know what will trigger him and they prevent the situation arising. But the half brother doesn't bite, and he seems a lot calmer than our dog.       

Carrington i agree with a lot of what you say -

I don't want to sound like i am making excuses and blaming the way he is on his breeding or because he's just metal lol I do think that some of it comes down to our training. I was never soft on him from the start realising that he needed firm but fair training, but i don't think we realised the small little things that needed stamping out straight away. Like jumping for the dishcloth, we never let him get away with it because we realised that it would become a problem later on. But i don't think we realised quiet how much of a problem it could become. The clicker might work, but he loses all interest in food when the vacuum or dishcloth is out. It might work if i substitute the treat for a toy however. He seems to only react to certain thing with certain people, i think that because he believe he is above certain family members and think he can get away with being naughty! I think maybe providing him with more mental stimulation would be good as well, like i said, he would make a wonderful working dog.   

MM,

I think the problem/temperament could be genetic. I'm sure you know that historically certain lines of pedigree Lakeland had something of a rep amongst terrier men for being highly reactive, overly sharp and quarrelsome and for answering back- with their teeth that is. Sounds a bit like your boy? That is why if you get a behaviourist they really need to understand this type of dog and even then you may not crack it sufficiently to have him a reliable family dog. I would also suggest, if you haven't already done so, you talk to the breeder and perhaps get them to see your dog and see what they advise. 

It might sound a bit extreme but better safe than sorry.

 

Yes i really do think a lot of his problems are genetic. We went into the breed not knowing an awful lot about which dogs had good temperaments and there is only a certain amount of truth you can find out by talking to people and meeting the dogs at a show. Our boy looks the perfect angel when his out, but he's completely different in the home. 

a rep amongst terrier men for being highly reactive, overly sharp and quarrelsome and for answering back- with their teeth that is. Sounds a bit like your boy? 


Yep that does sound like him some of the time. Other times he's lovely, hes gets along with our puppy perfectly, he's only ever been a bit sharp with the other male dog we have. Generally he gets on with other dogs and isn't at all snappy towards people, apart from in the situation i have mentioned in the home.

Well, as I said, I don't want to be alarmist. It may all turn out well. I think it was when you said his behaviour had become unpredictable, together with what you said about half brother, that started a little bell ringing.

But Carrington has a point too it could be that he actually needs to be worked and has too much pent up energy. Also he's at that I'm becoming a real man age and just might be pushing the envelope as far as he can.

In my view, the best judge of all of this should be someone who knows the breed inside out and how to deal with their foibles and who can differentiate between a big problem and a small one. But don't linger, get someone in, and talk it over with the breeder, they may have the answer.

Thank you both so much for you replies. I agree with what you have both said, i believe that he has an awful lot of pent up energy and working him would help. He has just reach about 2.5 years old so i also think he's trying to push it. That's why i believe any bad behaviour he is showing now, need to be urgently dealt with. I also think it does need somebody to say if its a real problem or not, because i think that its something we can deal with, but we just don't know the best way of going about it. I shall talk to his breeders (who are lovely and will be more than willing to help) and see where to go from there.

My border terrier is like this.  The behaviourist I consulted said it was a territory thing, trying to single out possessions for himself.  Unfortunately, she didn't really give me any real clear cut solutions to solve this other than take the situation away from the dog.  Don't put temptation in his way.  It's weird because he'll just go away when the hoover's on, but if I get the carpet sweeper out he barks and snaps and attacks it.  He's also got a big deal with feet where if you move your feet too fast when he's near, he'll try and bite you.  If a bluebottle flies into the house, he goes nuts and snaps at me!

So I just make sure the situations where the dog is going to behave like this don't arise.  Not easy but it's manageable.  Not sure it would be if I had more than one dog though.  I hope you can get it sorted.

CG

MM,
Just another thought, and to add again to what Carrington said. It sounds like he may be directing a considerable prey drive to certain things. Hoovers and brooms both move in an enticing, jerky way and that might have triggered his initial interest in them. But now the hoover noise has become associated with the hoover and is part of his high level prey reaction. Could you lock him in his crate with a stuffed kong when the hoover is on? Obviously don't hoover in room his crate is in with him in it.

Can't explain the dishcloth. Perhaps high value to him because you handle them alot or again something to do with the washing movement he's observed?. Have you tried completely changing what you wash dishes with?Maybe to a small nylon scouring pad?

All pure speculation. Let us know what your experts say.

Goodluck.

hi Minnie mooch,

my EBT is just the same with any noise out of the ordinary- hoover, spray polish or air freshener, brushing the yard and when he was a pup even dived at someone when using their inhaler! It did not lead to becoming aggressive- only with biting the brush or hoover, I remember as well that I was defusing my hair and grabbed that and broke it. My only advise would be to tie him up so he can not get to whatever he wants and when he reacts badly throw a cup of water in his face and then walk away ? When he is calm give him a stroke? it sounds like that he is just highly strung and needs more of an outlet. He is not meaning to bit people when he is in his frenzy only instinct takes over. Maybe change his diet as could be making him hyper. Good advise to contact a behaviorist as they can help with desentizing him to situation that freak him out.

MM

First thing... get a baskerville muzzle on him so that the situation at least stays the same and doesn't become a crisis. Then seek professional help.IMO

> My only advise would be to tie him up so he can not get to whatever he wants and when he reacts badly throw a cup of water in his face and then walk away ?

I think the 'water in the face' could make the problem worse, if the has a dislike/gets startled by water and he associates being splashed with the object he has an issue with, it could give him cause to get even more aggressive the next time :(
Tying him up may stop him 'attaking' things, but wont do anything to change the behaviour.

It seems as if this behaviour has been escalating over a long period of time which would imply it is going to also take time to fix, but would be best delt with under the direction of a beahviourist. For him to be this intense so often, it wouldn't take much to make him worse, so carefull, experienced handling is the best approach (IMO).

ML,
I agree with you. I think these types of terrier are likely to get a lot more aggressive if one uses confrontational methods once their arousal states are already high and they are in attack and kill mode.
I had a very difficult terrier and anything he perceived as attacking or hurting him would make him go in for the kill. This included burning his nose on a hot pipe, the more he burnt himself the more he attacked it and so on. These dogs literally go from 0-60 in nanoseconds. You'll see some terriers quickly snapping their teeth together if they are angry or see something like an insect that brings out the desire to attack.

The key to managing the dog, whilst actively seeking the right kind of help, is to try to avoid known triggers and things you think might trigger him. Once he's hyped up it's hard to bring him down and that high state of arousal can become totally addictive for some terriers, because the buzz brings its own rewards.

yeah I suppose it does sound a harsh way of dealing with this dogs episodes of madness- but as the owner said shouting and trying to calm the dog down has failed and he just gets even more carried away..

The idea of water in the face would be just to snap the dog out of its moment of madness, then the instant it stopped focusing on whatever set it off in the first place give the dog a sweet? Obviously the only reason to tie the dog up is to stop him biting you while doing this. I have seen on dog borstal the pebbles in the bottle method, seems to work for dogs that react and do not think- as this dog is obviously doing. I think the bottle method would set this dog off more- due to it being loud noises upset him most. So that's why I mentioned the water ? 

The most important thing is to call in a aggressive expert and find out how to calm him down. In scary situations he seems to go bananas with fear? trouble is now though he is coping with any sudden surprise with aggression!. Not the sort of family pet you want around!

> The idea of water in the face would be just to snap the dog out of its moment of madness,

I see where your coming from :) It's just that as he is already in an intense state adding more intense stimulus could push him up higher or intensify his response to the object next time around :( unless he doesn't mind the water ;)

My sister tried squirting her Boxer bitch with water to stop her barking while in the gardern - turns out the boxer loves being squirted so will get exited for more!! :) It also means that sis can carry a sports bottle on walks to squirt water in the dogs mouth for a drink :)

I know with my own terrier than he hates water in his face- when my boy was small and he had all his friends playing with their water guns he would go to attack the plastic gun so yeah maybe its just terriers that a different training technique is needed. I found that when my snoop did his bad deed when he was 4 and I saw a dog trainer- I told her I had a Belgian Shepard first and trained her really easily so why is this dog different- of course she enlightened me that terriers are a very different breed from a Shepard. !! :)

Hi Magica,

It may also be because Bull terrier breeds, with their particular background are perhaps not as touch and noise sensitive as other working terrier types. I believe EBTs and Staffs have much lower pain thresholds, which makes sense for a fighting dog, and so their reaction to that sort of stimulus may well be different. Your EBT hates water but won't come back at you for spraying him.

I think a lot of what you described with your EBT is also classic terrier puppy stuff. I've always found avoidance, ignoring and immediate exclusion for bad behaviour works pretty well.

Terriers bred to go at rats, fox, badger and so on are likely to get more and more enraged at confrontation and keep popping away. So if the owner appears to confront/ "attack" the dog once it is aroused it may go for her. I think they are much more cat like in their reactions and notice every tiny touch and movement- some are hypersensitive and that's where you can get a problem, you know how cats can go for your feet when you walk up the stairs etc..

These terriers may are also answer back if they think your chastisement is out of proportion to their infringement of the rules and regs.

Of course Bull terrier breeds also don't give up for anything once they go in, but I suspect their reactiveness is generally less- thank goodness.

>I think these types of terrier are likely to get a lot more aggressive if one uses confrontational methods once their arousal states are already high and they are in attack and kill mode.

Yes water in the face is definitely not a good idea with my dog! It would send him completely loopy lol. As i said, it seems to be noise that sets him off but interestingly we have recently noticed noise can calm him down. When the broom was out the other day and he was in his cage barking and biting his bed as usual, i happened to pick up a food bowl which stopped him instantly! He seems to dislike the noise for some reason. I think its a similar method to training disks, only i think if i dropped training disks on the floor he would just nick them and run off! I think maybe this might be the answer as it seems to calm him down and stop him getting to the point where he can't control his desire to attack and bite. I shall just have to permanently carry a food bowl round the house lol

MM,
Do let us know how you get on and whether breeders and behaviourist/terrier expert can help.

Yes shall do! Thank you everyone for your advice x

You need to find out if he is afraid (yes, even a feisty terrier!) or excited or a bit of both.

My dog, a BSD, would try to attack the vacuum cleaner and it was solved by slowly desensitising (moving it barely at all when she was near) and if necessary putting her safely away from it with chew rewards. I also associated it with her fav. toy and now she will lie down whilst I  vacuum.

If this has gone on for a while, he's always wound up and probably quite stressed overall.

I'd suggest a sensible reputable behaviourist, not some person who will suggest using punishment as it could make it worse, if he associates the situation with being punished...

Something, not directly related to this case, but to do with attacking the vacuum cleaner and the like.

Many years ago I had a border collie who used to attack the vacuum cleaner but only when I did the vacuuming, she didn't seem to worry if my OH did it. It was only quite late in her life that I realised that she went for the cleaner always when I was pulling it back towards me not when I was pushing it away from me. When I realised that she was protecting me from the beast I felt quite differently about what she was doing. It was still a nuisance, of course.