I am at a loss. We thought we were making major headway with Max but he bit my boyfriend in the face today (broke skin) when he went to go place his food down for dinner. It was only yesterday I was beginning to feel so positive about where Max was heading. We hadn't had any mishaps for a couple months. A couple of months ago he did the same, different situation though. And again, after we had built up trust again with him not too long after his first mishap where he snapped at him. I have put SO much effort in trying to gain Max's trust, in training him, and in trying to help him with his fearfulness. I can't help but wonder, being a rescue dog from the South, United States, if he either went through some traumatizing event as a puppy or was taken away from his litter mates and mom too soon. He has been an incredibly difficult dog, but he's so smart. I don't know what to do.
I feel your frustration. Does Max have a “sit stay” command. Can you ask him to sit stay on his mat until your boyfriend puts down the food and clears the feeding area? Do you have a deck. Can you get a Kong Wobbler and put his meals in that and feed him outside on the deck some days? I have to say I don’t know any history of Max and I don’t recall reading any other posts about him. Does he go stiff and or growl before he snaps? It’s too bad you are experiencing this when you are just trying to give him a better life. We’ve had two rescues growing up as kids and both bit me (and only me ) but it was my fault. Both were terriers not that it matters. Hopefully you can resolve this over time. Sounds like you need more help than I can offer but I just wanted to give some options to keep you from being bitten again until the pros weight in.
Thank you for your responses. He's never shown any food aggression in the past. We always have him in a sit stay prior to placing his food bowl down. I normally give him 2/3 of his food in his dish and the rest in a treat ball and another treat game sort of item. What makes me worry is that he was wagging his tail prior to placing his food down, and the bite seemed to have come out of no where. He had no realization he had done anything wrong, and almost continues wagging his tail immediately after. The few times he has acted in this way he didn't appear to show any signs he was about to bite. He is 9 months. I worry as he is very uncomfortable with young children having barked and growled at them in the past and we just had two small young children move in next door to us just a couple days ago.
I can't advise you on the food/biting thing (outside my very limited expertise, sorry). But as for the kids next door - have you spoken to the parents? Do you have a very secure section? You'll absolutely need to be proactive about this and speak firmly to the parents (and the kids) about dog safety. Emphasise that they absolutely mustn't approach Max, and that if they lose a ball/toy over the fence that they can't come and get it - you or your bf will have to - and if you're not home then they'll have to wait until you or your bf is home. I know how litigious the US is and I'd hate to see you get sued because the neighbours/kids ignore your warnings and do something stupid. Hopefully somebody else will chime in with food advice.
I guess what upsets me most is that it was just so unexpected. He is not food aggressive by any means. He will lay on his back and let us kiss his belly with no issues. It just seems as though the few times he has done this, there hasn't been anything leading up to it. So it's not as though we know when to expect it. I've never had a dog like Max. My last lab, even when he was at his sickest before he passed, we had 100% trust in him. Max just seems to be incredibly sensitive. Is it that he part working line lab?
Are you certain that the biting was aggressive? Is there any chance that it was a result of over the top excitement?
I don't think this makes much difference. My dog is working line & hes ridiculously confident and over the top. Just a big ball of love really. With the tail wagging etc it sounds as though he's gotten over excited and gone over his threshold rather than being aggressive. Stanley used to do it on his walks, he would jump up and bite at me. I used to just stand calmly until it had passed. He grew out of it by about a year.
Add in the excitement of "DINNER TIME!!!" and you've got a round of dog-human bitey face It was my first thought too. Obviously, we did see it though (and I'm definitely not a behaviourist) so interested to hear what @LushRose88 thinks
Thanks again for all your replies. I hate to admit that my boyfriend and I have very reluctantly entertained the idea of revoking Max to someone with more experience. I thought I was a fairly experienced dog owner, but Max has been quite a difficult pup, and I realized we may not be enough for him. I have cried endlessly the past two days at even the thought of rehoming him. We have been through quite a lot together and overcome some major difficulties. He still has a long ways to go. I did contact a behaviorist today to see if maybe there is hope, and I hope there is. My boyfriend, of whom he has shown the most aggression towards is leaning more towards giving him up, as he fears he has lost all trust with Max but I really want to see if this is something we can overcome. I surely can understand where he is coming from. But it's Hard for me to give up because I do see a tremendous amount of potential in Max. I am awaiting a call back from our local behaviorist, and will most likely hear from them tomorrow. I guess my main concern is if we try to make it work, what happens if he does bite an innocent bystander at some point or another. I don't want to even think about the consequences that would bring. I lo e him so much but am at a loss of what to do. Which is why I need a second opinion from someone who knows more than I
And when I said revoking, I actually meant to say rehoming. I knew I should have reread that post. Stupid auto correct on cell phones.
I'm sorry you are having these troubles, it must be scary and disappointing and heart breaking. I think it's a good idea to call in a behaviourist. Can I ask if he is told to sit and stay before a meal, then how is your boyfriend's face getting near a bowl of food? I have my boy sit across the room, maybe you are too close? Something you might check on is vision and hearing. It seems unlikely, from what you describe, but if one or both is failing maybe it seems to him you are sneaking up on him? And his reaction is defensive? Sounds like a long shot even to me but your behavourist is likely to suggest a Vet check anyway, just to make sure there is not some strange health issue behind this.
Good luck with the behaviourist. My gut says that you and your boyfriend can come back from this, so don't lose hope. Maybe he'll be one of those dogs who you've always got to watch like a hawk around strangers - who knows - but that can be managed relatively easily. I look forward to hearing what the behaviourist says. None of what you've described sounds insurmountable, so keep positive
It’s very hard for anyone to say what’s happenkng with Max and yourselves without being there. The behaviourist will no doubt offer some insight. Can I suggest something that kind of helped in our house? Relax. All of you, relax. Let got the fears and preconceived notions and just let max be a dog for a few days. Take him to a ball park somewhere fenced in and just let him go. And sit and watch with your mouths closed. Enjoy him. Watch him play. My wife and I had a few moments like most do with lab puppies and we just stood back and stopped. We don’t even talk to him, he doesn’t speak English. Stop saying no ( If you do ) cause he has no idea what that means. Now this might not fix your issues but it will give you all the break you need. You can start slowing working with him in a few days. Get some perspective. In our home we noticed an immediate change in his attitude when we changed our attitudes. My wife threatened to rehome, only a few moths ago actually. Now they are buddies again(He has snapped at her several times). Our dog isn’t an award winning animal and never will be, he’s a pet 95% of the time and the other 5% I watch him run around scaring all the ducks he’s supposed to be retrieving. As soon as we realized our roles and goals we all found our groove. There might be something to the eyesight or hearing issue. You can test his vision by asking him to sit and toss a treat at him and see how he does. Also with hearing ( I thought Duggan was deaf as a puppy) you can stand behind and i a very soft voice call his name and see the reaction. Good luck and have fun. He is after all a dog.
We always keep him at a sit stay prior to placing his bowl down. I think he must have gotten over excited and released himself from his stay position period to my boyfriend placing the bowl all the way down so he instead lifted it back up to ask the command again. I think that's when it happened. He's not entirely sure as it all happened so fast. Max's sight and hearing is on par; he sees any minute movement and hears everything. Even the slight rustle of a paper towel in hopes I am hiding some of my own food from him. He is INCREDIBLY food motivated. He still begs like a nut, but that has gotten much better since we got him. He's good with adults, it's really children I'm worried about. But I think it's mostly out of fear.
johmmywalker thank you for the reminder to relax and the positive post. I think you're absolutely right, it's so easy to get frustrated and to to zero in on all his issues while trying to be on him at all times. I am sure he senses it too. We had a nice walk the three of us today, and I played fetch with him outside in the snow. We also practiced his recall with yummy chicken bits. He had a great time. My boyfriend is still quite unsure about it, but I can understand that. I am anxiously awaiting the call back from the behaviorist to try and sort this all out. I think what made this the hardest is that the day before yesterday's mishaps, I had a wonderful day with him hiking some trails In the woods at our local recreational park. we encountered a little playground which he has never experienced before, so he was really unsure of himself. It started off with him growling and barking at a large plastic blue swing hanging from the swingset. I slowly coaxed him over and sat on it to let him know there was nothing to be scared of. He then sniffed at it and began wagging his tail while I swang a bit. He was super pumped to check out all the things on the playground. He even went down a mini slide three times and loved it.
Does Max have a safe place? It can be a kennel or box or any sort of enclosed space. Dogs need to have those spaces. His kennel should not be a punishment, it should be a place of rest. I really hope that this can help some. Since he is a rescue, and a 9 month pup at that, slip ups are to be expected. Teach him that commands spoken softly are just as strong as ones spoken loudly. Here's to growing up!
Max has never been too excited about his crate. He will willingly go in if we have to leave him for a bit though and has no problem being in there; no whining or barking of any sort. He's VERY fond of of a large chair in our living area though. He tends to follow us around mostly and lays nearby. We got him at 4 months, he's now almost 10 months. He was fostered for maybe a month prior to us adopting him with a very lovely family with two younger kids and two large breed dogs. He was a very happy puppy. We got him and once he settled in after two days he turned into a little demon spawn crocopup and is FINALLY acting out much less as far as the nipping and chasing us around the house goes. He rarely does it now as long as we don't overstimulate him too much. We have been asking him to sit and lay down if we see that twinkle in his eye, which seems to snap him out of it before he gets carried away.
