I am at a complete loss of what to do but let me start by saying I have a 6 month old chocolate named Chip. He is pretty good most of the time but when he is bad he is BAD. He is agressive sometimes just randomly attacking me while on a walk, biting and growling at me. And when he gets ahold of something he should not have and I try to get it back he snaps and growls. He bit my grandma the other day while she was trying to get a dryer sheet away from him. Today he got a wash cloth and when I tried to get him to drop it for a piece of ham he completely ignored it and swallowed the rag! Can anybody please help me! I don't know what else to do! I am in tears and close to re-homing him. any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you.
When your dog takes something that you don't want him to have and you chase him, he thinks that is a game. Also if he has something he really wants and you are chasing him, he IS going to swallow it so you can't have it! In future, don't chase him, try to put things of value out of his reach and teach him to swop! Offer a very tasty titbit in exchange for what he has. You can begin to train this by sitting him in front of you, offering him something of pretty low value, pop it in his mouth and quickly offer him the tasty treat and swop it. I will leave other to advise about 'biting and growling' at you while on a walk, I understand this is pretty normal behaviour in the young dog, just need a way to change that behaviour.
Jennifer, whereabouts are you based? Your dog is resource guarding and whilst there is an excellent prognosis for it (unlike many other forms of reactivity), how to fix it is best taught to you in person rather than via an online forum. Many behaviourists would use methods that involve punishment and this would only make him worse in the long-run (sometimes it looks temporarily better...). I'm not sure when you say whether this is true reactivity/aggression, or just an incredibly boisterous and excited dog 'playing' with you like a tug toy. Certainly, dogs don't tend to suddenly attack their owners with true aggression out of the blue, on walks. It's not a common scenario. But hyper dogs do frequently leap up and mouth and bite whatever they can reach because they are excited, and this may even hurt you accidentally. This scenario IS aggression - resource guarding. Resource guarding actually begins with puppies, often: They constantly pick stuff up they shouldn't have, and owners constantly just take it out of their mouths. The puppy grows up learning that humans take away good stuff from you. So, over time, the dog learns to defend the stuff they have so you can't do this. This can all be prevented by owners teaching the dog TO WANT TO let go of the thing they have, so there is then no conflict in this situation. I would recommend starting with Chirag's 'Drop' training: There are some very important things to point out: The dog should never see you pick up or take possession of the item after they have dropped it. You must use your food to throw away from the dropped item, so the dog runs off to get the food and doesn't see you pick up the item. It's fine if the dog turns around and sees you already holding it - just not taking possession of it. Otherwise, this triggers their guarding instincts and you will not be able to recondition the dog to feel differently. You must be using extremely tasty treats - dry kibble just isn't going to work. So you will need to have a pot of treats in your pocket at all times, which are high value. That means wet or moist, since pretty much NO dry treats will be tasty enough... We're talking hotdogs, cheese, ham, etc... Smelly stuff, to get the dog's focus when they have something. When the dog picks up the item, you stick your treat on the dog's nose. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE THE ITEM FROM THE DOG'S MOUTH. You use the dog wanting the treat, to get them to drop the item - because their attention is now on the food. Then you lure them AWAY from the dropped item and pick it up with your other hand once their back is turned. You should feel like a magician, not letting them see you pick up the dropped item. Good luck.
For a day or two.......really focus .......as you take your dog for a walk.....pay real close attention to what is happening around you .....just prior to him barking, growling, or biting at you....you might be able to identify what is setting him off. Six months still a baby so it might be just to darn exciting out there in the world..LOL Hoss is 2.5 years now ...but in retrospect..one of the best things I have learned is how to read my dogs.....with most dogs communication is happening well in advance .....they communicate with ears, tail, hair, snout etc....humans are more vocal with communications......so we miss alot.......so I encourage learning to watch/read your dog. How to do this ........just observe them when you are sitting around and they are engaged with others...if you do this enough you will pick up on consistancies. Another option is to discontinue walking outside of your own property lines ......i.e back to basics..... walk in the back yard......as it improves...then sideyard...then the front yard.......allowing pup to be progessive as pup matures.
Hi Jennifer, welcome to the forum. Let us know how you get on with Chip, and whereabouts in the world you are located so that we can help with instructor/behaviourist information. Don't lose heart as this does sound like a fixable problem
