Dog bites when people pick up stuff from the floor

[hroberts123]

Hi,

My daughter recently moved back with me so his pit moved in along with her.

 

She got the dog while he was a puppy but didn't spend too much time on correcting a behavior that I consider dangerous. The dog is pretty much ok, unless you pick up anything from the floor that he thinks belong to him.. then he bites!

 

Right now, we are managing the dog pretty much avoiding close contact with him. He stays in the garage with door open to the patio and goes free to the backyard during the day and during night time he is locked in the garage (we assigned a small section for him, with his crate). My daughter takes him out in the mornings for walks and he behaves ok with the leash. We sometimes take our small dogs with him (walking close but not direct contact). I am able to pet him across the “barricade”, talk to him, and feed him. He is not allowed inside the house.

 

It makes me sad to see him isolated, but we are afraid since he bites.

 

How I can safely train him to correct the behavior? Is there any hope? I spoke with animal control officers and they told me that the only solution is to euthanize him since he became “dangerous”. I just can’t do that, he is sweet except when we pick things from the floor. What can I do?

[JMFS]

Aw, poor pup. I'm willing to bet Adrienne will have sage advice. I understand the guilty feelings about isolation, but while you're trying to figure things out it's a good idea to prevent him from rehearsing the behavior.

 

What kind of bite? Has he broken skin, drawn blood, bruised, shaken the part that was bitten? You can check out my story with Momo, who also resource guards. I finally got a behaviorist to come to my house to help and we're in a Much better place these days so there Is hope. Mo outright attacked me one day in the yard and that was the final straw - he used his words (as Adrienne says) and put teeth on me but didn't bite; however, that was due in part to me knowing how far to push after he was already seeing red. I watch his body language very closely - that tells me a great deal of information. For example, when his head drops, his neck stiffens, and he's watching me (kind of like how people look over their reading glasses), I know that's a clear sign he's uncomfortable with what's happening and we're in for a confrontation if I don't back off. I call that his signature move - it's his most obvious "leave me alone" sign.

 

Here's my post, it's somewhat of a saga because I'm wordy, but it will give you an idea of what you'll experience working with a behaviorist: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?92-Mo-s-Escalating-Behavior&highlight=ivory

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello, and welcome to the forums,

Yes, please provide more details about the biting as this is likely the most important prognostic factor. How often did he bite? What type of biting exactly? Does it occur with just food? Or a variety of items? Of course, just provide info about past biting occurrences, don't try to see what triggers his biting behavior exactly just for the sake of providing a precise answer. Also, how old is this dog now?

 

To answer your question about whether there is hope, it really depends on a variety of factors such as the severity of biting, how long the biting has occurred, whether the behavior is predictable (it happens only in specific, expected contexts), whether the dog gives warning signals prior to biting (does he freeze, growl, turn his head, give "leave me alone" signs?"), the size of the dog, whether there are children in the home, the time and level of commitment the family can provide for working on the issue, etc. So all these factors need to be carefully weighed in.

 

Definitely not something a person can make a blank statement such as "the dog needs euthanized" without seeing the dog, gathering medical, environmental and behavioral history, considering all factors and the possibility for behavior modification. You are doing everything right by managing the situation using a barricade so he doesn't get to rehearse the problem behavior and trigger undue anxiety (dogs who resource guard are anxious as they are afraid of losing access to their valuables).This is an important step as you consider your options.

 

*Please be careful when petting across the barricade in case he might have something valuable nearby that you might not see directly. A dog who resource guards may mistakenly perceive an arm stretching towards him to pet him as a threat to steal something he may be guarding nearby.

Edited January 5, 2020 by Adrienne Farricelli