Ever get bitten by your own dog???? Part 2

I don't know what happened to the original thread.

As some of your saw in a post back in April, I just got a Great Dane puppy. I also have a 6-year old St. Bernard. Anyways, we got a crate for the puppy, and put it right next to the St. B's.

When trying to put both dogs in their respective crates, the puppy ran into the St. B's crate, and did not want to come out, as she was trying to snuggle up to him. I called her, and she wouldn't budge. I then called him, and he wouldn't budge either. I reached in to grab the St. B's collar, and he snapped at me, biting my hand. It drew blood, and even warranted a visit to a doctor.

He has never shown one ounce of aggressiveness in the 6 years that I have had him. I believe he was either trying to protect the puppy, or it was a territorial issue, with me reaching into his crate. I admit that I now do not trust him 100% since this has happened. I do hope that my trust comes back.

Anyone ever have this happen? What did you do about it, if anything? Did your trust go away? Did your trust come back? What other actions did you take?

 

The whole purpose of crating a dog is to teach him/her that the crate is his/her own personal place. Your dog has learned that the crate is his environment and you intruded when you reached in to try and pull him out. No offense, but this one falls squarely on your shoulders. The dog didn't do anything wrong.

 

Uh oh. One of them's going to live on a "farm".



RMX

 

Very true. My Corgi considers her crate her den. She stands for the leash when it is time to go for a walk and goes strait for the crate upon return. She is unleashed at the door and goes right in. After the day out when we are home (never in cage when we are at home) she knows the term, "bedtime" and goes to the crate knowing that a biscuit is always her reward.

 

Send them out to my "farm". They'll get along great with my Newfies.

 

LOL, I was thinking the same thing.

 

I wanted also to mention that certain breeds have habits we can't change and it is important to be aware of those and not temp fate. My Corgi is a herding dog, sheep and cattle. She does her work by nipping at heels of these animals. It is in her genes and she must obey. DO NOT bend down and pick up anything off the ground around her. She will lunge for it as though it were her herd. I did this only once and spent an hour at the doctor's getting my hand bandaged. My fault, not hers. Otherwise, she is loving to a fault.

 

Send the animal to a dog psychologist.

 

And hire a Feng Shui expert to come in and align the kennels with the inner-dog chi.

 

I want this to be my fault..............that way, my trust in the dog would be restored.

 

When I went to the hospital, they told me that they had to report the bite to animal services. I was a little confused by this............I am the victim, and I am the owner.............shouldn't I be the one to decide whether it gets reported or not? I got home from work yesterday, and there was a note left for me on my door from Animal Control asking me to call them. I did. I asked them why I have to deal with them. They said that they need to be sure that the dog is up to date on his shots, and that he is licensed. If I would have known about all of this BS, I would have skipped the doctor entirely. What a pain in the a$$!

 

What's that they say about a dog that bites the hand that feeds it? It's not like it was threatened. You might want to consult with experts, the breeder etc. It may have a mean streak. Personally I wouldn't tolerate it, but I'm not a pet nut either.

 

As I said in the first post............I have had him for 6 years, and he never once displayed any aggression whatsoever. He is the most gentle dog I have ever come into contact with. The puppy torments him, nibbles on him, just is relentless.........and he never reacts against her.

 

If it ever happens again, tell them it was some stray you saw and tried to pet. You are, of course, free to refuse the tetanus/rabies shots they may recommend.

If you get two reports of bites from the same animal, I believe they will come and take it for euthanasia.

 

Exactly what I was thinking the same thing!!!.....I have a Pitbull and let me tell you that I (and anyone in my family) can reach into his mouth and pull out a piece of food while he's eating if they wanted to, go into his bowl while eating or drinking water, reach into his crate, etc......the kids pull, push, ride him, dress him up, you name it, he deals with it.......and has fun doing it too!! he's such a great family dog, tough, energetic......I couldn't be happier!

anyway it is my believe that any dog that bites once will bite again! and should be put down!!....especially if he bites the hand that feeds him!

 

It is my belief that you don't know much about dog behavior and shouldn't be allowed to care for dogs with that attitude, but that's a topic for another day.

This dog has been taught that his crate is his safe place. Puppies are crate trained so that they learn not to mess in their crates, because that is their private space. Reaching in a dog's private space and trying to pull him out is like me breaking into your house and trying to drag you out. You wouldn't take kindly to it and neither did the dog.

Suggesting that his dog should be euthanized is absolutely absurd.

 

Yes, it WAS threatened (in his mind). Read what I wrote about a dog's relationship with his/her crate.

 

Keep trust in your dog, Dan. He simply reacted to your advances toward him while he was in his crate. He felt threatened AND he was literally backed into a corner. Learn from the experience and enjoy life with your pups.

 

As much as I didn't want to go down this road, I did initially think this as well. And maybe that is the case..........I don't know, I am not a dog expert.

I want to regain my trust in him, and go on happily ever after.

 

If you seriously entertain this option, PM me. I will take him.

 

Oh, believe me, I want nothing more than that. He's part of the family. I think it's natural on my part to have to build up trust for him again, which is exactly what I intend on doing. He is my 2nd St. Bernard, and there's a reason why I got another one after the 1st one died.

 

I wouldn't say it is a case of territory as much as it is dominance. If you are the leader of your pack, all territory is yours. The crate is yours, his bed is yours and the puppy is yours. He might be mad if you kick him off is bed, but it is up to you to follow though with the action.

Let me ask you this, can you take a bone from him? Have you ever taken a food source from him while he was eating it? Feeding him is way different than taking food from him. The alpha is the alpha 100% of the time and is sounds like he needs to be reminded of whose runs the pack. He will continue to challenge you unless you re-establish dominance.

 

Its not like the dog clamped down and started chewing..............he gave you a "love bite" as a warning.
It should be fine, if he does it again then you may want to address it as a potential problem.

 

I'm going to disagree. Crate trained dogs have been taught that their crate is their safe haven. The whole idea behind crate training is to get the dog to take ownership of this area and not mess in it. The dogs learn that any time they feel uncomfortable or threatened, the crate is the one place they can go to be safe. This dog didn't bite because he was trying to be the alpha, he bit because he felt threatened and trapped.

 

Absolutely, I can take a bone from him, I can pull him away from his food any time, or take the bowl away from him. I can take my hands and open his mouth up, stick my hand in there, whatever I want.