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

Ultimately, dogs need to work out their order by themselves, and they will. Your Bernard may be sensing that he's no longer the dominant dog which points back to the importance of respecting his personal space. We did it, but the older dog was only 2, very submissive and they're both Golden Retrievers to boot. I still recommend consulting a professional, because they're good at recognizing environmental factors that can be fueling the situation. No matter what anyone else may have experienced in a similar situation, your's is completely unique to your own home.

 

Very perceptive. When it was Springer replaced by Springer, everything was fine. When we decided to "downsize" and replaced Springer with female Pembroke Corgi, the bottom dropped out. Corgis are dominant by breeding. She wants it all! No can do in our house. Corgi has the run until bedtime and then she goes to her crate where she is fine and sleeps well. Springer (9) sleeps with us. All is quiet until morning, and then we start again. Equal attention during the day has been key for us.

 

Whatever you do, don't listen to 8 Snake. He'd have you "try and understand" where the dog is coming from, and how you "may have hurt his feelings" or "offended him." Those aren't his direct quotes, but he's asking you to rationalize with a dog.

Your dog DID attack you...nothing more to say about it. He bit you hard enough to draw blood, and it wasn't an accident. Even if he was "threatened" or was "defending" himself, his choice of action while threatened was to ATTACK back with a bite. Do not ever forget that.

What you need to do is approach your dog as a dog, not as a human. If you try to "fix" this problem with a human approach, you'll confuse the dog. Dogs will be one of two things, never more: a leader of the pack, or a member of the pack. Members of the pack simply do not bite the leader unless:

1. The member feels he should be the leader
2. The member feels he should not respect the leader
3. The member does not fear any retribution from the leader.

There really are no other reasons why a dog would bite his owner. Of course, if you give to your dog human attributes, then you can come up with all sorts of rational and logic that "explains"the situation. But, your dog is NOT a human. Stick with understanding the dog, not having the dog understand you.

You need to do this, and quickly:

1. Reassert your dominance over the dog. Take him for a long, long walk and do not let him stop to sniff or investigate a single thing. Do no talk to him reassuringly, do no pet him, do not be nice. Simply demand that he follows you.

2. Spend a couple of hours making the dog submit to you through the alpha position. Make him roll onto his back and allow you to lord over him. Ensure he understand that YOU, not HE, is in charge.

3. Give him a toy, a bone, food, whatever, and stand as close to him as possible. While he's got the bone/food/toy in this mouth, just slowly walk towards him until your shins are touching him, and then continue to move towards him. Push yourself into his space, and make sure he knows that you are there as the boss, and that you'll be in his space whether or not he likes it. If he growls or gets tense, force him on his back and take the toy/bone/food away and hold onto it. Make sure he understands that EVERYTHING in your home is YOURS, not his, and that he gets things only when you allow it. NOT WHEN HE ALLOWS IT.

There are a bunch of options, but whatever you do, assert yourself over him. He bit you because he simply does not respect you as his leader. He is confused over what his boundaries are. Confused dogs are not happy dogs, so redefine his role and he won't be confused anymore.

Happy petting!

 

Two other things:

1. You need to respond to an attack from your dog the same way the leader of a wolf pack would respond to an attack from a member. If some random male wolf bit his pack leader, do you think the pack leader would sit there and think about how to not threaten or offend the member in the future? Hell no! He's strike back, with more power, more agression, and more consequences. He'd reassert himself by saying: "Hey pal...you just crossed a MAJOR line. I'm the leader here because I could easily kill you if I chose to. If you want to go toe to toe, we can do that. But trust me, you'll lose, and you'll lose BIG." I'm not saying to beat your dog, but I am saying that immediately after a bite, you gotta break whatever crazy ideas the dog has about asserting himself over you.

2. 8 Snake is partially correct when he tells you that your dog's crate is where he feels safe. However, that does not mean he should ever feel threatened by you. As the pack leader, he is putting his trust in your to protect and provide for him. Granted, he should be able to retreat to his kennel whenever he feels like things aren't safe, but there is absolutely no reason why your dog should not feel safe around you. The crate is not "his place," it is YOUR place that he is allowed to retreat to. You should ALWAYS be welcome in his presence.

There is a reason why dogs bite people, or misbehave, and it is because people like 8 Snake want to treat dogs like humans. It seems rational, but there really is nothing farther from rationality than giving to a simple animal like a dog complex human social interaction responses.

 

Good advice there TC. Jeez, way too complicated though. Get yourself a Lab

Seriously, I know this guy wants to believe his dog will be OK but can you really expect that things will be 100% even after all this dominance stuff?

 

Of course he can. That's the beauty of a dog's mind: if he senses that no real leader exists, he'll take the role. If a stronger and more aggressive dog comes around, he'll take the back seat. A dog's brain is fairly binary; he'll ask himself a yes/no question (hungry? in danger? bored? is that b!tch in heat?), and he'll respond with a fairly pre-programmed response (eat; run; play; mount).

One of these questions is "do I have a pack leader?" If the answer (in the dog's mind) is no, he's pre-programmed to become assertive or dominant (he'll take the role if no one else will). If the answer is yes, he's preprogrammed to do what is asked of him, and to stay within the boundaires the leader gives him.

As long as the OP ensures that the dog firmly understands his role as a member of the pack, he should be free from problems (assuming no imbalances or defects exists in the dog's brain). But this isn't a one-day job; the OP has to assert himself daily, remind the dog daily that he's in charge. Every owner should do this with their dog, every day. It may seem harsh, but dogs don't think like us and are not emotionally hurt by the same things humans are. The more submissive the dog, the happier the dog. And the more well behaved he'll be, which makes us owners happy.

But always, always seek expert advice.

 

You're right, I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. I haven't spent a lifetime around large breeds of dogs without having ANY aggression problems. I don't have any experience with giant breeds like Newfs or St. Bernards. I'm really just pulling all of these "theories" out of thin air to impress the masses. Thanks for calling me out.

 

Dan, it seems that everyone here is an "expert" so take anything you hear with a grain of salt. TC seems to think that I want to rationalize your dog's behavior, but that's not the case. I'm EXPLAINING your dog's behavior as a reaction to your actions. Take it for what you want, but I do know what I'm talking about.

 

I'm fairly certain that you'll be just fine. It is quite rare for a St. Bernard to bite anyone, and your dog did so as a reaction to being scared. He was not being aggressive toward you.

Best of luck and enjoy the time you have with your pups...it is ALWAYS too brief.

 

Dan,

I PM'd you

Jack

 

I believe that you are mistaken.

 

Actually, that statement is incorrect.

 

Not exactly. But I suppose the best thing to do is agree to disagree.

 

Glad to hear that everything is working out well, Dan.

 

That's what it's all about!

 

That's really cool to hear, Dan. Glad to hear!