Dog has bitten someone

[Coppertop84]

Hi All,

Mine and my husbands dog has bitten my uncle today, not provoked. He only went to stroke him and he bit his arm, and then his leg. Luckily my uncle is ok.

I am very angry and upset that he would do this and me and my family believe he is being protective because it was only the second time he had met him so he is still a stranger. He is absolutely fine and not aggressive towards me ,my husband, my mom, my sister or our close friend which we think is because he sees us all on a regular basis.

We will be contacting a behavioural therapist but I was wondering if anyone had any tips from any therapy your dogs may have had in the past for protective/territorial biting?

He is only aggressive towards strangers, so although a good guard dog we want to nip this problem in the bud.

Thank you in advance for any tips.

[kita1]

It is virtually impossible and potentially dangerous to give advice on a situation like this over the internet.

Without actually seeing the dog and the people involved any advice given would be at best pointless and at worst could do more damage and make the dog more aggressive.

Make sure that any behaviourist you consult is qualified and is a member of recognised organisations (anyone can set up as a behaviourist and charge astronomical fees - without knowing the first thing about dog training/psychology).

These are two organisations that have good/qualified behaviourists:

http://www.capbt.org/findbehaviourist-uk.php

http://www.apbc.org.uk/members.php

[paraffin]

Hi Coppertop:

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident.

What type of dog is he?
Have you had him since a pup?
How old is he?
Does he have regular contact with other dogs/people?
What were the circumstances surrounding the incident?

[kita1]

Just wanted to add that before any reputable trainer will give advice/see the dog, the first thing they should advise is that your dog has an thorough examination by your vet to rule out any possible medical causes for the aggression.

If there turns out to be a medical problem then that should be treated BEFORE seeing a dog trainer - otherwise you are wasting your money.

[lankeela]

Sorry but you say he is 'only aggressive towards strangers',
unless he is a trained guard dog with an experienced handler I am afraid I would not keep such a dog. How long before he bites a child that comes onto your property to retrieve a ball, or a postman or delivery man. No dog should be allowed/encouraged to be aggressive to anyone unless kept purely as a trained guard/service dog. I am afraid my advice would be to have the dog put to sleep.

[BeatySwalls]

yes forget any rehabilitation and have it killed immediately. lol what an understanding animal lover you are lankeela. lankeela i would work on your principles b4 you start giving advice x

[Nosha123]

In Lankeelas defence BeatySwalls - our neighbour had a Rhodesian Ridgeback - and knew it could be aggressive to strangers (especially black people unfortunately!) so always walked it on a lead if people were around - or other dogs.
It bit a kid - one of their childrens friends who was round to play and as much as they adored their pet they had him put down immediately.
Its just not worth the risk with kids let alone adults.

How many more pictures must we see in the papers of mauled babies etc?

I think your view would be very different if you knew a child who had been bitten.

[Coppertop84]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I have been given a recommendation from a friend for a good behaviourist who we will contact.

For those of you who say to put him to sleep, the answer is no. I am not prepared to kill 'a member of our family' without trying to help him. He is a rescue dog and may have some issues from the past that need correcting but he is a healthy, happy, playful and loving dog normally.

My husband and I have always been dog owners and are not stupid. We are going to muzzle him on walks and in the house we will ensure he does not hurt anyone as we will take precautions until he has had the help he needs. He will not get the postman or children, as he cannot get into the porch anyway.

I understand people are mauled and bitten but not all owners are careless. Say what you like but at the end of the day, humans who are dangerous are not killed anymore so why should our dog be any different, before he has any help.

Matter closed.

[kita1]

There is a dog training forum that has lots of behaviourists experienced with rescue dogs, whilst they probably cannot give you any direct advice without seeing the dog they can give you general advice on how to proceed with the help of the behaviourist you are going to see.

They will probably be able to help with any other training 'issues' (linked to his past) you may have.

Just reading through the other posts on there can sometimes help.

The forum is here:

http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/forum/index.php

[Coppertop84]

Thanks Kita, you have been very kind and helpful.

[angiealf]

Be prepared for the worst. I've heard that when a dog has tasted human blood - it WILL attack again.

[paraffin]

Hi Coppertop:

I, too, was trying to be helpful and was not one who advised you to have him put down, but you have chosen to disregard what I asked, therefore I cannot give you any meaningful advice.

The best of luck, anyway.

[jackthehat]

Unless you have the largest family in Christendom, I would suggest that there are far more strangers for your dog to encounter than 'family members'.

I hope that as and when he attacks one of them (and the chances are greater that he will) they will seek his immediate destruction............and sue you.

Now the matter is closed !

[jules77]

I can empathise with you as we had a border collie many years ago. We were naive, and got her from a farm, didnt see mother and/or father, and at six weeks old she was alone in a barn, her siblings having been sold. I had taken her to obedience from he age of six months, and she was an obedient family pet. Unfortunately she bit my son as a toddler, I wont go into the scenario behind it, but we couldnt trust her with him around, but I couldnt bear to have her pts either as I didnt feel she was entirely to blame. She lived with my parents until a very old lady. She was not the most pleasant of dogs, but kept away from children and other dogs, she never hurt anyone else again.

[happy_face]

Parraffin - why was your first question as to what type of dog it was?

Does it matter what breed it is? Don't tell me you're one of those fans of BSL

[Coppertop84]

Jules77, thank you for understanding that they are not completely evil once bitten. The root cause just needs establishing and rectifying. Sorry to hear about your dog but I am glad she had a new happy home.

Paraffin, please accept my apologies. I did not choose to disregard your response, I just overlooked it and forgot to respond, for which I am sorry. He is a patterdale terrier cross, we have had him 3 months so far from a rescue centre, it is estimated he is now 15 months old. He does have a lot of contact with other dogs and people, especially my moms dog because they walk together often. My uncle came to visit and did not knock but just came in as my mom was at my house at the time with our dog because I was out, and so we believe he was just protecting my mom not knowing who had walked in. Once again I apologise for not anwering your queries sooner and thank you for your help.

And finally, Jackthehat, you have not been any help, only judged us and outright wished that he would be destroyed and us sued which quite frankly is awful. You do not know us or our dog and I am NOT going to have him put to sleep without getting him help. We now have a muzzle for him so he will NOT attack people in the street and if people come to our house and try to get in they will not be able to because we lock the door at all times. Which would give us time to pop him in the garden or another room for a short period with one of us. We are not careless children who do not know anything and I will not be spoken to in that manner on my own question thread. NOW THE MATTER IS CLOSED TO YOU JACKTHEHAT!

[jackthehat]

Erm....I'm not the one with the badly-behaved dog, so I think I'll keep hold of the moral high-ground, for now........

Thanks.

[paraffin]

Hi again Coppertop:
Thanks very much, I appreciate that reply.

Well done, I'm not trying to be patronising but you're clearly sensible because you've recognised that there's a problem and you're doing something positive about it by getting the little fella a muzzle.

Which leads me on to happy-face's query as to why I'd asked you what breed your dog was. It just so happens that I've had experiences with Patterdales because there are several in the village where I live.

Now, I'm going to be diplomatic here, I've had good and not so good experiences of them. But in what you said, Coppertop, it confirms exactly my impressions of them. In other words, feisty little characters who are fiercely protective of their own little family, and not so mad keen about strangers. Therefore I can totally understand why he had a go at your uncle when he unexpectedly entered the little fella's domain.

I would have done exactly the same as you're doing, pop a muzzle on him when he's out and about, it not only means that you can take him "walkies" with confidence, but it surely also gives you peace of mind and ensures that you wouldn't have to contemplate the horrendous dilemma of (whispers) having him p** to sl***.

Some friends of ours who have Patterdales invited us round one evening and their dogs were like butter wouldn't melt, once we'd been suitably introduced and been accepted.

A few other times I've been walking my dogs and have bumped into the same people with both their Patterdales, one of theirs had, shall we say, to be forcibly restrained from throwing itself at my two. Hee, hee. That one is also muzzled these days.

Anyway, sorry for waffling on, the best of luck and I hope the little guy gets used to his muzzle asap.

[Coppertop84]

Hi Paraffin,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I appreciate you taking time to help and am happy to say he is wearing his muzzle on all walks now so is safe. It will take him some getting used to but I am feeling more positive about it now.