Pets > Dogs > Training AdviceMarch 20, 2011

Training an Aggressive Dog

I'm having trouble with my 9 year old GSD/Husky mix. I think that's what she is. She's always been shy around strangers especially men. This past year she has barked almost viciously at men who enter the house or people who knock on the door. She has even barked at me a few times until she realized who I was. She's always been fine with my kids until last weekend.

A friend of mine who is a big guy came over and took a reptile I gave him. He approached the gated kitchen and my dog barked at him and he just stood there and offered his hand, but she didn't come closer. He never went into the kitchen or touched her. This was the worst I've seen her react. With different people she will behave differently. Sometimes she barks a little, sometimes a lot. I think it must be their demeanor.

For one week now my dog has been "grabbing" my 16 year old sons legs. He has autism, has never really had anything to do with the dogs, but will sometimes talk to them. My son is also a pretty big kid. In my presence I watched her approach him as if she was going to bite him and when I called her name she stopped.

With us "girls" she is just fine. I just don't understand why she is suddenly biting my son. The first time it happened he was getting a cookie like he has done so many times before and she grabbed his rear end. Today she broke the skin when he pulled away. I got her a mesh muzzle and plan on getting her to the vet ASAP. She is minimally trained; I did what I could with her. It took me 6 months to leash train her because the whole time she was trying to knock me down.

I have established dominance, but my son has never given her food, treats or anything, that's my mistake. Is it too late to fix and since she bites him. do I dare? Given his disability, he really has no desire to touch her or have her lick or touch him.

By Jackie from Buffalo, NY

Answers

Read answers for this post below.

By
03/22/2011

Poor baby! I hope thngs turn out well with her! Let us know please?

By
03/22/2011

I've found a large tumor on her belly. Getting her to vet asap. That explains her behavior. Depending on the diagnosis she will have treatment or be put down. Thanks for your suggestions.

By
03/21/2011

You have a scary situation. You don't know how your son is going to act if the dog does something aggressive & if he reacts the wrong way it might push her into really hurting him-which can leave permanant mental 7 physical damage to him & a vicious dog report for your dog(which means real trouble). Are there any behavior schools/trainers or husky rescue groups you can get advice from?

I know you said she is aggressive toward men, are you sure that's what she's doing with your son,or could she be "correcting/getting after" him? My boys, who are bigger than me, have established dominance over our dog & she is VERY protective of them. BUT, if we start horsing around & I grab one of them, she will start grabbing their pants at their ankles & jumping up to bite their butts while she growls & barks at them. I think she's "helping mom" discipline them or something?

By
03/21/2011

It sounds like the dog was not socialized well enough as a pup and has a high prey instinct. My opinion is try some training treats help and try to have your son show dominance. Fast. So find it another home before she hurts someone

Questions

Here are questions related to this page. Click "Ask a Question" if you have a question to ask about this topic.

Training an Aggressive Yorkie

Yorkie lying on rug.We have an 18 month old Yorkie. She has become very aggressive and bites when she has something she shouldn't have and at times when you try to pick her up. It is getting worse. She had professional obedience training as a pup, and I still reinforce that training, but to no avail. She still will not mind off leash. We are at our wits end here. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

By glo from Rockford, IL

 

Most Recent Answer

By glowormglo 09/30/2011

I appreciate everyone's comments. ty

RE: Training an Aggressive Yorkie

Related

Archives

Here are archived discussions related to this page.

We recently adopted a dog. He won't potty outside and is very aggressive towards visitors and one of the children in our home. What can we do?


I have a 9 month old male Lab/Pit mix. I've had him since he was 4 weeks old. He has, in the last few months, been getting progressively more and more hard to handle.


My German Shepherd is 2 months old. She is so aggressive all the time, she bites me and when I punish her she attacks me. I can't really control her. She does not obey me at all. What should I do?


Answer this Question

Your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. Enter your answer here!

Answer:

Image Upload:

Add an image to your post! Click the "Browse" button above and select an image from your hard drive. Please only select gifs or jpegs. If you have any problems, please contact us.

  

facebook like arrowLike ThriftyFun on Facebook

Browse Topics

Over 80,000 tips, recipes, questions & crafts.

Ask a Question

Submit a question to the TF community.

Subscribe to ThriftyFun Newsletters!

Email: