So We Have A Bitey Dog... Can A Short Temper Be Fixed?

[jetcitywoman]

Our new boy that we adopted this year is a complete love bug. Super affectionate, kissy and super playful. We love him. He does have a dark side that we've discovered, though. He's got a quick fuse. You know how everybody here says not to scold a dog for growling because it teaches him to stop doing that and just go directly to biting? He's like that only we didn't teach it to him. We never scold for growling. Maybe his previous owner did, we don't know.

 

He's never aggressive for no reason. It's just that when he gets annoyed, he lashes out immediately. The first time it happened with us, Capri and I and him were in the living room and I was tossing a toy for him to chase and catch. When he accidentally bumped Capri, she snarled at him and he responded by pinning her to the floor, flat on her tummy with his teeth in her back. I called him off and he obeyed to that, luckily. Capri did have a small bite wound that we got treated and she's okay with him being around her. When he starts playing she leaves the room because she associates him playing with him being mean. But I'm okay with that, she's smart enough to avoid risky situations.

 

The second time we had an incident, the cat did something to annoy him. Again, I was in the room with them but I wasn't able to see what the cat did. She was being super friendly for the last week or so and I guess she maybe tried to rub against his face (he was down in a sphynx position). Suddenly he was snarling and tossing her in the air. Called him off again, and took her to the e-vet. Fortunately - and surprisingly - she had no physical damage.

 

And last night, I tried to get him out of my bed. He did NOT like that and bit me on both forearms. He didn't puncture me, just quick angry chomps. I yelled at him to get down, he left the room and I shut the door. He's no longer allowed on my bed.

 

I've had greyhounds long enough that I'm not afraid of him, and I understand what happened. He was annoyed at me and lashed out. But that's not tolerable. I don't believe in dominance theory or physical punishment, so I'm at a loss as to how we can teach him to not lash out like that. Is it enough to immediately revoke bed privileges and shun him for a while? What I'd like to do is teach him that when he gets annoyed, he should remove himself from the situation like a mature boy (that is, leave the room), instead of attacking whatever is annoying him. Is that at all possible?

[smurfette]

This picture is my answer to your question.

 

 

When I adopted this boy he had a history of attacking everything that annoyed him and severe sleep aggression. He was adopted by a nice couple who had to return him after she got pregnant and was afraid because of the child. In his foster home he tried to kill a galgo because that young boy annoyed him (e-vet performed a miracle on the poor boy).

We gave him space, time and patience....and a muzzle in certain situation. He loves to cuddle, is super mellow but can turn into a werewolf in the next moment. It may sound strange but the more we learned to deal with his moods the more relaxed he became.

It helped to give him a place for his own (one that he liked) where the other boys are not allowed. I sent him there when he got snarky. It was like he didn't know how to get out of a for him nerve wrecking situation without violence.

 

Oh and have the blood work checked. Low thyroid levels can lead to aggression.

[jetcitywoman]

Lovely picture! I suspected that it's fixable. I was able to train Capri to not have sleep startle, much in the way you describe. But this lashing out is different from a startle response. He literally has a short temper, an emotional thing. I like how you said you sent your boy to his place when he got snarky. How did you do that? For example if you were there last night instead of me: he was super comfy and didn't want to get up. I was like "move, you're in my way" and he was like "no". The stronger my voice got (not yelling, just using the Voice of God) the more stubborn he got. How would you get him up in order to send him to his place?

 

Oh, just want to add that he shares a bed just fine and is a nice sleeping buddy. Last night was a problem only because he placed himself smack in the middle of the bed, and even on my pillows so I had to move him to get in bed. 98% of the time he looks a lot like your boy there. But even so, his bed privileges are revoked for a while until we can fix this.

Edited July 8, 2017 by jetcitywoman

[greysmom]

I second the thyroid check, and possibly a trial of some prophylactic thyroid medication if bloodwork is "normal."

 

It sounds like he's a bit anxious in certain situations, which you seem to be able to identify fairly well. It takes a bit of vigilence to help him maintain an even emotional state, especially in the beginning. His muzzle will be your biggest aid, and he might need to wear it more right now. Also, reward the behavior you want and ignore the behavior you don't, even if that behavior seems aggressive to you. Remember, it's very different for him - he's just expressing how he feels and the fact that he doesn't want any other animal/human in his face and space.

 

If you need to move him, use treats to lure him off, don't touch him. Revoking priviledges to furniture and bedding will help keep him away from his triggers. Give him a calm, quiet place to retreat and to have a bit of a time out when you sense him getting too worked up. Keep the other animals away when he's engaging in play, and be very careful yourself. His stimulation level appears to be very low, so make play sessions short, and stop them before he gets too excited. Reward him when he ends a session calmly - a kong in his calm space, or other longer term treat, while he decompresses. If he does get too worked up, give him a short time out in his safe space away from others.

 

Once he understands that he doesn't need to express himself that way, the quick-draw biting should, hopefully, extinguish itself. Otherwise, it will be a life-long management situation.

 

Good luck!

[jetcitywoman]

Awesome, Greysmom, thanks! Will implement all of that immediately.

[Guest straygoat]

I've got a similar issue with my greyhound (first time I have had one, but have had lots of dogs before...soon learned greys are a very different sort!). She has snapped at me a couple of times with no warning, but never hard enough to break skin - it is just a 'get away' thing. It has only happened when she is sitting/lying next to me on the sofa or if I go too near where she rests in the day in the office. I put both of them down to claustrophobia, something from being in cages and kennels, I expect. After 6 months, it is exceptionally rare for her to be bothered now, and when she is, she lets out a little growl. At which point I just move away.

A bigger problem is when we're out walking. She is fine with all of the dogs she met in the first couple of weeks of us having her. She just ignores them for the most part. But any new dogs that come near, especially bigger ones that try to sniff under her or near her face, and she can flip in a split-second. Very hard to predict and super fast, so I just keep her away from other dogs (apart from my other dog and those she knows). I'd love to be able to get her to calm down and be less aggressive in those situations, but not sure how to go about it. This all started after about 2 weeks of adopting her, when she became more territorial too.

[NeylasMom]

So you can use management and behavior modification to hopefully reduce his stress levels, eliminate triggers as much as possible and change his underlying emotional response to those triggers in case they do occur. But training is a process and management can fail. The problem here is that it's much more difficult to change a dog's level of bite inhibition. So while you can do a lot to prevent him from being provoked in the first place, you may not be able to change his response if provoked. I would get a consult with a force free trainer or behaviorist to help you out. Always happy to recommend local folks if you PM me where exactly you live. Although your profile says northern VA - if you're in the DC metro area, I have lots of resources for you. Including potentially me.

[turbotaina]

I've got a similar issue with my greyhound (first time I have had one, but have had lots of dogs before...soon learned greys are a very different sort!). She has snapped at me a couple of times with no warning, but never hard enough to break skin - it is just a 'get away' thing. It has only happened when she is sitting/lying next to me on the sofa or if I go too near where she rests in the day in the office. I put both of them down to claustrophobia, something from being in cages and kennels, I expect. After 6 months, it is exceptionally rare for her to be bothered now, and when she is, she lets out a little growl. At which point I just move away.

 

A bigger problem is when we're out walking. She is fine with all of the dogs she met in the first couple of weeks of us having her. She just ignores them for the most part. But any new dogs that come near, especially bigger ones that try to sniff under her or near her face, and she can flip in a split-second. Very hard to predict and super fast, so I just keep her away from other dogs (apart from my other dog and those she knows). I'd love to be able to get her to calm down and be less aggressive in those situations, but not sure how to go about it. This all started after about 2 weeks of adopting her, when she became more territorial too.

 

You're correct to manage the interactions, but you also need to address her underlying emotional response to other/new dogs. You need to do something called counter-conditioning and desensitizing (CC&D). A great way to do this is to, when she sees another dog FROM A DISTANCE and before she can react, start shoving delicious treats in her face. Eventually you'll be able to decrease the distance and change her reaction to the unknown dog. I'm over-simplifying it here, but that's the general idea. One of my greyhounds gets very snarky and over-stimulated about strange dogs. So while we'd walk, I'd keep jerky or some other treat in my pouch for him. When we'd see another dog, I'd tell him to look at me and I'd let him nibble the treat, focusing on me, while the other dog passed. Now as soon as we see another dog, he's looking at me for the treat. He's an exceptionally smart dog, so the caught on to the 'game' quickly (he'll do anything for food), but he's also less snarky in general about other dogs. Last weekend when we went for a hike, he *insisted* we hike with some random dogs (to the point it was annoying - he kept stopping every time we got ahead of the others on the trail and refused to budge until they caught up with us ). A good resource for this type of training is a booklet called Feisty Fido by Dr. Patricia McConnell. She's awesome, uses force-free, science-based methods and it's a quick read. It's available on Kindle, too Also - see NeylasMom's post above mine here. She's a dog trainer and while her response was to the OP, her advice applies to you as well

 

Also - your dog's not wrong to get upset about dogs in her face - it's rude behavior among dogs. Greyhounds tend to have a much better grip on doggie manners than non-greyhounds, they are not weaned and sent away to live solely with humans at 8 weeks. They stay with their littermates and dam for longer, then they stay in puppy packs, then when they go to the track, they are always among other greyhounds who were reared similarly. None of my greyhounds (well, except for Crow, but there's not much between his ears) have tolerated rude behavior from non-greyhounds.

Edited August 25, 2017 by turbotaina

[Dave_P]

I am not expert, but it sounds like your dog is the alpha in the house - not you. Challenging you when you try to get him off bed, for example. AFAIK, most dogs want to be the top dog, and will challenge others to take that position.

 

Short answer , but lots of info online.

[NeylasMom]

I am not expert, but it sounds like your dog is the alpha in the house - not you. Challenging you when you try to get him off bed, for example. AFAIK, most dogs want to be the top dog, and will challenge others to take that position.

 

Short answer , but lots of info online.

Incorrect. That info is outdated.

[GreyBoy]

Funny story. My first greyhound had sleep aggression but because he was my first greyhound I did not immediately recognize it as such. I was dancing through the room where he slept one time in the morning and reaching down to pet him on his bed and he was up and bit through my thick terry cloth robe in a nanosecond. It was scary. So I took his bed and put it in the closet as "punishment" and he did not have access to it. I went upstairs to take a shower. We had lots of rugs in that house but only one really authentic hand-woven EXPENSIVE rug. When I came down from the shower I noticed he had gone pee on that rug, not any other. Never could get the stain out completely no matter which professional I took it to. Moral of the story was I probably should not have taken away his bed, as many people on this site told me years ago. I gave it back to him fairly soon and I realized he really didn't even really understand what he had done when he tried to bite me. He was so startled to be touched in his bed that he just reacted. Even so, that makes a dangerous situation with children. All of us learned to call him to us and have him get out of bed before we played with him. Only at the very end did he allow me to sleep on his bed with him to keep him company during his illness. He was 12 when he died and I truly lost my best friend. I am so devoted to this breed. Maybe I was a greyhound in a past life haha!

 

[Guest Amber]

I second the idea of getting in a very good behaviourist (be careful who you go with). Someone who deals with biting and aggression will be able to advise best.

 

Sounds like he needs some super-careful management . If he just air snapped or snarled or growled it wouldn't be such an issue but as he has learnt to use his teeth, he could be a bit of a liability . I like that you are giving him a chance , just, get professional advice and be careful !