Dog Advice needed ASAP!!!

[farmgirl68]

Advice needed: We adopted a Daschund (possibly mix breed) 7 days ago. The dog does not get along with our other dog (he growls viciously at him). My Special Needs daughter loves the dog deeply, her health and behavior/life have changed For THE BETTER the past 7 days. She is more social, goes walking outside 2 hrs a day and is not depressed lately.



The dog however started nipping and biting one of the adult males in our home for no reason and as I said he does not like my other dog.



The dog was in a foster home, after they found the dog wandering the streets.

They had no info to give us.

What would you do?

I'm torn between the safety of my family and the benefits the dog is having with my daughter.

I appreciate your advice.

 

[MetalSmitten]

get into training classes asap, in the mean time, baby gate off a section of your house for this new dog (or use a spare bedroom or something) to keep him separated. just make sure he still gets attention (sounds like he will if your daughter is loving on him... maybe he could live in her room?) ... it may be something as simple as the stress of re-learning "domestic" behaviors vs street behavior, or it may be just his personality - i've known plenty of doxies who just plain don't like big dogs. training classes are the way to go to help in the long-run, but separation is going to be key in the meanwhile. good luck.

 

[hennyannie]

That is a really hard one. As long as the child is not in danger I would say you need more time. Thats alot for a rescue dog to handle in seven days. I hope you can work it out. I will say that breed has a need to be top dog.

 

[schellie69]

I would get him into a obedience class. I would also put the dogs in different places in the house and let them outside together for a time short times together to learn each other. I would correct the behavior of each dog as it arises. It could take a few weeks to get things figured out.

 

[farmgirl68]

Thanks for the replies.

The older dog is not an issue, he is an outside dog and is separated at all times from the Dashund.

I'm worried about him nipping/biting our male friend that lives with us.

He appears loving to me, my daughter and my husband, but nips and bites the other male in the house.

At night he stays/sleeps in separate room from everyone, the room has a glass door, so he can see us.

During the day he will play normally and curl up next to you on the couch or in your lap.

 

[patandchickens]

Can you think hard about the exact circumstances surrounding this dog nipping the other adult male in the home, and describe them? That would probably help suggest which way to go with training or whatever.

Pat

 

[farmgirl68]

1st incident the man was walking in the front door.

Today he came into the livingroom to talk to me, the dog was asleep on the floor next to the couch.

I was laying on the couch watching tv, and the dog started growling and bite the person.

It happened in a split second.

 

[MetalSmitten]

hehe sorry, i thought when you said "adult males" you were talking about other dogs, not people!

i'd be willing to bet this dog was abused by an adult male person at some point in his life. time, patience, classes and treats SHOULD fix that. it's going to take work. for now, have your menfolk in the home start by basically ignoring this dog, but have them occasionally -gently- throw treats towards him in a non-threatening manner and then continue to ignore. eventually, the dog will start to associate men with treats, without overwhelming him while he's still so nervous and new. once he's acting more trusting, they can begin to try to hand-feed treats, working up to physical touch, etc. some dogs take to this right away, some take a long time. clicker training might also be beneficial for this dog; you could start with the clicker to get him trained to it and then transfer the clicker to a male in the home. good luck.

 

[xchairity_casex]

i would not ffer treats though this dog may indeed be fearful if he is quick to show aggression it will do no good to offer treats while he is growling you will be encouraging him to growl and show aggression. same as talking saying "aww its ok he wont hurt you its ok" your encouraging the behavior by doing these things. this dog need to learn your not going to allow this behavior. first off with people aggression. how brave is your male freind? i have found the best way to deal with small dog and humane aggression is to do exactly what they are trying to prevent you from doing and thats holding them peting them getting close to them ect. so if your freind needs to wear gloves he can but have him ignore the dogs nips,growls ect and basically get as close to the dog as possable have him carry the dog even while the dog is trying to bite and growling. the reason the dog is doing this is to get people to back away hes oviously learned that by growling,nipping ect that he can control people make them move away we want to show him all this aggression isnt going to work it can be hard and frightening but donot allow anyone to back away dont jump up and scream when he grabs at you or another person dont allow the person hes doing it too either. if he attacks the persons feet make them stand still everytime the dog slows down take a small step forward toward the dog show him your not afraid of his behavior. the more people you can find who will be willing to do this the better. if he is fearful once he starts to give up on the aggression towards people he may try hiding if that happens you must put him on a lead and make him stay in the room with you and the guest in a dog bed or even on your lap (unless hes showing aggression then you put him on the floor on a rug or dog bed) dont be afraid do what your have to to not feel afraid of him when he begins attacking like you could buy a muzzle or like i said use gloves wear long sleeves(sorry that im saying you i eman do this for the people he is being aggressive to) if he is frightend the best way to teach him hes alright is to allow him to figure it out himself dogs donot understand your telling them when its "ok" all they know is they are being praised for whatever behavior,feelings ect they are feeling/doing rightthat moment so if the dog is fearful,nervous your saying " i want you to be nervous" if the dog is growling or biting your saying "thats good i want that" find some guys who are not going to be afraid of this little dog and get introducing! also dont agree with the behavior when the dog growls,barks ect in a assertive tone say somthing like "AHAH" or you can use the word "NO" but dont do it over and over if the dogs not listening it means its not working move into his space and make him listen to you.

 

[ByeByeBlackBird]

A Human aggressive dog needs professional help. there is no question about it. Do not, under any circumstances undertake training on your own without professional help. by practicing the WRONG techniques, you could make matters far worse. Please, Find a local dog trainer and enroll in an obedience course ( MAKE THEM AWARE of the dogs issues) so that you can have better knowledge and someone with many years experience helping you to help this dog.