Nasty lgd?

[OkieChickenGal]

I have a 4 month old great pyrenees (Josey) and she can get a bit nasty towards the little ones sometimes when they try to take things away from her she'll growl, snarl show her teeth.. But when I give her a plate of food she's fine with them taking it away from here. Shejust gets nasty with other things like things shegets out of the garbage. She also gets rough with my min pin mix, she chases her aroundand bites her constantly. It is VERY difficult to train her to stay out of the garbage, jump outon counters and swipe food. Etc.. Should I keep a dog like this?

 

[staceyj]

You will get a LOT of opinions on this.
Here's mine:
At four months of age she should not be "guarding" toys, food, space, etc...
Is she in obedience class yet?
If not, she should be.
This is a dog who by summer will weigh close to 100 pounds and could easily kill a child.
Consult with a professional dog trainer immediately.

 

[bobbi-j]

I have a 4 month old great pyrenees (Josey) and she can get a bit nasty towards the little ones sometimes when they try to take things away from her she'll growl, snarl show her teeth.. But when I give her a plate of food she's fine with them taking it away from here. Shejust gets nasty with other things like things shegets out of the garbage. She also gets rough with my min pin mix, she chases her aroundand bites her constantly. It is VERY difficult to train her to stay out of the garbage, jump outon counters and swipe food. Etc.. Should I keep a dog like this?

By the "little ones", you mean children? There is no way I'd keep a dog of any size that growls at my kids. Nope. I don't have the patience for that. My kids are grown, and I now have grandchildren, but I still wouldn't keep a dog I don't feel I could trust around them. My current dog had a huge wound last spring near his back leg. He was very defensive and *almost* tried to snap at me a couple of times when I was treating it. Fortunately, he didn't connect. If he had EVER bitten me, he'd have been a goner. If he would bite me, his human, I have no reason to believe he wouldn't bite my grandbabies. If you choose to sell her, I would do so with full disclosure.

 

[misskes]

Since she has shown aggression towards the children they should not be allowed to take food from her at this point in time. Not even under your supervision. It is entirely too risky.

Keeping her out of the garage will not fix the resource guarding. Keeping her out of the garage is a band-aid solution. The negative behavior is still there.

She will kill the min pin.

Keep in mind that at 4 months old she is still a young puppy and also that resource guarding and unprovoked aggression are 2 entirely different things. Regardless, at the end of the day your children's safety must come first. As of today your children are not safe around this dog. A professional trainer is a great first option but be prepared to rehome. And like bobbi-j said, it is your duty to disclose to a new owner all of Josey's issues.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

Thanks for all of your replies! She isn't overly aggressive. She would never bite my little ones. She is very good with the little ones, but if they try to take certain things from her or kick her, she will growl at them to the point where it even scares me. I've smacked her and she will sort of growl at me, but I don't think she would bite. Do you really think she would kill my min pin? I was thinking of getting rid of her and getting a smaller dog. Do you all think that might be the best option?
Thanks for all of your replies! I appreciate it!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Your kids kick her, and you smack her and she growls at you? I would growl at you too! Goodness! I suspect that this dog isn't angry, it's scared. I'd say you shoulda been responsible for the life you brought into your home and train yourself and your kids on how to handle a 100+lb working dog before you get one... But since what's done is done, the next best thing you can do is see a professional trainer that can work with problem dogs, and take your kids along too if you can. And take the min-pin too! Your big dog could be picking up bad habits that you haven't noticed from your min-pin because it's just too small to do anything. Small problems in a small dog become BIG problems in a BIG dog.

Look, I have a dog who guards, and you can get past it and manage it, it's NOT an insurmountable problem by any means. But not if people are treating this dog with that level of aggression. It's going to respond in kind. I don't care if it's only a gentle thump that stings a little, if someone decides to escalate, guess who's gonna win? You gotta get the dog to respect you without violence because in a contest of violence, dog wins. It sounds like she's got the potential to be a very good dog. But not without training.

A good dog trainer trains the people more than the dog. Look for that.

I will also note, she's a puppy, an LGD at that. She needs things to do. The first thing you can do as a stop-gap to training is go on a run and play hard with this dog every day. Give her somewhere to run and dig. Is she chewing your shoes? Time to chew on a bone in a crate. Is she eating trash? Time to work on a puzzle toy for dinner, etc. A tired dog is a good dog. She's gonna be a puppy til she's about 2 years old, so be ready for that.

Sorry if I sound salty/harsh but this just grinds my gears. :T That dog is alive and probably has no healthy outlets for it's frustrations. It's up to you to give it some. You shouldn't just get a dog that you don't know how to handle. It's just irresponsible.

 

[misskes]

If she is growling at you she will absolutely bite you. A growl is a warning. And yes, I truly believe she will kill the min pin if her behavior is left unchecked. The bigger she gets, the harder she’ll bite, even in play. If the min pin protests in the form of a growl or a snap then it’s just a matter of time before a fight will break out. Once the GP starts to sexually mature, around 6 or 7 months, then it will be a waiting game for that fight.

Why are your kids kicking her? She’s going to have some serious aggression issues towards people if they are allowed to mistreat her. Also, hitting a dog that is growling at you is not the way to handle the situation. You will only escalate things. You’re very lucky that she is still a puppy.

 

[res]

Some LGD's are just NOT meant to be house dogs, no matter how hard you try.

I would find her a new home, with an experienced LGD owner, on a farm, where she can do what she has been bred for a thousand years to do. Guard livestock. Not be a housedog.

 

[cassie]

You smack the dog? Your children kick her? And take things from her? And you allow it? Good grief!!! I suggest you rehome the dog at once and not get another until you and your children learn how to manage an LGD. Or any dog for that matter. Your children should have been taught not to kick or hit any dog under any circumstances long before now. LGD's have an inborn sense of fairness and they do not respond well to physical punishment. In fact, they may retaliate and since they are so big, things can go very bad very fast. As things are now, this is a recipe for disaster. A big disaster. You are not just asking for trouble. You are sitting up and begging for it.

I used to raise Komondors. If I lived anywhere near you I would be happy to take her. As things stand now, unless some big changes are made immediately, this is not going to end well. If you decide to give it a try, the first thing you need to do is to insist that your children stop kicking, hitting or teasing the dog. At once. No excuses. Contact a trainer and contact some breed associations such as the Komondor Club of America, MASK (Middle Atlantic States Komondor Club,) and maybe the Kuvask or Great Pyranees Clubs. They can all give you good information about how to interact with these dogs and you can get a lot of it online. Do not delay.

 

[OkieChickenGal]

Woah! No! No! No! I should of explained, first of all, the one who I said "kicks my dog" is only 2 years old! And when he does he's just playing! he does it VERY lightly, or if they're both laying down together, he'll just lightly push her with his feet. This is a 2 year old! He doesn't have enough strength to hurt her! and when I said I smacked the dog, I just very camly tap her on the head and say "No!" Sorry, I didn't realize the words I used meant more than what I was really talking about. We have 2 horses, 10 chickens, and 10 acres. She has plenty of space to roam. I guess I didn't realize Lgd's weren't meant for pets. I'm not abusive to the dog, we let her in and the kids sleep with her at night. We love her very much and would hate to get rid of her. But she does jump on my min pin and bite her.
Sorry I didn't mean to sound nasty, I just want you all to understand that 2 year olds think that kicking the dog is just a way of playing, not abuse. She is great with the kids but can get a little growly or annoyed sometimes