[Wawies]

Ugh...i had been noticing behavioral problems with daisy since we got her, nothing major till today. She bit my son, now he is terrified of her, she also has been snapping at Wawies, and today pinned her down and put her mouth around her next(not playful but in a very mean way). I don't know what to do about this, and now my son wants nothing 2 do with her, and my g/f is pretty upset and wants to find her a home....what can i do? i feel bad for my son, but i also love daisy so much and feel horrible. But she can't be biting him.

 

[Wicked Pixie]

Firstly, how old is your son? What exactly was he doing when she bit him? Did she give any warnings? Also, how old is Daisy and what is her history?

 

[KittyD]

I had a biter, we worked with him a ton but in the end he just was not trustworthy around children, he bit 2 of my kids and that was it. He ended up being fine around most adults and was placed into a home with elderly people.

Aggression like that was/is a deal breaker for me.

Perhaps you can contact the breeder?

 

[Wawies]

he was sitting on the ground petting her and mainly snuggling and she just snapped and bit him, and when she attacked the pup i knew it was cause the pup gt to close 2 her. I just wish she wouldnt be this way, her history well she was rescued from a back yard breeder. the breeder wont even contact me bk, shes 3 yrs old and breeding is the only thing they used daisy for , my son has been around dogs his whole life even as a premie in his crib. now that he is 12 he knows how 2 handle them pretty good. He is terrified of her now and so is the pup.

 

[susan davis]

I think that it would be best for this pup to be rehomed into an adult home, if possible. I think there are LOTS of little dogs that are turned into shelters because of temperment problems. They just are bred with no idea as to temperment. Sue

 

[elaina]

sounds like it might be best to find her the right home ....

 

[proudpeyotemama]

I agree that it would probably be best to find her a nice home. I know it will probably be hard, but with a child involved, you don't want to take chances. You also don't want your other dogs getting harmed.

 

[Wicked Pixie]

My first bit of advice would be to get a vet to check her over. If your son was touching/handling her at the time, she may have bitten because of pain.
The aggression towards the puppy isn't necessarily linked to the aggression she showed to your son. Adult dogs will tolerate all sorts of behaviour from puppies, but as the pup gets older the older dog willl show them where the boundaries are. I don't think she was going to hurt Wawies, I think she was just putting her in her place, ie at the bottom of the pecking order. She may have been trying to dominate your son in the same way, because she thinks she has higher ranking in your pack than he does. In the wild, only very dominant Alpha bitches got to have puppies, so breeding can cause dominance issues.
I would spend some time trying to figure out why she is behaving this way before you make any decisions about her future. Do you know of any trainers/behaviourists in your area that could come and watch Daisy interacting with your human and furry family? That is the route I would take if she were mine.

 

[Christabelle]

How long have you had Daisy ?

 

[Wicked Pixie]

I forgot to ask if she has been spayed? Could she be coming into season?

 

[woodard2009]

Many chis just don't like kids!! My chi is snappy with my twins 6 year old girls but I don't tolerate it & she knows it. You have to be firm with your chi that you won't tolerate that behavior toward your son. But there are times when a chi just simply doesn't want to be bothered & you'll have to know the signs. I don't think it's a reason to rehome your chi; she just has to be taught not to snap.

 

[~LS~]

Thank you Stella!
I was about to say...why re-home???
Laura, you made a commitment to her,
you must do everything in your power to
help her, instead of simply re-homing at
the first sight of a "problem". Step one is
the vet's office, step two take a good look
at her nutrition, is it balanced? Step three
do you provide enough mental and physical
stimulation? If the vet gives you a thumbs
up, if her nutrition is as balanced as can be
and you provide sufficient exercise yet still
have this issue, go ahead and find a reputable
behaviorist(not trainer!). I wish you best of luck.

 

[~LS~]

ps: Anyone and everyone who gets a dog must keep in mind that no dog is
perfect, there is effort that must be put into training, socializing, exercising
your pooch. Especially when you decide to adopt a rescue, not knowing the
trauma the pup lived through you simply can't expect the dog to be issue free.
This does not mean you shouldn't adopt, no one can predict how a dog will turn
out. Good breeders breed for temperament, but the dog will still be conditioned by
its environment! There are no bad dogs. Laura, I assure you that if you put the
time and effort you will get the perfect little cuddle bum you want. Don't give up
on her, you are her world, she counts on you for everything.

 

[LostLakeLua]

Honestly I would probably give her the benefit of the doubt. She may have just wanted her space, and unfortunately MANY children don't understand that. They want to squeeze and pet and carry an animal; and honestly is it fair to expect them to just tolerate it? Sure you want your pet to respect your child just as much, but hsouldn't the same level of respect be expected for the dog? I definitely agree, you don't want an animal that is going out of it's way to attack people. But if he was petting her at the time, it's quite likely she gave plenty of warning signs for him to 'back off' that he just didn't understand. It might seem 'out of the blue' but he probably just made her really uncomfortable and she snapped to defend herself. This happens LOTS with kids. If I were in your shoes I'd help teach the kid appropriately how to handle them, or keep them separated. But I wouldn't blame the dog if she was just reacting in fear.

 

[lulu'smom]

Laura, I would never presume to have the wisdom to tell you what to do in this situation, but reading through all the posts from everyone and your original post I don't know that I don't think it is not in the best interest of the dog to find a home with an elderly person or couple for this dog. I understand what LS is saying that when you get a dog it is normally forever decision and should not be taken lightly, but in this case you hare asking a child to cohabitate with a dog that scares him in his own home AND you are asking a dog to cohabitate with a child that scares her. Also, she is not fond of the other dog she is being forced to live with. Now chances are she may in time come around and toward your son and your other dog, but will your son also come around? Is it worth the wait? the chance? In the meantime could she be happy in another home being the sole focus of attention for an adult without those things that scare her? I know that you will miss her, but you are also a mother so you are very familiar with having to do things that you don't like sometimes for the better of, in this case, a dog you have come to love. Just my two cents but I am certainly not saying I think I am right.

 

[~LS~]

Tina, I agree with the fact that this is all simply our opinion, we all care and try
to advise according to our beliefs, knowledge or/and our view of the situation.
I think at the end of the day everyone on here is just trying to help, in their own
way. If we didn't care, we wouldn't bother to comment, right? ...well unless we
are just jerks, lol, which I don't think the members of this forum are.
We are all just dog lovers after all.

Laura, I hope you didn't take my message the wrong way, you know how
opinionated I could be! Especially when it comes to our furry buddies.
I'm only trying to help.

 

[LostLakeLua]

^Agreed. To me, pets are family too; and I'll work with whatever behaviorists for my dogs; and teachers for my kids I need to, to help them coexist lol.

 

[lulu'smom]

Tina, I agree with the fact that this is all simply our opinion, we all care and try
to advise according to our beliefs, knowledge or/and our view of the situation.
I think at the end of the day everyone on here is just trying to help, in their own
way. If we didn't care, we wouldn't bother to comment, right? ...well unless we
are just jerks, lol, which I don't think the members of this forum are.
We are all just dog lovers after all.

Laura, I hope you didn't take my message the wrong way, you know how
opinionated I could be! Especially when it comes to our furry buddies.
I'm only trying to help.

Oh, LS, I have a bad habit of prefacing everything I say with "I know I'm probably wrong so feel free to let me know" because I know you and others on this forum are so much more knowledgeable than I am about dogs. lol I NEVER EVER meant to imply I'm right and somebody's wrong or that anyone should not feel free to offer their opinion because that is what she asked for--opinions. I think from now on I'll just offer my opinion without all the "disclaimers" because if it's not correct well, I'm human and by far not perfect and I just enjoy learning so much on this forum. And LS in my book you rock!!

 

[bean]

I agree with LS and Kat. We dont have perfect dogs. We have a DINOS in our home ( a dog in need of space) and my teenage children have had to learn to respect him and he is under training daily. We are lucky to have a friend who is a highly respected dog behaviourist.My children have grown up with several dogs and they have had to be trained with respect to each of our dogs needs.
We have bought a thundershirt and also a DAP diffuser recently to help in the training.

Dont give up yet.

 

[Chi Nation]

The best advice i can give is have her evaluated by a behaviorist. They will be able to figure out why the snapping and getting aggresive.