Scary Moment - HELP!!!!!

1801 Views 15 Replies 11 Participants Last post by my3angels, Aug 31, 2004

Sweety

Discussion Starter · Aug 21, 2004

Hi everyone

Something really scary happened to me today :shock:

I gave Tequila a treat (Puppy Tubo). She was happily chewing on it and I noticed a long black thread hanging from her back paw. I approached her to take it away and she ran into her crate. So I looked into the crate, so she could see it was my hand coming in to remove the thread. When I put my hand in ... SHE ATTACKED ME!!!

And when I say she attacked me, she really attacked me ... she even came out of the crate and was snarling and even bit me when my hand was in the crate!!!!

This has never happened to me before ... what could it be ... we never tease her with food, etc so she should have no reason to think that I would want to take it away. I know she may be a bit defensive as she was basically cornered in the crate when my hand went in, but even when I moved my hand she still looked like she wanted to kill me. I can't imagine if she'd been a bigger dog

Guys, I am in tears over this ... I felt like my own child had turned against me. She's fine now, but what could have brought this on? I didn't want to scold her, as I wasn't sure if she'd understand why she was being scolded.

Any advice???

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

Ms_P

· #2 · Aug 21, 2004

She probably thought you were going to take the treat. Just because you don't "tease" her with food doesn't mean she will not be a food biter. Have you ever put your hand near her food bowl when she was eating?
You should have scolder her. What do you do if she gets a hold of something that you know she shouldn't have, like a chicken bone or something that could be poisoness to her?
You should work with her on the "Leave it" command. So she will drop what ever she has in her mouth when you say "leave it".

NoahFL

· #3 · Aug 21, 2004

Did you scold her? If she EVER does this again, grab her, put her in the cradle position (like you would hold a baby) in your left arm. Take your righ hand and place it over her chest so she can't move. Do not put her down until she stops resisting and calms down. This supposidly teaches them that you are boss, not them. The vet taught us this with Zeus and still at 11months, if he's misbehaving I do this. I've also done this when he's grabbed something in his mouth that he shouldn't have. I'm able to take it out of his mouth easier in this position.

OzzyAndLilysMom

· #4 · Aug 21, 2004

yes I agree with mrs p on this - My Ozzy is the same he snarls and growls at me if I go near him when he has a treat ( but he never bites I could get it off him if i wanted) but lily is the total opposite if you tell her to drop it or " give it to mommy " as I like to say.

you need to practice taking things off because imagine if was a grape or a piece of choc you had dropped on floor and she picked it up , also for when you have children ( unless you already have ) as children will take things off her , you need to think of her actions now because in the future they may effect you a nd she will be with you a long time - hopefully 20 years so you need to teach her now - maybe she will just be a growler like ozzy - which I cant stop as it is a natural reaction I suppose but I knopw if I told him to give it me I could get it off him.

hope this helps

kepp us updated :wave:

quikdog

· #5 · Aug 21, 2004

OH yes, you need to start some training like Ms_P explained. I would have gotten a pair of gloves or a blanket and I would have had the treat..for no other reason than to show her that I am the alpha and if I wanted the treat, I can have it. But I would not let her take anything to eat into the crate, if she is already in the crate and you give it to her, okay. but I would start to do some training with her food dish and she if you can take that, she may not let you. Especially is there is something good in the bowl. Take it away and praise with love, then give it back and pet while she is eating...Play with her feet and tail while she is eating..get her used to sharing.
Good luck :wave:

KB

· #6 · Aug 21, 2004

Kemo does that (not to me) but everyone else.....it's very disheartening to say the least. It's scary too when they make that snarl noise....he just did it to my husband last night, we were all on the bed and we both don't know what triggered it but he attacked him.........we think something scared him (which is not hard) but we both jumped!!
I am dreading his vet visit this week :roll:
He bit one of his past vets!!

Zabet

· #7 · Aug 21, 2004

This pet training show I watch (called good dog) had the same prob the other day and he recommended making sure that the dog sees you give it all its food (shows you as provider) Make sure you touch tequila with one hand as you give him his food and to put your hand in the bowl while he is eating and play with his food as well was training him to give his treats like everyone else recommended. You know what look on the bright side. Every dog has at least one problem to deal with and at least this has only happened once so you can start to train and turn things around now! Good luck!

Boogaloo

· #8 · Aug 21, 2004

My advice would be that the next time you give Tequila a treat, hold it in your hand the whole time she is eating it. Good luck. I think this is a common puppy thing - don't feel bad.

Vala

· #9 · Aug 21, 2004

I agree with Boogaloo, I do that to Stinky and he doesn't snarl when I'm around him and he's eating....good advice everybody!THX

I'm taking some for myself!

Sweety

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 21, 2004

Thanks sooo much guys ... I really appreciate all the info ... you can't imagine how much this bothered me.

I'll try all these approaches and keep you all updated on what happens!!!

Thanks again :wave:

Sweety

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 30, 2004

Update

Hi all ... well just a quick and not terribly great update.

Tequila has slightly improved with regard to biting when she's got her snack, but today I was holding her on my lap and my son came around and started talking to her and patting her (very gently). So I told him he could take her and give her a cuddle and when he did, she bit him!!!!!!!! She did the same thing!!!

So looked like a different dog ... her ears back, bearing her teeth and the works.

Also, she's started pooping and weeing off of the pad. On a very regular basis now. I've been trying to get her to go outside, but she just won't ... when I let her back in she's bursting for a wee.

HELP HELP HELP ... hope I'm not a bad Mom :?

Ms_P

· #12 · Aug 30, 2004

How old is she?

Sweety

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 30, 2004

Just going on 5 mths now

Ms_P

· #14 · Aug 30, 2004

The crazy age.
That is when they start teething.
The breeder I got Koke from was telling me at this age they can do some things completly out of character for them. Like a toddler.
You just have to get strict with them, and don't let them get away with unacceptable behavior.
You could try letting your son feed her and putting her on the floor before he pets her.
She is being posesive of you. And to her your son is a litter mate.

yoyoma

· #15 · Aug 30, 2004

OK! How about this...if you or your son see her about to snap at you. Do the Big OUCH! Means it hurts if she did that! Be firm with her. Change your voice a bit to lower tone and say NO NO to her for misbehaving and if she stopped give her lots of praises! You just got to be persistent on her training while she was still young. I used to train Yoyo to "leave" his chew bone when he was chewing them. If he behaved then he would get extra treat with his chew bone. I also train him to get used to our HANDLING, like touching his ears, mouth, feet and his body without him bitting back. Imagine, now we could even kiss his mouth while he was chewing his favorite chew bone. Won't bother him at all! But of course, you got to do it gradually. Again, give her treats and praises only when she behaved. Hope that helps! 8)

my3angels

· #16 · Aug 31, 2004

We just had a training seminar about this exact same topic. I hope this helps.
Sometimes it is worse to flip them on their backs and do 'alpha' type correcting. I never knew this until this week but it makes sense. I use to do it to my moms dog (hold on her back, hold paws, etc) and it never helped, just made things worse.
If it is food agression you need to act fast. Your pup is still young and this behavior problem can be fixed fairly easly.
For food agression, you want to start by feeding her by hand, just a few kibbles at a time. This will let her know that you are in charge of her food. It will also calm her down where she wont preceive you as a threat to her food. This will probably be fairly easy and she probably wont do antying.
Next I would go out and buy a merrow bone (femor bone). You can usually get one from a butcher. Make sure they cut it so that its not too big. Make sure the merrow is still in the bone.(they have to stay in the freezer). Take it out and make Tequila sit, then give her the bone. About a minute into her eating it tell her to drop it and take it away. She will probably show agression at this point, if in fact she is food agressive. Do not back down, dont raise your voice. Just grab the bone and tell her to 'drop it' or 'leave it'. I would first train her how to leave/drop it before giving a merrow bone.
Start training her to 'drop it' or 'leave it'. Dont do it in a harsh way, rather use only positive reinforcement. Give treats if she does what you want and ignore her when she doesnt.
Start by having her on a leash and walk her buy a treat, something she will go crazy over. When she goes to get the treat tell her to 'leave it' in a sharp voice (dont yell though). When she looks up at you tell her what a good girl she is and give her a treat you have hiding in your hand (oh yeah, you want to have treats on hand, but dont let Tequila know you have them) Pretty soon she will learn that 'leave it' is a good thing and will focus all her attention on you rather then the treat.
Sorry for so much info...I have been training dogs for about three months now and this is the most common complaint we have. You might find that she is very agressive with food and you might have to take her to an obedience class to work on it.
Do some research on food agression and call around to different trainers to see what their approach is. The sooner you work with her, the better things will be. I wouldnt be too upset, its not that Tequila has turned on you, its just a drive dogs have and its just more apparent in some dogs...like I said earlier my mothers dog will act like she will kill us. The first time she bit me was when we enrolled her in obedience classes. She still growls and makes a scene when we go to take food from her but she doesnt bite and usually drops it when asked.
Good luck. Sorry if this doesnt make much sense...been a long day :shock:
Jessica

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