# Violent at times



## Baileysmama08 (Aug 11, 2009)

Bailey is a one year old and for the longest time, he can go from zero to violent! If you try to take him by the collar, he will whip up, move you hand around and try to chomp down on your hand... he will growl and fight as much as he can.

For everything else he is well behaved, but if you try to make him go somewhere by putting your hand around his collar is goes crazy!

He is fixed and we use a shock collar the dog park due to his over agressiveness with puppies (thats the only time we use it and we haven't really had to).

I am not sure what to do, I punish him but the only way he will get in his cage is if I offer a treat. Otherwise, he shrugs it off. But this dog is so obedient with everything else, and with his training... I am not sure what to do.


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## barrel browner (Jul 30, 2009)

hi i am a novice at this but can imagine your frustration, is Bailey neutered? that could explain his violent reactions maybe its hormonal? have you spoken to your vet? i ve got a girl pup so imagine if i don t have her neutered she will experience some sort of pmt????? or not. like i said i am a beginner at this but wanted to share my thoughts. good luck, 
kind regards


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## calum (Feb 13, 2008)

barrel said:


> hi i am a novice at this but can imagine your frustration, is Bailey neutered? that could explain his violent reactions maybe its hormonal? have you spoken to your vet? i ve got a girl pup so imagine if i don t have her neutered she will experience some sort of pmt????? or not. like i said i am a beginner at this but wanted to share my thoughts. good luck,
> kind regards


That, and phantom pregancies, bleeding etc. Neutering is best if you don't want pups.


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## Blaze (Aug 6, 2008)

Well stated Calum . Leave the Breeding to the Breeders.


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## Baileysmama08 (Aug 11, 2009)

He is neutered.. has been since April. His issues were WAY more extreme before, he was as the people at the dog park called him 'crazy'. For the most part he is a good dog now, but its like he can do a complete 180% and will bite down HARD. He broke the skin in my husbands hand when all he did was try and put him in his cage for being bad, he does this thing where he stands up and get your hand in his mouth. My husband had to get stitches...

As I said he is not bad, but he is always ready to fight with us. Like tonight he was testing me with the remote. He would go and grab it and jump on the couch, then I would growl at him (my friends told me to try this as it worked on their dogs). I made it a point to keep putting the remote back in the same spot to try and teach him a lesson, in the end he wanted to fight me...

It all comes down to control, he thinks everything is his and everything he owns... how the heck am I supposed to fix this. Every trainer I have met, just doesn't grasp my issue.


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## williajm (Apr 13, 2009)

Whenever he gets out of hand, immediately muzzle him and hold him on his back until he relaxes. This will serve as humane punishment, and let him know who the pack leader is.


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## Baileysmama08 (Aug 11, 2009)

Okay I will have to get a muzzle. We need to do that!! Thank you for the suggestion.


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## Blaze (Aug 6, 2008)

Hi Bailey's mama,
How quickly one forgets! :-- until I read the word " muzzle" when reading these posts I completely forgot that there was a time frame when we had to use one with Blaze. He was younger - perhaps between 6 and 9 months of age. We would find that in the evening, despite having had a good dose of exercise that day, he would go what we call a little "wonky". Just hyper, nippy with the kids. (They are 3 young boys so the same could be said for them -hyper nippy...) He would go at their socks - with their feet in them, or chase them around the kitchen island, or start chewing on the couch ,or start jumping from one couch to another. It was crazy dog time. So the pizza delivery man says to us one night get a muzzle and i'm thinking 'no way" and the next time he comes he brings the package of the one he has and the picture didn't look so bad. so I got one. It is black fabric mesh and does up up around the back of the head. Not cruel at all. We would put that on him and presto - " Mr. Submissive!" . We would leave it on him for a short time, maybe 5 -10 min and the behaviour got back to normal. After a while we'd just show him the muzzle and didn't even have to put it on. I was stressed with this behaviour at the time the time -was he a hyper vizsla? was he a bad dog? what am I doing wrong? But I had forgotten about that muzzle because there is no need to use it anymore. He is almost 17 months now. the "wonky vizsla" doesn't live here anymore. So there is a long winded successful muzzle story. I hope this helps.


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## Wetworks (Feb 23, 2009)

Baileysmama08 said:


> He is neutered.. has been since April. His issues were WAY more extreme before, he was as the people at the dog park called him 'crazy'. For the most part he is a good dog now, but its like he can do a complete 180% and will bite down HARD. He broke the skin in my husbands hand when all he did was try and put him in his cage for being bad, he does this thing where he stands up and get your hand in his mouth. My husband had to get stitches...
> 
> As I said he is not bad, but he is always ready to fight with us. Like tonight he was testing me with the remote. He would go and grab it and jump on the couch, then I would growl at him (my friends told me to try this as it worked on their dogs). I made it a point to keep putting the remote back in the same spot to try and teach him a lesson, in the end he wanted to fight me...
> 
> It all comes down to control, he thinks everything is his and everything he owns... how the heck am I supposed to fix this. Every trainer I have met, just doesn't grasp my issue.


Your dog is exhibiting this behavior most likely because he doesn't respect you and/or your husband as being the dominant ones in the "pack". The clincher is what you said about the remote. If you are trying to show him you don't want to have him grab it, then he escalates that to aggression, he feels _he_ is the dominant one and sees _*you*_ as the one_* testing him*_, not vice-versa as you believe.

You need to establish dominance. This includes correcting bad behavior with verbal commands immediately, with some kind of physical attention grabber as well, like a poke to the flank. When going to grab his collar, do so from a side/rear approach (not sneaky), and be sure to grab the collar firmly and not from across his face. If he then tries to whip his head around, tighten your grip, control him, and issue a sharp "NO!" command. Within about 30 seconds, he should submit. I've had to do this numerous times with dogs at our dog park, over mundane stuff like giving up a ball other dogs were playing with, dominance humping, ear gnawing etc. These are all dominant behaviors, and ones that can quickly escalate. Once I established that I wasn't scared of them and I wouldn't accept their behavior, they became my best friends! When they see me now, they come trotting over waiting for a pat on the chest and scratch behind the ears.  Also, you shouldn't really use his crate as punishment, especially if you also use it for when you eave the house and other non-punishment things. Otherwise, he will equate the crate with punishment _every time_, regardless of the reason.

You need to get a handle on this, the sooner the better. Consult with a professional who understands your problems/needs. I can't stress this enough.


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## chootcher (Jan 27, 2009)

Blaze said:


> Hi Bailey's mama,
> How quickly one forgets! :-- until I read the word " muzzle" when reading these posts I completely forgot that there was a time frame when we had to use one with Blaze. He was younger - perhaps between 6 and 9 months of age. We would find that in the evening, despite having had a good dose of exercise that day, he would go what we call a little "wonky". Just hyper, nippy with the kids. (They are 3 young boys so the same could be said for them -hyper nippy...) He would go at their socks - with their feet in them, or chase them around the kitchen island, or start chewing on the couch ,or start jumping from one couch to another. It was crazy dog time. So the pizza delivery man says to us one night get a muzzle and i'm thinking 'no way" and the next time he comes he brings the package of the one he has and the picture didn't look so bad. so I got one. It is black fabric mesh and does up up around the back of the head. Not cruel at all. We would put that on him and presto - " Mr. Submissive!" . We would leave it on him for a short time, maybe 5 -10 min and the behaviour got back to normal. After a while we'd just show him the muzzle and didn't even have to put it on. I was stressed with this behaviour at the time the time -was he a hyper vizsla? was he a bad dog? what am I doing wrong? But I had forgotten about that muzzle because there is no need to use it anymore. He is almost 17 months now. the "wonky vizsla" doesn't live here anymore. So there is a long winded successful muzzle story. I hope this helps.


I would suggest based on what the OP wrote - their issues are very different than what you just described - 
to the OP - i agree with wetwerks - you need to establish who is in charge - because right now the vizsla is - find someone to help now - this will only get worse.


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## Baileysmama08 (Aug 11, 2009)

I recently met with a group of people who have experperiences with dogs working for animal control and some who worked with large animals. They showed me the best thing ever. How to sit down next to Bailey, bring him to the ground, flip him on his back and show him who is alpha. This has helped a large amount and he is starting to respect me more as he is seeing I am not putting up with this behavior.

It was difficult before with my husband coming and going and whenever I would start a pattern he would mess it up. My husband is well aware of the training going on now, so when he comes he will observe our new behavior. We have progress to go, Bailey is a great and lovable dog, he just needs to be reminded all the time who is alpha.


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## madaboutvizslas (Nov 12, 2008)

From the day I got my V I did SHIP. Straddle, Hold, Invert, Prone. Straddle was picking her up off the ground between your legs. Then Hold which was picking her up with her front legs on your left arm and her back legs on your right (sort of a conventional lift). Invert was the same thing but lofting up upside down and carrying her like a baby. Hold her in these 3 positions for as long as the dog can stand it. And then Prone, you put her down on the ground and hold her there. Put your toe thru her collar if you have to. While you do that run your hands all over her like you were doing a vet check. Open her mouth etc. Don't let her up until you are finished.

If you do this every morning the dog soon gets used to it and you can handle them any way you like. They even enjoy the contact.

I also carry around my shoulders. This is handy if you have to carry the dog long distance. Also practice this going over high object like walking over the picnic table.


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