# Aggressive Dominant Behavior



## jjenfield

We bought our little Addie from a pet store  8 months ago. She is now 10-11 months old. Over the last few months she has become very territorial of her food, play toys, human items and me (the mother-I am her "person")! She is getting aggressive (growling and niping/biting) when we try to take toys away, human items away, if we even come near her when she is eating. Sometimes she gets aggressive towards people if she is in my lap and my son comes up next to me.

Last night she was sleeping near me in bed, and my husband leaned over to move her a little and she bite him, and drew blood! 

I do not want this to get worse.

I know we should excersize her more. She gets 30 min-1hour of walks/run/rollerblades on week nights and on weekends she gets 2 hours/day of off-leash playtime/running at the dog park. We are working on this part.

As far as training her. We have done two obedience classes, which haven't helped at all!!! My husband has used some harsh punishing/training with her and I think she is overly sensitve to it. I think she is very fearful of him! I try not to use this type of punishment, and feel like that is why she is so attached to me because she feels safe with me.

My husband has stopped being so harsh with the punishments, because it obviously has not helped. We are thinking of bringing in hired trainers to our house to help with her.

My question is...has anyone dealt with this? We want to keep her, and are willing to hire a professional trainer. I have been reading blogs about families haveing to give up their v's because of this - so the dog is in a better environment - better families that know how to work with vizslas. We want to keep her...just looking for any advice!


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## redbirddog

> We bought our little Addie from a pet store 8 months ago. She is now 10-11 months old.


There are dozens of threads on aggression here on this forum. Suggest first is to use the upper right hand side search box.

I'd go back to the PET STORE and insist on one of two things:

1. Complete family history of the dog.

or

2. FULL REFUND.

Others can give you advice on how to deal with it, but you bought a "potential wreck waiting to happen" when you gave your cash for an unknown temperment dog.

Support hobby breeders. This is the only real answer.

Sounds like you bought a lemon. Good luck making lemonade. :-\

Sorry, but until people stop buying dogs in pet stores, stories like yours will continue.

Now maybe others could give you more pleasant news and advice.


RBD


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## Vizsla Baby

I don't think the pet that this family loves is a lemon just because they got her from a pet store. It sounds like she needs some structure and some serious training before it gets worse.

I wish I could offer advice, we haven't dealt with this.


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## jjenfield

RBD: Addison came with all sorts of health issues and we have been fully re-imbursed for her initital costs. 

That being said, we can't erase where she came from...and need to work with her now!

Any advice or suggestions for trainers in Minnesota!?


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## threefsh

jjenfield said:


> Over the last few months she has become very territorial of her food, play toys, human items and me (the mother-I am her "person")! She is getting aggressive (growling and niping/biting) when we try to take toys away, human items away, if we even come near her when she is eating.


NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) - we have used this with Riley ever since she was tiny and it will be a big help in your situation. Here is a good website detailing how it works:

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm



> Sometimes she gets aggressive towards people if she is in my lap and my son comes up next to me.
> 
> Last night she was sleeping near me in bed, and my husband leaned over to move her a little and she bite him, and drew blood!


She is being territorial with you. From now on, no more lap or bed privileges. Heck, I wouldn't even allow her on the furniture with that behavior. *You* will have to be the one to enforce it because it sounds like she respects your authority more. After reading the bit about your husband using "harsh punishing", I don't blame her for wanting to bite him if he's hurt her. She obviously doesn't trust him.




> I know we should excersize her more. She gets 30 min-1hour of walks/run/rollerblades on week nights and on weekends she gets 2 hours/day of off-leash playtime/running at the dog park. We are working on this part.


I would do at least 1hr in the morning and 1hr at night (off-leash somewhere she can really stretch out and run is best).



> As far as training her. We have done two obedience classes, which haven't helped at all!!! My husband has used some harsh punishing/training with her and I think she is overly sensitve to it. I think she is very fearful of him! I try not to use this type of punishment, and feel like that is why she is so attached to me because she feels safe with me.


What kind of punishment are we talking about here? If he's hurt her physically, this could be a big part of her aggression issues. It very well could be a fear aggression (growling or biting for fear of getting hurt). Vs are extraordinarily sensitive dogs and can be easily ruined by harsh treatment.

I would highly recommend getting a behavioral specialist to assess the situation. 



Vizsla said:


> I don't think the pet that this family loves is a lemon just because they got her from a pet store.


The sad fact is that if the V is from a pet store, there is a 99% likelihood that the pup comes from a puppy mill. The dogs in puppy mills are not temperament screened.


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## texasred

I know what RBD said sounded strong but he had good reason.
The first was buying from a pet store .
No breeder that cares anything about the breed will sell their puppies to a pet store. So you purchased a puppy mill puppy. You should look up Puppy mills. So you have a understanding of the environment your pup came from, and that purchasing these pups keep the adult dogs living in **** for their entire life.
I think your going to need professional help to learn how to safely control you dog. The NILIF program can help in the mean time.


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## redbirddog

jjenfield, take a look at this article and the related ones attached.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-commercial-breeder-family-news.html



> RBD: Addison came with all sorts of health issues and we have been fully re-imbursed for her initital costs.


Poor Addison came with health issues and temperment issues. Wow!

I'd make the pet store take the dog back. Make the poor thing his problem. He expected to make money buying the dog from a commerical breeder at a low price and selling it high. I would not be nice about it either. He made a bad business decision. It should not be your fault, except that you fell in love with that beautiful puppy.

Maybe rethink a Vizsla now that you know how much energy it really does take.

Good luck.


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## Oquirrh the V

I can't even imagine having/needing to give up my little guy for any reason. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this jjen. Hopefully, next time you will choose the breeder more wisely. BUT since you have already fallen in love with this pup, I think you should read everything you can about aggressive behavior and start making some changes of yourself and your husband. Also, learn as much as you can about the breed. I hate even thinking about a dog being treated harshly when the owners may have helped in creating the behavior. I think a professional trainer THAT KNOWS THE BREED could be helpful. You may want to think about returning the pup after you've tried everything that you can. I got my pup from a very reputable breeder and he showed posessive signs when he was 6ish months. I did tons of reading and put in every ounce of energy into nipping the behavior as quickly as I could and doing it in a manner that was beneficial and effective to both me and my pup.
Shiloh Kennels and Stables is in Wisconsin and the owner is the vice president of the Vizsla Club of America, you may try giving him a call to see if he has any references of help in your area.


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## redbirddog

> I can't even imagine having/needing to give up my little guy for any reason.


This is the exact emotion that pet stores and commerical breeders are hoping for. 

We have to put it back on them otherwise they will keep doing what they are doing.

Living with for 14 to 16 years a poor health and bad temperment animal because a couple business owners saw profit in inexperienced buyers.

Draw the line somewhere once you educate yourself that there is a better way to get a Vizsla. You deserve better and the breed needs you to be strong and smart! Ask the pet shop owner if he will be paying for the vet bills and professional training the dog will need to have a happy life. Bet not!

Off my soapbox.

RBD


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## jld640

If you decide to keep Addie…

The search box is about to become your best friend. I would start searching under 'aggressive' and 'behaviorists'. I think laurita posted about one in Wisconsin who even does phone consultations - dogs best friend or something like that. They might even be able to recommend someone close to you in MN. Then I would just start going through all the historical posts under 'Training & Behavior' and 'Behavior Problems'. 

If you don't find what you need in the posts, IN MY OPINION, you might try going to a local dog park - without your V. Go early in the morning before the 9-5 crowd gets there - or better yet before about 8:30 on a weekend day. The only people who wake up that early are the ones who are serious about their dogs (as opposed to the ones who will stand around with a cup of coffee while their dogs do whatever). Look around and talk to the owners of any of the retrievers or pointers for references about trainers in the area. The people you want to talk to will be the ones actively playing with their dogs (fetch, obedience, walking & talking to them). Most will be happy to chat for a few minutes if you tell them you are trying to help your dog. You will probably hear lots of recommendations, but only a few names will be repeated by lots of people. I would start with those trainers. 

Good luck!


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## datacan

Most of us face a few challenging situations at one point or another when we bring a young dog into our home. 
My Sam went for my hand and barked some at me when he was 4 months old. From 4 to 6 months he was a "menace". 
The reason I say 4 to 6 is because we "domesticated" him during that time period. As I understand, dogs must find their place in our human family and the later we deal with the small problems, the more they add up and seem to become bigger. 

Ideally, these dogs should be crate trained, taught to accept human fingers/hand in the mouth without biting it, staked out in the yard/home among other things like obedience basic training. All this amounts to breaking or domesticating the dog. 

Many of us fail to communicate leadership properly. As matter of fact, I learn every day, even though I had a German Shepherd before and my cousin had hard, retired GS dogs since the '70s. It stands to reason, I should not have a dog that bites or barks, but, I put things off a little with our V. and when I decided to work with him it was a little harder.

A good dog trainer is indispensable at this point if you would like to keep Addie. The trainer will teach you mostly and fix your pup temporarily but it is up to you to keep the proper communication channels open with your dog. 

All the best,
Julius


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## adrino

It's a shame you bought your vizsla from a pet store, but it's done now and if you want to stick with Addie hopefully will worth all the hard work you will have to put in from now on.
I am a new vizsla owner, we have Elza since January but still I can give you a little advice. First I suggest when you try to take things away from her wear a thick glove, so if she catches your hand she won't be able to bite you. 
My puppy started to growl when she had a toy or some food she really wanted, but I wanted to take it away. We stopped this very early and ever since I take away anything I want. 
I tell you how I did it and you see if you could do the same, though I didn't need to use a glove but since yours already bit people maybe it's best for everyone.
First we started with toys. Something bigger so you can have a grip on it. Make sure you're calm when you try to do this cos if you already nervous when you approach her she will sense your fear. Be strong and the pack leader! So, I went to my dog and put my hand on the toy but didn't move at all, I said leave it or no whatever the command you use for release and just wait. Do not move or say anything more but make sure you're calm just keep breeding! Slowly she should let the toy go, but do not move still, she has to be calm and turn her head away, then you can take the toy. After that she did that you should praise her and give the toy back. This has to be done with all kinds of toys, again and again until she release the toy as soon as you put your hand on it.
At mealtimes I call her, make her sit and wait until she looks into my eye, then I put the bowl down and still she has to sit until I release her saying ok. Obviously you can chose another word whatever you want. Well probably here comes the tricky bit if you want to take the food away. I don't want to give the wrong advice so just be careful and don't do it if you're not comfortable. Just go and take the food away while you're saying the same thing as with the toys. Make her sit again wait until she looks into your eye, pit the bowl back down and make her wait. Same again and again every feeding time. Though we only had this possessiveness with her toys, it's very similar situation. Now I can make her stop eating just by putting my hand in front of her nose and she would sit and wait until I say ok again. 
It might not be nice to hear but you shouldn't let your vizsla sleep in your bed. I would love mine to be there, but we decided not to and she sleep outside of our door in her crate ( we don't close the crate) and this is just fine. She learnt to have her time alone during the night and she doesn't get jealous over us and she doesn't take over our space either. 
About you being her main person, it's you who have to address these moments. Never pet her or pull her backwards when she's near you and somebody comes towards you and she starts off. She would become even more possessive of you. Push her off the bed or sofa and say your disagree word. But I can't really give much advice on that and I don't want to give the wrong one. Hope you get some progress with Addie. 
Keep us updated on it and good luck!

Never give up!


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## R E McCraith

Go back to the pet store
1 ask for a complete medical history for the pup up till the time you got her
2 ask for contact imfo on the breeder
3 ask if your V can be AKC registered
4 if the store can not give you the imfo report them to the better bussines bureau and ASPCA
5If you keep the pup I would advise seeking the help of a professional trainer GOOD LUCK


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## Vizsla Baby

In re-reading this I actually do have some advice. My Vizsla has a very soft personality. She would never respond well to harsh punishment - verbal or physical. I would imagine that most Vizsla's are just the same.

When we correct her we use a firm, authoritative voice and she always responds. We just expect it and she does it. We love her up 95% of the time and provide guidance & direction 5% of the time. We get 99% of the behavior we want from her.

My wire-haired dachshund is the opposite. He's stubborn & hard headed. You have to be a bit more harsh with him (but never physical). He doesn't respond well otherwise. He's a great dog though & we rarely have to do much correction. 

Each dog is different, just like each child is different. 

I'd try a new technique for discipline. But at this point, it might take a LONG time for the trust between your V and your husband to be re-established.

Love up your baby and do your best, dogs are worth it. If you can't handle it after trying, please contact the closest Vizsla rescue and don't give the dog to a humane society.


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