# 7 month old vizsla



## vizlil (Aug 17, 2016)

Hello,
Once again I need your wisdom and experiences. Thanks in advance for your replies.
We have a beautiful 7 month old male Vizsla, named Magnum. Over the past 10 days he has changed quite drastically, he attacks anyone who sits on the sofa, or when he sits first if others want to sit he tries to bite. He has done that quite a lot with my 9 year old son, he attacks his hands, even his face, basically lunges to scare him off.
Today was the most difficult day, we didn't allow him on the sofa and he kept attacking us trying to bite, 
He also bites me when he is hungry or overtired, but not as bad. For now, we have decided not to let him on the sofa; he does not like it, he does not sleep on the floor or rest anywhere other than the sofa and his kennel which he goes to when he needs a long nap. He gets 1-2 hours of exercise, 20 minutes off-leash with lots of little walks during the day for potty breaks. 
I have said firm "no" when he bites so many times, tapped him on his mouth, held him by the skin on his neck, held his mouth when he wanted to bite but nothing seems to work, he is only getting worse. He becomes quite scary to be honest. When he is not like this, he is a pure angel! lovely, cuddly, sweet...
He has started rebelling against having a leash all together and tries to bite it while it's on him. 
The biting is really bad, and I am worried about this behavior staying with him. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

I would get him checked at the vet for any medical conditions. Thyroid problems can lead to aggressiveness.


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

einspänner said:


> I would get him checked at the vet for any medical conditions. Thyroid problems can lead to aggressiveness.


My first step would be vet check as Einspanner said. 

If the vet check comes back clear, next I would suggest consulting with a qualified behaviourist. I wouldn't delay with children being involved. 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

Hi Vizlil, he is kind of a moody teenager at this age and maybe he has decided the sofa is his spot now?
We don't let our guys on the sofa unless they are invited up, we keep a bed right next to the sofa so they can be close to us but we are high they are low. I would simply try getting him his own spot (that nobody else is allowed on/in) and keeping him off the sofa.
Hopefully this is a phase that he outgrows, and most of us on the forum have intact males, but there was one story of a dog whose behaviour was vastly changed with neutering. I don't want to scare you, but if you do want to check out that thread, here's the link: http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,24250.msg227850.html#msg227850 

And of course, as einspanner said, check with your vet 

Good luck!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I wonder just how much is really aggression, and not just teenage dog seeing what he can get by with. Both would look close to the same, and also be explained very close to the same way. It would take a very experienced person to know the difference.
Either way, I agree with a vet check, and getting help from a behaviorist.


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## MikoMN (Nov 29, 2016)

I am not an expert, nor even a semi-expert. All I can do is tell you what I am seeing with my boy. He was/is super gentle, very patient, and a good dog. He was very obedient to every command (that he understood) until just after 6 months. Then it was almost like a switch had been flipped. He then decided he would come on recall....if he felt you could make him, and there was nothing better to do. He also would break sit/stay if he felt you weren't watching closely. He is not allowed in bedrooms, or up and down the stairs without permission. He started wandering in the rooms, if he felt no one was watching, and going up and down the stairs without permission. We attribute this to his age. 

At about 7 months, out of no where, he started guarding his food. Because there was no known trigger, we attribute it to age as well. We had been told by many to put him on his back quickly, and that would be the end of it. We tried it, and IT WAS NOT THE ANSWER FOR HIM. He did not respond to it well at all. I am not saying that it doesn't work for some dogs, but did not for Miko. In fact it led to some submissive peeing, and us feeling like the worst dog owners ever. So we changed tactics. 

What we have been doing for the last month now is the following:

1. PREVENT THE SITUATION FROM BEING A PROBLEM. In other words, we try not to give him the chance to feel he can or needs to show aggression. We started by placing his bowl in a different spot every feeding. We even hold the bowl most of the time now. We constantly touch him as he is eating, speaking in low gentle voice. Start with his back and move towards the head, under neck, and then front paws. The two latter were his triggers to start a low growl. 

2. Watch very closely for signs, and again STOP IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS. If he started to tuck his tail at all, we would quickly change the situation, or distract him. Sometimes this meant telling him to leave it, and moving the bowl to a whole to spot. Jumping around like a fool until his tail was wagging with pleasure, then giving him the food again while he is in a happier state.

3. Give him a new option. Just like our children, if they are doing something wrong, and we tell them to stop they may want to listen, but sometimes they can't think of something else to do. If we tell them, "don't hit the table with a spoon it is too loud and can hurt the table, why don't you go hit the carpet instead" they will, more often then not, choose to go hit the carpet. For Miko we would put some food in the bowl in one spot, and then offer more out of our hand or a second container, that way if he did feel that his food was "in threat of loss" He still had a second option, so it wouldn't matter as much. We would then cut off one source and very gently show him the second source he could find it. (they were always within arms reach of each other, so there was no stress looking)

We have done a few other things that I won't bother to write down and a month later we see him guard maybe once a week vs. 20 times a week. I don't know if this is because he is older, or what we have done, but it is getting better. His overall obedience is still very hit or miss, but we are working on that.

So I said all of that, to say this:

First, MAKE SURE KIDS ARE NEVER ALLOWED TO BE IN THE SITUATION WHERE IT COULD BE DANGEROUS. Magnum is a sweet puppy, but he is still a dog (Gasp! I know a few who might disagree with this) We tell our kids that he doesn't have a voice to yell, or hands to push. He only has his teeth, and that is what hundreds of years of instincts have taught him to use to communicate. It isn't his fault, that is what they are born with.

Next, prevent it from happening. You know it is a problem, you can read the signs. When he heads towards the couch, distract him. Pull out his favorite toy, give him a command to come, or sit, then give him a huge treat for obeying. If he is on the couch and you want to sit there, or just don't want him there, lure him off the couch with something delicious like cut up boiled chicken or hot dog pieces. Then when he is off the couch and distracted, take your seat. It will be inconvenient at first to take an extra 2 minutes every time you want to sit on the couch, but you have 12 years ahead of you with the dog. *An extra 2 minutes for a few months is pretty insignificant if it can fix/prevent years and years of the struggle.*

Give him another option. Place a big fluffy dog pillow or bed somewhere and teach him to love it. (Some take right to it, but like a crate or teaching "place" many have to be trained to love it.) Miko didn't love his bed at first, but after getting many treats for going to it when commanded, and all new toys being left in it for him to find, he will go there by himself when we are all out of the room and he is feeling lonely.

And my last suggestion is if you really are okay with him being on the couches forever more, then just slowly teach him how wonderful it is to sit on it with you. Don't just go plop next to him. Show him you have an amazing treat (again something amazing, not just piece of kibble) then slowly walk towards him with it, give him one, walk away. Then show him another, walk towards, give him one as you sit on the edge of the couch, then walk away. Show him another, walk towards him, sit on the edge and stay long enough to pet him, praise him, then walk away. VERY VERY SMALL BABY STEPS. If he starts to nip or growl, you are going to fast. It may take days to get to the point where you can plop next to him and pet him. Maybe months before there is no aggression. 

Long post I know, but I have children too (2,4,and 8 ) and when it comes to aggression we had two options. FIX IT, or get rid of the dog. Children and an aggressive dog do not end well.

Listen to the people on this forum, but take it all with a grain of salt. As I stated, different things work for each individual dog. I am no expert, my experience is from a study of N=1. But our pup is 8 months old now, and that puts us in about the same stage. If anyone out there sees something stupidly wrong with my advice, or has anything to add. Please do.


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