# Resource Guarding- Bite



## deeco3307 (Jun 13, 2010)

Hello All,

My 18 month old V has become aggressive with objects, almost entirely bones, since he was 12 months old or so. Over the past 6 months, he has snapped numerous times, and bitten hard twice, both times over bones. The first occurred about 4 months ago, the 2nd 2 days ago. We had worked very diligently with him for the past 4 months on commands to give and the guarding really seemed to be getting under control, but we were not giving him any bones. He was releasing all objects, but would occasionally try and keep any food he had stolen, but we never tempted him to growl or bite over these.

2 days ago, my in-laws came over to let him out of his kennel for a while, and they inexplicably gave him a bone. He was almost done with it (last piece in his mouth) when my father in law went to grab his collar to take him inside...a quick growl then snap to his hand. The bite was severe enough that they felt that they needed to go to the hospital.

My wife and I are now in a very tough position. We are young adults and will soon have children (next 1-2 years). We love our dog with all our hearts, and other than this issue, he is an amazing dog. We are currently considering finding our dog a new home as we do not feel that we can trust him enough around our future children to keep him.

I am seeking advice. First, is this an issue that is correctable to an extent that we could trust him around kids and, if so, what is the best method to correct (we've already sought a professional trainer and classes). Second, what are the best resources for finding a Vizsla a new home. I won't just give him away to anyone, we want to find him a place he can thrive.

This has been extremely hard for us. We feel like we may be losing a family member.
Thank you in advance for your help


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

First, let me state, I am vey sorry about your recent experience with your V. :'(

Dogs are dogs, do not panic.
This may shed some light:
http://leerburg.com/dominac2.htm

Most dogs are given up at around 18 months because of behavior problems. The article above was written by a dog breeder with lots of experience. Regardless of the breed, it explains why dogs suddenly turn nasty.

An animal behavior professional may truly help you out. 
If you decide to give him up there may be a Vizsla rescue group in your area. The Breeder can also help. 

Recent posts, same topic:
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2974.0.html

http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php?action=search2 
Search term: Aggression


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Resource guarding can be successfully addressed. It is correctable. There are countless articles on the Internet about it. Just go to Google and type in "resource guarding in dogs" and you'll see what I mean. Here is one:

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_ResourceGuarding.html

In addition, there are many books on the issue. Here is one:

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=dtb740

I am a volunteer with the Michigan Humand Society, and I know that the animal behaviorists there work with dogs on this issue on a regular basis. I am not a behaviorist, but it is my understanding that this can be fixed. Good luck!


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

datacan said:


> Dogs are dogs, do not panic.
> This may shed some light:
> http://leerburg.com/dominac2.htm


Good post.
I really like that article. I know they are talking about GSDs for the most part, but I think it's important to consider the Vizsla in the same light. It might not be as common, but as we are seeing more and more on this forum, our dogs are capable of being aggressive and need to be trained as any other powerful breed.

I see where your no tug point of view comes from. 
imo it's a good thing to play, as long as you use it to your advantage. The article says not to play these games, but then says that you must win. 
That is the whole point of the game to me. It's a good way to show a pup or adult dog, that you always win. 
You get the dog to let go to end the game. You reward the good behaviour with praise, and walk away.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

deeco

Does he ever let loose of the bone, or give up on it? I can't imagine a V going through a beef shank non-stop. They usually stop[ and drop it eventually.

My first V, many years ago, had the same problem.
I worked with that dog relentlessly to "kid Proof" him, and thought I had a bomb proof dog. Until he was about 14 months old.
Out of the blue one night we had given him a prime rib bone, which he took to his kennel and went to work on. My wife reached him to give him a pet and some kind words, and he went for her hand. Nothing even remotely close to this had ever happened until that nite, and he'd had many prime rib bones prior to this occurence.
I reached in to pet him and he did the same thing to me. Then I reached in, grabbed him by the collar and he was airborne about 12" off the ground. He found the stove, the broom closet and the sink cupboard in about 500msec's, before he found the floor.
I then took him out and forcefully made him give me that bone and take it by hand many times. This went on for more than a few days, and it got a little unnerving. It also got a little physical .He was serious about that bone. 
I tried many other techniques also, but never got a 100% solution in my mind.
I wish I could tell you that it got better, but it really didn't. At least not that I would ever trust him unsupervised with a fresh bone. He wouldn't snap at us any longer, but boy would he threaten too.
I realized though that this was the only thing he ever got upset about. A 2 year could take food out of his mouth, and he would readily give up anything he was eating. Cookies, treats, hot dogs, steak, chicken, it didn't matter, but that bone did. There were no other situations that caused the same reaction, and he was the most non-aggressive dog towards humans you's ever want to be around. (he wasn't as kind to other dogs though. He had some very rough play habits. )
So we left him alone in his crate, and limited the bones, until he'd finish, or decide it wasn't worth protecting any longer. 
Maybe the cowards way out, but he was a hunting dog first and pet second.


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

The book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson will walk you through the process of training your dog to tolerate approach. It's a common problem, and as others have said, it can be addressed. Also--bites are scary, and any kind of snap of the jaws is not a good thing in a pet dog, but I do think (as I've said before) that your level of alarm should be proportional to the level of force exerted by the dog. An "air snap," where the dog doesn't make contact with the skin, is actually (in the dog world) a warning rather than an attack. Again, it isn't a good thing for a pet dog to do, and you do need to address it, but it doesn't automatically mean you have a vicious dog you need to relinquish. Even contact bites don't mean you have to relinquish your dog. It can be worked on. Until you've completed a program to change your dog's behavior, be sure that you don't approach if your dog is growling or has a coveted object, and warn others not to as well.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

@ Misha 
There are specific steps that address tug games, bite training, focus training and even protection. They are very specific and do not involve brute fighting with the dog. 
I avoid tug and usually just steal the toy from him. As a matter of fact the usual advice given - the dog has to loose all the time is rubbish and too simplistic. The dog learns to be faster and stronger. Tug games are just one part. Focus training (extremely important) and later bite training are essential. All dogs can be taught Vs included. *It's about control and teaching the dog the handler is the undisputed pack leader*. I heard Vs can be trained for military purposes and protection. These are tough dogs.
Bite training exercises strengthen jaw muscles. Also strengthen the grip of the dog. This is something I don't want my V to learn. I want him to have a soft mouth and accept my fingers placed in his mouth any time. Even during feeding I randomly placed my fingers in Sam's mouth and he learned to accept it.
Don't know what's so special about bones but I know if Sam ever showed aggression around bones, I would take the bone and never give him another until he learned to share it with us ;D 

I find GSD training more appealing and kinder to the dog. Retrieving, for instance, does not involve the traditional hunting style "force retrieve" pinching the ear or toe hitch while the dog hangs from the ceiling. 
Instead, importance is given to focus training. Nothing matters to the dog except the handler. The dog's focus is such that one can kick or step on it's tail and attention is not broken. 

Incredible, I heard some of these Vs used to be tested in the past by steadying the shot gun on their head and if they moved the dog was not ready to hunt and could not be sold as a hunting dog. That's how tough some of these dogs were.

Gunnr, thanks for sharing. As a seasoned owner of many Viszla dogs your advice should and must be respected.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

datacan

Thank you for the compliment.
That was a very upsetting time for my wife and I. We had both put a lot of work into Boone, and knew that if it escalated he,d either have to be isolated, or put down.
I used to hold the prime rib bones in my hand and make him chew them in my hand, while the whole time he was glaring and growling at me. He was seriously Po'd.
Everytime those teeth bared or got too close. The bone came out of his mouth and was laid on the kitchen floor. He was allowed to pick it up, only with my hand holding it, after an "in/fetch" command, and any transgression started the process again.
Other than first nite, when I got really physical with him, and very quickly, We never got to that point again. There were a lot of threats on both side of the bone, but he never actually snapped again. It was pretty tense at times though. 
I will not allow a dog of mine to threaten. It just isn't acceptable, and it has to be immediately addressed. If he was going to bite someone, it was going to be me first.
There are many ways a dog can communicate and show it's displeasure, without resorting to that level of threat. It is also incumbent on an owner to recognize the communication that went on prior to the escalation of events to this level, and take steps to mitigate it. From Boone I learned the signs and my next two males benefitted. The problem was dealt with much earlier in their lives, so that when we got to the "challenge phase" I was more prepared. I call it the "find the wall moment".


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## deeco3307 (Jun 13, 2010)

Gunnr- He will chew the entire bone in one sitting if allowed. This whole thing may have started when he was about 10 months old and chewing a bone non-stop and I took it from him because I feared he would get sick. We never had a problem prior to that and now I realize that was a big mistake.

It really seems to be a problem with anything he's chewing apart. He has snapped at me when I've taken a stuffed toy he was in the middle of destroying as well. 

Our solution for the past 4 months has been to give him a treat for giving an object in his possession. This works with everything except bones, stolen food and maybe toys he is in the middle of destroying (haven't tested that yet). Not sure if I am to the point where I can just grab something from his mouth without a treat. That was fine until he was about 1 year then became an issue (not with toys, but with stolen items).

I have tried holding a bone and letting him chew on it, and he basically becomes uninterested until I let him have it, then I can't get it back. The scary part for us is that there really isn't a warning growl. Its growl and bite in 1 second.

Right now, we are leaning toward keeping him and working hard more on training, but we are both fearful for when we have children. Right now we can control our environment, but when kids arrive, its a different situation.

I'm going to purchase the book Mine and read on that. Gunnr, do you suggest training him with a bone in a similar manner you did with Boone?


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

deeco

You can try to condition him as I did Boone. There are some rules though.
He has to always give it back.
He has to always get it as his in the end.
There are warnings, you're just not tuned to them yet. Watch the eyes and body language. If he is constantly tracking you with his eyes and adjusting his position, ever so slightly, he's getting ready. If the speed of which he is attacking the object changes, he's getting ready and anticipating you. He has to be balanced to threaten, not necessarily standing, but balanced. You take him off that balance as quick as you can.
I don't know how you're trying to take objects out of his mouth. If you're approaching from the front, it's confrontational. Come from the side or the back.
If you are dead serious about getting it out of mouth ,you grab his collar and pull him up uintil he is off his front feet. You then grab that muzzle, from the top in a clamp and squeeze with your thumb and fingers, on both side of teeth at the hinge of the jaw,and force his lips into his mouth. If he continues to bite, he'll be biting himself first.
Push the object down and away. Don't yank or twist, just down and away. Keep control of his collar. You will probably need to attach his leash when you give a bone.
Every single time he threatens, you have to react. However you have to be very neutral in how you react. No emotion. Grab him, take the ob,ject, and put him away. Don't hit him, beat him slap him or anything else like that. Grab him, grab the object, and put him away. Don't even use your voice on him. Taking it to a physical confrontation will only make it worse. It's literaly 1,2,3 and on with your day.
Repeat as necessary. It can go on for weeks and months, so be ready.

There is also nothing wrong with admiting that you're in over your head, and getting a trainer to guide you through it. Don't look at it as a symptom of weakness, everybody needs help eventually. 

That he shows disinterest in the bone while you're holding it is working in your favor. He knows you're in charge and won't take it from you. It's the rest of his nonsense he's learned on his own he can get away with that has to stop.

Work with him. Make evrything Black and white with him and don't leave him any gray areas in which he makes his own decisions.


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