# Growling and Biting??? Please help!!!



## kmcwilliams

My husband and I have a 1 year old male Vizsla (raised him from a pup). Over the past 6 months he has started to growl and bite myself, my husband and the kids. We have had several so-called "professionals" assess him and they all see him as such a sweet dog, and he is,...90% of the time. So, the advice they give us to yell at him (doesn't work), run him (we do everyday for 2 hours - doesn't work) and treat reward (doesn't work). He growls at us when he is tired or has a bone. We send him to his kennel and he continues to growl and snarl at us. On a few occasions he has bite the kids. We've taken away the bones and are at a loss of what to do. We have a trainer that has been recommended to us at the toon of $1100.00 for a 3 week camp. Again, when they assessed him, he was a "great dog"! We feel like we are prisoners to him and are so desperate for a solution. If anyone out there can help please post. We can't bare the thought of getting rid of him and are scared that he may bite the kids again!!!


----------



## emilycn

It sounds like you have a resource guarding issue. Not pleasant, but it can be worked with. It's really hard to get an idea of how serious the behavior is from your post, though. If you feel like it's something you can manage yourself, there's a lot of information on the interwebs and this forum in particular about how to deal with it. Just search for resource guarding in the search box here.


----------



## hobbsy1010

Hi kmc,

As emilycm just posted, take a look on past post's on similar problems, it may help.

It's very brave of you to come on here on your first post and explain to strangers the problems your family are having with your pup.

It's also very hard for us to see both sides of the coin in relation to the problems your having with him in just a couple of paragraphs.

Just an example, it could be an underlying health problem the reason that your pup shows aggression towards you and the rest of the family. Equally it could be a confidence issue with regards to how you and the family come across to the pup.

Please do a bit of research on here, have a good read and hope it can help you.

Good luck

Hobbsy


----------



## redbirddog

Your dog does have issues and if I had kids I'd be looking for solutions also. Good for you to reach out.

I know there is a lot of "dog theory" out there. Some helpful, some harmful and some only useless.

You have a high energy hunting dog. Many trainers do not know how to deal with that energy.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2014/02/great-idea-i-didnt-think-about.html

You might try this group. They may have a resource that would be of assistance.

Maybe do keyword searches here and on my blog: kid, kids, children, child.

You are not alone. Get your family and your dog repaired before a child gets bit no matter the effort, sacrifice or cost. 

A dog learns from *everything *we do (from motions, emotions and actions) both good and bad. 

Good luck and stay connected with HVF members.

RBD


----------



## FLgatorgirl

We had a very similar situation with our dog. I tried to send you a PM, but it says you cannot receive them. Sent an email instead, check your SPAM just in case.


----------



## texasred

Its not uncommon for the dog to have to get comfortable in its surroundings, before it shows its true colors. Most of the time I have found the dogs get excited and happy when guests come over. It would be hard to evaluate the situation in your pup by someone just visiting, when he only occasionally growls and bites.
I would have a vet do a full checkup, including checking his thyroid.
I own what is a problem dog, but most that meet him would never think of him that way. He has rules he has to follow, and people around him have rules too. He is never allowed on any furniture with anyone, other than my husband and I. If we have a house full of guest, or small kids over, he is kenneled away from them.
Kids and plenty of adults don't know the signs dogs give off when they are uncomfortable with a situation. Its not until the bite, that they know something has went wrong. 

Hopefully its your pup being at age where they start to push to the rules, and see just what they can get by with.
I don't think yelling at a V works very well, they do better with a calm, but firm, consistent set of rules.
A good many V's also need jobs and structure in their lives, not just exercise to be happy. Without it they can become frustrated, and lash out.
I hope you can find a professional to help you with him, as I don't see the problem being solved over the internet.
Most of all, keep your kids safe.


----------



## jjohnson

What trainers have told you that dog that bites kids is a "great dog"? 

We've had some similar issues, although our dog hasn't bitten anybody yet. These dogs continue to mature until they are around 2 years old, I believe, so they are continuing to develop habits and learn until at least that point. My point being, I think you still have a pretty big window to work on the resource guarding thing. 

I also would recommend finding a really good professional trainer or a behaviorist. Behaviorists are also really expensive (we saw one at a rate of $400/hr) but I found he offered better solutions and ideas based on actual science, and didn't just tell us to "yell" at the dog or shock him, or lock him up. Here is a list of certified behaviorists if you're interested. It seems kind of silly, but it's actually pretty fascinating.

https://docs.google.com/a/animalbeh...=1J4_rjdZ6ueYdxZl4ULl-VpXLxonXKHEVUJqeLdDQ19U

I also found this website and blog by Dr. Sophia Yin (a prominent vet/behaviorist) , which I think is really good (and fun reading for dog nerds like me), if you are interested! http://drsophiayin.com/

With our dog, since we have a toddler, we just took away all his bones. He just simply doesn't get bones because he is protective of them. Period. Not worth a kid getting bitten in the face!

Good luck!


----------



## SuperV

i am not professional by any stretch so take my advice for what you paid for it....

Most importantly...what type of bite is it? mouthing? broken skin, multiple repetitive bites to 1/2 the depth of the incisors? Does the dog have bite inhibition...that is does he know how hard he is allowed to bite human flesh??? A common issue is having a dog that was taught not to bite, but before doing so, he wasn't taught how hard to bite...

listen to your dog and make sure your kids listen to the dog....Consider it a good thing that he is growling. He is telling you, that "hey, i am not comfortable right now...and I might be reactive if you press the issue so PLEASE back up..." This is actually a great thing, as dogs that react with no warning are unpredictable and dangerous. Most dogs growl and react because they aren't comfortable or fearful. The sad thing here is that dogs tried to tell the offender to back up, but they didn't listen, and now the dog gets in trouble, even though the dog tried telling everyone he was uncomfortable....

.....lets assume you are the dog and you have the bone, the bone in this case is a bent up no good Baseball card of a no name player, but hey its your and you like it..... I approach you and say " hey nice card, I'll give you this mint signed Babe Ruth card, if you let me look at your card." i take your card and I give you the Babe Ruth card, take your card, inspect it, look it over, and then hand it back to you and say thanks and I go about my business!" Now you are looking at me thinking...wow, what gives? I give this guy this no name card, he gives me a Babe Ruth card, then gives me my card back, and says have a nice day?...i'll give this guy a my worn out card anytime he wants!!"

So the strategy is that you give your dog a HIGHER value treat in exchange for the bone, let him eat the treat, then give the bone back...IF (IF being operative word here) his fear of taking his bone and not getting it back, you are trying to teach him that you can take the bone, but he will get it back..and giving you the bone is actually a great thing cuz he gets great tasty treats!!!... I would suggest letting the dog approach if you try this. Don't go in with gusto as he already told you he doesn't like that....sit back a bit, entice him the treat to come to you to get it...then slowly (i.e. however long it takes (days, weeks, etc)....) work in closer as the dog tells you are allowed.... and maybe it's a step process where the first step is just touching the bone.....

Some will also tell you to throw away the food bowl and hand feed the dog, especially by the men and children. Get them used to having your hands around their food...

Again - I am not a professional nor claim to be one....just thoughts that may or may not help...

Nate


----------



## SuperV

i would like to add TexasRed's comment...that this won't be solved over the internet either, as all the info isn't available. I went to seminar last week and one of the things this guy said was to never believe the "handlers", only process the facts you can verify or what you know. 

Owners, tend to twist/distort the truth, intentional and unintentionally...(KMCWilliams - not saying you are...just saying a trained third party is often necessary to paint the complete picture...and I don't exempt myself from twisting/distorting the truth either - hopefully its more unintentionally though ;D ;D ;D 

KMCWilliams - assess the facts and what is known....how frequent is the behavior, what environmental conditions, what type of bite (not all bites are equal), etc etc... log it/record it....so you can look at hard data to assess if the conditions are improving or not...

Nate

Nate


----------



## tgrce1

Your dog is testing you..... I had this same issue with my Vizsla and when they do try to bite you or your kids, you need to be VERY stern and I even hit her in the nose and yell NO very loud where it scares the Vizsla.. After you do that a few times they will stop. Vizslas are very smart and emotional dogs.. Just sending her to the crate sometimes isn't good enough. I don't recommend going around and hitting her if she is doing something wrong, but in this case you need to be very firm before your kids get hurt.

TG


----------

