Guest Anonymous Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Last night my year and a half old Golden Retriever was chewing on a raw hide bone which we sometimes give her to keep her busy. My wife started cleaning up some of the mess around her from the bone and also picking some pieces off of the dog's paws. Well my dog snapped and bit her hand very hard and held it for about 5 seconds. The result was a deep cut on my wife's hand. She was in pain and very shaken. My dog, Cooper is a wonderful dog and she is always very gentle with us and she does sometimes like to play rough. She has sometimes growled when we go to take something away from her she shouldn't have, but this is something that has never happened before. I wasn't home and wasn't able to scold the dog right away. It appears that Cooper almost seems remorseful about the episode and was very gentle to my wife afterwards. My wife is ofcourse going to take sometime to be playful with Cooper again and she really is just confused to why it happened. Does anyone have any ideas on why it happened or advice on how to deal with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black GSD Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 The reason it happened is that the dog feels that she is dominant over your wife. Your wife does NOT need to take time to be playfull with the dog. She needs to do some obedience training with the dog so the the dog knows that your wife is the BOSS. Your dog should NEVER be allowed to growl at you (or your wife). You (and your wife) are supposed to be Alpha over the dog. You are the toy and treat gods. You give them out and HAVE to be allowed to take them away when YOU decide. NOT when or if the dog decides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I had a pretty solid feeling that was the problem. The dog does tend to be more hostile with my wife, but listens to me very well. We are going to start working on this situation. Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Black is right. Goldens are normally so gentle that no one bothers to think of them as aggressive, but like any dog, if they think they are the alpha they will let you know if you try to take something. You need to put Cooper on a short training lead (1 1/2 feet at most) which you will leave on his collar while he is being "demoted" Then give him a toy, even a rawhide bone. DONT reach for it, but use the lead to pull him away from it, pick it up and put it away. You should probably handle the pulling away, since he is less dominant towards you, but your wife should pick up the bone, show it to him, and then put it away. He needs to be in a sitting position after you pull him away from the bone, a command he knows will reinforce your dominance. Once he is sitting let your wife pick up the bone, if he tries to get up make him sit again. Goldens are very intelligent, it should only take a short while to reinforce this. Other things you can do to reinforce this, until he has been properly demoted: Dont let him go through any doorways before you. If he tries, block him and make him sit. Dont let him lay on your bed. Dont let him go to the top of the stairs and look down on you. That is the Alphas position in every pack. I know a lot of people let their dogs sleep with them, but in a dominant Alpha that's a bad thing. This is the "choice" sleeping spot, which is always reserved for the Alpha and his mate. Once you have him somewhat demoted (you need to start the demotion since he feels less superior to you) then have your wife do it as well. He has to recognize her as Alpha female, he's Beta, he'll just have to get used to it. It shouldnt take long - Goldens are very agreeable normally and want to please. He just got too big for his britches, that's all... Hope that helps. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleb124 Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 The worst bite that I have ever received was from a golden/lab mixed dog. He bit me 5 times before I knew what hit me. Not little nips either, but big deep bites that bled for a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 did she surprize the dog? Some dogs will snap out if surprized. it sounded like the dog knew she was there, so i am going to agree with the above posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Were you fetching with the bone earlier? Some retrievers develop a retrieved item possessiveness, you should calmly work on training this behaviour out of the dog. Throw an item, walk up to the dog, take the retrieved item, praise, throw again, if he growls or snaps when you take it, tell him no calmly and wait 5 min before you throw it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 YIKES Kaleb - that's so out of character for these dogs.... They are generally calm, agreeable, want constant attention....they are usually dream dogs to have, if you can stand the hair..... but like any other dog, treatment, training, living conditions,it can all have an affect on the dogs character. I think with training they can nip this situation....I am certainly hoping so! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 [quote name='courtnek'] Dont let him go through any doorways before you. If he tries, block him and make him sit. Dont let him lay on your bed. Dont let him go to the top of the stairs and look down on you. That is the Alphas position in every pack. I know a lot of people let their dogs sleep with them, but in a dominant Alpha that's a bad thing. This is the "choice" sleeping spot, which is always reserved for the Alpha and his mate :D[/quote] Wow! This really puts things in perspective for me! Hazel use to BURST through doorways, but ever since I taught her I GO FIRST she's been good. She does sleep on my bed, but as soon as I go to bed, she jumps off! I always thought this was cuz of the time when I woke up and she was on my head and I freaked out ( :lol: ) but now that I think about it, it could be the whole Alpha thing! Even if I call her back up, she will lay there for maybe a minute, then go back on the floor or in her crate! When I leave for school, she also runs down the stairs and "says good bye" at the door, and WILL NOT go to my mom when she calls her back to the top of the stairs... but this could also be that she just wants to come with! :D As for Coopers problem (sorry for just jumping in and talking about my dog! :oops: ) I agree with whats been said above... how is this going by the way? Have you been working with her? Any improvements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Foster Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 I agree with what everyone has said. Your wife needs to take some control and be more dominant than the golden. My question is: Could your wife have accidently hurt the dog? You know sometimes the pieces of rawhide will stick to the dog and the carpet. I was wondering if maybe a piece may have been stuck to your dog's paw hair and maybe when your wife pulled the rawhide that maybe she pulled hair. For my golden story: My bc/mix and I were at a flyball tourney. We were walking through th crating area when we passed a huge golden. All of a sudden, the golden turned and grabbed my dog by the head and was shaking her like a rag doll. It took a few minutes and a couple folks to get the golden to let go. My dog ended up with a couple puncture wounds in her head and one near an eye. In all the places with puncture marks, the hair now grows in white instead of black. Needless to say, this is one reason why my bc/mix is semi dog aggressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Damn, I hate to hear those things. If you're going to have a big dog, it needs to be trained and civilized. People buy Goldens because they have the reputation of being gentle, calm, reliable and good with kids. But they're still DOGS and they still answer to all of the pack instincts!! I think some people just think that with their reputation, you can let them do anything....so they dont enforce a lot of training rules. My Golden once snapped at me for trying to take away something he was chewing on (didnt bite, just threatened) and I called the breeder. The first thing he said was "Who's the boss? You or him? you have watched me work, use my principles and straighten him out" and I did. The principles were the ones I listed. Inside of three days, he had a new attitude and we never had any more problems.... Training is everything. The wild instincts never really go away - you have to live inside of those rules.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Having said that, I just realized that a lot of people dont know those rules. So for everyones edification - this is how a wolf pack works - and all of our dogs are descended from wolves, even the little tiny ones..... In a wolf pack - the Alpha is SUPREME - every other wolf answers to him. The alpha female has some leeway, but if he says NO, then NO it is. There is NO democracy in a wolf pack - he is king, ruler, top of the line, and anyone who challenges him will have a hell of a fight on his hands. He and his mate sleep on the "high ground" to enable them to look over the rest of the pack. He and his mate are the only ones allowed to produce offspring, although in a small pack sometimes the Beta male and female may as well. Interestingly, the other females in the pack will develop milk to feed the pups if the mother cant handle them all. The other females look after the puppies while the Alpha male and female join the hunt. They are the leaders, no questions asked. The lower members keep watch on the pack and alert the Alphas to danger, but the decision on what to do is left up to the Alpha male. If the forest is burning down and the Alpha says "stay" - they stay. It's literally an iron hand. Inside of that iron hand there is a compelling love and family-ness. The alpha male will lick the pups, and other members, kinda like saying "good job!: He will not tolerate any disobedience, but if you live within his iron hand he is gentle and giving. The female is given control of all the female pack members, while the male controls the males. The female Alpha can discipline a male member if necessary. and usually ruthlessly, if it comes to that. Generally, it doesnt. Everyone knows their place, and usually stays in it. Thats why with a dominant dog you have to control the doorways, the bed, the landings. These are all instinctual "alpha spots" They will give in to being non-Alpha if you make them - but unfortunately too many people dont know that, and find themselves trapped with a dog who has taken over.... Hope that helps everyone.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 One more note - In a dominant dog scenario - NEVER let them eat before you. The Alpha male and femal always eat FIRST..the choice bits go to them. whats left over goes to everyone else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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