Super Dominate Dog????

[PupsMom]

Is it possible for a dog to be Super dominate??? I've had several dogs in my life and trained them. I now have a chow/lab mix that is 9 months old. I have taken her to obedience classes and even the trainer was shocked by her. She bites alot and so far nothing has worked to keep her from it. Not talking about nipping but biting and drawing blood, one of my sons had to have stitches. He was napping on the couch and the dog bit his arm and started slinging her head around like she was going to ripe it off. Pepper was adopted from a local shelter at 3 months of age, she has never been spanked since she has been in our household but I do not know what happened to her before we got her. She is also refusing to housetrain. I stay at home so I have even tried to take her out every 30 minutes. When you tell her no about anything she will look you straight in the eye, growl at you and pee on the floor without squatting. I have never seen a dog do that. I have discussed this all with our vet and he just scratches his head. This is just the tip of the iceburg of her strange behaviors :cry: . I dont know what we are doing wrong or what we can do to change the situation any comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

[xavierandrea]

I'm going out on a limb here but here goes. If my son was taking a nap and any one of my dogs came up and bit him unprovoked there would not be a dog anymore in my home. I would PTS that dog. I can surely understand your frustration seeing that you have invested much training and time with this dog. I don't know if you have tried NILIF? But again if my dog bites unprovoked and is not an accident then I must as a parent remove my dog and make sure my child is safe first and foremost.

[pyrless]

Hi! Welcome!
Well it sounds like you have your hands full. If your dog is biting people you need to consult a professional behaviorist ASAP. Obedience training and behavior training are two very different things. You want to look for someone who has experience with people-aggressive dogs, not just dog-aggressive dogs.
And in answer to your question, the hard stare is the mark of a potentially dangerous dog, not a super-dominant one. Dominant (alpha) dogs are calm and confident. Since your dog is also peeing while she is growling I would venture to guess that it is fear-related aggression, not a housetraining issue. However I am not a professional and really, you need to call one asap.
Good luck. This is a difficult thing to deal with and I wish you the best.

[xavierandrea]

PupsMom - I sorry I responded very quickly.
I do want to say WELCOME to DOGO.
Is your Pepper spayed? She could be marking her territory. She is 9mos so she could be coming into her 1st heat. My Free had her first heat at around the same age.

Good luck...

[Crystal]

Wow, I thought I had a hard time with my puppy.

That sounds like a big bite and a potentially big problem. I'm with pyrless, find a behaviorist ASAP. This could be a bad situation that could end up even worse. The next bite could be worse. I hope not, but I would be scared to death.

As a parent of two small children if I were in your situation the dog would probably have been PTS. It really freaks me out that the kid was napping and the dog bite him. Sounds like a big problem to me. A dog can do alot of damage and biting a sleeping child totally unprovoked is a very bad sign in my eyes.

I'm not a professional either, you better find one before it gets worse. I'm sorry for your situation, Good Luck.

[Crystal]

Oh I want to add a couple of things. First Welcome to dogo. Next please please please, not saying that you do, never ever leave your son(and/or any other kids you may have or will be around) and your dog alone together. That is a disaster waiting to happen. If you can't be right there to watch them you need to take the kid with you or put the dog in a crate or closed room.

[luvmydog]

I always have a hard time when I see, "put that dog to sleep". I'm sorry, but over the internet, do you really think you can make that kind of assessment? I absolutely agree that it is not acceptable for a dog to bite a person of any age. But, how about letting a trained behaviorist give a recommendation on what to do with the dog. Pupsmom, you absolutely need to seek immediate help from a professional behaviorist for your dog. In the meantime, please don't allow your children and dog to interact with each other. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

[Crystal]

Nobody said "put that dog to sleep"

We were just saying if we were in that situation that is what we feel we would have done. I do say seek a professionals opinion first, but a bite that requires stitches is a bad bite. Don't just jump and have the dog put down, seek professional help first if you can.

Sorry if you thought we we were leaving you with no other options. That was just our well atleasat my opinion if I were in that situation. (guess I should say us, others may not feel this way)

[xavierandrea]

Luvmydog- Pupsmoms is asking for comments and that is just what we are doing. Your right we can't make an assesment over the internet. On the other hand we can sure comment on it post and how we would handle the situation. :wink:

[Lucky Chaos]

[quote name='xavierandrea']Luvmydog- Pupsmoms is asking for comments and that is just what we are doing. Your right we can't make an assesment over the internet. On the other hand we can sure comment on it post and how we would handle the situation. :wink:[/quote]

Exactly. That was a completely unprovoked bite. This is not a stable dog, my advice would be rehome her with an EXTREMELY experienced person with no kids, or have her put down. Unfortunately your dog is not super dominate, she is aggressive. Any dog that attacks unprovoked like that is aggressive. It may have something to do with her genetics, or her past (but if you got her at 3 months old I doubt it). The best thing you can do is protect your family and others and mercifully put the dog down.

[abker17]

[quote]She's part Chow? They are very aggressive and must have training.[/quote]

I just wanted to comment on this. Chows are [i]typically[/i] very [i]stubborn[/i] and can turn into very dominate dogs if not properly trained. They are a breed that needs training no matter what, but to say they are all very aggressive? No. Definitely wrong word there.

Also, you might want to try NILIF. (Nothing in life is free) Courtnek is the best one to explain that one. But like others have suggested I'd contact a behaviorist right away and see what he/she thinks.

[PupsMom]

Thank you all for the warm welcome :D. I had Pepper spayed at the earliest time our vet would do it. Her behavior only got worse after that our vet then referred us to a behavioral specialist. He told me that in some females that are aggressive before they reach puberty often get worse once they are spayed. Pepper has show alot of aggression towards the behavioral specialist too. He even said he's never in his 30+ yrs seen a dog like our Pepper especially being as young as she is. I called him again alittle while ago and he is going to take Pepper for a week and see if he can make any progress with her. He told me he thinks its unlikely that he can but he said he would try. He also told me to prepare to make a descion if this does not work meaning to have her put down :( He said that taking her back to the shelter would be unfair and dangerous should they adopt her out to another family. I have to agree with that. Since even under supervision she will attack kids. When she bit my son when he was napping on the couch I was sitting at the other end of the couch reading a book. And in stopping her from biting my son she started biting me though none of the bites I recieved were as serious as my sons. Sometimes I wonder if she wasn't born with a mean streak in her or if she wasn't severely abused when she was very young. Thank you all for your comments it helps to have different perspectives and directions from which to look at.

[Crystal]

She could have been born with some kind of mental instability or something. Chemical inbalance? I don't know, but I know most dogs aren't that way so there must be something giong on. Good Luck

[xavierandrea]

Good luck and keep us informed with any progress or outcome......

[PupsMom]

Pepper has had alot of strange behaviors since the day we got her. Dogs normally will not go potty where they sleep and eat. Pepper will always go pee and poop on her bed then roll all around in it then curl up and go to sleep so every morning she HAS to have a bath and you must wash her bedding. Even with removing the bedding so there was just floor there to sleep on she would do the same thing. Pepper has always been highly food agressive to the point that you cannot put food in her bowl if she is in the room or she will bite you while you are. She has to be in another room to put her food in her bowl then you can let her in to eat then you have to stay at least 4-5 feet away from her while shes eating or she will snarl and growl at you. Now weighing in at 73 lbs. she is not easy to handle. I just feel so bad I keep thinking there must have been something I could have done to prevent all this. I'm at a total loss and it breaks my heart to think I may have to have her put to sleep :cry: The kids will be heartbroken too they love her even though she is mean.

[Lucky Chaos]

[quote name='Crystal']She could have been born with some kind of mental instability or something. Chemical inbalance? I don't know, but I know most dogs aren't that way so there must be something giong on. Good Luck[/quote]

Thats exactly what I was thinking. A severly abused dog would most of the time be fear aggressive. A sleeping child isn't a threat to a fear aggressive dog.

[abker17]

FDF, no problem at all! :)

Pups I really feel for you and wish you the best in your decision.

[Bensam]

Pups, I have a girl who can be very aggresive. Discussing this with her breeder I found out that the dam had a severe toxic infection just before the litter was born. Contacting some of the other owners of pups from that litter it was discovered that they all had some issues. Discussion with the Vet. lends weight to this being an answer. My girl is not as bad as yours appears to be and as I am on my own, I coped with her and got her socialised to the point where I could show her and control her but she is always put in her crate when anyone comes and I've had to be very careful with her when at shows as she would attempt to lunge at anyone nearby. She is nearly 11 now and still the same. What I'm getting at is that there could be a mental problem there and with your family at risk it may be the best thing to consider PTS for both your sake and hers. My girl appears to be always on the lookout for something to vent her aggression on and while she is content in her own way, it's not the normal doggy happy. I've had dogs for 50 years and never had one like this. I'm certain that the infection of the dam has caused some brain issues.
Just another slant on your problem which could be worth thinking about and help with any decision you have to make.

[Canis erectus]

Since I agree with the general consenses so far, I'm not going to repeat anything already said.

However I will say that this level of agressiveness at such a young age, and for all we know from a loving and at least reasonably educated family, just seems really out of place. Since you fon't know anything about his life before you got him, I wonder what the chances are for him to have some sort of inherent mental instability/illness?

[Lokipups]

[quote]When she bit my son when he was napping on the couch I was sitting at the other end of the couch reading a book.[/quote]

Where was the dog when this happened, on the couch with you and your son, in the middle?

[kendalyn]

I agree with K. Your dog is too dangerous to be around people. I think it's time to say goodbye.

[PupsMom]

[quote name='"Lokipups"'][quote]Where was the dog when this happened, on the couch with you and your son, in the middle?[/quote]

No Pepper was on the floor chewing on a bone. I heard a growl and looked up and saw her teeth go around Kevin's arm. Then she started voilently shaking her head. It was the most horrible and terrifying thing I have ever seen. I had to pry her mouth off him and get between him and Pepper and she then started biting me. I picked my son up and kick the dog back to slowly work my way out of the room. Every time I kicked her back she would lunge at me again and bite wherever she could. I managed to get out of the room and close her in there. Had to quickly get a towel and wrap around Kevin's arm and take him to the ER. So now my son is never in the same room with the dog unless she is muzzled. The whole thing has made me rather paranoid I wake up several times a night and go down to check and make sure her crate is still securely closed.

When I look at Pepper I see a dog that is lost and confused 1 minute shes happy to be petted with her tail wagging, eyes bright and then the next start growling, snarling and snapping. Where did the happy Pepper go and why?? Maybe there was some poor breeding involved but I really suspect she might have been severely abused as a little pup I think she was at least starved as she is highly food aggressive. Then I have to wonder why did the shelter adopt out a very food aggressive dog to a family with kids. It just makes us all so sad and we want to help her but you are all very right and family safety must come first. She is just like a walking bomb you never know when it will go off.

[courtnek]

I am very sorry to say this Pups, but I too think she is unstable and not to be trusted. did the vet ever examine her for brain tumors or blood abnormalities? I dont know that even NILIF will help this poor dog, although it certainly cant hurt.

do you live in a high deer area? its been recently discoverd that dogs can get Lyme disease, which causes stiff and very painful joints, and they react with aggression while otherwise very normal. I would have the vet do a thorough workup on her, and if it comes back clean and your behaviorist cant help her, I am sorry to say but its time to say goodbye.
you cant risk your family to this kind of aggression.

:cry: :cry:

[Guest Anonymous]

First off... It sucks you have to go through this....
BUT, you shouldnt have a single second thought. Put the dog down. It should have already been done.
NO dog should be given the chance to bite a person again. If this dog has already bitten your child bad enough for him to have to get stitches there is absolutely NO REASON to keep that dog.
Noone should keep a dog they have to keep seperate from people, especially family.
I am a firm believer in putting down any dog that bites a person for any reason other than protecting his family. And your dog doesnt fit in that catergory.
Once a dog bites, regardless of "training", it is always there.
People biters are not to be tolerated.

[JackieMaya]

We all want to give our dogs the best life we possibly can, and try to rehabilitate them. But some just can't be rehabilitated. I agree that Pepper is a dangerous, unstable dog who unfortunately should be put to sleep.