Shih Tzu biting/anger

[BaileyGirlsMom]

We have a female Shih Tzu and she is 4 yrs. old. We have had her for a year. We got her from a friend and she was very well taken care off. No abuse, etc. She could no longer keep her.

Today, Bailey bit my 9 yr. old son. She was in the backseat and was eating a tissue. My son reached over to take it from her and she barked (aggressively) and bit him. He started crying. He was more scared I think than hurt. Although, she did put a couple of marks on him.

She has done this in the past and mostly to him. Usually it's if you try to take her food or her treat from her. How do we stop this and why does she do it? We have been told it is b/c my son is sometimes timid around her and she senses that. She will not let him take her out of the car either, only one of us adults. We also have 2 teens and they are fine w/her. Only once did she try to bite the 16yr. old.

My husband will be furious when he finds out and will probably threaten to get rid of her. He will not tolerate her nipping and biting especially after today.

Please help me and give me advice. I have been told to swat her on the nose when she does it. I don't know if that is going to work either.

Thanks.

[BaileyGirlsMom]

I need to add that Bailey is a very sweet and loving dog. She loves to play and lay beside us or snuggle on the chair w/us, etc. This is a rare occurance (sp?). We love her and we do discipline her (what little she needs) it is this one thing that has us baffled.

[RiLeYsMoMmY]

I'm certainly not an expert, as we've only had our shih tzu for four months...

However, we just finished taking a puppy class, and learned all about the way dogs think so we can better manipulate their behavior. We talked a lot about biting dogs, and especially dogs that are biting only certain members of the family. Your dog doesn't treat you or your older children this way because they have established themselves as leaders - your younger son has not. Bailey sees your younger son as her sibling, not as her leader, and therefore feels she has the right to bite him when he tries to take something that she believes is HERS.

There are TONS of things you all can do to make sure Bailey knows that she is not the "alpha dog" in your home. I would recommend picking up the book, Leader of the Pack. Here's a link to it on Amazon: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Leader-Pack-Nancy-Baer/dp/0061010197[/url].

It explains the way dogs think, and why they behave the way they do...particularly when showing aggressive behavior like biting. The book should tell you everything you need to know on how to help your son and, equally, all the members of your family reassert their dominance and teach Bailey that biting of any human at any time is NOT acceptable.

Hope that helps - good luck!