Desperate for help!! GSD has bitten neighbor and stepson

[Stacey650]

My GSD rescue Sam has been with us for 7 mos. He is now 15 mos. I have tried EVERYTHING. 2 trainers, active use of the NILIF protocol. Sam is getting better with other dogs and does listen to me as I have had to use alpha training. He has now bitten 2 of my neighbors and today my stepson! I had to keep him on leash when he entered house, tried moving him over slowly, calm voice and praise. finally he sniffed him and seemed fine, nex t minute lunged and bit his leg!! What am I doing wrong. I train him constantly, very consistent. He has come a LONG way and learned a lot of obedience but aggression getting worse, should i keep muzzle on him around people in the house. I love him and do not want to give him up. PLEASE HELP!

[RazinKain]

are these young children he's biting?

[Stacey650]

No, my stepson is 25, but he did lunge at a neighbors son, about 13. However< i did tell him ok to approach and pet. my fault.

[Elaine]

Originally Posted by Stacey650

He has now bitten 2 of my neighbors and today my stepson! I had to keep him on leash when he entered house, tried moving him over slowly, calm voice and praise. finally he sniffed him and seemed fine, nex t minute lunged and bit his leg!! What am I doing wrong. I train him constantly, very consistent. He has come a LONG way and learned a lot of obedience but aggression getting worse, should i keep muzzle on him around people in the house. I love him and do not want to give him up. PLEASE HELP!

If your dog is so dangerous that you don't let people into your house without putting him on a leash and then he still bites, you are in denial. This dog, by your own admission, has bitten three people and his aggression is getting worse. What are you waiting for? What happened to another member here's nephew? This isn't going to be what you want to hear, but put the dog down.

[Good_Karma]

What kind of bites are these? Is he drawing blood or leaving marks?

[carmspack]

not clear in the head , there was no reason . has had a lot of chances with you, who knows what he did before you took him on .
do you think one day he will get you?
Carmen

[onyx'girl]

What do you do when he bites? Who is with him at the time? Have you had lab work done to rule out medical?

I have a female that may bite(never has yet), so I don't let people come up to her, she can do the first sniff and is ok after that. She is fear aggressive and has anxiety/energy that has to be contained.
I know she is a liability, and manage her to the best of my ability.
I will not ever let her be near children and know if she ever does bite one time, that will be the end.
Sometimes we have to decide what is best for the dog, and keep them isolated, or their life will be cut short. Sad but true.

Onyx went for a walk around the neighborhood with me the other night, and she did much better than I expected.
But if someone were to approach her, she would go into the fight or flight mode, and because she was on a leash, the fight mechanism would kick in. I have to basically micro-manage her.

If you want your dog to live a long life, then really it is up to you to manage the behavior and don't let Sam be set up to fail. Don't think he will ever be a social dog, because he has already proven he doesn't have the nerve for it.
Many times all the 'training' in the world won't help a dog with unstable temperament issues.
I feel for you, but you need to decide what is best for the dog, and the people who live with him.
Onyx will defer to me and my family members and has gotten so much better with maturity, but is still a liability, IMO.

[KZoppa]

Originally Posted by Elaine

If your dog is so dangerous that you don't let people into your house without putting him on a leash and then he still bites, you are in denial. This dog, by your own admission, has bitten three people and his aggression is getting worse. What are you waiting for? What happened to another member here's nephew? This isn't going to be what you want to hear, but put the dog down.

i think i have to agree with Elaine on this one. Your dog is a biter and a liability because of it. 3 people is way too many people. especially if he just did it with no real indictation or warning growl. Thats a dog who is unpredictable. I can understand leashing your dog when you have company come over and you're training the dog to do any number of things like not bolt out the door, not pester company past say a minute, not to chase the cat... the list goes on. But if the dog doesnt accept welcome company, thats dangerous. With 3 bites, i'm amazed you even still have him considering animal control is usually notified and most areas have a one bite can be an accident but not two. You've worked with trainers and he's still behaving this way. Something isnt right with him and honestly, as his owner, that would cause an intense amount of stress for me constantly wondering who he would try to get next. Some dogs just have problems you can fix with training.

[Mom2Shaman]

I understand how hard this is. We had one female who was highly reactive and a biter. She came to us at 5 without us being told the true reason (attacking children who visited). We spent 5 years keeping her away from people, limited who came into our house and how those who came in acted around her, our cats took some punishment, I had her teeth in me in a minor way about 5 or 6 times. Finally, at 10 her aggression to cats, dogs, people had intensified as her arthritis of aging had her in pain. We had to let her pass. It was really hard, but some time later we brought in a new dog and he has been perfect 100%. We realized how much of our life we limited because we wanted to give her a chance. Either you must 100% keep the dog from people or you must help him pass. You can't risk the liability. It's sad, but some dogs really have a short circuit from genetics or their past environment. Sadly, human life does outrank that of a dog. It's rather nonnegotiable.

[selzer]

This is a puppy. Whatever type of training you are doing may not be the best for this pup. Are these bites that are breaking the skin and needing stitches, or is the dog seriously mouthy? The reason I ask this is that I have a puppy that has been gone for five months and is now back. She is fifteen months old. And she is mouthing my hands like crazy -- no blood -- this is NOT aggression. But if this was my first dog, I might think it was.

So, before we euthanize this pup, it would be good to know what is going on with the bites themselves. Are they breaking the skin, is there bruising, is the hair up when this happens, is there snarls, growls, show of teeth before, are the lips drawn back or forward during? I am guessing it happens fast, but it can mean two different things.

1. If the pup has something physical, thyroid, b-vitamin, not sure what all, that can be diagnosed and treated with meds/vitamins, that is the first thing.

2. If this is a fear/response, than alpha training is not going to help a lot. MOST bites do have more to do with being unsocialized, fearful in the situation, than dominant aggression. If he is fearful, continue NILIF, and continue to train him, but set him up to succeed and praise him for it, build his confidence and build his socialization experience, muzzled if necessary, not to the point of people touching him, but him in a variety of situations where he is not hurt. Try to keep it positive.

3. If this is a dominant/aggressive situation, I wonder if you are right for this pup. Sad because unless you find the right person with full disclosure to take him and work with him, your options are really limited.

Remember thought that this is a youngster. If three people have headed off to the ER already, well, I think you need to maybe think about taking him to the vet, and doing what needs to be done, sadly. But if these are inhibited bites out of something that might be worked on, well maybe he has a chance.

Good luck with the puppy. We do not know what happened to him before you got him, but that is over and done with, you cannot change it, and he is living in the moment. He probably was not socialized, which makes your job harder, but do not give him the you-poor-thing treatment because of what MIGHT have been his previous situation. At the same time, if you are alpha rolling this puppy, you might end up in the ER.