advice please

[lorihd@comcast.net]

7 months ago my brother adopted a dog from the pound (posted a few pictures here) this is a dog that has just recently discovered an off switch, a very intense dog with no training whatsoever. well he has come such a long way, and my brother works with him constantly and he gets about 2-3 hrs of exercise daily. well company came into the house and the dog was leashed, waiting for him to calm down so my brother let him go over to say hello, shadow was so excited and my aunt was petting him, but when she went to pull her hand away, he bit her. i did notice the post about excitement and aggression, didnt want to hyjack that thread, so my brother and mother are so devastated, my mother wants to take him back, my brother adores this dog. my parents are in their 80's and this dog is way too much for them, but its my brothers dog and all responsibility is his. he is the type of dog if you start to pet him, he goes into overdrive. so got any adivce ????? need help.

[kelina]

I remember this one time.. I bought my shadow to my grand parents home. As I was saying bye, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek, shadow jumped up and tried to like gnaw on her arm. I yanked her back and yelled at her. She knew what she did wrong..

Did it seem like an aggressive bite, or was it like a slight nip? He is a rescue and probably was so happy to have human attention, that when your mom tried to take her hand away, he tried to nip.

You know, sometimes my shadow and apollo get SO excited when they see me they literally knock me over and sometimes nibble on my fingers! Nothing aggressive just overly excited.

You can always just yell or yank the dog.. my pups know what "dont bite" means. So when they do get excited we say that and they lick . You can always try that. Remember be firm

[PatchonGSD]

Was it truly an aggressive bite or an excited nip? Sounds to me like the dog was excited/frustrated.

[RebelGSD]

I had a very excitable foster who loved to nip. He got adopted a year ago and still, when he meets me he gets so happy that he jumps up and gets my entire face in his mouth. He does not hurt me though. He tries to control himself but sometimes he cannot resist.

[gsdraven]

I would take a look at the type of exercise that the dog is receiving. Is it all hyped up fast paced? How do you pet the dog? What is the dog eating?

Exercise should be controlled and kept below threshold. This means no rough housing and all games have rules. Like fetch - dog must sit, down, wait or some variation of commands before giving them the release to chase the ball. Calm and controlled exercise will help the dog to understand that interactions with humans need to be balanced. Same thing with the petting, slow calm strokes and talking calmly to the dog. You need to set the energy level.

Also, foods with lots of dyes or corn just turns to sugar and can add to the excited energy of the dog.

Lots of impulse control games. Crate games is a good place to start.

[lorihd@comcast.net]

ill tell my brother, no rough housing. although he is trained very well, heeling, down, stay, etc... he is smart as a whip, but sometimes just doesnt know how to be. my mother is so frustrated, she wanted a dog she could pet and just hang out. he is so up all the time, has to be tethered most of the time, im keeping my fingers crossed this biting isnt a pattern. anybody know of a good trainer in the pocono area?????