He bit me!

[lmuns349]

Well, a little background, our 1 year old GSD (turned 1 this month) gets as much exercise as we can stand in the Pocono's cold weather right now. He gets about 2 walks a day, and some off leash fetch/play for about 1/2 hour. We do basic training, and NILIF, but he does have some anxiety. Generally geared towards the cat, or being penned outside a room we are in. I've been reading up on anxiety, and the articles I've been reading said dogs can get anxiety when they believe they are alpha. Mostly, if they are alpha, and being denied what they want. We never give in to his anxiety or behaviors, but they persisted. One thing I read suggested "pack walks" where you are the leader and you teach them you are "alpha". I have always tried to teach him not to pull, and he did pretty well, but this alpha thing finally clicked with my boyfriend and the walks really seem to work! He's showing some improvement over the last couple of weeks.

Now, today, I walked him down to the tennis court to play in the snow. I saw the net was hanging pretty low, so I thought we could try some fear-facing. I stood on the opposite side and called him, and he of course wouldn't jump over the 2ft net at first. When he tried to go around, I would step to the other side. Finally, after getting all worked up, he jumped over it. I followed with a "good boy!" And he bit me! Now, I was wearing jeans, a ski jacket, and gloves, so it didn't hurt. I told him "no bite!" But he kept doing it! Over and over, even pulling at my clothes at times! Finally, I had to smack him on the nose to get him to stop! After waiting calmly for a while, so he could understand the fun was over after that behavior, I decided I had better try it again to train the good behavior I wanted. The same scenario, only this time when he went to bite my hand I wrapped my fingers around his lower jaw and held on, thinking if he was uncomfortable, he wouldn't do it again. The third attempt I made to have him jump the net, he reacted the same, and I *may* have bit him on the ear (yikes! I know, rash, and not exactly a mature decision). But, the next time he jumped the net, he didn't bite me. Now, WHAT was THAT all about?! He generally gets mouthy when he's excited, but every time I told him no, he seemed more determined to bite! Has anyone ever had this?? It has me a little worried, I know he wasn't intending to hurt me, he was trying to play, but I can't have a dog that bites when he gets excited! What would you do in this situation?!

My apologies for the lengthy story!


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[Sawwahbear]

hmm, well my guess is that he bit you because he was mad that you made him jump over the net.
I donno what i think about the whole alpha theory (like the kinna thing they talk about on a popular dog TV show). I feel like if a dog was truly alpha, they wouldn't ever listen to commands.
IMO, it sounds like an abandonment issue, did you get him from a shelter? or was he taken away from his mom earlier then 8 weeks? anything like that?

[mebully21]

he is a year old- still a pup in a sense... some dogs when exited nip.. you got your dog excited and he couldnt control it... forget the alpha stuff- that is overrated... its cold here too where i am in nj (half hour from dingmans ferry border) and to keep my hyper dog exercised we do mind games and obedience work and running around on a long line leash.. some dogs the more they dont get enough exercise the more they are wound up like a toy and need an outlet to release that energy. you got him all worked up at the net and when he finally came over he had all that pent up energy and just redirected onto you.. if he wanted to bite you you would be in the ER right now with blood everywhere.. start teaching him more advanced obedience (which will work his mind and tire him out too) a dog needs mental and physical exercise to keep them tired.

[zivagirl]

Puppies will occasionally bite. What is important is what your reaction was? For us, bites pups get ignored until they seek my attention in a positive way. Further biting means game over.

[gsdraven]

Forget the Alpha nonsense. Anxiety is not caused by trying to be "alpha".

The bite was likely that he was over-stimulated and excited but without being there no one here can really tell you for sure. Have you taken any training classes with him?

[spidermilk]

Add me to the list of people who don't believe in the whole alpha thing. I believe in NILIF and motivating my dog to do what I want. I want my dog to trust me, not fear me.

If your dog gets mouthy when excited then I would do a few things. Give him something that you *want* him to bite when you are training or playing with him. If he bites that object- fun time keeps going. If he bites you or your clothes- the game stops, you can just stop moving, cross your arms, stare at the ground. I would *not* touch him, hit him, yell, or give him any attention when he is all amped like that- for some dogs that just feeds their excitement (because it sure seems like you are getting excited too!).

The other half would be to teach him to have an "off" switch. I like to do this by doing something that is a little exciting for your dog (throw a ball, run around, something that won't drive him completley wild), but then ask him to do something very calm like sit or lay down for a few seconds. You want to make the exciting part not very exciting and the calm part easy to start. It will also be easier when your dog is tired.

I also did the 'protocol for relaxation' when my dog was young (and very tired from lots of play and training that day) to help him to learn that being calm is rewarding and to help him gain some self control. http://www.dogdaysnw.com/doc/Overall...onProtocol.pdf

[LifeofRiley]

Originally Posted by gsdraven

The bite was likely that he was over-stimulated and excited but without being there no one here can really tell you for sure. Have you taken any training classes with him?

This seems like the most likely scenario to me too!

It sounds like he was in a highly excited play mode.

Hard to give advice without seeing it in person, but I probably would have switched to other forms of engagement when it happened the first time, i.e. get him to settle and focus on other obedience tasks vs. amping him up to jump the net again.

I'm thinking everything will be fine and that this behavior is from sheer excitement and enthusiasm.

[Capone22]

Bring a tug and have him bit on to it an splay tug as his reward immediately after making the jump. He's his over excited.


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[MadLab]

I agree with pack theory and see it in action every day. You do need to project leadership to a dog. To me, pack theory is much closer to dog language than human psychology which so many people apply to dogs these days.

I think you acted well in the circumstances. In future you shouldn't wind up the dog so much. In my mind a dog should be corrected for biting. It is good you found out he will act like this sometimes. It shows he doesn't respect you fully. I would ignore the dog a bit more and never feed his anxiety. The fact that he bit you after you said 'good boy' shows that, that phraze is a trigger of his anxiety. Do people at home say 'good boy' to him when he is excited or anxious?

You should have a reward for the dog when he completes something like this. A ball on a string or a tug is good as spidermilk describes. I like that answer.

[lmuns349]

Thank you so much for all of the responses! That protocol for relaxation sounds perfect, I've already printed it out and plan to start this week. We've had him since he was ten weeks old, and we started him in a puppy socialization class at our vet's until he was about 6 months. They did some basic obedience and obstacle training, but we haven't had much time for classes since. I'm looking into getting started with some classes later this spring, right now I'm working until pretty late in the evening so I can't fit it in.

I never really believed in the alpha stuff before, but I swear the pack walks are working, although it could very well be for another reason. I knew right away in the situation today that he was biting because he was overly-anxious/wound up, he's just never bitten that hard before. I was more worried by his drive to do *exactly* what I told him not to. This focus came about him the minute I told him no, like he would do nothing other than rip my clothes to shreds. It went from excitement to determination. I realized later he did break the skin under the clothes I was wearing. Usually when I'm playing with him or working with him outside, I have a toy he can bite, but I'm kind of glad I didn't in this situation. What if, I had always had a toy, and then years down the road when I have kids they got him wound up like that and he bit one of them? Not okay in my book. I do realize the whole situation was my fault, for many reasons, past and present. I just really hope I can fix it. I also know that he is a puppy, and he is still learning, but he is also an 85# puppy with big boy teeth


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