Really concerned, my puppy has bitten me

Hello Everyone
really need some advice, I have a 14 week old bullmastiff x rottweiler, he is really well behaved and has settled in really well to our family, we have had a few problems with him mouthing but this has calmed down alot since we followed advice from people on here.
Today i went to the butchers and got him some bones to have a chew on, anyway tonight i gave him one and after a while of him having it decided this would be a good oportunity to get him used to us taking things off him, as we have been told we should be able to get things off him without any sign of agression being showed, anyway i told my girlfriend to go over and take it off him and when she did so he started really growling when she went to get it off him, he has never growled like that before and it scared her and she backed off, then i went to get it and he did the same with me so i told him no and took the bone even though he was still growling at me as i did so, we didnt give him the bone back for a few hours but then we decided we should give it him back and try again as we couldnt allow that behaviour and he needed to know that sort of behaviour was unacceptable, so we gave it him back and let him have a chew for a few minutes and i went over and took it off him no problem, he was fine so i praised him and gave him a stroke and gave it him back, 5 minutes later i told my girlfriend to do the same cause we all need to be able to get things off him, when she did so he growled and bit her hand pretty bad, 2 puncture wounds and was bleeding, she moved her hand away but then went back and held him down and got the bone off him, she was really shook up and now is quite concerned as we have 3 children and we dont want anything happening to them. He is a brilliant dog and has never shown this sort of behaviour before, is it because of the bone he did this as it had some raw meat left on it and he has never had one of them before, should we be worried about this behaviour, does this mean he is an aggressive dog? any advice much appreciated, we really need it, thanx in advance, one last thing we can feed him his food and treats and take them off him no problem without any sign of aggression it was just the bone that has done it, sorry for the long post.

Hi, and I just love the fact that you sent your girlfriend in first to take the bone!!!! Good thinking that man

I may be wrong here, and I am sure that others will come with more advice, BUT bones with meat on are a very high prize indeed for a dog, and perhaps if it was me I would say "okay, if he has a bone then we all keep well away". Respect is needed here I think, especially as your chap is good with other things being taken off him. After all, we should not be aiming for total domination of our dogs, just an acceptable level of clear understanding on either side.

He is very young, and whilst that bite was not a pleasant thing he DID warn beforehand. If young children are involved in the household, then perhaps it might be wise not to give bones at all.......after all, they are not a vital part of a dog's diet. Tooth cleaning can be achieved with many other treats etc.

Of course if the growling starts with other items of value to your dog, then serious training will be needed and as I said, others may well advise on this.

STOP taking things from him.
You would be pretty pissed off if I gave you something nice then just kept comming over and taking it away then giving it back and taking it again.
If you give him something let him have it until he has finished with it or you have something to trade with him.

All you have taught your dog is if he has something he better keep it and not let anyone near it as they may just take it from you.

Just to add it would be a good idea if you didn't give him any toys or bones when the children are around just incase.

One of the most important things in your realtionship with your dog is trust. To him you were breakinbg that trust by teasing him and taking a valued object away.

You have to rebuild that trust. Next time you decide to steal his food do a swop for something----that is give him something nice in exchange---don't just wade in and take it.

Unfortunately you have also now taught him that biting can work so make sure you don't put him in a situation where he has to feel that he has to bite to defend himself or anything he wants.

You need to get to a training class fast or try and get a decent behaviourist in, otherwise you might end up with a huge problem which is really not the dogs fault at all.

Good luck.

rune

This is something I always did with my dog from the moment he came home as a small pup - the Game of Swapsies. I started with anything he decided to hold on to - toys, etc and always had something of equal or higher value (another toy, a treat) for exchange and turn it into a game. Not only does it build the trust as Rune has said, but it also at the same teaches a rudimentary 'leave' or 'drop'.

The other thing I should mention is that my family's dogs always had bones and from a small child it was drummed into me NEVER to go near the dog when s/he had a bone. This was even when supervised with the dog, as I usually was, and by the time I was old enough to be left with the dog unsupervised it was a firm fact of life. I may even have tested the boundaries when older, and got a growl or an air-snap, which taught me a lesson I've never forgotten.

Bones are such incredibly high value for dogs that many dogs are literally too dangerous with one to have them at all. The other option is if your dog is crate-trained, then bones are ONLY ever eaten or chewed in the crate with the door SHUT and are not a permanent toy left lying around (you can put them in the fridge or freezer after the dog's initial enthusiasm for a new bone has worn off, then allow an hour or so limited time daily afterwards).

If I do get a second dog at some time this will have to be my rule... while Merlin is usually OK around me with a bone, he will definitely guard it from my cat if she happens to walk too close. I can see it would be an issue if another dog was around.

I agree you should be able to take nething off your dog. Try teaching the leave command and build on that?
ATD x

Thats a no no no ......sorry.

However its a lesson learnt albeit a hard way.
I have to have dogs that will allow you to take things away as I foster children, to be honest if I didn't foster I'd leave well alone.
The way you descibe it firstly (to me anyway) it sounded like you have doubts, ie sending in your girlfirend first, and as I read that she got bitten.

He's a 14 week old baby...regardless to what breed...would you feed your children and take away then return. What you need to do is get your pup's trust, do swaps. If the bone needs to be taken, then you need a highly tastey treat to replace it with straight away, otherwise he isn't going to know what you expect of him.
If someone pinched a chip from my plate I'd be shouting ....however if they gave me two in its place I'd be happy.
Same with your pup if you get another bone and teach him ''swop'' he will be happy, and don;t do it over and over, it only needs to be done once.....then repeat again in a hour or two (if you really need to) but he needs to know that you are not taking away a ''prize'' without him not gaining a ''prize''
Also in my view ....and I say this because I foster kids that do take stuff away and I do educate them .......the kids need to be educated that they don't do it without knowing what they are doing, afterall even a dog thats taught to ''swop'' isn't a 100% trustworthy

Agree with all of the above,my 2 beagles will let me take anything off them including their normal food,bones though can be a problem and i do have to resort to swapping or calling them into another room and then shut the door so i can get the bone. I have to crate one of them who has a major overshot jaw so can't chew well bless him,I swear he knows he can't eat it as fast as my other dog, because of a few disatorous incidents with them both in the garden and my dog who has the overshot got so stressed he wouldn't even try to eat he would guard it and try and bury it ,but wouldn't leave it either and got very aggresive. So now he goes in the crate and my other dog is in a different room they both eat in peace. What i have done before with my 2 is get the really big rawhide rolls that are about a foot long and let them chew on the end whilst I hold it,because I'm holding it they don't seem to mind when I decide enough is enough and take it away.Your dog could be different though,if things like bones are the only flashpoint with him I wouldn't give them to him. With regard to the kids never leave them unsupervised as i'm sure you already know,My kids have been snapped at when they have plonked themselves down heavily next to a deeply sleeping dog, so biting can happen even when you take care .

thanx very much to everyone that replyed, I know now that we have made a big mistake by doing what we did, like someone said we live and learn and believe me we have learned.
I have never been wary of the puppy, far from it, the reason i sent my girlfriend to do it first is because he plays up a little for her when im not there so we are trying to learn him that she is boss, he is fine with me so this not a problem.
I think we will stay clear from the bones as he has never shown this behaviour before and i dont wish to see it again, he is fine with everything else, food, treats and toys. Hopefully this wont happen again and we have learnt a big lesson, thanx everyone for your comments.

Hello and well done on seeking advice so early on!

The logic behind taking a dogs food away to assert or re-enforce leadership is old, but makes sense to many. But it doesn't make sense from the dogs perspective.

Please find below an article which has been written for the benefit of all. This is a very common problem and completely understandable and avoidable if you can see it from the dogs point of view.

Please read and enjoy the following - I hope it helps.

There is a video on my website, which may also help.

Understanding and preventing food guarding.

Introduction

It is my experience, that dogs share with humans the basic inborn instinct to protect their food. It is a survival instinct. All mammals have this instinct to some degree or other.

The instinct to protect their food within the domestic environment may be latent in some dogs, but it is there. And it could surface at any time, if the dog feels the need to defend its survival resource has arisen.

It is my view, that what happens to this food guarding instinct, whether it remains latent, or develops into full blown food guarding with growling, snapping, lunging and even biting, is usually a direct result of its learning. The learning that humans provide.

The problem for the dog is that what is a perfectly natural and healthy behaviour, often inadvertently instigated by misguided human behaviour, can ultimately end in the dog finding himself homeless, or worse, dead. Food guarding is seen as aggression, which I don’t believe it usually is, aggression is seen as unacceptable in a dog in today’s modern society and it is the dog that often pays the price.

This document has been put together in an effort to bring an understanding to how food guarding can be prevented or resolved. I hope you enjoy reading it.

If I where to get cross with your for stealing my chocolate, or chips or pizza, you would probably consider that understandable. You might say, “don’t do that”, or “Eh, they are my chips!” No one would see it as aggression, just an attempt to protect what was yours, against the threat of my stealing it.

Lets look at this from the dog’s point of view………


How food guarding can come about

1 Fido the puppy comes into his new home. His owners love him and all is well.
2 As Fido grows, he becomes more confident and outgoing and one day on the park runs off and won’t return, is unusually pully on his lead and jumps up at a passing stranger with muddy paws, making both stranger and owner cross. Fido’s, owner has read some Old fashioned dog training book and wonders if Fido is getting “Dominant”?
3 He decides to test this out by seeing if Fido will let him take his food off him. He read this in a book..
4 When next feeding Fido, he reaches down and takes the bowl. Fido freezes and stares indicating his discomfort. Fido is surprised, there has never been a threat to his food before. The owner misses the signal that his dog was uncomfortable with this action, it was too subtle. But the dog didn’t growl, the owner is reassured. All is well.
5 Next Day Fido is really naughty. He jumps in a smelly pond chasing ducks and he stinks really badly. He refuses to come back when called and makes the owner late for breakfast. Owner decides that he must do something about this dog and he decides that he will implement a regular routine of removing the puppy’s food to show his authority.
6 Feeding Fido who is very hungry after a hard morning chasing ducks, tucks in to his food. As Fido is eating, the owner reaches down to take the food. Fido is more prepared this second time, he is now aware that his “stare” did nothing to prevent the removal of his food last time his owners hand approached his bowl. Fido is now ready to take more serious action. He utters a low warning growl as the hand approaches his food.
7 Fido’s owner, though aware he was testing his dog’s reaction. Did not actually expect this reaction, is shocked and withdraws his hand. Fido continues eating; glad his message has got across. All is well in Fido’s world. J But not his owners L.
8 Owner spends the day pondering Fido’s behaviour. He really can not have Fido behaving this way, Dog aggression as he sees this to be, is a dangerous business, he knows that. He decides to take further action.
9 When feeding Fido next day the owner decides if Fido growls he is going to scruff him, as it says in the book, or smack him to punish Fido’s misdemeanour and make it clear that he, the owner, is the boss, as it says in the book. His hand approaches the bowl, Fido growls, aware that this worked last time. Owner grabs Fido by the scruff, pushes him to the floor and shouts at him.
10 Really angry now, the owner removes Fido’s food and doesn’t give it back. Fido is very frightened and hungry too! He does not understand. Eating used to be a simple, necessary pleasure. Now it seems whenever there is an owner around when he eats, there is tension. Owner tries to steal his food, when Fido says he doesn’t like it, the owner shouts and causes him pain and fear. And takes his food away.
11 Fido decides the best thing is to keep the owner well away from the food in an effort to relieve the tension and avoid the shouting and scruffing and food removal. .
12 Next day, owner places food on floor, both dog and owner are now tense, wondering what the outcome of today’s feeding session might be.
13 Fido immediately goes into growl mode, summoning up his courage he gives his best “I’m not happy with you being here” stare and growls and curls his lips at his owner. He hovers over his food, standing stiff, glaring menacingly. “Back off” he growls. “Chill out about this food thing” he wishes, “go sit in the living room” he says. As the owner takes a step closer, he lunges, teeth displayed and snaps at the air. The owner, now scared, retreats. Fido resumes his eating, unnerved and worried that such tension arises at feeding time, but relieved that the owner has left his food, he is hungry!

14 The owner is horrified at this sudden display of ‘aggression’, his cute puppy has turned into an ugly, vicious, dog. He is outraged and has visions of what might happen if he ever marries and has children, with this dog around. He feels compelled to fix it. Adrenalin rushing and determined to show his dominance over the dog, he roars at the dog, and reaches down, once more for the dog’s scruff. The dog with reactions 3 times faster than that of a human, interprets the owners move and desperate to avoid more scruffing or the removal of his survival resource, bites the owner’s hand before it reaches the bowl.
15 All is far from well now in Fido’s world or his owners L.
16 From point 4 of this story, Fido has been progressively put in the situation where he feels it necessary to guard his food. He needs food to live. Fido feels that he has to be on his guard whenever he is eating. He also understands that humans do not necessarily understand, lip curling, snarling, staring, stiffening or growling. The only thing that really makes them back off is biting.
17 Whatever happens next to Fido, he will never forget that human hands can and do sometimes take away his food when he is eating. He is aware that he must be ever vigilant to the approach of humans. He is now aware that most attempts to communicate - growling, snarling, lip curling, staring, freezing, lunging and air snapping - all normal attempts to AVOID aggression or conflict in the dog world, are not recognised and responded to by humans.
18 As many food guarders do, Fido ends up in a rescue home. Others find themselves immediately at the sharp end of a needle.
19 His owner, ashamed at having such an aggressive dog, but too embarrassed to seek help himself, tells the home that he simply doesn’t have time to care for the dog anymore. Fido, an otherwise friendly, well-socialised dog, quickly finds a new home.
20 There are children in this one and he loves them. They play happily together all day the first day. Fido has good manners and the owners are delighted with him. He is gentle and respectful with the children even the baby. The children have read a dog training book and they give him treats in return for sits. All is well again. Fido loves his new home, his new owners love him and the children are delighted to have such a cuddly, playful new friend. Wouldn’t it be great if the story ended here?
21 At feeding time they place the bowl on the floor and walk away, Fido is relieved and happy, no action is necessary.
22 All is well for several weeks. The owners, children and dog are truly delighted.
23 And then one day, when Fido is eating, Fido’s friend, Rosie the baby, now crawling, toddles toward Fido, on her hands and Knees, as she gets closer she reaches out her tiny hand…In an instant Fido remembers that staring and freezing, growling, snarling, snapping, and lunging don’t always work with humans. He has only one option available to him to protect his food……. He doesn’t want to bite Rosie his friend and playmate, but he needs food to live…….

24 Rosie is scarred by the incident, mentally and physically. Her parents are distraught and cannot understand the sudden change in Fido – he had always been so gentle with Rosie before? And Fido, having bitten a baby is destroyed.

Food guarding is usually easily prevented – follow these points for happy relaxed mealtimes. .

DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP FIDOS OWNER DID!

If your dog is happy for you to approach his food or bones when eating, make him even happier, by adding to that food some higher value food like liver. Do this regularly.

Don’t give him things that you later want to take off him. If you do have to remove a bone and you are not confident of your dog’s reaction, call him into another room away from the bone. Bones and chews above all things are more likely to bring about food guarding behaviour because they are long lasting resources.

When my dogs are eating bones, I go to them and give them another bone. When my dogs are eating, I add food to their bowls.

Hand feeding your dog can to help make it understand that human hands PROVIDE food, not take it away. I often use my dog’s daily food for training purposes and this means I may feed my dog from my hand 100 times a day (tiny portions). They like my hands. Other people do the same – they like other peoples hands.

If you dog is the sort of dog who will have a bone, chew it, then leave it, but guard it from a distance, then only feed him bones when he is hungry enough to eat them, of the type that he can actually totally consume. Or give them in another room and leave him to it.

If ever your dog growls when eating or at any other time, remember he is only saying, “please don’t take my bone” or “please stop doing that”. If I said to you, please don’t take my chocolate would you scruff my or pin me to the floor??? If you did do that, do you think that would benefit our relationship? Do you think that it would make me respect you more???

If a dog growls and you leave him alone then he learns that growling is all he needs to do. GROWLING, IS NOT AGGRESSION, IT IS DESIGNED TO PREVENT AGGRRESSION. It may be undesirable, but it is not aggressive in itself. If you never remove food from your dog he may learn that even growling is not necessary.

If a dog learns that you always provide food and more food or bones and more bones then he is unlikely to guard his food at all.

If you have confirmed food guarder and do not feel confident to try any of the above, then just feed your dog in another room, where he will not be disturbed. At least this way, the food guarding behaviour is not likely to deteriorate.

If your dog regularly guards things or is over protective of his food, toys or other items, and you don’t feel that anything in this document can help, then GET HELP from someone and soon. Unwanted behaviours rarely just “go away” of their own accord, but they are, very often, very easy to resolve once proper understanding is brought to the situation.

If you want to understand more, have a look at the clip from my DVD on my website. This DVD is no longer commercially available (though the website needs updating to reflect this) PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ORDER THIS DVD.

This document was produced by Denise Mcleod of CaDeLac Dog Training.

Copyright Denise Mcleod CaDeLac Dog Training

Good luck.