Dog biting owner

Ok, well im not sure where to start, so forgive me if i ramble.
I have a rescue dog, well i rescued him from a council kennels in Herts, he,s an unclaimed stray with no history.
I fetched him on 24th August, Iwas told he was nervous but showed no signs of snappiness, he was happy to see me, wagged his tail and gave me a big kiss, so off home we went.
Since then he,s barked and lunged at every dog he sees, he picks and chooses with people but one day he lunged at a group of people walking past us, (he was aiming for them but bit me twice),after that he wore a muzzle when we went out.
As the weeks and months have gone by he,s got a lot better with me, he,d quite often nip me when i was drying his feet for instance, but gradualy he put up with that.
He would still grumble,( not realy a growl) and show his teeth but would then lick my hands or face if i was close enough while still grumbling.
I trusted him not to bite until today,it was on my hand, he didnt break the skin and he never warned me, im realy disappointed and upset.
I will never get rid of him because most of the time he is a lovely dog, but he has these jackyl and hyde moments.
I,m wondering if a behaviourist may help ??
Jim.

Have a read of a couple of books first - I have a feeling there`s a bit of a communication breakdown here?
A grumble is a sign he`s not happy. A growl a sign he`s really not happy, and a lick after a growl is an appeasement. All of which would make me suspect he is worried and anxious.

If you look again at his behaviour and look for signs of fear or stress, I think you might be surprised. It sounds like he is quite unsocialised from what you say. His posturing round other dogs, his lunges at people are all designed to keep them at a distance IMO.

Can I recommend you read The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson and also The Dog Agression Workbook by James O`Heare. Both will help.

Re. the behaviourist - if you can find one that uses positive methods and is experienced with aggression, great. But a pushy or unqualified behaviourist could do more harm than good. Avoid anyone who mentions Jan Fennell or Cesar or Dominance or Pack theory.
Maybe someone can recommend one?

you must see a reputable behaviourist straight away, please see this site:

http://www.apbc.org.uk/

Members of the APBC will not see a dog without a vet referral in order to rule out any medical causes for this behaviour.

Have you contacted the councils from where he came as they may be able to refer you to someone?

Jekyll and Hyde moments make for a very stressful dog, owner and those who may be exposed to him.

It may be that behavioural modification will help him, or it may be that it is something more complex which cannot be remedied only managed.

Get expert advice and do not put yourself or others at risk in the interim.

good luck

Can't argue with that

Just to say that we had a similar experience and now, six months after Dexter first came to us,there are still occasional moments when he nips if over excited.

The lunging you refer to may have been because your dog felt threatened; again, my rescue dog lunges at other dogs, horses, people with umbrellas....

I would echo what others have said - find someone who is really experienced. I booked a session with a trainer two weeks after we adopted Dex; the guy was not great *but* he did offer some advice which did help.

Best of luck

Thankyou for the replies so far and for understanding,i was expecting to get shot down in flames by people saying you should or should not do this or that.

ClaireandDaisy, thank you for recommending the books, i,ll look into getting those,the licking is at the same time he,s grumbling, its very odd, sounds like a chainsaw trying to start.
He half trusts me, for instance he,ll roll over wanting his belly rubbed, then when i do he moans at me.

He is terrified of things like fireworks,couldnt get him out of the house after dark for 3 weeks after bonfire night, but since then i felt like we were getting a lot closer, he was coming out of his shell, running round like a looney with his toys, ok he wasnt perfect,like Tabatha,s dog he barks at everything, joggers, motorbikes,anything realy, but he was improving.

I had him neutered a few weeks ago and since then we seem to be going back to how things were,could that have made him worse ?
I don,t want to make this sound worse than it actually is, he,s not a killer, he,s a nipper, and there is no danger of him biting anyone but me.
The main times he grumbles are feet drying, when i ask him to lie down,belly rubs,and when i feed him, he,ll look at me strangely and grumble(occasionaly).

I would definitely try T Touch Massage with him. It not only relaxes your dog naturally it helps to build a bond between you. You will probably find a TTouch practitioner near you & they don't charge the earth to show you how to use T Touch

the licking after he growls a warning, I agree with what's been said, it's appeasment behaviour. Sort of like "ok, I'm not happy, I'll grumble a warning.....oh no, it's not working, I'll try appeasment instead".

A dog being on their back, as you seem to know, is a very vulnerable position. I wonder if you may be miss-reading his intention. I suggest that perhaps instead of "asking for a belly rub" as you say, by rolling over, he again is actually appeasing you and you are accidently making him feel more uncomfortable/vulnerable by touching him in this position. We do after all usually end up leaning over a dog when they are in that position.

As for the neutering making him worse, this can happen. Your lad definately sounds like a worried chap. If the behaviour is caused by high testosterone then neutering helps. However it seems that your dog's problems is caused by fear and when you neuter, you take away the testosterone and the lack of that can cause a further loss in confidence. I did the same thing with my fear aggressive boy and didn't find out the potential risk until afterwards too, we all think we are being responsible by neutering - which we are, but I was unaware of possible negative behavioural implications.

I think that your idea of a behaviourist is a very good one. I also agree that the Culture Clash is an excellent book. T-touch would definately be worth a try and is generally unwinds a dog, builds a trust bond and also allows you to work on making him more comfortable with areas that he dislikes being touched, like feet.

Two other things. Do you clicker train? It might be worth giving it a go. It will help build trust and also boost his confidence when he regularly gets rewards for getting things right. You may also like to try a DAP pheromone collar/plug in (Beaphar do a cheaper Calming Collar that is also good). It doesn't work on all dogs butvits really helped Cain feel calmer thus helping him cope in general more and reducing aggression - in conjunction with behaviour modification training.

So in short, yes get a behaviourist in, do some research and work on trust building. He might seem bolshy but I think he's actually lacking a lot of confidence. Hopefully this is something time, love, training and patience can solve. No quick fix I'm afriad. Good luck

I would definitely recommend a few sessions with a reputable behaviourist (APBC or APDT ~ try their websites to see if there's someone in your area). You would learn so much about dog behaviour & body language/communication from a good behaviourist ~ well worth the money.

It sounds like the behaviours you describe are conflict behaviours ~ he doesn't like what you're doing (i.e. rubbing his feet), but he likes you! So there's the growling/nipping as warnings, but with a waggy tail & the odd lick as appeasing gestures.

If cleaning his feet is a big problem for you, then rather that keep forcing it on him & letting his behaviour escalate, you could try training him with positive reinforcement, to make having his feet touched a positive experience. You need to go right back to basics & use rewards such as highly tasty & palatable treats ~ something he loves & doesn't get at any other time. Then just touch his foot lightly, then give a treat for no reaction. The gradually build up to holding the touch, then lifting a paw & putting it straight back down, then holding it a bit longer ~ all the time quietly praising & giving treats when he accepts it without growling or nipping. If he does show any adverse reaction, you've gone too fast, so go back a few steps, & build up more slowly. Just doing this for a few minutes a day will help. But you'll need to stop forcing him to have his feet rubbed in the meantime ~ so maybe think about a different way to clean his feet ~ a bowl of warm water by the back door for a quick sploosh then walk him over a towel a few times?

With 2nd home dogs you do get strange behaviours because of their history sometimes. One of mine froze in terror when someone stood behind him and tried to touch him. Another reacted badly to grey haired ladies.
It takes time for them to `unlearn` stuff. If someone has been rough with him (perhaps trying to clip his claws or groom him) in the past, he has learned that bad things happen when people hold his feet?
He sounds like he has a lovely home now, so just give him time to respond.