Hi,

Congrats on your new dog

I'd echo a lot of what has been said. He is probably quite nervous underneath so he will need to learn how to fit in with everything, what your commands are and to accept being handed - this can be taken slowly and for example, you can teach collar handling by teaching it as a training exercise, using food or toy as rewards, but it may be good to let him settle a bit first and bond a bit.

Food is great to help withthe training and bonding process, as you want him working for you and food will often help with this. You may also be able to get a trainer to come to your home for an hour or so to help with any issues, try www.apdt.co.uk as some will do one to ones/home visits ...

Wys
x

Excellent news, good luck.

How long has this dog actually been with you - and what was the reason that he needed rehoming?

My rescue dog did a lot of growling, mouthing and baring of teeth during his first few months with us. It literally happened on a daily basis.

Usually it happened when he had, for instance, jumped up onto a sofa, and we wanted him to get off it. If I approached to command him to move or to take something away from him, he would growl.

I booked an appointment with a trainer and that was quite helpful, if only because he was able to assess my dog and then tell me what he thought was doing on and the best way to handle it.

I would urge you to call in a trainer or behaviourist who can offer some guidance. It's natural to get tense when your dog growls at you and/or bites - and the more tense YOU are, the more anxious your dog will become.

The good news is that this does not have to be an irrevocable problem My dog is now, a year on, a totally friendly dog who rarely if ever growls and never bites.

I got him on Saturday afternoon,
Was aware he had some issues about growling heres what I was told about him,
He has one fault, which is possessiveness, which can result in snarling and occasionally snapping. I spoke to the mum and she confirmed that when he first started this behaviour, she advised the kids to back off and leave him in peace - although when Jack wants to play tuggy games, they always humour him too - so he's learned he can dictate when and how they play I'm pretty certain this is fixable with good handling.

Not sure why the other instances occured though one of them yesterday was trying to get him into the car didnt want to go back in but had been fine getting in/out at all other stages of the day. I think he might have seen some children in the past and thought they were from his old family, Once they past he jumped in without any issues.

A good book for possessive dogs is "Mine" a guide to resource guarding in dogs" by Jean Donaldson, she takes you through a step by step process re food, location, objects, persons.

HTH