Dog growling/biting

I got a 5yr old dog from a private re-homing totally fine however there's been a few occasions were he has growled/shown teeth for no obvious reason. We've stood our ground and gave him a firm No/Bad command.

However last night he got out the front door and when the GF went to get him in she put her hand on his collar to guide him in he then growled and bit her drawing blood. I got him in not a problem using the lead.

We then put him out the back door while she sorted her hand out. Went to let him in and she told him bad boy and the growling started again. Put him outside again for a few minutes then tried him again. She then told him again bad boy and to lie down which he done. Went down this morning and he was wagging away happy as anything to see the GF we didnt make an issue of what had happened last night as he wouldnt know anything what happend.

So how do get him to stop this as he's a great dog apart from this.

I got a 5yr old dog from a private re-homing totally fine however there's been a few occasions were he has growled/shown teeth for no obvious reason. We've stood our ground and gave him a firm No/Bad command.

There is always a reason, however invisible it may be to you.

What do you think when a dog is growling?

What do you think when a dog is wagging its tail?

I expect you interpret both behaviours in a different way.

Why?

Because both are methods of communicating to you.

Growling is a mood indicator, so do you think it is logical to chastise a dog for telling you that it is unhappy? Would you like anyone to do that to you or your children?

In addition, chastising a dog for growling is not going to change his mood or feelings, any more than chastising me for screaming when I see a spider is going to make me feel any less scared of them.

What it might do however is STOP the dog communicating with you and this is when we get a dog that bites “without warning”.

Your dog growled, it told you it was not happy, this was ignored, so the dog had two choices, run away or defend itself from a situation it felt uncomfortable with.

It sounds to me as though you may need to do more training and behavioural modification with your dog.

I teach ALL my clients to TRAIN a dog to be HAPPY when grabbed, as it means getting something good. Because at some time in the future you may NEED to grab the dog in an emergency, if your dog has not been CONDITIONED to accept this, he may well object.


We then put him out the back door while she sorted her hand out. Went to let him in and she told him bad boy and the growling started again.

Again you have chastised a dog that is fearful, he is expecting trouble, so is trying to avoid it by telling you that he is not happy. So STOP telling the dog off for being afraid, and START by making him feel more comfortable.

Went down this morning and he was wagging away happy as anything to see the GF we didnt make an issue of what had happened last night as he wouldnt know anything what happend.

Of course not, well done; dogs live in the moment

Dogs do not growl generally without giving you other signals FIRST, which normally is the head freeze and or the hard stare, so you need to be more aware of your dog's body language.

Dogs often feel uncomfortable and worried when they do not know the rules. so are you both very consistent with your training ie what is and what is not allowed? If not a dog gets confused and uncertain which can mean it will respond in this manner.

What do you think when a dog is growling?

Depends on what he's doing playing might just be a bit of fun
What do you think when a dog is wagging its tail?
You'd expect it was happy but not always the case my old dog would wag his tail in short,fast wags if unsure normally if around a strange dog.

We accept things will be confusing for him at the moment due to re-homing him and know that behaviour modification is needed along with training currently trying to find somewhere to take him.

Yes we are both consistent with what is allowed and not allowed.


So how do we make a start on it?

Put a trail lead on and stop challenging him in any way at all.

If you want to move him get hold of the lead give him the command and DON'T eye him up, just move him to where you want him to be.

That will hopefully help him to trust you and won't get you bitten.

Get someone in to look at the situation and give you some on the spot help.

If he gets in a place you don't want him in call him out and reward him for coming with a nice titbit. Do some basic training with him, sits, downs, stands and comes using titbits as rewards.

STOP using the word 'no'.

rune

I think some misunderstandings are going on.
A growl (if not in play) tells you a dog is uncomfortable about something. It is a warning.
If my dog were to growl at me I would step back, not confront him, and work out what the problem is.
If the dog is afraid, and I imagine a dog in a new house is feeling pretty anxious, confrontation is not the answer.
Please read the best book on training and behaviour I know, which will help you understand your dog. The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson.
Your dog has no idea what is going to happen yet in your house. As far as he knows , a hand on the collar is the preliminary to a good kicking.
So if you want him to go somewhere, throw a treat there and praise him when he goes there.
The golden rule of dog training is:
Obtain the action
Reward the action
label the action.
In that order.
I think you`re trying to skip straight to C.
BTW please don`t shout at your dog or tell him off. He really doesn`t know what you want until you`ve shown him. Until then, self-preservation is his main motive.

Whats a trail lead? Google shows a few different types. And do pets at home stock them?

So if he's doing something we dont want him to what do we do instead of saying no? Just concerned that if giving him a titbit may be seen as re-enforcing his behaviour.

Start teaching the dog that body contact including collar grabbing is fine so that you are changing the conditioned emotional response.

From K Pryor's site

When you call your dog, take hold of his collar before you deliver the reinforcer—and do that every single time. It does you no good to have a recall if you can't then catch your dog. Dogs have been killed because they avoided their owners' hands and, at the last moment, bolted into the street. Having someone reach out to grab and restrain you is startling at best. Associate reaching and grabbing with good things by feeding a yummy treat once you have a hand on your pet's collar.

Lots of dogs dont like being grabbed by thier collar
You now know he has an issue with it so you can teach him to be happy with it will a bit of training with yummy treats
hand close to collar, give chicken, hand touched collar, give chicken - stop and try again at the next ad break on tv
slowly work up a couple of steps at a time till he is happy with you touching collar

also spend time teaching him to go places you would like without dragging his collar - lure with treats, teach him to follow a target, teach running into different places as a fun trick

and dont punish him for growling - it is a comunication, he is telling you to please back off
In dog world he WASNT bad, he asked you, he warned you and you left him with nothing to do but bite - I know not on purpose

I hope your girlfriends hand is OK, it must have been a fright
Keeping a line trailing on him that you can get a hold of if really needed is the best till you can all learn to trust each other

It might be an idea to get a good behaviourist in to help you all out here before it goes too far - see if your vet can refer one after checking that there is no medical reason why he snapped

Thanks for the advise so far he wasnt grabbed as such just had a hand placed into his collar. Someone from the breed rescue is going to call tonight about a behaviourist. GF home just now he's really happy to see her and bouncing all over the back door. He's been outside with my Lurcher for a few hours this morning as it's nice and the lurcher loves nothing more than sitting outside on the grass when it's sunny.

Inappropriate behaviour = no response
Inappropriate behavioue = treat

Simple

This way you INCREASE the likelihood of the appopriate behaviour occurring and DECREASE the likelihood of inappropriate behaviour occurring.

Dogs do what works, if it don't work there is no reason to do it.

The main thing to consider is let the DOG choose the pace, do not rush, little and often.

A trailing line can be anything, a bit of washing line.

Ensure that you NEVER leave the dog on a line in your absence and that there is no LOOP or handle at the end.