Mmmm biting should NOT occur at all, this is no small dog to "nip" he bit her face and hands and would of done so again. Its not acceptable for a dog to attack its owner, not acceptable at all. From what LB posted, she had only done to Jake what she had done previously which had never provoked a reaction like this.

oh lauren you really have been through the mill recently!! i completely agree with the wonderful advice given on here and that jake has reacted to your emotions recently. that said, this is NOT your fault. it is a horrible sequence of events that unfortunately led to a nasty shock.

you are a fantastic owner to jake and as i've said before, i admire your maturity in dealing with him. if you treat your dog properly they should take up a massive amount of your time and emotions and that is just what you do with jake. he is a high maintenance pup from possibly 3 very complex breeds that on their own are hard work and you have all 3 to contend with!!

a trip to the vets is the best starting point and then some good training that won't just help jake, it will give you a focus too.

big hugs to you lauren. xxxxxx

I think he really needs to see the vet. Ear and eye problems could certainly be a cause of behaviour like this starting all of a sudden.

Please feel free to pm me if you want, I've had similar problems with one of mine and come through them

If a dog is threatened it defends itself.

I think this is excellent advice, I agree with others too, in as such as not letting your bf anywhere near Jake at this time.

A few points I also picked up...firstly let me say, I agree with the others , he needs to be seen by the vet! along with you getting him to training.


Secondly, you said you smacked Jake to get him off the bed, then he lay on the floor, and you tried to pick him up... the two combined could have instigated the attack.

He will have been reacting to your behaviour, and (if the tap/smack) is not usual, he will maybe have felt he needed to defend himself against you.

When dealing with a dog who is challenging you , you should never back them into a courner, (which in effect you did) they will do one of two things, fight or flight, and in this case Jake did the former.

Then after the first incident you go back and give him a challenge again, putting your hand out to take hold of him, again Jake may have been picking up on your negative energy, he may have felt unsure about your motives, and again he acted first, then you restrain him to the ground, wrapping a lead round his mouth , all negative actions directed at him.

Please, this is not a go at you, I understand we do things in the heat of the moment, but hopefully this may make you see it from Jake's view.


I think he his skin condition may have something to do with it, (give him a shorter fuse) but to be honest, I DONT think this instigated this behaviour.

I think you have a young dog who is reaching his "kevin" stage, he is challenging you, he has no boundaries , he is getting mixed signals, (he can go on that bed , but not the other one) you must realise he cant make the connection between the two, if he is allowed on one, he will not be able to see why he cant go on the other.


You need to start today as a new one, do you know about NILF , look it up and put it into place with all of Jakes training.

Dont set yourself or Jake up for a fail, that means, if you get into a situation like this again, dont force the issue, (you are only going to lose)


What floats Jakes boat, is it treats, toys, get prepared, most dogs are nosey so ans sos, if in future, (for instance) Jake wont get off somehting, dont force him, go get something he really likes, and distract him away from the sofa/bed with that... call him, pretend someone has come,,,,,,,,,,oh come see this Jake!!! , or lets go for a walk Jake!! anything to distract him away from this challenge.


Try to leave what has happened in the past now, it is not going to do your relationship with Jake any good if you continue to lock him away or be fearful of him.

You now know, what not to do , you now know that confrontation does not work, so find alternatives, once you do , you wil be fine.

Dont worry, you are not the firs for this to happen, my guess is you are just not as in tune with doggy language as so others are, so its imperative you learn.

An example for you........... my Millie has a very nervous nature, (inbred I think) she is the sweetest girl alive, BUT!! I can read her like a book, she has never challenged me, because I have never set her up for one.

For instance... once Millie is in her basket (at night) she is fine, she wil let me go and stroke her, but thats all, you can see her become defensive, for what ever reason, her ears go flat, and she just gives off a "feeling"....now lets say I need her to get out of that basket, I could do a number of things....1) shout at her to get out, 2) grab her collar to drag her out, or 3) go open the treat cupboard and she is out of the basket like a shot.... result, I have got what I want without any confrontation.







I have to agree with you Dawn, the infection may play a small part, but I think its more down to Jake, challenging LB, and unfortunately her reaction to it.

*off topic replies have been deleted*

I would agree with most of what has been said - you are obviously having a hard time at home - would most certainly NOT let you BF anywhere near Jake.

And I would leave a house line on him at all times.

But the dog is not well - and he gave warning, which she chose to ignore. This was not an attack for no reason with no warning.

Yes she had done it before - but not with the same situations occuring.

I also feel it is not acceptable for a dog to do this, but in the same breath, I understand that if you push a dog when it has given you warning it may be forced into biting.

From what she wrote (and has been writing) there has been a build up of tension and stress surrounding not only his health but the home situaiton as well, this could have been prevented with better management and understanding of the dog in this situation.

Hopefully the OP will have learnt from this and will be able to move on with a better understanding of how her dog works and how to aviod this situation in the future.

I'm really sorry to hear this Lozzi & I hope your hand & face are ok. There's some really good advice on here & I'm in no position to give any just to say that I've had similar happen with Tilly when she bit me & as it was so out of character I took her to the vets & it was her phantom pregnancy. Not a major problem but at least it gave a reason for the behaviour.
Also with the bed - I've tried pulling Tilly off the bed before & she's given me a warning teeth face which I think was to do with me standing over her & about to put my hand over her head & pull her off. Enough to make her want to defend herself & me going about it the wrong way though. So now I just tell her "off" & point to the floor, it took a while to train & using treats, but sometimes you have to keep going back to basics with these young "Kevin" dogs - well I know I do anyway!

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with Jake and big hugs to you.

Monty has only ever snapped with the intention to bite at us once and that was when he had hurt his foot and he didn't want us to touch it so maybe Jake is in pain somewhere, might be worth a trip to the vets.

Hope things get better soon, there's been some good advice within this thread. Keep your chin up as Jake is a fantastic dog.

I can't offer any advice, all I can say is follow the good advice you are getting from our fellow dog lovers and take heart, he's still your wee mad Jake, just something is wrong at the moment and he needs his mum to help him.

*love and hugs from me and Dougally cuddles and schnorkles*