A Biting Dog!

Dear WOOF:

I saw a reference to your academy on Petfinder.com while searching for shelters for my sister's dog. She found a stray on the streets in Detroit a few months ago. She has been trying to work with him and
has taken him to one obedience class (not at your school). He has come around in some ways, but he has a serious biting problem. He mostly bites men, and usually just their feet or legs, but over the
last weekend, he bit my eight year old, and my sister. He even bit his instructor during a class.

My sister works full time, and tries to work with him when she gets home, but he is pretty out of control by then. She would consider giving him up to someone who could spend the time with him that he needs, and I am just looking for some guidance as to what her options might be. Any suggestions?


Hello:

I need a lot more information in order to help you. I am not convinced without further details that this is in fact an aggressive dog, however, when you say he has a "serious biting issue", and that he has bitten several people, including an 8 year old child, I am immediately concerned.

Each incident must be carefully examined to accurately assess the behavior. From there, a modification plan can be formulated.

If this truly is an aggressive dog, placement into another environment would be irresponsible and dangerous. Most rescue groups will not accept a dog with an aggression problem - the question
remains though, is this aggression or not? It would be sad to see a dog not given the chance to find and live life in a loving home because of what was assumed to be aggressive/biting behavior.

That said, the first step is to assess the behavior to determine whether or not this is really an aggression problem. It may be that this is more of a mouthy, impulsive, adolescent dog who's learned to use his mouth to gain attention/interaction problem rather than true aggressive behavior. In order to help this dog, it is very important that we talk in detail so that we know what we're really dealing with. What is his class instructor's assessment of the behavior? Does she feel that he truly is aggressive?

Again, proper assessment of this behavior is crucial as the first step. Often times dogs are labeled as aggressive when they are not - on the other hand, sometimes true aggression is overlooked or minimized, with serious consequences for all. If you live in the Metro-Detroit area, please contact us directly for additional help. 

I look forward to hearing from you, and helping however I can.

Good Luck!
Lisa Patrona,  Dip. CBST, CPDT-KA, ACDBC, AABP-CDT

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