[elaine9101]

Hi,

Just looking for a little input, the other night Myself, my 10year old daughter and my 13 month old male were watching a movie in bed. My daughter was petting my dogs head and looking at him, turned away and I hear this loud aggresive bark. My dog and "bit" my daughter above the eye and on the lip. Not super bad, no stitiches but unacceptable. He immediatly jumped off the bed and went to his kennel. The only other time he has barked like that is when my smaller dog wont leave him alone and that happened maybe twice. He is an extremely playful, mischevious, and fun loving dog. Although he doesnt like it when strangers try to touch him.

My question is, is this a sign of things that may come....will it happen again? We have an appointment to get him neutered, will that help any aggresion he may have. It makes me extremly nervous....any advice would be greatly apprecited

Thanks!

 

[Lori Z]

This is extremely serious in my opinion. Keep him off the bed, keep him away from real close contact with your daughter, do not let her pat or pet him right now. Do not let her sit and cuddle him, period. You need to contact a trainer in your area and when you get him neutered have his thyroid checked just in case. Your daughter has one face. I have a feeling there have been signs of annoyance before this happened. He is treating your daughter like a littermate and snapping when bothered and this is very dangerous to a child. Please contact a trainer right away. Where do you live? Maybe someone can recomend a good instructor for you.

 

[LindaH]

Put him on NILIF training and contact a trainer, but be careful who you get. Don't let them start alpha rolling and that kind of stuff. Follow what was said above.

Nothing in Life is Free

 

[Adara]

Neutering won't fix problems but can make life overall easier as far as living with an intact vs neutered dog.

For now, I would not allow the dog on the bed with the daughter. I would find a good trainer ASAP who does not do alpha rolls, etc. Personally I believe in more positive methods.

 

[KevinK]

I wouldn't let it just blow over, I would definitely do something about this. We don't know any more than the few sentances you wrote, but most of the aggressive dogs I have ever seen have been as a result of training issues. (mostly lacking) If this was not normal behavior, I would have a vet do a checkup to rule out any medical problems.

What training methods do you currently use? Do you participate in any working sports? How much time does your dog on average spend in training? How do you stimulate him mentally and physically?

(I hate to assume, but we don't know anything here, so I'm just going to lay it out there)

If you're not aware, dobermans need a decent amount of structure, lots of interaction, training, play, and jobs to do to be at their best. If they don't get these things, they will take it upon themselves to try to figure things out. If it's not a medical reason, it could be that your dog was correcting your daughter for something? All was fine, daughter stopped petting, dog reacted... Correction for stopping the petting?

Do you have rules in place that your dog must follow? Did he have to earn priveledges, like being able to lay on the bed with the fam to watch a movie? Or was he just always able to do that.

With dobes being so smart, and so strong, they need lots of structure and an outlet to get it all out.

 

[MeadowCat]

You need to contact a professional right away. I highly, highly recommend looking for a certified veterinary behaviorist. This is a veterinarian that is board certified in behavioral medicine. They will likely recommend a health screening (especially thyroid) and will evaluate your dog and make some recommendations. You can find board certified veterinary behaviorists by going here: Find a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist ACVB

This is not the kind of situation that I would mess around with. There are a lot of questionable trainers out there, so that's why I recommend the veterinary behaviorist. It's worth it.

 

[elaine9101]

Thank you for the responses,

He has the basic training down but obiously not enough, and thats our fault for lacking on it. Definetly going to find a trainer for him, and rethink the way we are handling him...giving him more rules. We go for a 40 minute walk in the morning and try to get him on the treadmill in the evening.

Its just one of those things he is a great loving dog I forget that he is "a dog", so you dont anticipate things like this or at least I diddnt...I dont want to give up on him for this instance...but dont want to even have a remote possibility that anything like this will happen again.

We live in the Seattle WA area and if someone has a reccomendation for a good trainer that would be wonderful!

 

[Adara]

We live in the Seattle WA area and if someone has a reccomendation for a good trainer that would be wonderful!

YES I DO!!

Seattle Dog Training and Problem Dog Behavior Solutions

HIGHLY recommend this group of trainers.

 

[MeadowCat]

If Adara recommends them I would absolutely check them out. Please do get a full vet workup even if you do not go the veterinary behaviorist route (I still recommend that you at least get a consult with one, though). I see there aren't any in Seattle, but there are two in Portland. It's a bit of a hike, but I think well worth it. I'd, at minimum, give both of these vets a call:

Jacqueline Neilson
DVM,DACVB
Animal Behavior Clinic, LLC
809 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland, OR 97202
United States
office tel: 503.236.7833
office fax: 503.252.6481
[email protected]
Animal Behavior Clinic - Home
I provide legal consultations
I accept media inquiries

Christopher Pachel
DVM, DACVB
Animal Behavior Clinic, LLC
809 SE Powell Blvd.
Portland, OR 97202
United States
office tel: 503.236.7833
office fax: 503.252.6481
[email protected]
Animal Behavior Clinic - Home
I provide legal consultations
I accept media inquiries

 

[Audrey1]

I recall that Dog Training Seattle | Ahimsa Dog & Puppy Training, Voted Best Dog Trainer in Seattle is also highly recommended. There were a bunch of videos on how to use clicker and also working with a reactive dog. I recall it was from a group in Seattle. I am not sure if it is Ahimsa or some other. Someone else might be able to confirm or correct me.

I can't find those videos on Ahimsa website and I don't know where to find those youtubes so that I can figure out who did them.

 

[Adara]

I recall that Dog Training Seattle | Ahimsa Dog & Puppy Training, Voted Best Dog Trainer in Seattle is also highly recommended. There were a bunch of videos on how to use clicker and also working with a reactive dog. I recall it was from a group in Seattle. I am not sure if it is Ahimsa or some other. Someone else might be able to confirm or correct me.

OH YES this one too. I forgot Grisha Stewart was in Seattle! She is FANTASTIC! She designed Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT) and you may have seen her videos with reactive dogs.

 

[Sinister]

Also - how socialized is he? You said he doesn't like strangers touching him. Sounds like he's devolping fear aggression, IMO.

 

[lolonurse]

So much very good information... but it's VERY important to remember that obedience training and exercise are only part of the proess, just as math and social studies are only a portion of an education. Socialization is vital, desensitizing to the world's many noises, stimuli and situations, and giving him challenges for his brain - sports, puzzles, "tricks", tasks... a bored, dissatisfied Doberman is like a 2 or 3 year old toddler - trouble, and tantrums. Your daughter needs to be actively involved in the work/training process, so he sees her as a leader, not a littermate. She can teach tricks, practice basic obedience (on leash, in yard, under supervision) - her engagement and understanding will help their relationship a lot. Once you find a compatible trainer/behaviorist, be sure to follow their guidance religiously. Best of luck to you all!