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Okay...some of you might know the story of my adopted golden mix Max (see my profile pic). Last night, we took him with us for some errands and gave him one of the middle seats in the van. After hubby and son dropped me off for a quick minute at CVS they went to the gas station and pumped gas. Apparently, my son (12 yo) sat next to him on the same seat and started petting him and stroking his head, nothing different than what we all normally do. Well when they came by for me, I was told he growled at my son and lunged at his face. He got a puncture wound on his lip plus scratches on his face. Obviously, DH was very upset over this as this was not the first time he snapped at my son nearly getting his face the first time. We could excuse his actually biting a groomer in the face, thinking she may have nipped the quick too close (had written about this in another thread), but I see no reason for this snap this time, other than he may not want the feeling of being closed in, since he sat on the same seat the dog was on. I have told my 2 kids not to close-in on the dog, as hubby threatened to have him adopted out. He's otherwise a gentle, friendly and sweet dog and would hate for him to be given away. He's been with us since February but never had a background of his "past" since he was originally a stray. Any input as to what might cause this and why he only snaps at one person in the family. My husband put him in the back of the van after that all the way home, and he was quiet as a mouse, as if he knew what he had done but couldn't help it. I'm at a loss as to why this happens sporadically and how other than what I had written we can prevent this from happening again. It seems to occur without any warning whatsoever. My poor son is now terrified of him.
Did you witness either time that he snapped at your son, or are you getting the story from your son only? Since your son is 12, and not an infant or small child, I'd be sure of why the dog was snapping before I did anything.
You might need to train the dog to recognize your son as alpha over him. Perhaps a dog obedience course with your son acting as the handler?
Did you witness either time that he snapped at your son, or are you getting the story from your son only? Since your son is 12, and not an infant or small child, I'd be sure of why the dog was snapping before I did anything.
You might need to train the dog to recognize your son as alpha over him. Perhaps a dog obedience course with your son acting as the handler?
I witnessed the first time, since my daughter, my son and I were altogether petting him. The first time, he was laying at the stair landing which was his normal place to hang out, and we were all around him. It's strange that I can put my face directly at his nose with no fear of him ever snapping at me. I did not witness last night's incident but have observed my son long enough to know how he deals with Max. I did have a discussion with both kids last night about alpha issues...no dog on the beds with them, dog side of them when walking, do not be at dog's face level, always above. Max never precedes my hubby and I when we open the door if he was with us. He always waits for the door to open, us walk in unless we specifically tell himto go, and he just walks after us. I feel terrible for both dog and boy.
Sounds to me like a dominance issue then. I'd get the dog to obedience training and have your son be the handler, so that the dog gets used to taking commands from the boy and starts seeing him as alpha. Maybe buy one of Cesar Milan's books on dog psychology?
Sounds to me like a dominance issue then. I'd get the dog to obedience training and have your son be the handler, so that the dog gets used to taking commands from the boy and starts seeing him as alpha. Maybe buy one of Cesar Milan's books on dog psychology?
Thank you. I'll look into it. My son has this tendency sometimes to be overly sweet with the dog, not just this one, but our yellow lab before him. He's already the runt in the family, being the youngest and the smallest, and still has that teeny weeny childish voice. I need to get him to be more "forceful" with Max as well (also told him this before!). As with most kids, discussions about "use a forceful voice on the dog since the dog listens to voice inflections rather than words" go into la la land somewhere in their brain. I'll check out Cesar's book as well.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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I like the idea about having your son act as handler in obedience classes. You certainly do not want your son to develop un-easiness around dogs. You can't ignore an aggressive display. They get worse if they aren't corrected. If the dog snaps at your son, he wants him to move away. If the boy moves away and stays away, the aggressive action has been heavily reinforced.
If you opt for the obedience classes, find a professional who is not affiliated with Petsmart. Find a trainer who works with working breeds rather than toy breeds, he or she will be much more in touch with dominance and how to get what you want out of the animal.
Sometimes dogs think of kids as being their siblings and tend not to respect them as much as they would an adult. How old is Max?, hard to tell from the photo, he looks like he has something else in him besides golden, jmo, regardless, he still shouldn't have nipped. Do you know anything about his background? Possibly he felt threatened if he felt his 'space' was being threatened (in his eyes), w/ shy timid dogs who havent had much socialization, it's best to go under (toward their faces) to pet them rather than over their heads (which they perceive as threatening). I'm assuming he's neutered - a vet visit might be in order just to rule out any underlying physical problems and then would take it from there, would look for a positive method dog trainer, nothing harsh, I know there's books that might help, in addition. Anyway, just a few thoughts.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,776,945 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Honeycrisp
Sometimes dogs think of kids as being their siblings and tend not to respect them as much as they would an adult. How old is Max?, hard to tell from the photo, he looks like he has something else in him besides golden, jmo, he still shouldn't have nipped. Do you know anything about his background? Possibly he felt threatened if he felt his 'space' was being threatened (in his eyes), w/ shy timid dogs who havent had much socialization, it's best to go under (toward their faces) to pet them rather than over (which they perceive as threatening). I'm assuming he's neutered - a vet visit might be in order just to rule out any underlying physical problems and then would take it from there, would look for a positive method dog trainer, nothing harsh, I know there's books that might help, in addition. Anyway, just a few thoughts.
Goldens are just as prone to dominance issues as any other breed. I hunt with a guy who runs a birding outfit from time to time. The most dominant dog in his kennel is a 60 lb. golden retriever. He isn't very big but apparently he's pretty wiry, dominates a lot of bigger labs, setters and pointers.
My point is that any dog can be a problem, regardless of the breed. Some of the sweetest, laziest dogs I have ever met were pits and the single worst I have ever met was a Cocker Spaniel.
Thank you all for the great suggestions. The vet estimates him to be about 2 yo, and yes we had him neutered. Jimbo, I know that my son moving away possibly reinforced the dominance, but in light of having been bit in the face, I understand his reaction. My question though is, if he does it again and I am present, what should I do? Should I tap him in the snout aside from saying NO!?
Last edited by BagongBuhay; 10-24-2008 at 11:17 AM..
I saw your post early this morning and didn't want to be the first post because I'm not an expert on training. My first thought, though, was that you MUST protect the dog,your son and others while in the public.
There are Leather Muzzles specifically made for working dogs that they can breath and drink water through but that stop them from being able to bite someone.
IMHO, you need to get one and use it.
You don't want to take the chance that your dog will bite someone. If that happens, you will most likely lose your homeowners insurance or be given the choice to put your dog down. If you're able to obtain other coverage, it will be expensive.
Training is a must, too. But, when you know this is an ongoing problem... a muzzle may save your dogs life.
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