I’m posting here because my dog is having some behavioural issues. Please, no judgements as this is a really difficult situation...
We have a four-year-old dog, a hound/Staffy cross. We got him from a private seller; the puppies were weaned but were actually too young, which we only found out when we took him for his first check-up at the vet. It turns out that even as a puppy, he had behavioural issues with our son. We called in a dog trainer who explained that because he hadn't been properly socialised by his mother, he was missing some of those basic lessons they usually learn. We followed all the advice and things were going well for a while.
Unfortunately, lately he's becoming aggressive again and it’s getting worse and worse. Now, as soon as one of the kids goes to stroke him, he bares his teeth and growls. We spoke to a behaviourist who said it’s linked to his lack of early training but that there isn't really a solution and it’ll only get worse. The problem is I don't want to take any risks with the children, but I don't want to just 'get rid' of him either. He's still our dog after all, and I’d like to try and find him another home, or maybe someone with a bit of land to look after as he’s a very good guard dog. But I don't know how to go about it and I don't want to do the wrong thing.
Could anyone help me out?
Thanks a lot.
Translated from French
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If this started about a month ago, between the school holidays and lockdown, he might be struggling with having the kids around 24/7. He’s probably missing having some peace and quiet to himself to just settle down for a bit.
It’s true that even with a garden, a dog needs to get out every day to burn off some energy (we’re making the most of our full hour during this lockdown period) and for a bit of mental stimulation (sniffs, birds, etc.).
As well as sticking to the trainer's rules, try feeding him somewhere quiet, ideally after you’ve eaten. Send him to his bed when you’re busy with other things (meals, homeschooling, working from home...). Make sure you set aside some time just for him as well: walks, play... and after these sessions, let him go and settle in a corner. Ideally, he should have a bed in a room other than the main living area where the kids are told not to go and bother him or look for him.
You need to find a balance between physical exercise, downtime, and times when he needs to be on his best behaviour.
There’s no "breed-specific" reason for his behaviour, and being weaned too young can cause some issues with self-control, but it’s not irreversible. You just need to give him the chance to make progress (a short 10-minute training session each day, where you can get the kids involved once he starts to find his feet). Work on his frustration levels—having him sit for his food, then a "sit-stay" before he’s allowed to get to his bowl, and so on.
By working on these little details throughout the day (a training session, a walk with a few minutes of heel work, a play session where you manage his excitement, a bit of work at mealtimes, some quiet time for a nap...), it should help him get back on an even keel.
We don’t really take the dog out for walks much because we’ve got a garden.
He’s been behaving like this for just over a month.
The first trainer we saw explained that the dog needs to know his place and shouldn’t be treated as anything more than that. He has to eat away from us, on his own, and isn’t allowed to hang around us while we’re eating. Just things like that, really. We didn’t get back in touch with him because we met another trainer who referred us to this behaviourist. We’re trying to do everything we can, but we don’t want to take any risks either. During lockdown, we’re going to take the dog out every day because they advised us to. We just want to avoid an accident.
If you have any more questions, I’m happy to answer them.
Actually, he behaves like this in all sorts of situations. Just today, he was in front of the patio doors and when my daughter wanted to go outside, he growled at her. If it were only happening when he was in his kennel, it would be completely understandable.
Now, we’re really on edge when the kids are in the garden. My son is 11 and he can understand the situation, but my youngest is 7 and she’s absolutely animal-mad, so she finds it really hard to keep her distance.
Hi there,
You’ve had him for four years and he’s suddenly started growling at the kids – when does this actually happen? Is he in his bed and the children go over to pet him, or is he with you and he growls when they approach?
My dog growls and bares his teeth when my eldest son goes near him while he's in his bed, but that's only because my son is pestering him, so it’s the "two-legged one" who gets a telling-off in our house.
Growling is a warning – it shouldn’t be ignored or suppressed. If a dog is punished for growling, one day he’ll stop giving that warning and will just go straight to biting instead.
-When you say "for a while now", what do you mean exactly? (Was it around the lockdown period or before then?)
-How old is your child? How was he behaving with the dog before the dog started acting hostile? (How was he stroking him? In what sort of situations? At what times of day?...)
-Exactly how old was the dog when you adopted him?
-Is he getting enough exercise? (Number of walks, how long they last, what you do on them...)
All these questions should help give us a clearer picture and try to pinpoint exactly what’s going wrong.
I'm sorry, but that second trainer is rubbish. You can train and retrain a dog at any age, so even if you’ve made some mistakes, they can be fixed. I don’t see at all why a lack of training wouldn't be fixable!
In the meantime, make sure your children leave the dog alone. If he doesn’t want to be stroked, then so be it; it’s by respecting the dog's need for peace and quiet that you avoid trouble (while waiting for the issue to be sorted). They could perhaps give him some treats from a distance.
