My dog is really aggressive.... help?

Tab Nichols · 09-15-2003, 08:17 PM

Hey all,

There seem to be a lot of dog people one here, based on the threads in the last few days.... I was hoping one of you could offer me some advice on my little puppy.

I have a miniature Dachshund, 1 year old, neutered, and the cutest puppy I have ever seen, but he also has a problem. He thinks hes a Rotweiler.

He may be one of the most aggressive dogs I have ever seen. He is extremely "vocal" with all strangers that he meets. He barks, growls, jumps at, and bites people ALL the time!

He refuses to settle down until we physically hold him in our laps. Normally he will calm down after 10 or so minutes but what a pain!

One of my friends has a 14 month old daughter that spends time at our house, and he does the same to her.

Im terrified that hes going to seriously harm either her, or someone else that comes over to our house! And its not like he hasnt bitten people before, because he HAS. 3 times now.

Otherwise, his temperment is good, he is a loving, affectionate dog that CRAVES attention in every way, sleeps under the covers in our bed, and will lay in your lap for hours.

Im not afraid to discipline him, I have spanked him, and whacked him in the nose when neccessary, but to no avail.

Id hate to lose my dog because of this at some point, so please help me out!

Steve_Tk · 09-15-2003, 10:00 PM

All you can do is lock him up when you have company over. Growing up we had a toy poodle who was the exact same way. He bit a few people in his 15 years. He was way to protective and didn't like anyone being there except family. The only people he ever tolerated was my grandparents. Other than that we never allowed him near any small children.

He would bark at people just walking down the street. I don't think you can change this. Put him in his kennel when people come over is all you can do. I worked in a vet in high school and that's what we told people. He's never going to be like a Lab that just loves everyone.

Drew Bethel · 09-15-2003, 10:18 PM

If any of our dogs were to bite someone they would be put down...period.

DaveF · 09-15-2003, 10:22 PM

My first thought is to absolutely, under no circumstances, let your dog bite the 14 month old child! That is completely unacceptable. Failing to do so could instill a fear of dogs into the child, cause you to lose your friends, force you to have the dog put down, and perhaps even be sued. As Steve said, lock the dog up if you must.

I'm sorry to hear you've got a mini-dauchsund so ill-tempered towards others. My family has a couple and they are the sweetest dogs I've seen. But I remember some neighbors, many years ago, who had a very mean mini-dauchsund that would bite and nip visitors. (I really loathed that dog and hated visiting there.)

My suggestions (based on minimal knowledge of dogs) are two fold. First, talk to a knowledgable trainer. They should know as much or more than us random internet yahoos

Second, I've been told that one method of training puppies is to ignore them when they misbehave. They are pack animals and one to be part of the crowd. When your dog misbehaves, you walk away from him, showing no attention. The dog will learn to stop the anti-social behavior.

Good luck! Miniature dauchsunds can be fantastic pets. I hope yours overcomes the desire to eat the guests

Alex Prosak · 09-15-2003, 11:20 PM

Absolutely don't walk away! That technique is typically used for when a dog likes to jump up on you or guest when comes home or the guest arrives. I agree with the first and third posters that the solution is to kennel the dog when you have company.

Or let the guest have a nice kick to the dogs chops. I friend of mine in high school used to have this annoying little yapper mutt that always barked at all their guests and attacked their feet. A couple kicks when it attacked my feet and the problem stopped. Of course I don't recommend this solution, I'd probably kick someone if they did that to my dog but I don't have to worry about her being aggresive to anyone.

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JamieD · 09-16-2003, 06:54 AM

I wish I could advise something different but I can't.

I find I'm getting more and more nervous around "aggressive/hyper" dogs as I get older. I really hope none of the people who get bitten by this dog take it too far.

Lee L · 09-16-2003, 08:13 AM

There are trainers out there that will work with dogs using several methods and they do get results. Often, you can change your own behavior is slight ways that will keep the dog from doing this but you will have to work with it to have good results. But definitely go to a trainer who is experienced in this type of behavior, I think you will be surprised at the results.

JonZ · 09-16-2003, 09:28 AM

I had a Rotty,who could be aggressive at times but she was very obediant to family. If I told her to leave the room she would.I was able to train her to where Id snap my finger and point up the stairs and shed go.

With her, I found that nothing worked better than raising my voice and letting her know I was angry with her when she misbehaved (along with the "No's,Bad" and a tug on her collar).The key is to get the dog to pay attention to you when u speak,even when theres other stuff going on.

If you cant train the dog to stop being aggressive, then go to a trainer before he hurts someone.

Magnus T · 09-16-2003, 09:56 AM

It's time to take old Yeller outside...

Tab Nichols · 09-16-2003, 10:12 AM

Quote:

It's time to take old Yeller outside...