Please help...we love him but don't know what to do.

[Lenny]

Edited

[[M]umma[M]ia]

ok.. u are in abit of a pickle.

First option - keep him - BUT he needs so majour work. As for his food and needing to have it right there right then sorta thing. Put him on a lead. Put the bowl/bone about 1-2 metres away from him. Use a chocker chain with the lead. Hold onto it and tell him to sit and stay. Give him a small treat as a reward when he does (holding ur hand out flat as its a good way to teach kids to feed dogs so they dont get there hand bitten off). You will have to be persistant and do this everytime u give him something. As for the tennis ball, i bet u got a majour fright. If he snaps at you dont smack him just yell at him in a deep loud voice and just say no. Then get that lead out again and tie him to a pole or something in the backyard. This will serve as a time out. Dont give him the ball back for a couple days. You need to be persistant with all these sorts of things and remember to reward him when he doesnt snap.

second option - get rid of him - you have to weigh up your options here. Ask yourself these questions... Is this dog worth having if its going to bite my family? Is it easier to get rid of him now rather than we you son is older and is even more attached? Is it worth the stress and worry everytime someone wants to go out the back??
If u do decide to get rid of him, give him to a family or friend, hopefully without kids. If u give him the the rspca while hes snapping, they will put him down anyway.

HTH

[Phteven]

If I was in your position I would get professional help. There are a few companies that can help ypou out with behavoural issues and will give you tools you need to work on your dog.
If you're not experienced with dog behavioural issues going it alone could just exaserbate the problem.
Hopefully Christy will pop into this thread and give you some pointers

[Visitor8]

I would get rid of the dog. Ok you love him, but I would feel awful if something happened to one of the kids because I kept it

[krysalyss]

I would get rid of the dog. Ok you love him, but I would feel awful if something happened to one of the kids because I kept it

A pet isn't a disposable item to 'get rid of' at the first hurdle. They require love, attention and understanding and if it turns out after effort that the animal really isn't the right fit then they need to be thoughtfully rehomed. Anyone who has euthanased a dog or a cat simply because it wasn't wanted will understand my offence to what you have said.

[Smoke Jaguar]

I would call in a 'dog whisperer'!! Definitely consult with someone who's methods and goals resonate with yours. Say, if you are vehemently opposed to choker chains, don't hire someone who tells you to use one, keep looking.
I actually watched "The Dog Whisperer" at a friend's place the other day and was really quite impressed by the man's motivations and methods I only watched it once, and it's a completely non-violent way to communicate with dogs and to get them knowing their place in the family pack.
My sister adopted a dog that turned out to have some pit bull in it after being told it was a mastiff x lab (no way was it that, it probably had some boxer in it, but def no lab and no mastiff!). They loved the dog but he started to get a bit nippy. She'd been taking him to obedience training for months and months and couldn't get on top of him and does not have the internal resources to put the energy required to get this dog in line. She gave him up and an active, child-less couple has taken him on. In her case it wasn't a case of getting a dog and just deciding he wasn't right - the shelter mislead her (knowingly or otherwise) because he was most definitely not the breed she expected. Though, even if he HAD been a mastiff x lab, she'd have been in for a couple of years of work...she's really not a dog person, she needs a lap dog for her family! In hindsight, it's not the dog that's the problem for her, it's her thinking a dog should fit in and hope like hell it doesn't need stacks of training! Both parties are better off without each other in that case.
Good luck, he sounds redeemable

[Visitor8]

I never said to put it down. I am confused where you are getting that from?? We had a dog that snapped at a visitor child and we REHOMED it ourselves. Put an add in the local paper and a guy came from a farm and took Zeb to live with him.
Geez.

[HotI]

You have to be the boss. He needs to know that you and your partner (and the kids) are above him in the pecking order. You can't show fear. As he is still a pup, you can change things now to make this work for you.

Few simple things. Is he allowed on furniture? Height is one way that dominance is established. So, dogs shouldn't be at same height or higher. Give him a bed on the floor but don;t let him on couches or people beds.

When he is fed, make him sit and wait and only get the food when you tell him he can. We have two labs and both will sit (or drop) and wait until we say "Get it". They might drool whilst they are waiting but they don't start.

Dogs shouldn't be snapping at people. If this happens, stand tall and give a deep 'No'. (boys are better at this but you need to be able to too).

There are few ways to go with the possessiveness over bones. You can try to challenge it, but if it is only over bones i would kinda say that is his thing, and give him his own space when he has a bone. Make sure your little one is not near him and remove the bone again later. However, if it is becoming an issue then you might want to not give him bones at all, or at least til you feel more in control.

You say you can't continue going to obedience training, but you can still keep practisining the things that you have learnt. Teach to sit, drop, stay (for various times), teach walking on a lead. All these things will help him know what you want, so he will look to you for guidance.

[Miss E]

I think everyone else's advise sounds wise. Just wondering if you have had him de-sexed? I've heard male dogs who aren't become more and more aggressive during their teenage years and that it only gets worse...

Also, maybe give your vet a call, they'll probably be able to give you some good advice. They might also be able to do some blood tests to make sure it's not a medical thing. I know hypothyroidism in animals makes them aggressive..

Goodluck!

[krysalyss]

Hi there, Hmmm. Honestly for any aggression issues you need to see a professional. Your dog is displaying a normal reaction (resource guarding - especially for a working breed) but it is an over-reaction. And you are very right to see big potential problems coming up. I actually and respectfully disagree with some of the advice given here as resource aggression won't be abated with getting the dog into trouble over it. You will have more success (and better safety) if you promote the dog to feeling that it doesn't need to defend its resources. I won't post any more advice here because you need to see someone good and in person to give you personalised advice.
Look up the delta society for people in your area. If you can afford to go to one of the vet behaviourists then do it, If you can't then look up a delta dog trainer and call them for some advice.
Good luck.

[angelaartsstudent]

Is Puppy PreSchool an option? Local vets run classes and the RSPCA runs classes for ALL ages of dog. I think it would do him a world of good...a better first option than rehoming maybe.

I also agree on the desexing. It'd take a couple of week for him to calm down but usually makes a huge difference.

[Cassius2]

Like others have mentioned the benefits of getting someone to help you guys out here is INVALUABLE. these pups of ours are family and IMO deserve the time and input needed to help get them through these stages.

He is only 20 months and if he is anything like our retriever x is having one major adolescense! (oops spelling!). they are going through big changes and are far more determined to challenge the pack order. for us it was a really hard road up until she hit 24 months. and this was i strongly believe achieved only so early through getting professional advice.

a dog should not snap over food or objects. they shouldnt feel the need to protect it as they are not in that role of protector, you are ITMS. some of the smallest changes can make a big difference. for us this meant, not letting our dog on the furniture (ie our bed), she also is not allowed to be in the front yard (her breeding is mixed with maremma and they guard fence lines...(we had to go to a maremma expert for that one!) and she MUST eat after us, always. in all honesty our dog felt the stress of believing she was top dog and making these changes (they were hard at first) has made a world of difference, because like you, we were at a serious cross roads of whether we could keep her or not.

it is so worth it in the end. her and my DD have a beautiful friendship now and like you, DD loves waking up in the morning and seeing stella. hang in there! there is hope! and soon the crazy teen dog phase will pass i promise LOL!