Scared to leave our dog for a week

[Alex39]

Honestly, looking back. I was hovering over his sleepy body, and grabbing at him from behind his head I think I scared the poor thing to death. He felt extremely threatened I think. Now when I consider my position, though I wasn't hurting him at all, I can see where he probably thought he was in danger. 

I'm not excusing it. He should never ever bite. We have a new trainer coming to work with him. 

[spinstermanquee]

30 minutes ago, Alex39 said:

I'm not excusing it. He should never ever bite. We have a new trainer coming to work with him. 

Regarding the holding something in his mouth and won't let go, one trick I used with the dog who wouldn't let go of the frisbee - I would have someone go behind and gently pull his tail near the base (not the end, you don't want to hurt him).  They forget all about what they have in their mouth and want to see what's going on back there!  That should get you by until you have him trained to "leave it" or "drop it" on command.  🙂  Good luck Alex!!!

[Batya33]

9 hours ago, spinstermanquee said:

^^ This is why I do not approach/touch a dog I don't know.  I speak to the handler first.  Even if the dog is reported friendly and fine i would not put my face into theirs.  Nose to nose can be threatening to any breed - especially after running/charging at the dog - and I bet she put her hands on Wren's head/face too.  Dogs aren't babies.  So sad this happened...

I taught my son this from as early on as I could. He is just so..... great with animals.  He's gentle and thoughtful and always asks permission and animals -really like him!  Also he learned early on how to approach an animal and just knew to do nothing sudden like that.  I so believe in this sort of good energy/vibes animals sense.  And we do not have any pets.  He did pet sit for our neighbor -hamster and cat - for about 5 days over a year ago and did a great job.  But there was one time.  My friend had the sweetest dog.  RIP.  One time we were over there and my son was sort of teasing him -dog was under the table hoping for scraps/treats.  I don't think my son was teasing with food but all of a sudden the dog growled which was so so unusual.  My son learned from that.  

[Cherylyn]

My late Golden Retriever was well socialized.  It didn't faze her to be around other dogs or cats.  For the most part, she ignored them.  We took her to Home Depot and Pet Smart stores and she did fine.  When my son was in school marching band, we took her to the baseball field during their practice sessions and other times, she accompanied us to parades.  She is fine around people as well.  Naturally, she preferred either me or my husband.  However,  around others, she ignored them.  She never bit. 

She didn't like people who were over zealous with her though.  She liked children.  When a neighborhood man several streets away tried to pet her, she hid behind my knees because she wasn't amenable to just anyone.  With strangers, she was more comfortable around women and children.  She was shy around strangers and men in particular.  Must be a girl thing!  😉

Once she became acquainted with men, women and children, she grew to trust them and let her guard down reminiscent of humans. 

She was a calm, tender, gentle, quiet, stunningly beautiful girl and so smart!  She didn't lick people, bite, slobber, jump on people nor any of those antics.  My house and belongings were left intact.  Whenever my husband, sons or I were in public, people complimented her temperament and beauty all the time.  We were her proud parents.  She had beauty and brains.  She had class.  She was extremely well behaved unlike many humans in my life.

 

[LootieTootie]

11 hours ago, Alex39 said:

Honestly, looking back. I was hovering over his sleepy body, and grabbing at him from behind his head I think I scared the poor thing to death. He felt extremely threatened I think. Now when I consider my position, though I wasn't hurting him at all, I can see where he probably thought he was in danger. 

I'm not excusing it. He should never ever bite. We have a new trainer coming to work with him. 

Didnt you say in your original post he had his eyes open and you were pretty much talking to him, disrupting his sleep?

Not sure if you're just making excuses, but it's pretty obvious your dog knows what he's doing. He's putting you in your place, and he made you cry. And has bitten your brother!

Lordy... this is why sometimes I go to the dog park and I just shake my head wondering why some dog owners are so oblivious. Your Aussie is showing you signs that he is going to hurt someone in the future, whether its another family member or a stranger or a friend, etc. people can sue you for millions and if they take your parents to court, the judge can determine if the dog needs to be put down.

This is serious. Biting is not cool and if they have shown you a pattern of aggression and biting more than one person, do something especially when they are young.

[Cherylyn]

@Alex39I would fear your dog biting someone, causing a lot of pain, rushing them to the ER for sutures, leaving them disfigured and the hot mess to contend with afterwards such as a lawsuit.  We live in a litigious society so beware.

[spinstermanquee]

2 hours ago, Cherylyn said:

@Alex39I would fear your dog biting someone, causing a lot of pain, rushing them to the ER for sutures, leaving them disfigured and the hot mess to contend with afterwards such as a lawsuit.

^^^ 100% agree with Cherylyn on this, and you know your family dog better than anyone here on the webs 😉  hmmm... also agree to give the dog a chance since he has been so poorly trained that he has been rewarded for jawing, biting and clamping and, perhaps, hasn't been walked/exercised/exhausted like a hyper breed like that should?  Obedience begins with calm 🙂  Calm begins with tired.  Tired begins with big ole exercise.  Same thing as that dude says in that old TV show (Exercise Discipline Affection).  Me, I trust, but verify.

I really connected when Jaunty shared the tale of Wren.  Our GSD... it just broke us for a while, more than 5 years.  From the bottom of my heart, I hope you will never go their without your family fur baby.

[Crawfords Wine]

On 3/8/2023 at 1:19 PM, Alex39 said:

Honestly, looking back. I was hovering over his sleepy body, and grabbing at him from behind his head I think I scared the poor thing to death. He felt extremely threatened I think. Now when I consider my position, though I wasn't hurting him at all, I can see where he probably thought he was in danger. 

I'm not excusing it. He should never ever bite. We have a new trainer coming to work with him. 

But you are re-writing events here, maybe not intentionally but you're definitely softening up on your original narrative. In your opening post you wrote:

"The other night he was sleeping on the couch, and I went over and started petting him. I was nicely petting him, talking to him sweetly, he's eyes were open on me. He seemed calm and awake. I felt the remote under him. I went to nicely grab it under him. He ferociously jumped off the couch and bit my forearm, barking and attacking my arm. He wouldn't let go. Then I got him off me. He went and grabbed my other forearm and bit that too. "

 

That incident should be a serious wake-up call to you & your family. Your dog needs help.

It worries me that you're now minimizing the gravity of the event, and proceed accordingly with your strangely cavalier attitude and approach to this dog, his problematic behaviours and the possible consequences  of those behaviours to others, be that family, friends, complete strangers, groomers/pet sitters and other dogs.

Where I live, dogs that attack or bite people (or even other dogs) are generally confiscated and put down. I always feel sorry for the dog as in many  cases it's the lack of responsible ownership that led them to their early demise.

I hope you come to really understand appreciate the gravitas of your dog's predicament here, and I urge you to re-ready the replies here, especially the ones posted by @Jaunty.

 

 

[Lambert]

As the dog owner, you are legally responsible for the dog's actions. 

If your dog harms another person or animal, monetary damages and or  the animal could be put down could be the result. Let alone the horror of knowing your negligence caused harm. 

If you can't afford to train your dog, you shouldn't have a dog. 

I would never leave an animal known to bite or be aggressive with friends. The change in environment alone could be enough for your dog to act out.

You really need to wake up to consequences. these things have a way of coming home to roost. You could cause harm to someone, lose your home, your pet. 

 

[boltnrun]

It's also concerning that you dismissed the responses you didn't like as "I'm guessing they're not dog owners". It's been proven that most of them are in fact dog owners 

I feel the best way to deal with this is not to minimize the dog's actions or change your story but to get the dog some solid training (which you have said you're doing), stop the behaviors that encourage the dog to bite and growl (by not giving him treats when he misbehaves) and don't leave the dog with your friend unless and until he has not only worked with a trainer but demonstrated that the training has been successful. This will benefit you, your parents AND the dog. 

[Batya33]

1 hour ago, Lambert said:

You could cause harm to someone, lose your home, your pet. 

Yes - not to put too fine a point but sounds like the dog resides with parents.  And that also means OP's control over what happens -maybe a bit less?

Yesterday  I saw -again (again meaning this happens a lot -not this particular family) -as son and I walked home through the park - a family with their dog off leash, illegally.  The dog was several feet away and also at one point near a hill that leads down to a jogging path -no dogs are allowed on the path plus it's really hard to get down there if heaven forbid dog ran down there.  And right near a really trafficked busy street. 

Don't they care? Sure there are voice commands I suppose so even putting aside leash laws- what if dog gets distracted by a squirrel, etc? My son and I hung back so we didn't get attention of the dog.  They ended up leashing it as they reached the street. This happens a lot. I don't need to be a dog owner to know this is careless behavior. 

I deferred in this thread to those who know about training, etc - and they gave great input.  But I am confident that this is also a matter of basic common sense.  I agree with the others about the OP's seemingly cavalier attitude/rewriting what happened.  Scary.  

[Lambert]

thank you for the clarification @Batya33

[MissCanuck]

Until your dog is better-trained and not aggressive, he should not be left in anyone else's care. Period. 

If you can't bring the dog with you on this holiday, then you need to postpone it until he is ready to be left with a trusted carer. The fact that this thread even exists is your very clear indicator that it's a bad idea.