Dog bit my dad last night
My mom called just now and said that Abby bit my dad last night. She sleeps in her crate at night in their room and last night she didn't want to go in. So my dad was trying to guide her in holding her ribs. She growled and then snapped and got his finger pretty bad. My mom said the growl and the snap was pretty simultaneous. She's always been protective of her food and her bones, and my mom said sometimes she can take her toys away and sometimes she can't. My mom says she's always felt a little uneasy about her. Like she's always had a wild, uncontrollable part to her. She's also not housetrained yet. My parents are trained, but if there's any little deviation to their routine, she'll go. My mom also said she spite pees. She's been to the vet regularly and is perfectly healthy. She also eats rocks. My parents have tried to find and remove all them, but she still finds some, since they have a big backyard. My mom thought a lot of her behavior was puppy behavior, and that since it'd been about 10 years since their last OES puppy that maybe they'd forgotten about these things, but they don't think any of their dogs were ever like this, and they've have sheepies since the 70s. They're pretty much at the end of their rope. My dad is devastated b/c he loves sheepies more than anything. Any suggestions, thoughts, etc. She came from a BYB and I told them not to get her, but my mom (like many others) said they wanted to see the puppies first and were happy they were local and the puppies were at a convenient time. I told her she should call the breeder and at least see if the breeder has any info on temperment, either from the litter or the parents. |
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where or how they got her is probably not the issue. Obviouslly "puppy" needs some training (dad's don't train well  believe me I have tried )
If she resource guards, she of course is going to be protective around her crate, but the issue here may be more about how he grabbed her, she probably needs a vet check up to make sure she isn't sore or has something else wrong with her. there are so many issues here and I am sure you have asked many questions: Is her crate used as punishment and she was avoiding it because of that? Does she get treats or food in her crate? Why didn't dad just throw in a cookie to get her in there? what else was going on? Dogs bite out of fear and for protection of themselves so I wouldn't worry about the dog suddenly being aggressive - but she and Dad need to work out what the rules are (for both of them ) I do a lot with my dogs, but I never forget they are animals - with really big teeth and I need to respect that. |
| Until things are worked out, recommend that your dad bribe her rather than force her to do things. Keep a small container of treats near the crate for this purpose only.
Quote: She also eats rocks. My parents have tried to find and remove all them, but she still finds some, since they have a big backyard. She should probably be supervised while outdoors... obstruction surgery can be pretty expensive. If she resource guards even rocks she may already have in her mouth, have them condition her to wearing a properly fit muzzle. Quote: My mom also said she spite pees.
Do dogs spite pee? If you don't think they can handle this dog on their own, recommend they bring in a humane trainer to help them one-on-one. I believe she's totally redeemable... they just need to learn how to handle this strong willed girl. Also, tell your dad it's totally normal to feel betrayed, angry, sad, guilty, shocked, etc. when a dog bites.  Respect her limits and work to find a compromise. |
| I, too, have a strong-willied sheepie, now a little more than 10 months old. While resource guarding has never been an issue, being stubborn and willful have been issues.
We found that training made a big difference. Bribes do work - either crunchy dog treats or liver treats. The trainer took use through 6 weeks of various lessons and by the end we had much better control over Winnie. She will sit (and we make her sit for everything - food, water, treats, to go outside, to come inside, before getting into the car), lay down, stay (most of the time) and come when called. She needs to know that we are in charge and will decide when she eats, when she goes out, (within reason of course, recognizing her need to go), when she plays, and when she naps. (And, naps are VERY important. We understimated the amount of sleep she would need. When she doesn't get enough she becomes "punchy" and disobedient. When that happens - bedtime!) We've also found that a lot of exercise helps, too. Even better, exercise that stimulates the brain while working out the muscles. If Winnie has to think about something or complete a task, she tires more easily. When she's tired, she's much sweeter and more malleable. Playing with other dogs has helped her get along in the "family" because she's learned that she's not the dominant one. To that end, we take her to dog parks, to doggy day care now and then, and also just to a pet store to meet other dogs. Not sure any of this helps, but I guess my main message is - help your parents be the dominant ones (or pack leaders) and things will get better. |
| Our last oes, Katy was a bit unpredictable at least until she was 2 years old when she calmed down. She snapped at hubby once and drew blood. Probably forcing her in the crate scared her and she reacted badly. I think you need to call in a specialist trainer. Keep us posted I hope things work out..xx |
Our dalmo is like that. He's 6 years old and a well behaved dog, but we cant force him anywhere. He gets scared if we yell or shout at him and he growls and snaps if we try to manhandle him anywhere, even on or off his bed, our bed,  the couch, out/in the back door.
He doesnt do it to me anymore because I take him to obedience class and food treat him for ALL good behaviour and just a firm no for bad behaviour. If I want him on/off etc I get dog treat and he runs to do what I ask. DH gets impatient though and yells and sometimes tries to grab him by the collar and he has been snapped at. Rastus is very good and has never drawn blood and doesnt even usually connect, I think its more an accident when he actually connects teeth to skin but it can still do lots of damage. Maybe Abby got scared and didnt really MEAN to do damage, just a warning but even if she meant it, she sounds a lot like my big scaredy boy who needs cajoling not bossing. DH always gets a look of shock and betrayal as well as a bit of fear on his face when Rastus snaps at him. And I try not to say I told you so and just step in or quietly say "go get him a treat". So I hope your Dad can forgive Abby as she was just doing dog behaviour. I think the suggestions of professional help are the way to go. Good luck  |
| When doing research about OES's before we got Sunny, I remember reading about thyroid conditions in sheepies, and one of the symptoms being aggression. I totally don't know enough to comment really, it's just a vague memory of what I read well over a year ago, so I thought I'd mention it. Anyone else know anything about it? If not, maybe suggest they talk to their vet about a thyroid test.
Quote: Do dogs spite pee?
I believe dogs spite pee. I know of dogs that when left alone for too long, or given another reason that they might be upset with their owner, will spite pee instead of spite chewing. About the rocks- It's hard to get them out of this habit. So supervision is key. I had a dog as a teenager, that constantly ate weird things and needed surgery to remove things twice. VERY expensive, especially with these big guys. He weighed 90 pounds, and the surgeries were about $1700 and $2300, over 10 years ago. ouch. My parents really loved him 
I hope your parents can figure out what issues are present here, it sounds like they're really committed, which is great. Encourage them to dig to the bottom of it, they'll figure it out. And their sheepie will thank them |
Sunny'sMom wrote: Quote: Do dogs spite pee? I believe dogs spite pee. I know of dogs that when left alone for too long, or given another reason that they might be upset with their owner, will spite pee instead of spite chewing. Chewing and eliminating inappropriately (in a potty trained dog with no underlying health condition who isn't left too long...too long meaning bladder can't hold it by definition) is generally due to stress, not spite. Dogs don't sit around plotting revenge. They have better things to do. Like plotting how to open the refrigerator door when you're not looking 
Example, and not one I'm proud of - I took my 11 1/2 year old to my three year old's herding lesson last week. Older girl is retired from herding but this was always her all time favorite thing in the world. I had pottied her before we left so didn't take her out when we got there. By the time I had finished working with her great-niece and returned her to the van, my older girl had had a bowel movement in the back of the vehicle and, due to her wiring requiring her to be as far away from her own poop as caninely possible, was on the passenger seat trying to squeeze herself onto the dashboard. A less clued in person would have thought she was mad at me for not letting her work and even more upset that the younger dog got to work "her" stock. However, I could tell she was stressed to the max, so I just quietly picked up the poop so she could get back into the back of the van and mentally kicked myself for putting her in that position. I have two options: don't bring her since the frustration obviously stresses her out, or bring her out of retirement. Herding instructor must have read Belle's mind because even though I didn't bring her last night she informed me that she wanted to see Belle back on stock. THAT'S the scary part - I never told herding instructor about any of this or even that I had brought Belle last week. So while I don't believe in dogs behaving badly to get back at people - that's a human affliction we project onto our dogs - I am now considering that herding instructor is psychic and she and Belle are having little chats that I don't know about  
Kristine |
| From what I've experienced, dogs will pee in inappropriate places because-
- They had to hold too long. - They didn't empty their bladder when you let them out. Supervise pee time if you have a dog that runs out and back quickly just to get that cookie. (That would be Panda.) If they don't pee, send them back to do their business. - Of emotions like fear or anxiety. - Of health problems or illnesses. I had two submissive pee-er rescues and another rescue that peed in the house for a year until a bladder defect was finally diagnosed and corrected. When you have a dog with an anxiety issue, it can look like spite-peeing but they honestly just can't help themselves. With dogs like this you quietly clean it up so you don't add to the anxiety. |
| Is it just me, or does it seem that more female dogs have these types of issues rather than the males? |
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