DOG BITING

I have an old English Sheepdog - 3 and a half years old I got him from a rescue centre 7 weeks ago. Everything was going fine until about a week ago. My brother in law who is always around with his kids came into my house he played with him as usual and let him out for a wee when he brought him back in everythign was fine my brother in law then went to go out put his hand on the handle of the door to close it when my dog growled jumped up and bit him twice on the arm. He has never done this before. He has also started to poo and wee in the house. I bring him out loads of times and he has also started to growl anytime anyone goes near his bed.

Is there any reason for this can anyone advise me as to what to do?
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I would rule out any medical problems. There may be something going on you are not aware of.
I should also mention that he seems very jealous is my husband come nears me. I bring him out to a 10 acre field for a walk and he has now started to run full force at me and knock me down.

It seems as if he has pushed all the boundaries but the vicious biting was just the cherry to top the cake. Can anyone help me or suggest something that I can do. I have horses etc always got over their behavioural problems have taken in horses that have been badly beaten etc and built up trust with them also taken trouble young horses, and other dogs and never had a problem with any of them biting or kicking. It just seems like my dog is out there on his own.
Well, great job by the rescue center........booo hiss. One rescue lady told me, "You know sheepdogs are rather mouthy and it takes a good owner to know how to handle them." This was the result of a dog like yours. I shudder to think this rescue lady wad equating biting with typical dog mouthing. anyway..........

Good chance this guy was abused by a man. You will have to retrain this guy, one step at a time. There's no way of determining what this dog went thru before (I wish they could talk) but now you'll need to carefully explore where his flash points are and work them out. You may want to consult professional help here.

Jack bit me soon after he came here. As a result, I could not adopt him out as a rescue because of his biting. Seven month later I know what sets him off and am still trying to undo this flash point.

No way should your dog be in close proximity to kids until he has be retrained. Legally you have a known dangerous dog. Ditto around men.

When strangers come to the house put up the dog or have the dog on a short leash with your full attention. I'd also incorporate a muzzle into the training, but for some dogs the muzzle can be contrary to the training.

I guess I'm saying, seek professional help here. You have a dangerous dog.
Is this dog neutered? That would be the absolute first step, and while at the vets have him checked for thyroid levels and any other medical problems, as previously suggested.

I had a dog that was very dominant and constanty was chewing on me. I eventually learned his boundaries, and we came to an agreement... if I didn't do things that would cause him to bite me, he wouldn't bite me. At the age of 11 the vet found a cryptorchid an undescended testicle, which means for all those years I had essentially an unneutered male.

All of that said however, this sounds like it is escalating as the dog is becoming more comfortable in his surroundings, which leads me to believe this is partly a dominance issue. You should not do anything that will reinforce your dog as an equal. Check out this very recent post, and it's advice on the Nothing in Life is Free approach:

http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=5451

Sadly, sometimes there is nothing that can be done.
Thank you all for your advice. However is this vicious biting a once off (or is there any way of telling) We have given him a great home loads of love, toys long walks etc. It was just totally out of the blue. I saw my brother-in-laws arm it have two deep teeth marks. Is this normal for their breed.

His history is that he was hit on the head by a child with a skateboard whilst out with his owners and the dog growled at the child that is it the parents of the child demanded that he be put down but the police and the owners decided to try and rehouse him with the rescue centre.

He is neutered. I even had him at the vets to make sure. He is normally so loving and kind. There is always friends with children coming and going and this is the first time he bit anyone. If it were a stranger I would understand but my brother-in-law has been around since my dog arrived.

Should go to a dog trainer?

What am I doing wrong?
you are not necessarily doing anything wrong. i definitely recommend getting to a trainer that is experienced in dealing with aggressive dogs asap. call your vet and see if they have any recommendations for positive reinforcement trainers. i would highly advise you not to go to any trainer that uses any sort of punishment enforcement as this many times can increase aggression.

ive lived with an aggressive dog for 2 years now. at first i thought that he was biting for no reason and could therefore not fix the problem. it turned out that he actually has a few triggers including something as silly as opening the garage door. if you work with a trainer and do something like keep a journal of your dogs behavior, then perhaps you can locate a trigger and address it accordingly.
All good advice. I would suggest you contact the rescue group you got him from, to see how long he was in their care, and under what circumstances. Rescues go though what is called a "honeymoon period" where they are all good as gold, as they find their way. Thsi time period is "generally" a month. Then they start to revert back to their learned behaviors, or they start to react differently as they become more comfortable. The biting you have described, if it broke skin, is serious. My rescue group would never have adopteded out a dog with the potential to bite that easily, but maybe they diodn't know. I don't blame the dog at all for growling at the child when he got hurt, but that accident may have caused some long-term affects on his behavior. You need to seek professinal help..Positive help.
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