[ljcomm]

Our 6 month old dog Blaze lashed out and bit on two separate occasions; once our neighbors child and again our son (within 2 weeks). Both incidents occurred while he was resting in his floor bed. The kids were close by and without provocation (we were there to witness this), he lunged out and bit them in the face. Needless to say, my family is devastated. My wife and I reason that it's time for him to go but our hearts tell us otherwise. Has anyone else experienced these outbursts? Is there any hope of getting this under control?

 

[gunnr]

I do not envy your position.
I've never had any of my Vizsla's lunge and bite with intent. That must have been beyond words
The only advice I can give you is to have as complete a vet exam as possible done, and detail the behavior. Maybe he is in pain, or something else is happening. You might also want to consider a pro trainer, or behavior specialist.
If nothing can be found, and the training /behavior modification doesn't work out, you may have to consider trying to place him with an experienced adult handler, or consider the other alternative. :'(

I really, really hope there is something causing him pain or distress.

 

[grahama]

Hi,

I have had a little of this with my daughter, but only a warning off when Peanut was sleeping in her day bed. I think that it was a mixture of tiredness and possesiveness over her bed but I immediately sent my daughter back and made Peanut give up her bed to her. This seems, after a few time making Peanut give up her bed, to have nipped it in the bud and she is back to her submissive self.

Before the vets, unless obviously in distress with something, making Blaze give up his bed and letting the kids take charge. Also do as I did and make him give up his bed to them, tell him in no uncertain terms that you and the kids are in charge. Do this with the kids under supervision and if he does go for them correct with a sharp slap on his bum, firm but fair.

Hope this helps somewhat, don't give up on him yet.

Graham

 

[Lisa]

Finding a good private trainer to come into the house might be a good idea. I'm in the Toronto area and did just that last night. I was so sure that all of us were dominant over Catan but it wasn't true. There were some very suttle things that Catan has been doing that I never recognized as dominance. Might be worth a try before you take that last resort of re-homing Blaze

 

[ljcomm]

I appreciate the feedback. The last thing we wish is to have to re-home him. We have a highly recommended trainer coming to our house on Friday. I hope we can resolve this issue because other than those incidents, he really is a wonderful dog. I'll update the situation when we know more. Thanks again!!

 

[Vlicked]

Aw, man. Tough situation. How'd the training go?

Good advice to take him to the vet too to rule out anything medical. But my first reaction is that he was having some dominance issues. I'm surprised he gave no warning. There's always a shift, if even ever so subtle. Doesn't have to be a growl. Could just be a quick perk of the ears...or complete stillness.

Good luck.

 

[Tina]

The trainer tells us what we already know... he is not a mean dog. He loves to play with everyone and everything. The trainer thinks that with the proper training, he could be managed. We are going to give the trainer a try with some ongoing sessions. I could deal with the behavior issues, but it's my 8 year old kids I'm concerned about. We are also going to have him checked out by our vet.
Thanks for the thoughts and the feedback all.