[Jendanreg]

Hi 1st time posting. I've got a 17week old male viszla , reggie.
He's a very big boy almost 16kg already.
He is showing some signs of aggression with is worrying me as I have 2 children.
He doesn't liked being moved if he is asleep( we don't intentionally go to move him but he takes a lot of space up on the sofa now , so he has to budge up sometime), we get a growl when we ask him to move and he ignors the off command then we have to move him!he is creat trained but loves to be in the same room as us when we are around.
He would bite me if attempted to take food or bones away. He picked a rotten tomato up on a walk yesterday and wouldn't drop it and bit my hand as I removed it!
He growls and barks occasionally when we entre the room.
I growled at a child today on the school run but I definitely think he was just sick of being touched ( I don't blame him for that one.
I'm mainly wanting advice on how to handle viszlas as everything says how sensitive they are and you should be gentle with them ! I would never hurt him but when he growls at my child I really want to smack his bottom( I haven't and wouldnt)
I've had him check at the vets and he's fine and 8 out of 10 times he's fab x
I'm really disheartened as everything we read about viszlas was positive.

 

[Dan_A]

He doesn't repect you or your family as leaders. He's doing what animals naturally do and take charge if they can. The growling and snapping is his primordial method of "training" you. Look for leadership exercises to do. Make him earn everything. Food, toys, doing fun stuff, etc. You own everything and allow him to use it at your whim. I'm not suggesting browbeating or other aggressive actions. Plenty of information on this site and internet on establishing leadership and "make them earn everything" approach to training.

The only other reason for this behavior is a true "aggressive disorder" where the dog has some kind of mental issue causing violent outbursts. This is by far the rarest cause and would require professional help.

 

[gunnr]

Vizslas are not aggressive, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be intimidating.
If it were me, and remember that he is your dog, not mine, the first thing that would stop is getting on the couch, or furniture. Move his crate into the same room, but he earns that privilege of being on the couch.
The second thing I would do is desensitize home to food. With my dogs, I put food, or treats in their bowl, and then put my hand in the bowl. They have to eat around my fingers. With bones, and maybe scraps of meat. They eat it, or chew on it while I hold it. I take it away and give it back repeatedly. Over and over again. They get assertive, it’s removed, and a stern warning given, then repeat. They always get it in the end, but it is on my terms, not theirs.
He growls at your child, you go absolutely ballistic on him. He’s big enough that he can take a firm correction, and then he should be put away for a time out. You’re not trying to beat him here, or hurt him. It is a very quick physical correction, with a lot of threatening tone, and then it is over. We’re talking 5-10 seconds. Put him in his crate for a time out, then let him out, and work on social skills.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with him keeping a 3’ length of leash attached in the house. This way, if he gets unruly, you need to only get ahold of the leash to regain control, not deal with him being snappy.
He’s looking for a leader to tell him what to do.

 

[Jendanreg]

Tonight reggie has bitten my daughters hand, she offered her hand for him to smell first befor going to stroke him and he did not growl , just bit her fingers and broke the skin.
We have made a devastating decision to give him back to the breeder for the week to see what she thinks. But I can't see us ever trusting him again. He's only 17weeks. And can't really see where we've gone wrong.
I feel like I'm giving my child up

 

[Dan_A]

Sorry to hear that , please keep us posted on what the breeder determines.

 

[Bob Engelhardt]

That's really disturbing because there is no indication of WHY he would do it. It raises the possibility that he is "miswired" in some way.

TexasRed had a dog (Cash, IIRC) that had a wiring problem: a perfect dog 99% of the time, but totally unpredictable on very rare occasions. It did not end well. Reggie's behavior is unlike Cash's in that Reggie's is predicable, usually, but this latest incident wasn't & you have to think about that.

Hopefully the breeder will be able to see an example of unpredictable behavior, otherwise she's just going to assume that training will be able to correct it. There is no correcting a wiring problem.

Good luck ... we all can appreciate how hard this must be for you & your family.

 

[gunnr]

I'm very sorry to read of the turn of events, but you made the right decision!!
Your daughters health and safety has to come first.

 

[texasred]

I’m so very sorry this has happened to your family. To answer your first question. No vizslas should not ( and normally are not) be aggressive. Not saying this is the case, but every once in a blue moon a vizsla is born, and for whatever reason it’s brain is just not hardwired correctly.
Hugs.

 

[rubicon]

I’m so sorry to hear what you went through. 17 weeks is so young to be this aggressive! My boy has more of an opinion these days but at that age he was soooo pliant and eager to please. Puppies in general are. Not to say he’s aggressive. He’s ridiculously gentle.

I have met an aggressive and reactive Vizsla so it’s possible. I fostered him for a week and walked on eggshells the entire time he was here

 

[Jendanreg]

Hi everyone the breeder has had reggie for 2 weeks now and has not seen any aggression in him!
But her setting is very different to ours! She has 4 other viszla and is a very busy woman she works full time and has 2 horses and only has an older son so I don't think she gets the time to cuddle up with her dogs and if she does the dogs don't have to share her attention with other small human.
My children are 8 and 13 and are not boistress or overpowering in any way.
Now we have calmed down and have collected our thoughts on the bite, we also had a positive dog trainer / behaviourist out to see him, befor we took him back to the breeder. She recons its resources guarding.

We still can't settle on a decision.
Reggie stole our hearts he was amazing and so trainable the thing I had him doing at 16weeks were amazing!if I can attach a video I will.
So my heart tell me we can work though this and I could trust him with the kids.
BUT although my daughter loves him she is frightened of him and I'm frightened of what he will be capable of when fully grown! And I'm fully aware that reggie will pick up on this.
My head is telling me that reggie is thriving with other dogs and would be better suited to someone that can make him the centre of attention as he was so affectionate with me and my husband. And maybe is more experienced with viszlas.

 

[texasred]

Even though we love them. Sometimes we do what is better suited for the dog. It just comes down to it being the right fit for Reggie. Could I forgive a dog that bit? Yes. Would I trust one with a child, No.

 

[rubicon]

Even though we love them. Sometimes we do what is better suited for the dog. It just comes down to it being the right fit for Reggie. Could I forgive a dog that bit? Yes. Would I trust one with a child, No.

Seconded. I think at this point you’re better off trying with a different dog, or a different Vizsla. There are vizslas who never display such behaviors at all. My V has never resource guarded in his life. Not that that’s normal for dogs, but I’ve literally never seen it. When he was young, we would put our hands in his food to teach him that so normal and ok. In hindsight I don’t know why we bothered because he has never displayed any anger of irritation at such behaviors.

My dog doesn’t resource guard my or my husband’s affection from my toddler or the foster V, for example. But the foster V did. He also resource guarded toys and treats and I was terrified one day he would “claim” one of my toddler’s toys and we’d have a real issue on our hands. He decided my husband was his “person” and took over his lap completely and my V was like “I want to cuddle up to my dad but I’m afraid what the other dog will do.”

from what I understand the other dog does fine in a different environment. But he just couldn’t thrive in our family.