[aneczkact]

Hello,
My almost 3yo, neutered Vizsla bit my girls 3 times already. First time it happened in February. I was on the bed with him when my daughter entered the room and he jumped at her. The last to incidents happened last week. On Tuesday he bit my younger when she was reaching to pick up an ornament from the floor. he was nearby and chewing on his bully stick. On thursday my older daughter just walked by a couch that he was on and he went after her.
We were lucky that in all cases it was just the hand but i can't image if it was face or neck :-(
We love him and would love to keep him but on the other hand I can't imagine something happened to my girls because of him. Vet is suggesting anxiety medications. We are going for blood work. I called multiple trainers and behaviorists and they all have a long wait list.
Any suggestions ? any chance of rehoming him with that history ?
Thank You
Anna

 

[Hbomb]

Ah I’m sorry to hear this.
How old are your girls?
Children particularly young children can cause anxiety in dogs.
I am no expert but it sounds like he is resource guarding. Initially the bed, then his stick, then the couch.

id advise you get the help of a behaviourist. In the mean time give him a safe space away from the kids to have his high value treats. If your dog has bitten hard I would suggest training him to wear a basket muzzle while you work on the guarding. I would also make sure he had a space to rest away from the kids not on a bed or sofa. You will need to not leave him alone with your girls at all.

We had this when Ozzy was younger with our son (6). We are fortunate in that he’s had a very soft mouth so when he did nip him a couple of times he didn’t leave a mark. It’s still a worry though. He would guard his space on the couch mainly and was worse when he was tired.

we had him off the furniture and and now when my son is around he goes to his crate for rest. He comes up for cuddles now when my sons in bed- he is fine with adults approaching him


we also got my son involved training him and that seems to be helping too.

I have a large mat in front of his crate so my son knows not to approach the crate.
We are getting there but I would not leave him alone with my son yet. He’s 18 months.

there is a book called living with kids and dogs without losing your mind- it’s excellent, gives lots of tips and has lots of pictures to spot signs of stress in a dog.

 

[Hbomb]

Sorry my above advice was based on if you decide to keep him I know it’s a really difficult call
If you do decide to rehome him it’s worth looking at vizsla rescue organisations. There is a good one in the UK (vizsla rescue ) but I’m not sure what is available in the US.
Good luck and I hope you and your daughters are ok.
There’s a good feed on instagram called Story of Atlas- it shows the rehabilitation of a young male with a bite history. The work they have done with him is great.