[piajames85]

Hi all,

I haven’t needed to post on here for a while but now I’ve had enough.
Our boy is almost 2 and loves a cuddle with me (mum) after dinner. But when I get home from work and try to sit in the living room he literally will attack me. He has always done this if the routine has changed eg haven’t taken him out for his usual walk or not in the kitchen cooking, but recently it has gotten worse and I feel scared at times.
He mainly does it in the living room where his crate is and where he can sit on the sofa. If I go to walk across the room he will go for me and especially if I sit on the sofa. His eyes go black and he jumps up and down on me, biting my arm. He rarely bites down hard enough to pierce the skin. Last night was different though, I was sitting on the sofa and he knew his dad went up stairs. As soon as he heard this he just started lunging at me. Stops as soon as dad comes in the room and tells him off. Rarely does it to him as well.
Not sure what I’ve don’t wrong and why he only does it to me? Breaks my heart that he can go from attacking to sleeping on me.
Anyone had similar experiences? X

 

[Sophie01]

I think he doesn't see you as an alpha, he sees you as a pack mate. I've recommended this before on this forum and I'll do it again, it's called Doggie Dan Calming Code. He has other training stuff so be sure to look for this one. It worked like charm on our V. I will still let her play with me but it's on my terms and she knows I'm in charge. The training is so simple! But it really worked.

 

[PhilipL]

My first thought too was also regarding Alpha and it sounds like your boy feels confident enough to 'dominate' you, rather than the other way around. I would be temped to apply a gentle squirt of water from a spray bottle or water pistol at him, avoiding his eyes, with a firm 'No' each time. Only had to do this a couple of times with my teenage 1 year old Vizsla and he soon learned, to the extent that even brandishing the water pistol was sufficient. My wife and daughter haven't had to use it again in the past three years, as he knows his position within our pack.

 

[Weez626]

I agree with the water bottle idea. We were told the same thing by a trainer. Use a few teaspoons of white vinegar, not the apple cider vinegar. Spray in front of his nose, never right in the face or eyes and say your command like “leave it” or whatever it may be. Hope it works for you.

 

[Dan_A]

In addition to leadership training, I also suggest teaching "get your toy". This is a trick that we use all the time when Ellie gets into turbo crazy V mode where she would be jumping up and mouthing/pulling on clothes etc out of excitement. We say "get your toy" and she scurries off and finds a toy to keep in her mouth. It acts as a pacifier and also keeps the mouth occupied and off of us.