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Old February 3rd, 2018, 08:07 PM
gibby gibby is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Atlanta, GA
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7m. old lab/boxer mix aggressive, biting kids

We have a 7 month old puppy from the Humane Society - we adopted him 3 months ago. I think he is a lab/boxer mix. He is a typical puppy - boisterous and in need of training (we are going to obedience classes). We adore him and he is really a sweet dog. BUT - over the last two months he has displayed some very concerning behavior. When he is comfortable on the couch or bed, but needs to be moved for whatever reason - he will growl, lunge, and bite. He will also do this when he has a toy or a special treat. I have read about resource guarding, and I have discussed this with the trainer at obedience classes - but I haven't gotten a very good answer. I have kids ages 5-17. I am sure we have been too lax with him - letting him sleep in the bed, letting him on the couch, and that stops now. I'm guessing this is a dominance issue, and he only recognizes me as dominant - not the kids.
But I grew up with dogs in rural Illinois and I never saw this type of behavior. We had Irish wolfhounds, Irish terriers, Ridgebacks, Whippets, and rescues over the years. They were always on the furniture and in beds - I've never seen this.
Henry (the puppy) never does this to me (the mom) - only the kids. The 13, 15, 17 year olds are very good with him - calm and don't mess with him. They are old enough and don't play with him. The younger kids had to be taught not to provoke him or even actually play with him (other than fetch with a tennis ball) - and they've been very good the last month. But prior to one month ago, I can see now that he probably saw the younger kids as his playmates (totally our fault). Does our puppy need to go back to the shelter? The thought breaks my heart - but I can't have a dog that bites. On the other hand - I'm thinking this is my fault as I didn't properly establish all humans as the boss, and he as the dog. Is this amenable to training at this point? Nobody but me approaches him when he has a toy or food now. But, just tonight, my son was walking by his dog bed - and he growled, lunged, and bit his leg (didn't break the skin, but there are clear bite marks with bleeding under the skin).
I was right there. I'm guessing that Henry probably thought someone was going to disturb him - but my son was just walking by. My question is - is this type of behavior something we can change ? Or is this just a dog that shouldn't be around kids?
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aggressive, puppy biting

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