Some of you may remember a thread I posted a while back about having seven dogs in the house because my son is deployed and we have his two labs, Jezebel and Isabel. We call them Meth Lab and Dork Dog. We have five of our own, Max and Roxy (Great Pyrenees), Elly May (Beagle), Little Ann (Redbone) and Madison (Genetically challenged lab mix of some kind). We've had repeated issues with dog fights between the Pyrenees and the Labs. A week ago we had a nasty fight. Max and Roxy double-teamed Isabel and dealt out some serious damange before I could get there and grab them by the back of the neck and drag them off of her. She's doing okay now. There was one instance before this last episode that worried me. We managed to prevent a fight, but Max (who weighs in at a little over 140 now) decided to try to stand his ground with me. He didn't actually growl at me, but he showed me a little fang and took a stance. It was unnerving, but I pointed away and yelled "GO!" and he backed down. Well, the "front" had been all quiet since the last incident - right up until last night at around 9:00 pm. My wife and I were in the kitchen talking and my beagle, Elly May, got under my feet. I went to take a step, tripped over her and maybe stepped on her paw trying to avoid her as I went to the ground. Anyway, she started bawling as if I'd just amputated her tail and she wouldn't shut up. My wife and I knew what was coming because a yelping dog is a sure-fire recipe for disaster with this pack, so we braced ourselves. Roxy was in the house and came to investigate and for some reason I can't fathom the black lab, Jezebel, attacked Roxy. Max was outside, so I scrambled to get in front of the dog door to stop him from coming in while my wife dealt with the fight. I knew that if Max got involved we would have another serious situation on our hands. Max started trying to get in and I was yelling "NO!" and holding the dog door flap shut. He managed to push his head through and while I was pushing his head back out he did a lightning quick snap of his head and bit my left wrist. Not just a "nip" either. He bit hard. His left fang didn't puncture the skin, but his right fang went through the heavy flannel shirt I was wearing as a jacket and punctured and went to the bone. I'm pretty sure there's some nerve damage because my left thumb is partially numb now. I'm at a loss. If I had been breaking up a fight and gotten bit I could understand. I can also understand that Max was trying to get to the action to do his job as protector. The problem I see with this is that he could see me, he knew it was me telling him no, he knows I'm the Alpha and he bit me anyway. I'm really torn on what to do at this point. I keep playing the "what if" game, and there are a lot of possible scenarios. The main one, though, is "What if we have a dog fight and one of my grandchildren is in the way?" On a side note, my wife will be leaving Saturday to take my son's labs to Cheyenne, Wyoming where she'll meet my son's wife and turn them over. She's finally conceded that they can't stay here even though I've been trying to say that from the start. Oh.... my wrist:
What kind of discipline did you do to the dog after he bit you? What did you do after he snarled at you? If you're not doing any kind of SEVERE correction you're letting the dog think he can get away with this kind of behavior. So far he's went from a snarl to a bite. Whats next? If this was my dog, I would spend the next several weeks making sure that he knew under no uncertain terms that I am the boss, you do what I say when I say it or there will be consequences. And be prepared for another event that should he snarl at you or attempt to bite you during a correction that you can administer a significant correction. I would keep him on a short leash all the time, maybe 3-4 feet long so that you can control him at all times.
Dang, Johnny ...you are NOT gonna like my answer .... see MNPurple's thread above ... you are no longer the Alpha male in your house....that position is being challenged....
In this case, I would think the bite was more of a heat of the moment type of thing as he was trying to get to the action. But, the point remains he has snarled at and now bitten you. There is no doubt he is willing to challenge you. If he is willing to challenge the "alpha dog" there is no reason he won't challenge anyone else including the grandkids. He would worry me. My current dog growled at me once when she was about 4 months old and I was putting her food down. When that growl started, she got flipped on her back with my hand around her throat until she went limp in submission and the next 7 years she never so much as raised a lip at anyone. That was a pup though, I'm not sure how an established adult dog would respond.
any dog bites me or my family they are done no questions asked any dog that will bite its handler is not good I could see if he got an outsider but not a owner Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk
It's a good thing that you got two dogs removed from the house. It seems that the labs were always involved somehow. Hopefully things will settle down and get back to normal.LGD's are a different dog to deal with. They seem to be very sensitive and don't respond well to harsh or physical reprimands. A lot of times they respond to physical punishment in kind. You don't want that. You have to out wit them and strongly make sure your family's alpha position is re-established. Good luck.
My dog snapped at me one time and one time only when she was a few months old. After I slapped her across the nose and pinned her to the ground by her neck she never did it again.
I agree, the flip over and hand on the neck WOULD have been the best method. This is now a 140 pound dog that is displaying dominance issues. I'm not going to try to flip him over, good luck with that A leash, a choke collar, a healing stick would go a long way at this point.
Sounds like you need to get a few less dogs, if there's continued fighting the dogs are probably always on edge trying to establish the pecking order. As far as you getting bit during the process and him challenging you before I know how I've handled that before but its not gonns be a popular response. We'll just say about a month or so later I had a new dog. But I won't have a dog around that bites or acts aggressive. Good luck, hopefully it calms down after the trip to Wyoming.
Had my old doberman get fiesty with me once and nipped at my hand, I responded, he peed himself...after that every thing was understood for the next 9 years. Had he shown repeated aggressiveness or had it been more extreme towards me or anyone he would probably have went away. After the fact it's nearly impossible to discipline.
I've never had any dog of my own do that sort of thing to me, but I know what I would do if it did happen. They would be laying on the floor wishing they had never done that to me. By no means do I beat my dog, but any dog of mine will know who is in charge.
Garmin makes some pretty nice tracking collars that can send a "signal" to a dog, I hear they're very effective.
Does anyone know about the dog biting you? Let me speak candidly... If anyone knows... you are one false accusation away from a lawsuit that can take everything you own and it doesn't matter whether anything really happened or not. I have been there friend... even proved the nutcases were lying there butts off. If you have a dog that bites, has bitten, a breed with a propensity to bite... a dog that has ever growled at a person... you go to court... you lose. I'd find the dog another home. As I said... I have been through this and trust me, you don't want to go through it.
Okay, I went to a Great Pyrenees forum and got some input on this issue. I didn't get a chance to punish Max after the incident. Right after the bite he backed off and I got the dog door plate inserted and we spent some time assessing damage. We spent some time trying to find out who was bleeding but it turned out to be me. When we did finally go outside it was clear that Max knew he'd made a big mistake. He was crouching, whining and wouldn't let us get close to him even though we were using a calm voice. GregH is correct when he says that LDGs don't respond well to physical punishment. Actually, that's an understatement. I don't think that my position as "Alpha" is in jeopardy because the general consensus is that Pyrs don't really accept humans as an "Alpha". Check out these comments from the Great Pyrenees forum to see what I'm talking about. And the best one:
The Great Pyrenees is a capable and imposing guardian, devoted to its family, and somewhat wary of strangers—human and canine. It is often used to guard livestock. When not provoked, it is calm, well-mannered and somewhat serious. Courageous, very loyal and obedient. Gentle and affectionate with those he loves. Devoted to family even if self-sacrifice is required. It is very gentle with its family and children. It does best with children when it is raised with them from puppyhood, and if it is not being used as a working flock guard be sure to socialize it well with people, places and noises. It has an independent nature, and may try to dominate a less secure or meek owner, and/or an owner who treats the dog as if he is human, becoming stubborn or territorial. Owners need to be firm, but calm, confident and consistent with the dog. Setting rules the dog must follow and stick to them. The Great Pyrenees is a serious worker, but very independent. Be patient when training the Great Pyrenees, as it may be slightly difficult. If left alone inside the home without the proper amount of exercise and or leadership it can become destructive. The Great Pyrenees is good with non-canine animals, and usually loves cats. These dogs do not reach maturity until they are about 2 years old. Some are not good off the leash and may wander away. They need an owner who understands and practices natural dogmanship. The Great Pyrenees tends to bark a lot and some tend to drool and slobber. I always wanted one...not now tho....I need to be the Alpha for there to be harmony...(sans the wife)
