I have a dilemma

[The Frymarker]

No she hardly barks at all even when we are outside.

[shartley]

[The Frymarker]

Yes shartley, I'm trying to weigh this issue from all sides,


we're on the fence with this one.

I want to give her a little time since this incident and see if the behavior can be curbed.

She's been a good dog before this happened

[ShooterJM]

Originally posted by shartley

Agreed. Good luck and keep us posted.

[obsolete898]

Like Sam said there's is great advice in this thread, so I don't really have to say much. The only thing I'll reiterate(sp) is make sure your dog knows that the humans that live in the house are boss. That is the single most important thing when training animals.

Ask my wife why the cat walks all over her and will only attack her. From day one I didn't give him an inch, now all I have to do is look at him when he's doing something wrong and he'll stop. Where as my wife will have almost run at him.

Also if he does something wrong don't be afraid to give him a smack on the snout. Not to hard but with a little snap so he knows what he did was wrong.

Sorry to here about your son I hope he's ok.

[shartley]

Originally posted by The Frymarker
Yes shartley, I'm trying to weigh this issue from all sides,


we're on the fence with this one.

I want to give her a little time since this incident and see if the behavior can be curbed.

She's been a good dog before this happened

[Jonno06]

i hope your son is ok,and good luck with your decision...



im more of a cat person:)

[The Frymarker]

Thanks Shartley for making me see it from another perspective, as the dog not being just a pet. I feel horrible when I see animals in shelters when really they just need to be taught right from wrong.


Yes my son is doing fine. I don't think he will end up with a scar. He isn't afraid of the dog either which makes it better.

He is just very scared when it comes to seeing his own blood. He made himself sick.

Thank you all for helping me and giving me such great advice.

I'm glad I could turn to such caring people as your selves!

I greatly appreciate it!

[The Frymarker]

I finally figured out what breed my dog is

Well I guess with her growing so fast we finally found out what she is.


It took a while but she seems to have some Rhodesian Ridgeback in her.

She has fur that stands up on her back, but her ridge is not as pronounced as a full breed, it is more of a zig zag affect but none the less it stands up on her back.


She looks more like this breed than an Akita.

Her pic is at the beginning of this post.

She hasn't bitten anyone since, however I can't believe how big she is getting.

[Slapp]

Fry,

Most dogs are real food possessive, especially when puppies. Often dogs from the shelter have had a less than idealic life so far and they require some attention and training to win their trust and obedience.

I would seek out a good obedience class for the dog and talk with the trainer there about the situation even if you don't enroll in the classes. They can surely provide some helpful advice on how to aclimate the puppy to your child.

Good luck!

[Fred]

I have had great experiences with my dog, a Norweigan Elkhound, which I got 9 years ago. I was 12, my bro was 9, and my sis was 7 at the time.

A lot of my thoughts as I read your posts have been pointed out by others, specifically that with ANY dog dominance of the people in the house has to be forefront.
My dog bit, quite a lot, when he was a little puppy (got him at 8 weeks old, from the Humane Society), but they were never attack type bites, all were in play. The one or two times when he tried to actually bite, he got the rolled up newspaper. The key with that, I found, was that you don't hit the dog, you hit your hand and make a REALLY loud noise, which scares the piss outa the dog (literally). We used the same technique for his house-training, and he only went on the carpet twice, once on purpose, the other when he was scared by the paper. :)

I did quite a bit of research before I picked out the breed, I wanted something not too big (around 50lbs), that had physical attibutes I liked (strong enough to pull a sled), and would be good with kids, since all my cousins are way younger than me. The Elkhound is a good guard dog, and is pretty protective of the house and yard, and of the kids that are around. He doesn't herd them like my Aunt's Belgian Sheperd (a whole different story...), but keeps a close eye on everything. He's also very gentle with kiddies, and all the neighbors love him since he lets them pet him to no end (he's fuzzy...). He also doesn't bark much, except to be let in or out, or when someone comes in the yard or to the front door.

I looked at Akitas when I was breed-searching, they were a little too big though, and like it has been pointed out, the possibility of aggressiveness to young ones isn't cool with me.

Shartley pointed out the most important aspect, that if your kids get afraid of the dog, the dog WILL know it, and use it to its advantage. That happened with some of my cousins and a springer spaniel that didn't get much training (they got it at 6 months old). the dog had to be put down.

It sounds like you're on top of things already though, good luck!

---Fred

[than205]

An option I read about and put to good use is that the dog does not eat until after everyone else in the house has eaten. The thinking is that it re-establishes the pecking order. I had to make that rule for my 2 year old boxer. It seems to have worked very well for us. She seems to have mellowed alot.

Also, I am firm believer that a dog should never eat human food. (Beggers bother me) I feel if the dog never gets a taste for scraps it's not an issue.

Hang in there. Doggies are awesome either way!

[Laser]

If that was my dog and he bit my 3 yr old girl I would very quickly take it someplace and put a nice shiny bullet in its head.
He bit once and can very easily do it again and next time could be alot worse

[shartley]

[shartley]

Originally posted by Laser
If that was my dog and he bit my 3 yr old girl I would very quickly take it someplace and put a nice shiny bullet in its head.
He bit once and can very easily do it again and next time could be alot worse

This in my opinion is just sad.