Rescue dog aggressive towards men

Rainydayz

Hi, I have a dog who we got from a shelter around two months ago. He is great but has some issues towards men and will growl and bark like crazy when anyone visits. I was advised for myself and the visitors to ignore the dog which seems to work to a degree. I had a friend over the other day and the dog really seemed to be coming around to him but after he stroked him for a while the dog suddenly turned around and bit him with no warning! Obviously this is very stressful - I can't have him biting anyone who visits the house! Just wondering if it is possible to ever fully correct this behaviour to a a degree where you feel like you can trust the dog around people? He is also not great with other dogs and will growl and sometimes snap at certain dogs. (The dog is two years old and was picked up as a stray so we know nothing about his history - he did not display this behaviour at the shelter but I've read that these traits are sometimes masked at the shelter and come out once the dog is settled in his home environment)

star-pants

I would consider getting training, to see if you can correct his behaviour.
We got a dog from a shelter before, and she would go for my mother and sister, but had no problems with my dad and brother. We had to bring her back cuz she was biting them.

Durga

Rainydayz wrote: »

The dog is two years old and was picked up as a stray so we know nothing about his history

He is telling you about his history.

A rescue dog with behaviour issues has usually been treated badly in the past. They require a lot of patience and trust-building. He needs to learn to break the association that all men will harm him. I've seen it both here and in developing countries with huge stray dog populations. Please persist and encourage your male friend to do likewise. The rewards are really worth the effort.

sabbyp

Two very important things to remember with your fellow are - any contact with visitors coming to your house should be on the dogs terms - that is let the dog instigate the contact, and secondly he should associate new people coming into your house with something positive - for example your male friend comes to visit, give him (the friend) a handful of something tasty that you know your dog likes, your friend sits down on the couch, let him offer a treat, or eventually the dog will come over to investigate the yummy smell, he gets rewarded with a tasty treat.

You mention how your friend was stroking the dog and he suddenly bit him - the dog was probably was not that comfortable with the stroking - he tolerated it to a point but then he reached his threshold of what he could deal with, got scared and then bit. It sounds like you need to move really slowly with this guy, he is obviously not totally comfortable with being stroked by strange men, so don't even go there, not yet, for now let him just 'be' in the company of men, let him take treats from them, sit near them, etc when the dog gets a bit more confident, he can be given a stroke or two, but quit while you are ahead and dont set the dog up to fail - build the stroking and touching up very slowly, always rewarding the dog for accepting the touch of a man.
Good luck!:)

meisha

thats an awfull situation,the dog has obviously had a bad experience in the past with a male poor darling,you are doing good to ignore the dog the advise given is great i would have a trainer take a look and help you and the dog,its a shame he is like that but it can be fixed he just needs time and trust,is he neutered?well done for rescuing a dog

Durga

That's really good advice, sabbyp. I would also add that often where a rescue dog has suffered neglect they can become quite possessive of the one who gives them love and attention, and can regard others as a threat. So it's also important to lay down ground rules and be consistent by reprimanding any bad behaviour as soon as it happens using a firm voice and making sure they know you are not happy. They generally don't like to upset the main caregiver. As well as giving them affection they need to learn boundaries around what you consider to be acceptable behaviour. This is the same for all dogs but with a rescue it can take a little longer to learn.

All too often people return a rescue dog soon after getting them because the animal did not meet their expectations as to how a dog should behave and they are not willing to put in the effort . With a little patience you will soon have a dog whose quality of life has been improved because you chose to give them a home.

tootyflutty

Same thing happened with us. We rescued one of our dalmatians from the relatives of a woman who had been beaten by her husband. The man had obviuosly hit the dog too, and he came to us in a terrible, terrified state.
He seemed to be fine with women, but would cower away from all men, before snarling and growling when they got too close.
We had another two dogs at the time we rescued him, and both of them loved me dad, and thought of him as head of the pack. So we left them to train the new fella. It took a very long time, but we just kept submerging the dog with men at safe distances and he learned they were different to his previous owner.
My dad had to gain his trust with him, and make him believe he would do him no harm. Allthough he does relapse at times, he is much better than we ever could have hoped he would be

Rainydayz

Hi, thanks everyone for the advice - it all makes sense. Yes I would say he is very protective of me and has become very attached to the point of following me around the house from room to room and even waiting for me outside the bathroom! I had a trainer out and she was great. I need to stop him following me around the house of course. I have no intention of giving up on this dog - hes a lovely boy really. I will just have to persist with getting people to call round and yes I agree just let him get used to them before anyone strokes him. The most unbelievable thing I've found when starting to training him is the difficulty in getting friends/visitors to co-operate with me. If I say ignore the dog or don't touch him a few people have insisted that 'know dogs' or that they are some kind of dog whisperer or something and petted him anyway! I know the dog is just tolerating it and could snap at any time so I'am standing there sweating! I hadn't expected training the visitors to be the harderst part!! Thanks for the advice - its made me more confident that I can work this out which is half the battle. Just another point I'd like to add about some animal shelters. While they do fantastic work I think that lack of funding and resources mean that many of them are unable to access their dogs properly and seem more interested in making sure the new owners are right for the dog rather than the other way around. I was told this guy loved people/ children/ other dogs/ cats but he seems to have a problem with all of the above and I wouldn't trust him around a child!! We have two cats so this was a priority that he got on with them so at the shelter they took him into a pen with around 30 cats and he seemed fine. In hindsight I'd say if you took even the most aggressive dog into a pen with 30 hissing and growing cats he would have the good sense not to make a wrong move! The result of that of course is that he chases our two poor cats and this is another problem I'am having to deal with:(

super_metroid

it sounds like a man molested him in the past, it will take time to get him to trust people

remember that anything is possible, don't give up on him

toadfly

Hi OP,

we had a similiar situation with a Pom we rescued 2 years ago. unfortunately she died a year ago. The main thing is when men (or just strangers) come into the house not to make eye contact as she took that as a form of confrontation. It really takes patience, a lot of it but it will be worth it in the end. Our little one (princess!) wouldnt walk on the lead was terrified as she had been tied up for days on end by previous owner and dragged round by the lead so was terrified of it. We had actually gotten her walking on it 3 days before she was killed, we were so proud of her its like when your child takes their first steps!

so yes patience and no eye contact, good luck

super_metroid

how did she die?

toadfly

super_metroid wrote: »

how did she die?

she was killed on the road while I was on holidays. she was with my brother across the road from my house he was emptying the thing on the lawnmower in the field, she heard a car coming, got scared and went to run home and was hit. Was so upset especially as it was when I was away and she was buried by time I got home. very very sad but at least she was happy for the last year we had her.

Durga

Thanks for sharing that, TillyGirl. I felt quite sad reading it. Poor little mite.

Rainydayz

Help! This dog is getting worse if anything. Ok we do the ignoring thing and he just growls away at visitors but if they pet him at all he will snap even after a few hours. Last night he ran under the bed (he knows he isn't allowed in the bedroom) and when I tried to get him out he just lay down and wouldn't budge. I nudged him from behind and he turned around and bit me!!! It wasn'/t bad or anything - just a brush of his teeth but thats not the point and I am now starting to resent and be afraid of the dog. This morning I told him to get off the couch and he just sat there as if defying me and when I tried pushing him off he was growling and baring his teeth again (I made sure I got him down as I know its important that he doesn't 'win') I am pretty sure now that this is dominance and not fear. He certainly isn't afraid of me. I think he is challenging me and thinks he is higher than me in the pack. I am now at the point where I am seriously considering that we might have to give him back to the shelter. Although I would be devestated I am an absolute nervous wreck at the moment and can't live the rest of my life with this dog in a constant state of fear and anxiety. I am so upset cos I do so much for this dog. I walk him for hours and take him in the car everywhere I go. I do dicipline him as well thou so its not as if I have been letting him away with everything. I have emailed a dog trainer from Madra in Connemara (feedback?) so she is my last hope I guess. Obviously I know rescue dogs take time and patience but I am in fear of my life that he will bite a child or someone and cause real damage.

Blueprint

Madra should be able to help you out, as they are used to dealing with rescue dogs - they can at least assess if the dog is being really aggressive or just scared. It's not really a good idea to give advice on a dog so damaged over the Net. One thing you could try with the refusal to move is to leave a leash attached to him while in the house, so that if he goes on something he shouldn't you can pick it up and lead him off (you do need to make sure to supervise him so that he doesn't strangle himself while wearing it!). He probably associates you reaching for him with your hands coming to try and hurt him, dominance theory is way over rated!

Lying under the bed sounds like he's looking for a safe place to hide rather than him being defiant to me and people poking you when you can't really see them is always scary.

dmy1001

i think it is a dog behaviourist not a trainer that you need badly. your dog sounds like he has had a very traumaitc life before coming to you and may need help getiing over that. he does not realise how much you do for him!

if i were you i would put a lot of effort into finding the correct person to help you with this as the wrong approach could make you problem worse. there are a lot of people out there and as with everything else you have genuine folks and those who call themselves something they have no training in. its just a matter of researching for a short while before going to someone.
i hope you get some help soon:)