# SEVERE BITING PROBLEM



## hpolascik (Jul 14, 2011)

I own a 3 year old Havanese, his name is Chico. We purchased him when he was about 8 weeks old. Tonight he bit my hand rather severely drawing a lot of blood. He also tried to bite me a couple of nights ago. This behavior is out of the ordinary for him. He is always so loveable and always sitting in my lap demanding attention but he gets extremely jealous, if I even talk to my other dog (pekeneese). He gets along fine with him and they play great together.

Recently he has starting weeing all over the house especially on the furniture. He will get on the sofa and wee on the cushions, he will get on the back of the sofa and wee on the drapes...he has marked my whole house up and I am runnig around with the bissel cleaners pratically attached to me. 

Tonight I took the dogs outside and walked them for about 20 minutes then went to the bathroomm myself when I came back into the living room he had weed all over my laptop!!! (I can prove it was his because my other dog was in the bathroom with me). I took him over to the laptop and scholded him and he turned around and bit the sugar (not what I really wanted to say) out of me. He tried to bite me 2 nights ago for the same thing.

He has not been nuetered so I was wondering if this might have anything to do with his behavior. 

I need answers quick because I babysit my 7 year old grandson and 
i cannot afford for him to be bitten. Sometimes when my grandson runs in the house he barks and chases him like he is going to bite him. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I love him dearly and would hate to have to get rid of him.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes, the not-being-neutered part is probably contributing a lot to his behavior. You need to bring him to a trainer that specializes in aggression. Unfortunately, your scolding may have been the wrong reaction. I am not a trainer, but I know that for aggressive dogs, the way you react is critical. is he a show dog? Do you plan to breed him? If not, you may need to consider neutering him as it may help his behavior, and you wouldn't want to risk your grandson getting hurt. My suggestion is to consult with your vet and a behaviorist that specializes or know a great deal about aggression in dogs.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, first of all, taking him back to where he previously peed and scolding him does absolutely no good. Dogs don't understand that. If you can catch them in the act, fine. But not after the fact. Since you say both bites happened under the same circumstances, I suspect you may have scared him more than you were aware, and he was defending himself.

Many, though not all, unneutered male dogs mark their territory. Neutering may help, but with some dogs, once they have started, it can be a very hard habit to break... especially if you aren't willing and able to go back to "puppy" type training where the dog is closely confined any time you can't keep your eyes on him EVERY MOMENT. An alternative that many people use with dogs who mark in the house is to have them wear a "belly band". This won't keep them from trying to mark, but it WILL contain the urine (like a diaper) so that it's not all over your house. Often, a combination of both approaches is necessary until you get it back under control.

As far as the situation with your grandson... I'd say that you need to monitor their interactions CLOSELY. The dog should never be left alone with him, and he should be taught to move slowly around the dog. At times when these two things aren't possible, you really need to keep the dog crated or in another room.

Where the behaviors are recent, the FIRST thing you should do is take him to the vet and make sure there are no underlying medical problems. If he is given a clean bill of health, I would STRONGLY suggest that you find a good dog trainer who uses positive training methods to help you figure out exactly what's wrong, and how best to solve the problems. It's impossible to be sure of the dynamics that are going on long distance... the trainer needs to see you and your dog in his home environment to be able to give you the best advice possible.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

atsilvers27 said:


> Yes, the not-being-neutered part is probably contributing a lot to his behavior. You need to bring him to a trainer that specializes in aggression. Unfortunately, your scolding may have been the wrong reaction. I am not a trainer, but I know that for aggressive dogs, the way you react is critical. is he a show dog? Do you plan to breed him? If not, you may need to consider neutering him as it may help his behavior, and you wouldn't want to risk your grandson getting hurt. My suggestion is to consult with your vet and a behaviorist that specializes or know a great deal about aggression in dogs.


Even if the plan was to breed him, I'd strongly suggest considering neutering him. We don't need more Havs with questionable temperaments added to the gene pool. IMO, this is AT LEAST as big an issue as health. (which is huge) Most of our Havs are pets first. And a dog with a poor temperament makes a poor pet. Dogs that bite all too often end up being euthanized.

I'm not positive this guy is innately aggressive, and that the bites weren't fear based. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and I agree completely... the OP needs to find a good trainer to work with. (preferably in the home, in this instance)


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

*Vet First*

I agree that a visit to the vet is the first order of business. If this is a total change in behavior, as seems to be the case, is he in pain? Does he have some neurological problem going on? This kind of change in behavior is most unusual and is a red light.

Shirley


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

krandall said:


> Even if the plan was to breed him, I'd strongly suggest considering neutering him. We don't need more Havs with questionable temperaments added to the gene pool. IMO, this is AT LEAST as big an issue as health. (which is huge) Most of our Havs are pets first. And a dog with a poor temperament makes a poor pet. Dogs that bite all too often end up being euthanized.
> 
> I'm not positive this guy is innately aggressive, and that the bites weren't fear based. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done, and I agree completely... the OP needs to find a good trainer to work with. (preferably in the home, in this instance)


Yes I totally aggree about the neutering part. I was just trying to avoid saying he should be neutered because of his aggression (which I strongly agree with) in part because I'm so used to my work environment...For example yesterday a little female dog came in for me to groom. This was a "designer" mix of a shih and poodle. The owner was having a hard time finding a male dog to breed her with. I was trying to gently explain that breeding dogs should get thoroughly checked by the vet and many go through tests to check for issues that may be passed to the puppies. As I examined the teeth I could see on this cute little dog that she had a massive 1/2" overbite. Who knows what other things this probable puppy mill dog had wrong with it, but as company policy I am not allowed to say you should not breed your dog because x and y. Also I'm not allowed to say a dog should be neutered because he is too aggressive.

I guess I'm not at work on this forum so I can say whatever I like...heehee


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

atsilvers27 said:


> Yes I totally aggree about the neutering part. I was just trying to avoid saying he should be neutered because of his aggression (which I strongly agree with) in part because I'm so used to my work environment...For example yesterday a little female dog came in for me to groom. This was a "designer" mix of a shih and poodle. The owner was having a hard time finding a male dog to breed her with. I was trying to gently explain that breeding dogs should get thoroughly checked by the vet and many go through tests to check for issues that may be passed to the puppies. As I examined the teeth I could see on this cute little dog that she had a massive 1/2" overbite. Who knows what other things this probable puppy mill dog had wrong with it, but as company policy I am not allowed to say you should not breed your dog because x and y. Also I'm not allowed to say a dog should be neutered because he is too aggressive.
> 
> I guess I'm not at work on this forum so I can say whatever I like...heehee


OMG!!! I could NEVER work there!!! It's good that they don't sell puppies, and I can see not allowing groomers to point out conformation faults. (most of them probably don't have the knowledge to do that, although a bad overbite is pretty obvious.) But to not let you point out that people shouldn't be BUYING, let alone BREEDING "designer dogs"... I'm glad that client of yours hasn't found anyone else stupid enough to breed their dog to hers!:brick: And in terms of the aggression thing, you probably have to be a little more careful with that, since you probably see some dogs at their worst. (especially if their owners don't groom them regularly themselves)

But yeah, here, as long as you speak respectfully to other people you are welcome to express your opinions. Our opinions are pretty uniform when it comes to purchasing puppy mill and designer dogs. If people come here having already fallen unknowingly into the trap, we're happy to welcome them and their dogs as part of our community. (and, of course there are people with these dogs who have rescued them, which is a completely different story) But we do our best to educate people on NOT purchasing mill dogs, which is where most (not all) "designer dogs" come from anyway. We also try very hard to educate people BEFORE HAND on how to find a reputable breeder and avoid slick sites that are fronts for puppy mills and BYB's.


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

I can't give advice as to the aggression, but you can get belly bands to prevent him from actually making a mess when he marks, if he will tolerate them... just an idea...


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome welcome. I echo Karen's sentiments. Vet first. If that checks out ,a behaviorist is next in line.


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## tcollins (May 1, 2011)

I was following this thread for awhile and wondered how Chico is doing? Oliver was having some potty issues as well, but since we went back to crating during the night, it pretty much has stopped. We are also giving him 2 set meals a day and although I think my vet's 1/6 cup feeding idea is a little off...he's doing about 1/4 cup each and is eating WAYbetter and behaving better, too. He still has his "attention-getting moments", but much better. How is the biting? What have you tried?


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