# Biting



## swaye (Mar 28, 2013)

Our 15 month old has had an issue with being awakened or disturbed to go out to last potty or bed. She has gotten snarly and made feeble attempts at biting when either one of us would try to get her up. Tonight she broke skin and deep enough to draw blood! This is the only time she gets like this. It has usually been 5-6 hours since her last potty break so we take her out right before we go to bed or we would probably be awakened during the night. She also often falls asleep in her crate downstairs and probably would not like being by herself since she never has been at night. I can not continue to let her do this and I don't know how to fix this. My fear is that this will escalate. She also sometimes lunges at my face if I restrain her from doing something she wants and shouldn't. I am thinkng I may have to re home her. Closest trainers are an hour away. I doubt that my husband would see that as an option. We have had dogs all of our married lives and never experienced this aggressiveness. I am at a loss as to what to do....


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

Are you sure she's being aggressive (I'm not there; she very well could be) and not just startled? Before you reach in her crate to grab her and wake her up; I would make a lot of noise. Let her wake herself up and then get her. Her crate is supposed to be her safe place. Something reaching in and grabbing her while she's asleep can be traumatic I imagine.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah the startle reflex with dogs is instinctive, and generally not considered aggressive. You probably have missed observing her warning signs., in the past and is now resulting in the final stage of biting. Management is usually the best method for treating this. Like mentioned you have to avoid startling her, by gently arousing her beforehand and maybe even throwing her a treat after she has been aroused somewhat. Simply incorporating a little play session can also before take out time can also avoid this confrontation . It's not a huge problem to accommodate. Learning her warning signs will help you avoid stressing her before she reaches her higher state or threshold. There are a lot of good articles at doggonesafe.com . A trainer would definitely be a plus to help you with this., and is usually always recommended when a bite occurs. You have to avoid stressing her and sleep startle is not to hard to work around. A one hour session can teach you a lot. If you might consider a trainer , let me know if I can help find one for you. here's an article http://www.doggonesafe.com/Resources/Documents/parent guide.pdf 7 pages long.


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## Busy Procrastinator (Mar 27, 2014)

Makes me think about the old adage of letting sleeping dogs lie! Your description is probably is a perfect illustration of why that's a good idea. I have known humans who come up swingin' when woken, too. Come to think of it, you might get a grouchy reaction from me if you woke me from cozy slumber and demanded I go out in the cold and pee! I totally get it though, in wanting pooch to tinkle while you are still awake! 

I think the ideas of waking dog gently and from a distance are good and I agree Doggonesafe.com has links to some great articles on understanding and preventing dog biting behaviors and prevention. 

Good luck!


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## jabojenny (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm no expert but thought the same thing as Dave about waking her up gently with a treat. Get her to think waking up is a good thing with a treat. Hold the treat in front of her nose and see if she opens her eyes and then softly talk about "cookie time" give her a gentle scratch behind the ears, then some body rubs to get the blood flowing, just take it slow. I know it's been a horrible winter here and quite honestly I wouldn't want to be woken up and taken outside where it's cold, maybe she's associating with that? Timmy doesn't enjoy getting woken up either, at night to go upstairs, he growls, but I know he wouldn't want to left downstairs by himself either. We have to approach him quietly in this case too. Mae is still a pup so I can carry her up and she stays asleep, she won't wake up even if I try.


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## swaye (Mar 28, 2013)

davetgabby said:


> yeah the startle reflex with dogs is instinctive, and generally not considered aggressive. You probably have missed observing her warning signs., in the past and is now resulting in the final stage of biting. Management is usually the best method for treating this. Like mentioned you have to avoid startling her, by gently arousing her beforehand and maybe even throwing her a treat after she has been aroused somewhat. Simply incorporating a little play session can also before take out time can also avoid this confrontation . It's not a huge problem to accommodate. Learning her warning signs will help you avoid stressing her before she reaches her higher state or threshold. There are a lot of good articles at doggonesafe.com . A trainer would definitely be a plus to help you with this., and is usually always recommended when a bite occurs. You have to avoid stressing her and sleep startle is not to hard to work around. A one hour session can teach you a lot. If you might consider a trainer , let me know if I can help find one for you. here's an article http://www.doggonesafe.com/Resources/Documents/parent guide.pdf 7 pages long.


We live an hour and 1/2 from downtown Indianapolis and an hour and 10 minutes or so from downtown Lafayette, Indiana


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

pm me with your zip code and I'll take a look. I still can't pm anyone , only reply to one.


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