Help! - Aggression Issues

[Alpha-Beda]

Hi guys,

 

So my husky ("Aro") is now 7 months old and is showing increased signs of aggressive behavior toward my wife. He's very good with me and the kids (1 and 3 years old) but has always been very disobedient/aggressive with my wife. We recently enrolled in behavioral training classes to try and keep him under control. Our trainer suggested we get a training collar to help him with his walks and to assist with correcting bad habits when inside the house.

 

This seemed to work since he was much more obedient whenever we issued a command; however he got very aggressive with my wife one day as she tried to tell him to stop biting our son's toy. She reached in to take the toy away and he just lunged at her and bit down on her hand. My wife was very shaken by this and was literally a hairline away from giving him up for adoption.

 

We don't know what else to do. I was told that most huskies (and dogs in general) tend to misbehave at the 6-8 month old mark. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to correct this?

 

Thanks,

Beda

[Sarah]

Ouch sorry to hear that I hope your wife is ok?

I think she needs to step up and take more charge with the training, what about going right back to basics, sit, lie down example and her giving treats etc

I think it will help them bond more as well as your wife must feel very insecure at the moment x

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[Emma]

Hi there.  So sorry to hear this, hope your wife's ok.  I'm no expert on this but sounds like he's resource guarding and agree with what Sarah Said that training will help with gaining respect and trust for both parties.  They do like to push their boundaries at the teenage stage but with some careful positive interactions together,  hopefully this can be overcome.  Hope all goes well for you, must be a very worrying time for you both.  xx 

[Bob & Juno]

I did a copy from a post for someone else not long ago........

 

((My girl Juno was really bad for toys and her food,   so I put all of her toys away,   now they are MIne, she can only have play time when I let her,  I'd take one toy, the  one she really liked the most, id sit on the floor in front of her, make her stay in a sit and Id slowly give her the toy, but as she opened her mouth, id say in a strong voice, Drop it, and id do this for 20 min each night, then put the toy away, as days went along, i let her hold it in her mouth, but soon as i said drop it  she would let me have it back , and to this day i still do this maybe once a month to remind her they are my toys and I let her play with them at times,  i had her broke of it in 2 weeks,  on the food, i would sit on the kitchen floor and hold her bowl, and make her sit and id feed her by hand every morning and night, again My food, Im the pack leader and she needed to learn to follow me or whatever i want her to do  ,  i hope this helps, but you have to be firm with the way you tell what to do, really mean it,))

 

ps it does work,  now she brings her toys to me, or while I'm sleeping, I'll wake with a bunch of toys all around me, LOL  hope it helps

 

[jmscott]

Hi guys,

 

So my husky ("Aro") is now 7 months old and is showing increased signs of aggressive behavior toward my wife. He's very good with me and the kids (1 and 3 years old) but has always been very disobedient/aggressive with my wife. We recently enrolled in behavioral training classes to try and keep him under control. Our trainer suggested we get a training collar to help him with his walks and to assist with correcting bad habits when inside the house.

 

This seemed to work since he was much more obedient whenever we issued a command; however he got very aggressive with my wife one day as she tried to tell him to stop biting our son's toy. She reached in to take the toy away and he just lunged at her and bit down on her hand. My wife was very shaken by this and was literally a hairline away from giving him up for adoption.

 

We don't know what else to do. I was told that most huskies (and dogs in general) tend to misbehave at the 6-8 month old mark. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to correct this?

 

Thanks,

Beda

 

First off make sure you address this with his breeder before putting him up for adoption, and on that same line, what kind of breeder did he come from? (Were the parents health tested, proven in work or show, did they let you pick the puppy)

 

Now, he IS at the age when teenage dogs become asshats. They are obnoxious, they push their bounds and make general pests of themselves.

 

I would ask your trainer if they are working using the dominance theory, and if they are... leave. Truly dominant dogs in the sense a lot of these trainers teach are very rare. The role of the "Alpha" has been proven to be a misnomer. Pack leaders are the parents in wild wolf packs and they do not rule with the iron fist that people have attributed to them.

 

I would look at truly behavior based training, not classes that simply want to dog to obey. You want a two way street when working with dogs, not a freeway and a sidewalk.

 

Work with him on the trading game. Give him a sort of valued toy and "trade" him for a more valuable one. Work up slowly and eventually, the moral of the story is that when he gives up what he has, he gets something better. As for correcting him....NEVER correct him for growling! this is an important warning. If he misbehaves, put him in his crate for a couple minutes with a snack.

[Elyse]

I'm sorry to hear this....I hope your wife is okay?

Who has been doing most of the training with the dog? If I had to guess, I would think it would have been you. The dog knows to respect you and the kids, but not your wife because your wife (may) have not been doing any training with him.

That, ontop with her feelings of anxiety about being bit (which is completely understandable, I hope she is okay!) again, and you have trouble. Not to mention, your pup is going through his teenager/rebellion/naughty stage...so he'll be pushing boundaries more. 

It sounds as though Aro was 'guarding' the toy from your wife. There should have been warning signs before Aro resorted to biting - growling, and other defensive body signs. 

My suggestion? Your wife should, despite her fear, be more involved with training the dog. Take little steps at first, and start commands you are certain she will perform (like sit, etc). Have her treat the dog whenever he does what he is told.

Also have a look at my dog body language thread, there are a few signs you should watch out for to avoid anyone getting bit again. Things like raised hackles, growls, ears back, etc...



 

[Alpha-Beda]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

 

To answer some of your questions:

 

• I initiated with training Aro from when we first got him at 3 months old. I kept the training very basic at first with "SIT, LAY DOWN, ROLL OVER" and he's grown very accustomed to doing all three every time he wants a treat. My wife trains him on a consistent basis, and she actually spends more time with him than I do since I'm away at work during the day.

• Aro also has a tendency to play-bite with her and not with me. She'll tell him not to bite but all he does is growl, raise his hackles, and continues to bite. But with me he either stops biting altogether or simply runs away. He'll come back of course but by then he's already found something else to do.

My biggest concern is that he will stay aggressive towards my wife as he grows. But from the posts I've read it seems like he's going through a phase. If that's the case then I think the best course of action would be to stay consistent with our training (although I'll look into truly behavior based training as suggested by jmscott).

 

Also, would more exercise help with reducing his aggression?

 

Thanks,

Beda

[Elyse]

It may. How much exercise is he currently getting a day?

It also sounds like he isn't being truly aggressive, he's just being a snot when it comes to guarding. And, he may see your wife more as a 'playmate' (hence the playful bites), and you as the pack leader (as he doesn't do it with you)

Also, personally, even though I spend way more time with my dog than my Dad...he still listens to my Dad more. I think this has to do with the fact male voices are more deep/growly, while female voices are more light and/or playful? So, I decided to put a little 'growl' in my voice when giving a command. I know it sounds weird, but I swear it really helps. 

[Removed #5]

You don't specifically say - and Elyse hints at it - but I'll ask, how serious was that bite?  Did he break the skin or was it a "nip and (maybe) hold)"?

 

I also tend to agree with Elyse's comment about him seeing her as a playmate - and remember, Husky's play rough and when they play, it sounds like a fight!  He's obviously respecting you as the "big man" (daddy, whatever tag you want to put on it, the "Alpha" male) and he, from what you say realizes that the kids are puppies and gives them normal puppy license (look for that, it's around here several places). 

 

Also, take a look for "NILIF" (or "Nothing In Life Is Free") or "NILF" training.  It should help her regain her position as Beta and she should be the primary one to enforce it.  (( Basically it says that he gets NOTHING unless it's earned, no food, no water, no toys, no anything! And the primary "earning" is just learning to behave. ))

 

I, too, hope that your wife wasn't hurt - surprised, we accept that, but not hurt.  I have a girl who was very possessive over her food bowl.  We've had a few discussion about that but that's mostly in the past.  Good luck!

 

Parting comment:  That play bite should get a resounding "No!" and a time out; put him someplace where he might be able to see what's going on but can't take part in it - a typical "childs time out" applied to a dog ... most of the time it works well - but she needs to do it.  One suggestion I often make (yeh gang, here it comes again) keep a leash on him in the house if you can.  One play nip gets him tied to a chair, the kitchen table, the door knob (something he can't break or drag around), the leash is so that she doesn't have to reach toward his head (collar), she can just pick up the leash and off he goes!

[CARRINGTON]

Have you looked up NILIF? That is honestly what works with Balto at our house and all members are able to participate the same. I agree about maybe picking all toys up and letting him have play time when you say he can have play time, we also had to do this with Balto as he would play nip if we went to touch his toy. My dog will play mouth my husband but won't too me (I was also much more strict in how I allowed him to interact with me, if he nipped or bit he went to time out or he went to his box for awhile so he could calm down, my husband won't do that he just gets up and is done playing). In all honesty I think that your trainer sounds like a good trainer and is helping you as best they can, you may ask if they can do a one on one session or if they can come to your home.

 

Also if you do give him up for adoption it would be nice to mention it to the breeder as some will take the puppy back but as for the rest of what jmscott said if your breeder is like 98% of the rest of the breeders none of the was checked because to be honest no one really cares about that unless you want a dog for show or running, so more then likely your breeder did none of the testing, as you will find many don't. It is not that it makes them a bad breeder but in all honesty most people don't care about that and are more interested in what the dog looks like, etc.

 

I agree with Elyse it sounds like he is in his teenage stage (I think Balto is still in his and he is a royal pain in my butt!!!!). It sounds like your dog thinks that you are more of a pack leader and your wife is more playful maybe because you are stricter? or because you have that scary male voice? I would definitely bring this up with your trainer and see what they recommend.  Maybe have her do timeouts or put him on a leash? We had to do this with Balto a thousand times and it finally sank in (although I am not going to lie when he gets really excited and stimulated he will nip, not hard, but just does it and that is the only time).

[jmscott]

 

 

as for the rest of what jmscott said if your breeder is like 98% of the rest of the breeders none of the was checked because to be honest no one really cares about that unless you want a dog for show or running, so more then likely your breeder did none of the testing, as you will find many don't. It is not that it makes them a bad breeder but in all honesty most people don't care about that and are more interested in what the dog looks like, etc.

 

Saying 98% of breeders don't care is pretty darn insulting and makes it sound as though they may as well dump the dog for a 2% chance that the breeder will take the dog back.

[Mobezilla]

Also if you do give him up for adoption it would be nice to mention it to the breeder as some will take the puppy back but as for the rest of what jmscott said if your breeder is like 98% of the rest of the breeders none of the was checked because to be honest no one really cares about that unless you want a dog for show or running, so more then likely your breeder did none of the testing, as you will find many don't. It is not that it makes them a bad breeder but in all honesty most people don't care about that and are more interested in what the dog looks like, etc.

 

Unfortunately I have to disagree with this. My breeder isn't so great, they still take all their dogs back (actually, encourage it) so that they don't end up in shelters or puppy mills and can place them in a proper loving home. You never know who you will attract with craigslist. I personally care about health testing, even though I do not show or work my dogs (yet), but getting a dog from a not-so-good breeder, and rescuing one, and looking at the difference between them quality working line sibes, there is a difference. Link absolutely loves running but every time he does he looks like he's in pain because of the way his back legs are formed, if he had had a reputable breeder his legs may not have been in that condition and he could run to his hearts content and I wouldn't have to worry about moderating him. In early 2015-2017 I plan on getting another puppy, that is coming from a loving working home, whose parents will be health tested and will not be in pain when he does zoomies around the dog park. Some of you are lucky with rescues/byb puppies that don't have a single health problem, some of us aren't so lucky and see from a different perspective just how important health testing is.

[Removed #5]

Saying 98% of breeders don't care is pretty darn insulting and makes it sound as though they may as well dump the dog for a 2% chance that the breeder will take the dog back.

 

Jamie, it sometimes seems that way - it seems as if 98% of the breeders are in it for the buck.  Then people have to take a step back and decide if this was a breeder or was it a "breeder" (as in BYB). I think it's really pretty safe to say that 98% (or higher) of the BYB don't really give a rats arse what their pups turn out to be so long as they turn into dollars in their pocket.

 

My sig has the note to "Think twice before you speak, especially if you intend to say what you think." I think that might have been the case here, while Carrington (like me) is sometimes too abrupt - I don't think she really said what she meant.  (( or at least I hope not ))

 

And I just realized, man did we get WAY off topic ..... sorry.

[jmscott]

But what was said was BREEDERS. I ___ well care a hell of a lot what happens to our puppies and its a heck of a lot more educational to tell people what good breeders are like instead of saying how awful 98% are, which I  believe in an inaccurate figure anyhow.

[mydiamond]

Hi Beda welcome on board first off, I'll be honest I'm both watching TV and eating apples right now so didn't read all the comments above, but there are some things I'd like to point out:

 

1. So it kinda sounds like Aro has guarding behavior. If he does have it, please never ever take their "resource" (that would be anything they guard) away from them. So if Aro is biting your son's toy and you want him to stop, the best way would be by saying "no!", "drop it", or any other similar commands. If he, and he most likely will, doesn't listen to you then give him a quick touch/tap on the neck or butt. Don't take the toy away. 

 

2. It really is weird to hear that Aro only behaves like this around your wife. Maybe it's just because she's afraid of him, but other than that do you know what else might cause his "favoritism"? Unless we know, it's hard to start correcting the behavior because we don't know where to start...

 

EDIT: guys.. I believe nobody meant to offend anyone writing their posts. Words don't have tones when posted over the net so misunderstandings happen a lot. Plus, sometimes because we type so fast we don't think twice before clicking that "post" button so some opinions might sound "not quite right". But this is Beda's thread and he's here for our help so.. please... help first, misunderstandings later... 

 

I really hope that ^^^ won't make things worse 

[Chula]

Is it this kind of biting? I video'd this to show a friend who is helping break us of the play biting habit.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xItB_S4_4i0

[Removed #5]

Oh, c'mon Em you all are mean, that's just a puppy who really wants to play.   But I understand that some don't realize that sometimes it's okay and other times it's not.

 

Avalanche will grab my hand - especially if I grab his tail LOL - but he's learned when it's okay to play rough and when it isn't.

[Chula]

 

Oh I know she wants to play, but she needs to learn to stop when I say stop! And sometimes...it hurts! She does make funny noises though.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Chula

[Marc]

As Al already alluded to, please remember this post is about someone e who is asking for help guys not silly arguments about a percentage.

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[Austinville]

I agree that you should consider more training with a behaviorist, rather than obedience. As a pup, Ryn was pretty dominate but quickly learned that I meant business and what I said was the rule. 

 

Don't waste words with them. Say what you mean, only what you mean and mean what you say.

 

A husky will take advantage of any situation, given the opportunity. And they are especially good at knowing when they can.

[Alpha-Beda]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks again for all your suggestions. We'll be investing in training classes with a behaviorist in the near future.

 

Wish us luck!

 

- Beda

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Good luck, keep us posted

[Beenz&Carlos]

My big dog will play and bite at me, but never his mum.

 

We've always played rough, but equally, i've had to stop him when he's too rough.

 

I often roll ours over and hold them down till they relax. Not really the 'alpha roll' technique with i don't think i agree with, but just enough to make them realise that i'm bigger than they are.

 

Little dog wriggles out, but big dog stops after a second, then i pull his ear or tail to wind him up again

[Alpha-Beda]

Is it this kind of biting? I video'd this to show a friend who is helping break us of the play biting habit.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xItB_S4_4i0

YES! This is exactly what Aro does. Not so much with me but he does practically all the time with my wife. We know he's only playing around but after a while it gets really annoying, especially since all my wife wants to do is cuddle with him lol. What did you do to remedy the play biting???

 

- Beda

[Removed #5]

I'll say that I'm a bit more emphatic with my "No!";  the first one may be in a speaking voice, but the second (or third) definitely become louder, more emphatic.

Avalanche likes to play - Sasha will play with him but only up to a point.  When he becomes too rowdy, she try's to back off and he's not having it.  That'll prompt me to cut in with "Avalanche, That's enough"; since the first is just a warning, it normally doesn't stop him, even though he will look at me ("Oh, c'mon dad, it's just play!")  When he starts up again, it's a little louder - an outside talking voice, if you will - "Avalanche, I said that's enough!" which normally gets him to stop; If not then at about the same level it becomes "Avalanche, go to bed!"

 

Couple of comments on this:

• Since I have two, I (almost always) call the one I'm talking to by name before the correction.
• I'm normally soft spoken so when I raise my voice, they know someone should be listening!