I just put up a posted question about this and think that I need to explain more. My 7 month old Great Dane has been a great dog until this week. He bit at my 6 year nephew face because they are the same height. Duke, my dane, is bigger than a Lab and he's still a puppy. He weights over 100 pounds. When he bit my nephew, it was when I opened the door. My nephew was standing there and Duke came up to him, smelled his face, then bit him. My nephew is okay, but it could have been really bad. I have a yorkie that is in heat. She started last week. I wasn't sure if this had anything to do with his sudden aggression. I have a 3 year old son that can walk up to him, open his mouth and pull his tongue and Duke has never done anything or tried to bite him. I'm really worried that that will change. Just this week he has shown more aggression and tried to bite and 2 people on the other side of our fence. I am calling the vet tomorrow, but need to know what else to do. Any advice is welcome.
Answers:
Aggression is a serious issue, even more so when you have a giant breed dog. This needs to be dealt with by a professional. Please seek out the help of a dog behaviorist/trainer in your area. Try to find someone who works with positive methods - there's no sense in fueling aggression with more aggression.
I got an English Mastiff at about 2 years of age. Unfortunately, he was under socialized so I now own a 170 pound fear-aggressive dog. We've been to behaviorists and Bowser's had a lot of training, however, there's only so much I can do. He's the perfect dog around people he knows but I manage him very closely around people he doesn't know. You're lucky in one sense because your dog is still so young. Please don't let this issue simmer on the back burner until he's older and his behavior is worse -- contact a behaviorist ASAP. If you want a big fat book that'll tell you just about everything you wanted to know about dog aggression, order a copy of "Aggression in Dogs" by Brenda Aloff. Dogwise.com has it for sale but you could probably find it cheaper on Amazon.com.
Sorry to hear that. Hope your nephew is OK Best of luck...
My guess would be because the Yorkie is in heat. Hasn't he tried to go after her? Dogs do get crazy when a female is in heat. Good luck with him.
is he fixed? even if not, that female dog is his and he is protecting her-are so he thinks...1st fix him( and her)! second he needs training take him to obedience classes and socialize him every day around new people of different sizes...get on him when he does show aggression, he is a BIG dog and he could seriously hurt someone and YOU will be held liable and even sued -if its bad..
You didn't say if he was neutered or not. I'm sure having your female there in heat doesn't help matters at all. If he isn't neutered he is very frustrated right now. You may have to start muzzling him until he is trained. with a dog of that size you need to be alpha or there will be big problems as you have already witnessed. I'm glad your nephew is okay. Let us know what your vet says too. All the best;~//
OKAY once again. Call your vet and make an appointment to rule out any possible health issues, and while there ask for a referral to an animal behaviorist. Take the dog to a trainer who deals in problem behavior. Either one. You have every reason to expect a good outcome. In the meantime, keep the dog away from small ones.
Yes having a dog in heat around a male dog 'could' contribute. But I wouldn't count on that as an answer and I certainly would DO something about this NOW. You don't want to wait for this to become a problem. You have an animal that appears to be showing signs of something you cannot ignore. BUT if you act on it NOW things can have a happy ending. Don't get rid of the dog. That would be irresponsible to do without first making an attempt to curb this kind of behavior.
And if he's not been neutered that should be done now also.
Chalk it up to a combination of hormones and instinct. I have a male mastiff, he is now 2 1/2, but for a while there, he got a wee bit snippy with boys, men, and other dogs. You are his alpha, I am sure you heard that before. Therefor, your nephew is another male, period. My advice to you, would be to stand between your pup and any other male for a while when there is a greeting. You will have to openly dominate Duke. I used a growl tone when I said NO in such incidents. You have at least another 2 years of hormone fluctuations to deal with, as our gentle giants take a bit longer to mature. Good luck, with your buddy.
You can see Sidney on mastiffs360.com
what u have to think about is what ur nephew has done to him while u wasnt looking most dogs dont bite unless been forced or hurt before. just let ur nephew out with him a watching him with duke but dont let him know that u are watching him{spying}. i had the same problem with my pitbull one of my friends he hated growled all the time at him until i found out the every time my dog went near him he was kicking him and also tiped beer over him, so my dog was provoked to protect himself from danger i dont blame him for growling at this person but people have to remember that if u r mean to a dog they'll be mean back!!
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