Flipping dog just went for me.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Agggh, thought we were making so much progress.

Only had him two weeks for anyone unfamiliar with my other posts! Seemed fine temperament wise when we got him and by the following day he was snarling at me a bit and mainly Dh. Only when dd is around though, dog loves dd and is almost hysterical when she goes out, etc.

He was also snarling at other dogs, people out on walks, everyone at the vets waiting room.

We went to a dog trainer who said if he's snarling very nastily we should use "enough" as a command and if on a lead put him behind me when he does it.

This seems to be working well, he's now not snarling at other dogs or other people. Carpet fitter came today and she was fine with him. Still snarls at Dh sometimes and the trigger seems to be in dd's bedroom.

Then tonight I'm in dd's room, dd is there and so is dog. Dogs happily in his bed, I'm fairly close to him but not overly so and side on. Didn't move toward him and he just lunged at me and sank his teeth in. He's broken the skin but its just oozing a bit of blood. It's not a bad bite.

I shouted at him, not sure if that's the correct thing to do but I just feel he needs to be told that its totally unacceptable. I told him off and so did dd. dd picked him up and passed him to me and I put him out the room. We then came out after a short time and have made up.

I've had a lovely day with him previous to this. He's been sat with me all day, waggy tails and having his ears scratched. Nice walk and dog training this afternoon.

[RedwingWinter]

How are you feeling? Such a shame for him to do that after you'd had such a lovely day and seemed to have made so much progress. I think you really need to discuss it with a behaviourist as it's hard to advise without being there. If you think she was guarding DD's room then it might be best not to allow him in there for now? And to be very careful around DD, obviously. It sounds like your management/training plan is working in general, but since you didn't move it's hard to know why he went for you. I don't think internet advice will cut it, so can only really offer commiseration.

He is lucky to have such a dedicated new owner and I hope you can resolve it quickly.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Thanks, am feeling ok. Just disappointed and a bit disheartened.

I'm planning on asking the dog trainer to come to our house for a one on one session so they can actually see what the dog is like when dd is around.

But now I'm thinking do we need a behaviourist rather than a trainer? Though trainer comes very highly recommended and has very well behaved dogs himself.

I've found this behaviourist a bit of a distance away but I think they might travel do they look ok?

www.dogwhispers.co.uk/

There's also barkbusters which I've heard some not good things about, but then its a franchise and the individuals will be different. The local one gets very good reviews

just not sure he has any qualifications

[miggy]

Am I remembering correctly this is the podengo?
Really feel for you as you are obviously trying really hard to get this right.
All I would add is that with any small number new breed introduction, it is easy for breeders to inadvertently introduce a few dodgy characteristics. There has been some concern previously raised over temperament in this breed
this is from the uk breed clubs last survey report (survey completed by owners, including many pet owners)

"Temperaments gave great cause for concern during 2009 when a Podengo at a Championship Show decided to bite the Judge, and this was then reported to the Kennel Club, the outcome of which we are still awaiting. Whilst we have had one or two Podengos previously that have been snappy on the table, this was by far the worst incident. This episode has put a dark cloud over the Podengo breed especially so early in its development in the UK. Temperaments are of the utmost importance when planning your litter, it is not a pleasure for anyone, particularly for pet owners, to have to cope with a situation where dogs have unreliable temperaments. I have discovered some consistently unsound temperaments in certain Podengo lines and would never introduce them, or more importantly, continue with them if this was the case with my breeding plans. Close breeding does not appear to help temperaments."

Im not saying you have inadvertently purchased the devil dog from hell, just pointing out that its not necessarily anything you are or aren't doing. it may be that this will be a dog with a challenging temperament and having come to you at 6 mths, you have missed a lot of vital socialisation time.
I think you need to find a really good positive reinforcement trainer or possibly a veterinary behaviorist who can both give you help and an outside opinion. If you are in the South east I might be able to suggest someone.

[miggy]

No no no no to Barkbusters :)

[VivaLeBeaver]

The local uni have a behavioural medicine clinic as well I've just found out. You have to be referred by your vet but I'm sure vet would do it.

The clinic is run by a professor of veterinary behavioural medicine. "Leading international authority on animal behaviour problems"

Sounds good.....not sure they'd come to my house though.

[DIddled]

Where are you? I know a truly amazing woman in the NW.

[DIddled]

Don't bother with BB

[VivaLeBeaver]

Miggy, yes it's the podengo. I googled everything I could about the breed and never came across that.

Shit, I feel stupid.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I'm east notts.

[DIddled]

That's a bit far from Manchester. I went on a socialisation walk with a group on Sat with my aggressive terriers- by the end they were walking beautifully-ish. The organiser is a dog behaviourist who unlike most isn't in it for the money!

[RedwingWinter]

You are right to wonder about qualifications - unfortunately anyone can set up as a dog trainer/animal behaviourist. You want to look for someone with training and membership of a professional body - you could start by looking for an APBC member. Or you could try the animal behaviour clinic at Lincoln University.

[RedwingWinter]

I typed a bit slow - I think you would have to go to the clinic at Lincoln rather than them come to you, but I've heard really good things about them; and Daniel Mills book (Life Skills for Puppies) is excellent.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Redwing, yes it was the animal behaviour clinic at lincoln I'd seen. £100 an hour plus vat for the first two hours and £75 plus vat per hour after that.

Eeek! Not sure I can afford that at the minute!

I probably can next month, but how many hours is an initial session likely to be?

[VivaLeBeaver]

Redwing, do you think that book would be good for us even though dog is now six months old?

[RedwingWinter]

When my friend went to Lincoln, they got the discounted rate available if you agree the session can be used in teaching. They went back for several sessions and got lots of homework in the meantime (different kind of problem to yours though).

It's a great book and I think every puppy owner should read it, but it won't really help with your specific problem. It focuses on the things you need to teach a puppy to get used to, hence the emphasis on 'life skills' rather than obedience. I think it is aimed at people getting a puppy from the beginning (i.e. what you should teach before the socialization window is up) but they will still be things you want your pup to learn, just that you might have to go at a slower pace. Maybe you could have a look at it in the bookshop or preview it on amazon? It's only thin so it's a quick read and the pictures are very cute.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Thanks. Book is only £3 on kindle so worth a punt!

Ill ask the vet to refer me to lincoln and see if I can get the discount rate.

[Booboostoo]

Aggressive behaviour, especially when it has escallated in a bite, needs to be assessed by a professional who can come and see the dog in your own home.

I would also start with the APBC and discuss in advance with the expert what kind of methods they use to treat problems.

Please don't try to deal with on your own. The first thing the behaviourist should be able to tell you is whether it is safe for you and your family to keep and continue to train this dog or whether the dog needs a radical change in circumstances.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Sadly where I live sent coved by any apbc person.

[miggy]

i agree seeing dog in its own home can be useful but from what you post, eg your experience in vets waiting room, the behaviour seems pretty consistent wherever you are (and you have only had the dog two weeks so unlikely to have been caused by something you are doing at home). In which case the university set up seems ideal.
The advantage of a vet behariourist is that if they feel the problem is severe but workable with time, they can prescribe drugs (just for a short time) to get dog in a better frame of mind to learn .
Have a chat with your vet and see what they think, they have the advantage of having seen his behaviour first hand and will know whats available in your area.

[Lilcamper]

You could also try here www.petprofessionalguild.com/DogTrainingMembers

If anyone you contact uses words/phrases like pack leader, hierarchy, dominant or rank reduction, hang up and keep looking because they could make things worse.

[moosemama]

Agree with what everyone else has said about getting properly qualified behaviourist involved. Personally I would want someone to come to the house to observe the family/dog dynamics, but if that isn't possible, attending a clinic would still be useful in the first instance.

Also agree it's worth asking your vet, as you may need a vet referral to access some behaviourists' clinics.

If there's no APBC person in your area, you could try CAPBT/COAPE.

Is he still sleeping on your dd's bed? If the bedroom is a flashpoint, I wouldn't allow him access there until you've taken professional advice.

[moosemama]

Sorry, mean to say that Jim Greenwood comes highly recommended by many rescue groups and hound owners (he doesn't just do hounds).

He's Cheshire based, but does home visits countrywide.

[Grammaticus]

If your dog sees your dd differently from the rest of the family, is it wise to have the dogs bed in DD's room?

[Booboostoo]

Call the nearest 3-4 APBC people, one of them may be willing to travel.

Ditto the others, remove the dog's bed from DD's bedroom and be very careful about contact between them.

The dog's behaviour is potentialy very dangerous. I don't want to panic you as little is served by panic but you should act swiftly to get professional advice to you, one to one in your home.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Problem is he barks non stop for hours and hours when we tried to have him downstairs. After ten nights we gave up.