Two year old whippet snapping.....heartbreaking

[rainydogday]

We have had our very much loved whippet from a puppy. We researched and took ages finding the 'right one'. Have spent a lot of time on training. He has wonderful recall and manners. Is adorable at home, a real lap dog. Our kids 9 & 11 love him to pieces. However he has began to get nervous aggressive with my children's friends. It's just kids not adults. They don't even try and stroke him, just walk by, but he lunges and snaps (whilst shaking). It's very subtle but has been building a little while, at first I thought it was him just jumping up or catching a fly but there's no getting away from it he definitely doesn't like other children in the house. This has made me so upset. We have done everything by the book and have hopefully been good responsible dog owners. I am in bits tonight as he snapped at DD friend. So I got her to sit with me and give him so treats to reassure him that she is nice! He was fine then DD friend went to stroke him and he went to bite her. I grabbed him straight away so he didn't actually bite her. Our house is open planned so we can't lock him away when friends come round. Also DD is nearly at the age where friends will come round after school whilst I am at work. I am really hoping there is some way of sorting this as I adore him and he is a great family pet who we all love. Yet my heart is thinking he would be better with an older couple without the busy of our house with children coming and going. I would love some success stories or advise.....good or bad 😢

Have you taken him to a vet? It might be a pain reaction. He’s still young so if it’s not that you have a good chance of working through it, if you find a decent behaviourist who can help you.

If you knew your dog was unpredictable why would you allow the child it fears to feed it? Thank god you stopped it before it bit! Don’t experiment anymore and take it to a vet.

I would never allow a dog like his around children and I say that as someone who has had a dog similar.

He’s frightened, what I would do is create a safe place for him where he can go when children are around. Perhaps a crate or even a bedroom, make it a nice calm area he can feel safe away from the noise etc.

Why set him up to fail and put him in a situation that clearly stresses him out? He’s telling you quite strongly he would rather stay away so personally that’s what I would do.

He is fine at all times normally, it's not every time either. But it's like the trust had broken. He is very receptive to training so yes maybe a behaviourist will help

I would check that there is nothing physical that is causing him to snap.

If all is well on the physical front get a behaviourist in to watch what is happening and can advice you on how to move forward safely. I am sure your vet could recommend someone.

When a dogs bebehaviour changes suddenly first thing to look for is definitely pain.

Out of the house he lets kids stroke him and wags his tail and appears to like children. It's only this evening that I have really thought he may bite someone. I wouldn't fully trust any dog but this unnerved me. We can put him elsewhere when we are here but can't expect the kids to be doing it when coming home with friends after school etc. Will look into training

His behaviour won’t have changed suddenly - he’ll have spent previous weeks/months trying to move away from children and get some distance and they'll Have repeatedly invaded his space and ignored his stress signs (yawning, lip-licking, turning his head away).

OP I strongly suggest you advance search the ‘useful resources’ thread in the doghouse and read the links on canine body language and safe dog child interactions.

Think of this from your dog’s point of view - he’s clearly been showing signs of discomfort/distress around your DCs friends for some time - you’ve said yourself that you’ve noticed this - what have you done about it? Nothing? If so your dog has no choice but to escalate his behaviour to make his anxiety clear - hence the snapping. You’ve responded to this clear distress signal by sending the child (the source of his distress) to track him down and force treats on him - that will create a massive emotional conflict in him (the driving force for most aggressive behaviour in dogs) and tells your dog really clearly that you aren’t going to respond to his anxiety except to keep foisting the thing he’s really scared of on him - you’re VERY lucky he didn’t bite the child to communicate his distress.

If you don’t start respecting his boundaries pronto you are going to end up with a bitten child and an unnecessary euthanasia. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but at the moment you are the driving force behind your dog’s aggressive behaviour. The good news is that thus means you can also stop it.

Give your do space NOW. Stop foisting strange unpredictable children on him. Make sure he has a safe undisturbed child free place when DC are around.

His bed and his feeding places should be his spaces - it is utterly unreasonable to expect him to share his private safe spaces with kids outside of the family (and I would actually argue with kids in the family too - we all need a safe, quiet retreat)

Please search the resources thread and spend some time reading the dog-child links. Keep posting here and we can help you with this. Ignore the randomers who will tell you to kill your dog for communicating distress. You can fix this but only if you act NOW. You need to rebuild his trust in you to protect him, stop forcing him to interact with children and do it now before snapping becomes his default learned response as it’s the only thing that works for him to get space.

Is he 'guarding' your kids in the house?
I think you definitely need someone to look at what's happening, probably a behaviourist (and not one who tells you he's trying to dominant the visitors and needs to find his place in the pack...)

You have my sympathies. Have been through similar with my whippet bitch.

She has always been fine with everyone. Doesn't particularly like strange men in the house (a couple in particular she really hated). Once she gets to know someone she remembers they are OK and will go for a fuss if they come round.

A couple of years ago I was expecting a delivery and of course it was scheduled to come school run time. My dsis nipped around to wait in while I ran to get dd. Gone about 20 minutes. When I came home dd was outside with 2.6 yr old nephew. When I asked why she said he had 'pulled the dogs leg and really hurt her'.

Was annoyed at dsis. Checked dog over and she was fine, dsis went home.

A couple of weeks later me and dp went away for the night. It was the first night we had been out since ds had been born 18 months before. My mam had the dcs.

While I was out dsis came around with dnephew. He apparently went to 'hug' the dog and she went for him. Grazed his face and was apparently 'really, really nasty'.

As you can imagine I was devastated. Really pissed off with dsis. Worried about dog around my own 18 mth old ds and dd and her friends.

I bought a crate and crate trained her. Stopped dsis coming around unannounced so I could ensure dog was away before they came in.

When they do visit now dog is visibly different to nephew to what she is other dcs. She is.always crated when I have children younger than 8 in the house. Never bothers her. She just has a snooze. When nephew is here she is stressed, anxious and shows lots of fear behaviour.

She obviously remembers he hurt all that time ago. It's not toddlers or preschoolers or boys she is frightened of. It's that particular boy.

What I suspect might have happened with your dog is that one of your dcs friends might have accidentally hurt him. Or something else hurt him while strange dcs were there. So now he thinks strange dcs in house = ouch.

The problem with whippets is as well as being very tactile and strokable they are also a bit delicate compared to say a spaniel of the.same size.

Crating is the only way to keep everyone safe until you know what is going on and get some help

And sadly unless you can 100% trust your dcs to crate him before anyone comes in then you can't let them have friends in afyer school.

Well done Frouby you’re absolutely right it only takes one unpleasant experience for a dog to react badly - sounds like you’ve done a fantastic job of keeping your dog and DC safe

OP this is the ladder to aggression
www.okawvetclinic.com/ladder-of-aggression.pml

It gives you a clear idea of the warning signs before a bite might happen.

Thsnkyou for replies. Foulby it sounds so similar. Our whippet doesn't like strange men either! But if they are confident strange men (DH friends) who own dogs themselves he seems fine. Will cuddle up their laps! It's just DC friends. Maybe it is the excitement and noise. Not that they are over noisy. He is sleep by the fire whilst we watch DVD and not bothered in the slightest that DD friend is here. Maybe I will invest in a nice posh crate that doesn't clink or crash. It was the doors he hated as a puppy. He is perfect in every other way. The reason we choose a whippet was because of their gentle natures, not noisy and generally lazy! Definitely didn't want a high maintenance dog that needed dog gates etc etc. But we will do what we need to do to keep him settled and happy

Children are unpredictable OP - they move, squeal, and don’t behave like grown up humans - they’re often very frightening to dogs and whippets are often nervous dogs - anxiety and conflicting emotions are what lead to defensive aggression.

Thanks veterinari. You are never sure if you are doing the right thing but it has worked for us. Ds is only a year younger than dnephew and ddog and ds are best of friends. I have drilled it into him from a very young age gentle hands, let her come to you, we don't climb or pull ddog, we are very careful not to sit on her etc.

Dsis has never done any of that with dnephew. She says she loves animals. But our attitudes to animals are a world apart. We have ponies as well. Dsis likes to visit. I tolerate it once a year because she doesn't listen and because nephew is so rough and loud.

OP we chose a whippet for all the same reasons as you. And generally I think they are ideal family pets. However they are very intelligent and a little highly strung. I think it's because they are so thin skinned and vulnerable they like to be safe and warm and snuggled up. Does he get on the sofa? Bet he does. I wonder if he has been sat on accidentally. Or is guarding his sofa place against incomers? Is he food orientated? Buy his favourite treat. Make his crate ultra cosy with a big pile of fleecy blankets and cushions and a blanket over it to keep the draughts off. Then show him the treat, say 'in your bed' and throw the treat in.

Within a couple of days he will be in the crate before you even get the mini sausage out of the packet. Then give him the sausage when he is in and close the door for a minute or 2. And build it up slowly.

Our girl goes in her crate if we are in the kitchen now. Or if she can't sprawl out on the sofa. Or if I have the living room windows are open. Her favourite place is still the sofa squashed on one of us. But the crate is her second favourite place. Abd she was 5 before she even saw a crate so you have plenty of time.

Also look at his food. It can have an impact on behaviour. And walking can't be done enough (as long as it's not raining 😀).

Your advice is excellent Frouby

Absolutely training children to be respectful and gentle is incredibly important - lots of kids want to hug and that is terrifying for many dogs. A safe positive undisturbed space like a crate is also great. If that’s not practical then baby gates or a secure room can also work - as you’ve found, the crate needs to be a positive refuge not simply a place to lock the dog away. Sounds like you’ve done a great job.

Went to the vet today, they were fantastic. Nothing physically wrong. I have got his crate out and bought and new sheepskin rug to go in it! We think he has made the kitchen sofa his 'bed' and gets funny with strangers walking near it etc. So far so good with the crate!