Any coming back from a bite?

[Vinosaurus]

Our dog just bit me whilst out on a walk this morning. She was on her lead whilst walking around the edge of the field where I usually take her and we came across another dog coming the other way. As you do. She started lunging for this dog so I tried to distract her with treats, didn't work, so moved my hand down her lead to get better control whilst apologising to the other owner and suggesting they carry on walking (they'd stopped rather than carry on for some reason, although the walker was quite a young lad so maybe didn't quite know what to do?). She immediately started twisting her head from side to side towards my hand and eventually managed to bite my lower arm. The other dog and owner had moved away by this time and I managed to get her walking so we carried on home pretty sharpish. Have cleaned and dressed the bite but it bloody hurts.

Bit of background. We've had her a little over 7 weeks, quite a large Romanian rescue, 15 months old, very puppy-like in some ways such as mouthing a lot (although we have been dissuading that and had mainly got it under control). She approaches any and every dog and person, which is a bit issue, and I make sure she's on her lead if there is any chance of her coming across other dogs or people that she doesn't know, although it's still a problem even on the lead as she's strong. NB - she does spend time off lead, we take her to a local dog field to work off some energy, for example.

We're due to start with a trainer very soon (they told me to leave it 8 weeks to settle her in before starting formal training) but to be honest, I am not at all confident about taking her out anymore.

She has many redeeming qualities and is a very sweet girl in many ways, but I really don't know where to go from here - any advice?

[tabulahrasa]

“The trainer I'm using is an ex police dog trainer”

Just so you’re aware... that isn’t necessarily a good thing, some ex police dog trainers and handlers are, very old fashioned in their methods and can use training methods that could actually make behavioural issues worse.

I mean, I might be doing yours a disservice, but... you might want to check what methods are going to be used.

[Dreamersandwishers]

@Vinosaurus Apologies, I am late to the thread. You’ve had some good tips here, just wanted to suggest you try a good harness, if you are finding her very strong.
I use Trulove and perfect fit on my labs. They both pulled when young and holding two whose combined weight was greater than mine was a challenge, especially if we saw a cat.
The key for me is getting one with a front or side ring for the lead as that gives control. The harness is kinder to the dogs neck and that may reduce the panic reaction from the dog if you have to apply pressure to hold her.
Good luck, it’s a nice thing you did, ta,img her on. Hope it works out for you both.

[Vinosaurus]

Dreamersandwishers, was actually looking at harnesses last night, thanks for the recommendation. Question - do you also have them in a collar (so the have a name tag on)? The

[Happenchance]

I think harness are great and think most dogs should be walked in one. However, similar to collars, they can change the posture of your dog if you tense up and hold the lead tightly when you see another dog. This could actually make your dog’s behaviour worse or make your dog appear more threatening to the other dog, causing them to react aggressively in defence. Also, if your dog has handling issues, she will need to be conditioned to wear one. I definitely wouldn’t go faffing around trying to fit her with one in the next few days when her stress levels are still high and she is more likely to bite again.

I really can not advise you strongly enough to consult a qualified (ABTC registered) behaviourist who will be up to date with the latest in dog behavioural science. They will take a full history of your dog and clinically observe her behaviour to see if it is due to fear, frustration, handling issues etc or any combination of things. Have you spoken to the rescue that you got her from? Do they work with a behaviourist? Does her insurance cover a behaviourist? If it does, then your vet should be able to refer her to one.

I would advise that you take her for a vet check anyway to rule out any health problems. Again, I would wait for a few days before doing this so that her stress levels have gone down, and I would make sure that the practice are aware that she redirected onto you when she saw another dog. That way they can arrange an appointment at a time when no other dogs are around, to keep both you and their staff safe.

As @tabulahrasa said, some ex police dog trainers are old fashioned and use methods that can make behavioural issues worse. Avoid anyone who still talks about dominance/pack theory (putting the dog in their place), who advocates the use of aversive such as choke collars or lead corrections or who advocates flooding your dog by forcing her to interact with dogs.

You say that the behaviourist that you spoke to was negative about dogs from Romania but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t better placed to help you than the police dog trainer. Lots of British rescues are negative about dogs that are adopted from abroad but that doesn’t mean that they don’t take them in and treat them exactly the same as a British born dog, if their adoption falls through and the original charity won’t take them back.

[Dreamersandwishers]

@Vinosaurus yes to the collar & tag, but you could attach the tag directly to the harness.
Did not mean to suggest it would solve all your issues, but the harness gives me more control and more confidence. My confidence definitely transmits through the lead to the dogs and they can calm down if they feel I am calm.

[RiaRoth]

“The trainer I'm using is an ex police dog trainer” This is a real issue.

As advised above IMDT or APDC behaviourist would be saving you money and heartache in the long term. A police dog trainer has limited experience with limited dogs. If the dogs have issues our problems they are whisked out of the police very quickly. Ex police dog handlers will also use aversive methods unless he left the police very recently. They are changing their training methods but do have a way to go for the ex trainers!

[LadyofTheManners]

For those asking what I meant by discipline, I certainly didn't mean hitting out at the dog
But a firm toned NO loudly, repeated if necessary and then straight home.
No treats, no hugs or fuss. The idea of giving you space is good.
I had a dog who had been tied up in a flat as a weapon. She could be quite bitey. She would always be rewarded with lots of strokes and good girls when she behaved, and I would totally shun her when bad. She may not understand language but they can pick up on tones.

[Motorina]

I'm going to go a bit against the flow here. This is a dog who will need significant professional input and support. She's not irredeemable, but it will not be a quick fix either, and she will probably always have issues you will have to work around.

She would not be the right dog for me, and I would be looking to rehome to someone who could give her the input she needs. You may decide that she is the right dog for you and you are able to do that, which is great, but there is no shame either in recognising if you've taken on more than you can handle.

Many of the comments in this thread are very positive (which is great!) but I just wanted to put the other side of it, as it would be a reasonable outcome to decide that this is not for you.