Snapping

[pinkpip100]

We have a 20 month old female miniature schnauzer. She was a lockdown puppy, and has been nervous of other dogs and people she doesn't know since she was very young. We have also had a some issues with resource guarding (food related) and she has snapped at my 13 year old dd a few times, in hindsight we could see the triggers and have worked with all of our children to help them be mindful of when to give her space etc. This evening she snapped really nastily at dd again. There didn't appear to be any trigger this time, she was sitting on the sofa next to dh, dd was sitting on the other side and began to stroke her. She seemed happy enough and then suddenly snapped and actually tried to bite dd (luckily missed). Dd is devastated, she was already a bit wary of the dog due to the earlier snapping issues, and now says she is scared of her. I am at a loss of what to do next. We have worked through lots of advice about nervous dogs and thought things were getting better, but were obviously wrong. I am particularly worried as my younger dd has a learning disability and - although we always closely supervise her interactions with the dog, I feel like she could inadvertently trigger a snapping/biting incident - her reactions are much slower than older dd's, so may well not move away quick enough to avoid getting bitten. I'm not sure what I'm looking for really - do we need to rehome our dog? She is very closely bonded with me and (particularly) dh, so it feels like this would be very unfair to her, but at the same time I can't see how we can make it work with this level of unpredictability.

Your dog couldn’t have a sore patch - bite/scratch/tummy ache that your DD touched, could she? Seems odd if she’s usually happy to be stroked. Get a vet check first.

It could be resource guarding her sofa spot or being protective of something. Did you work with a behaviourist over the food guarding? What did they advise? What were the previous triggers?

Banish to the floor op.

Worked for us with dpuppy and dd.. Dd should be allowed to sit on your sofa.. No need for ddog to be allowed..
Imo.

Yes get her on the floor for a start, permanently. Honestly, I would have completely excluded her the moment she did it, straight out to another room and left alone, making it really clear with body language and tone that she had f*cked up big time. I don't claim to be a dog expert but I marvel at some of the softly softly advice given on here at times. I've had dogs all my life. I'm firm with them, never cruel or nasty but make it really clear who's in charge and I have rarely had to deal with anything like this.

Thanks for your replies. I've been unpicking it with dd & dh, I think she might actually be resource guarding dh. This has been a trigger previously (she has snapped at me when she thought I was taking her away from him, but it wasn't as 'intense' as this snap at dd tonight). I did previously seek advise from a behaviourist about the food resource guarding, we made sure she had a totally safe space to eat, made sure the kids stayed away when she had food etc. Not sure how we would even start to prevent resource guarding of dh if that's what she is doing.
When she snapped tonight, we put her straight into another room, but she didn't seem to even realise she had done anything wrong. Dd is now saying she won't have friends round as she is so worried that the dog will snap at them 😞.

The snapping (food) should have been addressed long ago, as a tiny puppy, as soon as you had the dog. The dog is now a danger to your daughter, the dog will have the upper hand as your daughter is afraid. My daughter would come before the dog, I'd get rid of it.

Seconding restricting to dog to the floor. You may need to put her on a long line at first to be sure you can enforce it. Don’t do it punitively, just firmly and consistently, praising for 4 paws on the floor. You can throw treats to help.

You have to prevent situations in which she may snap. You can still give her affection when she’s on the floor.

Definitely seek the advice of your behaviourist.

You need to keep the dog off the sofa and get your behaviourist back in ASAP. I would also be telling everyone that they are not to fuss the dog unless the dog approaches them and asks for attention. The phrase "let sleeping dogs lie" exists for a reason and also applies to dogs who are just relaxing by themselves. You are incredibly lucky that your DD didn't receive a nasty bite.

Many dogs are fine on the sofa and are fine to be fussed when relaxing, but you already know your dog is nervous and has issues with guarding things so the rule in your family needs to be that the dog isn't allowed on the sofa or human beds, and that you need to let the dog come to you for attention (or call her over for a fuss) rather than you approaching her.

You need to protect your children. Keep it away from them.

I have had a few dogs that came to me like this. It’s not uncommon and it is easily fixed. The dog thinks she is in charge. It’s up to you to show her she’s not. Get her off the sofa now. She is no longer allowed, full stop. Do not let her sit or lay anywhere high up, so no human beds, not half way up the stairs…floor only.
When feeding (and bare with me because this sounds really weird) Show her the bowl and make her sit. Then, stand side on to her and place the bowl between your feet. Maintain eye contact with her and do not release her from her sit until you step away from the food. This makes the dog understand that it’s YOUR food and you are giving it to her and also that you can take it back. I thought that one was rubbish until I tried it with a big old boy that we adopted. He arrived thinking it was ok to have a go over food or the couch etc. it needed nipping in the bud sharpish because he was massive, could do some serious damage and he really meant it! A week of no sofa and feeding as above and he was right as rain. There is a really good book you can buy too, called Training Without Treats…by a man called Ade Howe. It’s on Amazon (he’s my behaviourist and he’s brilliant)

Thanks again for the advice. She doesn't ever sleep on beds etc, but the sofa is her favourite place and we've always let her on there (it's an old sofa and she doesn't shed, so it never seemed to be an issue to let her sleep on there - I hadn't realised it could be a behavioural trigger). I don't think she is guarding the sofa - it does seem more linked to my dh being nearby - but maybe the sofa is symbolic of her not recognising her position in the family?

Please don't go down the road of believing in pack theory and a dogs "place" in the family. It all got debunked years ago.

The reason she needs to stay off the sofa is because of her behaviour, not because she needs to "know her place in the family". When you fix the behaviour, you may well be able to let her back up again.

But for now she needs her own bed and space where she goes to rest, away from people. When the dog is in her bed, everyone needs to leave her alone. If they want her attention or need her to come to them, then they call her or use treats or a toy. No touching her in her bed, no fussing her there - she needs to know she has a space that's "hers".

Get a vet check
Something as simple as sore ears can make a dog react so need to rule out physical issues.

Then get vet to recommend a qualified behaviourist. Dont just pick one of the internet. Dont use a trainer get a qualified behaviourist.

Resource guarding spreads like wild fire. Dogs start with food , move to toys, they can even guard empty spaces or trees on walks.

Usually resource guarding is performed by stressed dogs and bring a lot of calm into the house can help.

You will not solve this off advice from internet posters or through training it does need professional behavourial help asap.

Good luck you can get amazing results if y ou have the right behavioural plan

She must stop using the sofa immediately. It's very obvious advice. Her place is on the floor, not scaring your daughter.

We've started the sofa ban straight away, I've got a vets appointment on Monday and a behaviourist calling me next week. I really hope we can sort this.

Sorry to go on about it but the behaviorist needs to have a level 5 qualification so a Msc in relevant subject.

If they try to teach you a "leave it command " walk away

Sorry to derail but I have a question for @forumsempronii - what is wrong with a leave it command? Our behaviourist who I thought was excellently qualified and registered with all the correct bodies has taught us a sort of leave command - more in the sense of playing impulse control games, is this a bad sign and why?

I'm not the poster you asked so I hope you don't mind me replying!

A "leave it" command is really useful but it shouldn't be taught to a dog that's already resource guarding as it just ups the "ante", so to speak. "Leave it" is more of a training command whereas in this situation, you need a behaviourist to change the overall behaviour of the dog.

Ah ok makes sense. Thanks!

The dog on the sofa is really not the issue here so not sure why everyone’s saying that? As a safety issue, sure. To make sure your daughter is safe on tbe sofa but definitely not so the dog knows who’s boss or any such nonsense.