Any advice for handling a 6yo dog prone to biting

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I’m looking after a 6 yo cockerpoo (male) for a relative who has gone into respite care for a couple of weeks to recover from a fall. DDog has not been well trained, is quite nervous and obviously stressed at the change. We’ve been quiet around him, letting him coming to us. He seems happy enough when left alone (was well behaved in the kitchen last night) - no destructive behaviours observed overnight or yesterday. He was pleased to see me this morning and happily ran around our garden for a few minutes then came in when called.

However, he’s prone to biting and has already caught my thumb, drawing blood.
We have no DCs in the house. I’m retired and my DH is WFH so we are around to keep him under full supervision. We have builders in atm and he’ll be kept away from them. I would appreciate some tips on how to stop him snapping and growling. Never experienced this in all the dogs I’ve had previously and have to admit that the bite last night has unnerved me.

What are the situations where he is biting? That will really depend on how you manage it.

He was just sitting in the kitchen and I came up to the front of him, talking softly and gently went to pat his back and he just went for me. When coming in from a walk or the garden he’ll walk on to a towel and let me dry his back paws but starts growling if I touch his front feet. I being careful not to startle him, and this morning when I went to pat him saying good boy (he’d come in from a walk with my DH and had gone to sit on his bed), he snapped at me again (but I got my hand out of the way in time this time).

id potentially look to do a vet check incase he is sore somewhere

However if he’s ever just chilling out not looking for interaction I’d leave him be, it can startle them and then they snap

He needs to see a vet. It sounds like he has pain somewhere.

This is a difficult situation to be in and it's kind of you to look after the dog.

I would say just avoid approaching him and fussing him unless he comes over to you - even then be cautious. Especially don't touch him when he is in his bed unless it's absolutely essential that you do so. And it sounds like his front paws might be a sensitive place for him - I have known other dogs who aren't keen on having their paws touched, so again don't touch these unless it's essential.

Other possible trigger times (based on other nervous dogs I have worked with) could be when he is eating, so again be careful not to touch him at those times.

Generally I would just avoid touching him unless essential. I know it might sound cruel, and your instinct is to comfort him, but I think contact from anyone other than his owner feels like a threat rather than comfort at this point....

(I am assuming he is not like this with his owner, though it's not a given.....)

Is the owner able to give you any tips on situations more likely to stress the dog out?

And again, well done - you are an incredibly kind person!

If it's uncharacteristic behaviour from the dog, I agree. I had the idea from the OP that the dog always behaves like this, though I could have misread this. New biting behaviour in a previously gentle dog I would definitely get checked by the vet, for lots of reasons.

His family say that he’s regularly like this - so I was fully informed when taking him. He certainly wasn’t startled when he bit me which is why I was caught off guard. He has worn a muzzle in the past but they forgot to bring it when they dropped him off. I’ll ask them for it now as I don’t want to give off nervous vibes around him. But for safety sake in case he does escape to the builders I think it would be sensible. And perhaps I just need to keep going with calm and quiet.

I suspect pain too. Stop petting him, talk gently to him instead. The problem with animals and pain is that they start to anticipate it and react to the expectation of it until they've been quite a long time painfree. So i'd tell everyone to stop touching the dog, let him potter about, be nice and calm and quiet and gentle.

One of mine was like this for a while, it turned out he had a really deep ear infection and having his head stroked was painful for him so he was really defensive if you put your hand over his head. A vet check would be a good idea

A hand to the top of the head feels threatening to most dogs, I’m endlessly amazed at the number of people who do it to mine when we are out, and continue to try to reach over even when my dogs are backing up or moving their head away.

https://clickingwithcanines.co.uk/%F0%9F%90%95-why-we-dont-pat-dogs-on-the-head/

Thank you and this is helpful advice. I don’t think he’s funny with his owner but can’t be sure. They did say he barks a lot. He was barking a lot when he arrived but has been quieter since then. Fortunately my builders are doggy people and have been brilliant around him. I’ve introduced him (on a lead) and their approach was calm and quiet, letting him come to them. There are bands and noises but fortunately far enough away from my sanctuary room for it not to bother him too much.

This is a great link. Thank you. I wasn’t patting his head, I was just gently patting his back when he whipped round. I’ve stopped all touches now and am just using quiet gentle speech, acknowledging him and giving the odd treat when he comes to me and wags his tail. Fortunately we have a quiet fortnight so I hope with a gentle routine, walks and quiet company, he’ll settle and relax and there’ll be no further need for the first aid box. 🤞🤞

I’ve spoken with the family and apparently he has had some ear infections a while ago. So they are arranging a vets appointment to check it out.

I’m sure he’ll settle in time. We have a fairly good situation here - lots of space even when he’s contained out of the way of builders. Constant supervision, no excitable children around, no other pets in the house, even our builders are being really understanding and following our lead, no stress about any muddy feet or mess as our house is covered with dust due to building work, (so we can be very relaxed around him) and I’ve had lots of doggy experience including a couple of rescue dogs.