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Biting Shih Tzu

Sun, 05/04/2008 - 03:24 — rpebblesmom

Hi, I am new to blogging on the 'zine, although I have been a reader for some time. My question pertains to my 16-month-old rescue pup, Gizmo, whom I obtained through the local shelter last December. He was listed as an "owner release", supposedly because the owners were moving to a place where they could not have pets, but given some of his proclivities I am beginning to wonder.

For starters, Gizmo hates tall women. At first it was just tall women over forty, but now he attacks and tries to bite any tall woman or girl he sees (over 5'5"). He also has a problem with males that exhibit aggression or who try to dominate him, any age. He has gotten to the point where he gets along with my boys (ages 12, 11, & 9) no matter how they act, but all my 16-year-old brother has to do is enter the room too aggressively and Giz goes after him. The more aggressive stance a person takes in response, the worse Gizmo gets and the more likely he is to escalate from growling and snapping to biting. Short women and girls usually have no problems with Giz, unless they exhibit fear and dance around or run from him. I am 5'2" and so is my daughter; we have no trouble with him at all.

Recently, however, he has gone after two of my (short) sisters when they tried to pet him- they have never had problems with him in the past. He also tried to bite my 85-year-old grandmother and my 50-year-old aunt- both are tall women and both are dog people. He was fine with my aunt at first, as he met her when she was in a reclining chair, but when he later saw her walking through the house, he started barking and growling at her. My grandmother was sitting in a rocking chair when I brought Giz in to meet them and he disliked her from the first and kept jumping up on her legs and snapping at her hands and would not leave her alone. I had to tie him up outside for the rest of the visit. However our counselor, who is 5'7" and over 50, and visits our home twice a week for sessions had problems with him for several weeks after I got him, but then he acclimatized to her (she is a dog lover and really worked with him).

I am at my wits end to know what to do: I have tried using a "Friend" command, I have tried having visitors give him a treat (he will take the treat and then snap at them if they try to pet him), I try to always keep him leashed when outside, but occasionally he sneaks out the door anyway and attacks people walking or biking on the street.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated. I'm thinking of buying a muzzle for when we go out in public or to visit.

Thanks,

Robin

Comments

Fri, 05/09/2008 - 21:37 — dogwalkerartist

aggression

hi,
i feel bad nobody has responded. sounds like a complicated situation. i'm not a professional and have limited training experience, tho i caretake a mini-doxie who is reactive and growly, tho hasn't bitten anyone. it takes alot of consistency and patience and good humor to work with him.
so here's my suggestions;
find a behaviorist who only uses positive methods
read-Culture Clash by jean donaldson and books by Pat Miller on positive training
start with basic manners-sit, down, stay-using positive reinforcement, clickertraining or other method
aggression is basically a normal behavior for dogs, gizmo isn't being "bad", he's just using tactics that have worked for him, to help him feel safe or get him what he wants.
hope this helps and good luck
sincerely, jen todd

Thu, 05/15/2008 - 11:52 — rpebblesmom

Thanks for taking the time

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post, Jen. You are right, it is complicated - mostly because I cannot predict his behavior very well, except for the fact that he usually chases and tries to bite strangers. I am just getting aquainted with clicker training and it seems very intuitive and a great approach.
Giz is great about basic manners in the house: he sits on command, gets off the furniture on command, stays in the house on command when I am leaving (about 90% of the time), etc. It is just when he goes into "attack mode" - it's like he is a totally different dog that refuses to listen to me.
I'll definitely look into the books you mentioned, hopefully they will help me figure him out! I totally understand that he is not "being bad" but is responding to earlier conditioning that I don't know about. I just wish I knew what he "gets" from attacking innocent strangers in the street.
Again, thanks for your comments and encouragement.

Robin

Mon, 05/12/2008 - 14:04 — Aidan
Aidan's picture

Hi, sorry but I can't

Hi, sorry but I can't really offer much help on-line. I think you really need to find an accredited professional who can work with this sort of case, which city are you in? I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Safety first. There is no sense in pushing a dog like this into situations where he feels the need to react aggressively. Someone will eventually get hurt and your dog will learn nothing positive of the experience.

The books Jen recommended are excellent and will give you a good understanding.

This has nothing to do with dominance, or rather, if it does it won't help you do anything about the problem. What you need to understand is that dogs do what works for them, and if growling at taller women and some men is what makes them feel safer then they will keep on doing it. This sounds smug, but it really is as "simple" as that. The solution is "simple" too, but more difficult to implement safely and nothing changes overnight.

Keep him safe, and keep your visitors and family safe. Use a crate and leash. I would add muzzle to that, but I really feel that you should not be putting him into situations where a muzzle might be necessary. When I work with aggressive dogs I use a muzzle when I am 99% certain that I don't need to. If I know that I need a muzzle I'm pushing the dog too far.

Nevertheless, you should get your dog used to a muzzle because one day a vet will require you to put one on him.

He might be a very lucky boy. In most shelters a dog with this sort of problem would never be put up for adoption. It is very difficult on the adopter, emotionally and financially, to have to deal with this sort of problem.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Fri, 05/16/2008 - 09:36 — rpebblesmom

Hi Aidan, thanks very much

Hi Aidan, thanks very much for responding to my post. I live in Brownwood, Texas, USA. There are not very many dog trainers in our area - how would I go about finding out if they use positive methods or not? Your comment about the crate set off ideas in my head. You see, I have a really nice wire crate but I never got around to training Gizmo to use it. I guess I was afraid I would make a mistake and sour him on crates so I was waiting until I had "more time". I guess there is no time like the present! Crating Giz when we need to have the door open or someone isn't available to watch him would eliminate him getting outdoors to attack people. By the way, I'm not sure what changed, other than the fact that I began scolding Gizmo vigorously when he did it, but he has stopped attacking family members. It could be just temporary, or hopefully, permanant.

So far, Giz has never done more than growl at our vet when she took his temperature (but then my cat does the same thing, lol!). She has seen him at least twice since I got him: once for a well-dog check and then again when she neutered him. However, since he may have to see a different vet sometime I will look into the muzzle thing. How would I go about getting him used to one?

When I got Gizmo from the pound, he had only been there 36 hours or so, but he was exhibiting signs of shock: glassy eyes, complete lack of personality or interest in surroundings and people, standing rigidly where ever someone set him down. When I took him outside the shelter to walk around, he kept lunging to the end of the leash toward the road and then seemed surprised and fearful when I followed him. I almost did not get him that day, but I ran into a couple I knew that encouraged me to give him a try. After I took him home, we bonded over a nice warm bath (he was matted and stinky with urine) and by the time he dried off he was starting to act like a "normal" Shih Tzu. I gave him a complete puppy cut with scissors that day and he did not growl or bite unless I tried to work on his tail. He eventually got over that too. The aggressive behaviors did not come out for a week or two (except with my brother - he has had trouble with Giz from the start, but other people's small dogs have bitten him also - not sure what's up with that) and since then have been better with certain people who took the time to work with him and worse with strangers. It's possible the shelter did not know about Gizmo's aggressive tendencies.

Thanks again for your honest assessment and I hope that you know someone near where I live that could help me. In the mean time, I will get the books Jen suggested and read up more on clicker training.

Have a great week,

Robin

Mon, 05/19/2008 - 15:59 — Aidan
Aidan's picture

Hi Robin, I understand

Hi Robin, I understand Texas is a BIG place, but it is a bit of a mecca for positive trainers. The University of North Texas also has an amazing behavioral science facility that does a lot of work with animals, including dogs.

Here are two names I plucked at random from a database I use:
*

Briana Stringer - Clicker training classes, agility, puppy classes, private lessons, advanced training, and more. Serving central Texas. Austin, Leander, Round Rock, Georgetown, Texas.512.260.9898 www.SublimeCanines.com, dogtalk@sublimecanines.com

*

Kathie Compton, BA, CDBC, CPDT. mARFa Dog Training. Obedience ,Good Dog Manners, Behavior Modification
Free Consultation. Marfa, TX. www.texasdogtrainer.com , kc@texasdogtrainer.com , 432-729-4292.

>>By the way, I'm not sure what changed, other than the fact that I began scolding Gizmo vigorously when he did it, but he has stopped attacking family members<<

It's good that he has stopped attacking family members, however, I am extra cautious of dogs who have been punished for showing aggression. If the punishment is effective you can be left with a dog who shows no signs of aggression, but will attack seemingly "out of the blue" one day when pushed far enough. Traps for new players, huh?

Aggression is a learned behavioral response to increase distance from something the dog is worried about. What I like to do is teach alternative responses that make the dog feel safer or at least habituated to the thing they are worried about. That is a much safer path and a good positive trainer should be able to help you achieve that.

>>he kept lunging to the end of the leash toward the road and then seemed surprised and fearful when I followed him.<<

I think the shelter should have picked up obvious (to the trained eye) signs like that, but they are probably over-worked and under-funded.

No matter, he's yours now! With enough love, patience, and a few new tricks up your sleeve you should be able to make him feel safe and give him new ways to deal with his anxiety.

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

Sun, 06/29/2008 - 15:01 — Tailspin
Tailspin's picture

Biting Shihtzu

Hi.
I hope you find yourself a good behaviourist to help with Gizmo and his fear biting issues. I just wanted to add a book for you to check out to the list provided by my fellow dogwalker...
"Fiesty Fido", by Patricia McConnell and Karen London deals specifically with leash aggression and using positive reinforcement (R+) behaviour modification. I have found it helpful for some of my more leash reactive dogs.
Oh, and muzzling a shih tzu may just be an exercise in frustration...with such a short snout he may be able to get it off easily so please don't assume that all are safe if he has one on.

Good luck.

Maggi
Tailspin Petworx