Biting while petting

I think a vet visit is in order too to start with. It sounds to me like she may be in pain, maybe an ear infection or a toothache or something.

you know could this be a seizure condition?

I bought an OES in February 2007 and I have spent numerous hours with her and lots of $$ on Bella. She could be really a sweetheart most of the time, but very aggressive with her food and toys.

I worked with several trainers my vet recommended, but Bella would still exhibit erratic, biting behavior.

This last weekend, I went to say goodbye to Bella, and bent over to pet her. I sometimes kiss her on the nose, but this time, as I got close, she lept up and bit me. I had to go to the emergency room and get 5 stitches near my upper lip.

My vet knows about my difficulties, and because I am pregnant, recommended I euthanize Bella.

I contacted several shelters about the situation and they wouldn't take her - they made the same recommendation.

My husband and I are sick with grief, so I caution you to watch out. Some of the aggressive behaviors can get worse and worse, even with experienced help.

I think it is breeding (bought my OES from a neighborhood breeder -- never doing that again!). I hope you the best, but I, unfortunately, had a very sad ending.

:( ...She has been going for training and was doing better in general but now has gotten nasty.

She has alway been possesive her her food toys etc. and we have been working on it

She got groomed about a month ago and now snaps at us all the time it seems more after the grooming and training started. She will be laying next to my husband and I and if we pet her and she doesn't like bites and growls like a very nasty dog.

She bites hard and means it for no reason and we are just petting her. If we ask her to come in another room she goes crazy and tries to bite.

It it always on her face area and nipped at my neighbor for touching her face. I have 10 month ld twins boys and I am very concerned about her behavior. Se gets this glazed over looked and the trainer is afraid that it could of be a breeding problem which I really hope it's not. Has anyone experienced this? [\quote]

I am not experienced training OESs, but I do have experience with aggressive breeds and aggressive dogs. In fact, I currently own a fear biter which came to me through a rescue group.

I am really concerned about the safety of your children. Your dog is going to continue to bite and bite even harder as this progresses. A large dog who suddenly begins to growl at one of the pack leaders - especially in a household with small children is trouble with a capital T.

Even before I could get to the vet, I would begin treating the dog as if he was ill and segregate him from the rest of the household. Obviously, *something* is wrong. So don't put the dog in his regular routine, as he has already told you he is not well.

By segregate I mean, I would keep the dog in a contained area, like my bedroom. I would be kind and caring without pushing into too much of the dogs space.

Once you have eliminated illness and pain from possible sources of this behavior, you must begin reasserting the house rules with the growler/biter.

The fastest and easiest thing that generally works quickly is to call the dog to you with the leash and working collar (choke chain, gentle leader or whatever you use to train with) in your hand. Once the dog comes to you, which he generally will since he thinks he is going for a walk or a ride in the car, put the leash on and begin "heel, sit, stay" exercises in the house. This training should be done with the same pleasant tone you use when you are teaching a training technique. But, by no means should you let the dog make any decisions about what is to be done, beyond following your commands. That is simply the only choice he has. He gets warm emotional praise at the end of the exercise when he does well. He gets an immediate correction (sharp short tug on the leash and a fast "no!") if he does anything else. I have never found that I need to do this for longer than 5 minutes, before the dog resumes understanding that he is "not the boss." In these situations I have had a couple of really tough guys decide they will be stubborn and not listen. If that's the case, they get a couple of minutes of time out in a room they consider neutral. I like to use the bathroom. I close the door and sit outside so the dog knows I have not abandoned him, but I am indeed "shunning" him. For most domestic animals who have cared for you in the past, this is an extremely upsetting thing. Never leave them long - a couple of minutes or so. When they come out of the bathroom, they get to try the "heel, sit, stay" exercises again. They get warm praise at the end of the training, assuming they behaved correctly. If not, they get returned to the bathroom for a slightly longer (an extra two minutes) period. Then we repeat the exercise again. This goes on until the dog conforms to the behavior he has been asked to do. He gets warm loving praise at the end of the training - once he has conformed to the acceptable behavior.

I would also increase the number of walks my dog got every day. Your Sheepie may benefit from wearing a pack with a couple of water bottles in it, to burn off some of that energy and make him feel like he has a really important job! These are working dogs, so they appreciate working. I would also begin to do about 15 minutes of training outside just before the dog's dinnertime every day for at least a week. Then every other day the following week. Then, three days a week.

The idea behind this is to get the dog to understand he is not in charge, you are. And to reinforce the idea that things will not be done any way other than the way you want them done. You should never be angry or tense while you are working with your dog. If you can't train with the goal of teaching a new behavior, then you need to sit alone in the bathroom until you can collect yourself!

When you have reached the point where biting is happening, you need to really decide if you are giving your dog the right sort of consequences for his actions. I don't care what happened with the groomer - I am not the groomer and I know my dogs know the difference. What I would be concerned about, was if I could devote this sort of time to my dog and follow through on all the commands I have asked of him. If not, you probably should consider re-homing the dog with someone who understands how to handle dominant, aggressive dogs.

Question ,,is your dog spayed? The females can change after being spayed<usually calmer> if she has not been spayed ,,do it ! it will help and her hormones will be more at ease.