My sheltie was bit on the nose as a pup years ago, he has not been the same ...

[3dmodeler]

He is normally, a normal sheltie. no behavior issues other the the normal, lets get crazy excited when the door rings. Otherwise, he is a calm sheltie and even a calm sheltie in the dog park. The issue that is getting old, is when a crazy young pup comes up to his face, my dog with do a pre defensive nip at him or may get a ear. The thing is, I suspect he is afraid to get nipped or bit on the mouth, and as a result, he is nervous around crazy hyper dogs both big and small. The calm ones, he lets them into his face.

I was in the dog park, sitting on the end of the bench, and my sheltie was eating out of my hand "another issue where he will go all day without eating" so, he was just eating out of my hand, and the big Rottweiler dog came up to my hand and his face, perhaps wanting to snatch the food out of my hand, and my dog did his defensive nip on its nose. It was bleeding a little bit. The owners wanted my number and said, its not my dog, here is my wife's number so said out out fast and left. They want to bill us any money for the vet bills, which there will be none, but it is just a tiny drop of blood.

I want to see what it would take to change my dogs behavior. Its getting really old. Neighbors young pit-bull was bouncing up and down in front of my dog, and my dog went nuts, and grabbed on to his ear and twisted back and forth and let go. Neighbor said don't worry about it. But I am worries, we will get sacked with a vet bill which we cannot afford.

What behavior modifications can we train are dog so, he does not do this? or put a cloth muzzle on him?

 

[mellie]

To me, it sounds as if these dogs are being rude and are in your dog's space and biting is one way dogs handle this. Nipping at bold puppies is a natural thing for an older dog to do. Muzzling your dog is one solution, but this leaves him defenseless, so I think you should reconsider taking your dog to places where this could happen. When someone starts toward you with their dog ask them to stay away because your dog will bite. Most people will respect this but there are always some who will feel as though they need to prove a point or something, so you may need to move away from them. Sometimes just increasing the distance will lower the aggression threshold. If a dog not on a leash is bitten by your dog who is on a leash-your dog is on a leash right ? then I don't see how you would be legally responsible. Watch your dog closely for signs of an impending bite; starring, growling ,showing teeth or white of eye are warning signs and should be respected by people and other dogs.

 

[Jess041]

First of all, don't bring food into a dog park. That just causes problems. This is usually a rule at most dog parks, because some dogs can be food aggressive and will bite or even pick fights with other dogs over food.

There was an article posted on this forum a while back that kinda put in perspective what it would be like for us, as humans, if people came up to us and started licking our faces or invading our personal space. This article was posted a while ago, and it really put things into perspective for me http://www.suzanneclothier.com/the-articles/he-just-wants-say-hi.

My dog loves playing at the park, but sometimes she will nip and rambunctious dogs that are trying to jump on her or play to rough, and I don't blame her. I try to diffuse the situation by calling her away, but sometimes if it's a very persistent dog and the owners won't control their dog, our only choice is to leave because I don't want my dog to ever injure another dog. I don't want her to ever have to resort to that, even if she's just defending herself.

 

[JacqueZ]

My dog got nipped on the nose this winter, and because the other dogs tooth sliced at an angle a flap of skin was loose and it was getting matted with fur. The vet had to shave the area and trim off that skin, and than give us antibiotics just to be sure there wouldn't be an infection. Ended up being about $100. (Oddly I balk less at paying those prices for my dog than I do for myself.)

Small injuries can add up. Nothing done to my dog was all that difficult, but I wasn't about to shave the injured area myself....

 

[Caro]

Definitely read the Suzanne Clothier article, it really does explain things.

Your dog is doing what is normal behaviour - telling another dog to not get in its face. As dogs get older they just don't want other dogs bounding up and being rude. This is especially so for young dogs, it's usual for an older dog to put them in their place. It is the extent of the reaction that is the problem and it is probably being compounded by your reaction. He says to the other dog - 'get out of my face', he gets told off, so he ups his reaction in response. As his leader you are better off taking him out of the situation, get the other dog to back off or lead your dog away - that way you show your dog he doesn't need to react that much, you will take care of the situation.

As for the Rottie - I agree dog parks are not a place to take food. However, I'm not sure your dog is in the wrong - he was only defending an important resource and a well mannered dog knows not to take food from another dog. With the neighbour's dog - best bet is to not let that dog go bounding up into his face. Your dog prefers calm interactions, so that's really the only time the two dogs should interact - when the other dog is calm. I'd actually suggest you keep both dogs on lead until the other dog grows up a little. Definitely don't force your dog into a situation where he is uncomfortable and feels the only way to get out of it is to bite. It will only escalate things.

 

[OntarioSheltie]

Definitely read the Suzanne Clothier article, it really does explain things.

Your dog is doing what is normal behaviour - telling another dog to not get in its face. As dogs get older they just don't want other dogs bounding up and being rude. This is especially so for young dogs, it's usual for an older dog to put them in their place. It is the extent of the reaction that is the problem and it is probably being compounded by your reaction. He says to the other dog - 'get out of my face', he gets told off, so he ups his reaction in response. As his leader you are better off taking him out of the situation, get the other dog to back off or lead your dog away - that way you show your dog he doesn't need to react that much, you will take care of the situation.

As for the Rottie - I agree dog parks are not a place to take food. However, I'm not sure your dog is in the wrong - he was only defending an important resource and a well mannered dog knows not to take food from another dog. With the neighbour's dog - best bet is to not let that dog go bounding up into his face. Your dog prefers calm interactions, so that's really the only time the two dogs should interact - when the other dog is calm. I'd actually suggest you keep both dogs on lead until the other dog grows up a little. Definitely don't force your dog into a situation where he is uncomfortable and feels the only way to get out of it is to bite. It will only escalate things.

I second this post, your dog was not in the wrong, no behaviour modification needed on his part.

On your part, I'd suggest that you stop taking your sheltie to dog parks and putting him in situations where he isn't comfortable and feels the need to defend himself.

Limit your sheltie's interactions to those with only calm dogs. He's only going to become more aggressive if he keeps having bad experiences.

 

[dblock]

I think you've been given excellent advice. Your dog is letting others know its not appropriate for them to stick their noses in his. If you think about it, is it okay for another human to come up to you out of the blue and put their face in yours? The answer is No. I would tell the woman since they didn't ask permission to come up to you or your dog, you don't feel liable.

 

[Toffee's Mom]

I second this post, your dog was not in the wrong, no behaviour modification needed on his part.

On your part, I'd suggest that you stop taking your sheltie to dog parks and putting him in situations where he isn't comfortable and feels the need to defend himself.

Limit your sheltie's interactions to those with only calm dogs. He's only going to become more aggressive if he keeps having bad experiences.

Absolutely correct
In situations like what you describe we need to be the dog's guardian, and do our best not to get the dog in a situation where s/he is so uncomfortable they feel they have to snap.
Definitely read the article, definitely don't sit around in dog parks your dog's behaviour will just get worse, because the dog gets to practice it, she snaps the other dog backs off with that inappropriate and annoying 'in ya face' stuff, so it's not a good thing for her to practice it.
Also that Rottie owner is wrong! His dog was in your dog's face and space, he should have called him off, I don't think you should even have to pay... But that is your decision you were there...