General Question Dexter bit my boyfriend...

[Jackieshoes]

Every morning while Chris gets ready for work, dexter follows him around incessantly. It's pretty annoying, but I think it's cute cause he knows he is leaving and he's going to miss him!

Background: dexter is spastic sometimes. He goes ape crazy and jumps and tries to get the most random things. Fly shatters, air duster, belts, brushes, whatever someone is carrying that he doesn't know what it is.

Fast forward to this morning: dexter was barking at the brush ad Chris kinda shook it at him. Well my sweet face took that as an invite to get the new thing and I guess bit him in the process. I'm sure he didn't mean to because he was very calm and reserved afterward and kept his distance from daddy.

The way the "bite" looked is that his tooth grazed his finger. It was on his thumb and kinda looked like it was caught by the cuticle and dragged a lil so maybe it was an accident.

Any ideas on what's triggering him or what I can do I make him stop? It would make our lives much more peaceful...he does not act like this with just me...

 

[Izzy's Mom]

Hmmm... it sounds to me that the problem here is more with training than the actual bite. Your puppy should NOT be jumping around trying to catch things in the air. If you don't address this issue first and show him his bounderies than accidents such as this will keep happening.

It's hard because like you said it is cute to watch them but once they get stronger they can do some damage. same thing happened with my sweet girl, I had my face too close to her while we were playing on the floor and by mistake she bit my nose but this time her teeth actually caught inside my nose and made a small cut which it bled for about 5 minutes. That's when I learned my lesson!!!

 

[Jackieshoes]

Ok, he's 4. Can I train him still?? Any recommendations??

 

[kim n the guys]

no dog is too old. Teach him his boundaries and you might want to train your boyfriend as well. Shaking objects at him is just asking for it!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

The problem here is he was being teased. Sounds like he has been allowed to behave like this all along. I'm sure he was just playing..but it's not so cute when it's a kids face or worse. You need to decrease the excitement level to zero. Don't let him escalate to that point.

I agree..no dog is too old...I can't say that about your boyfriend tho!

 

[Jackieshoes]

The bulldog wil be easier to train than the bf... Any recommendations on a good book or program

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

The bulldog wil be easier to train than the bf... Any recommendations on a good book or program

I will see if we can get a few others here to help!
[MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION]...[MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]...[MENTION=4305]Vince00[/MENTION]...[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]

 

[Davidh]

Bullies will be bullies and if they are playing they can get rough and if they have never been taught to not be so rough, they will play like that. When he goes crazy, stop the play, even if you have to hold him to keep him from running and tell him to "settle". A good walk to work off some of the anxiety would work wonders. If you tease them with an object, they will try to get it from you to play, so until he calms down, I wouldn't tease him with things. Take him for walks everyday to tire him out some and when you play if he gets too excited just stop the play and give him a time out. It takes time but will work, just be patient.

 

[Vince00]

I will do some quick research but I know following the "Nothing in Life is free" concept will change your dogs behaviour very quickly with positive and consistent correction. Reinforced with positive affection can be a game changer for any dog.

You can search and read about Nothing in life is free before buying a book but I know getting your dog to work for things before they get it will not be a bad thing for any dog.

Info here : http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/nilif-nasty

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Nothing-In-Life-Is-Free/book-7JpZ2tzYv0afZ5QAGjJycw/page1.html

 

[LynnA]

I will do some quick research but I know following the "Nothing in Life is free" concept will change your dogs behaviour very quickly with positive and consistent correction. Reinforced with positive affection can be a game changer for any dog.

You can search and read about Nothing in life is free before buying a book but I know getting your dog to work for things before they get it will not be a bad thing for any dog.

Info here : http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/nilif-nasty

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Nothing-In-Life-Is-Free/book-7JpZ2tzYv0afZ5QAGjJycw/page1.html

I'm in love with Kain, what a beautiful dog!

 

[Baconator]

Have you considered maybe taking him to an obedience class?

 

[Sherry]

Change your boyfriends behavior so the dog takes him seriously. Really, that's the best I've got, my husband , your boyfriend, cut from the same cloth. I get a tad aggravated and get tired of telling hubby to knock it off. Easier to train the bully for sure. I love all my bully's but they trust me and take me serious, even when we're having lots of fun playing fetch or whatever. They would never return a ball or stick to my husband like they do me. Sorry hubby

 

[kazzy220]

Any recommendations on a good book or program

Have you considered maybe taking him to an obedience class?

For the Bully or the Boyfriend ...?????

 

[Vicaroo1000]

It sounds like your pup thought that evil brush was going to "get" him. No more teasing the dog. Easy enough, right? Being able to maintain calm in your dog in situations (ANY) is a great thing to practice. DavidH uses "settle"; but it's not the word itself, it's the sound and his calm, assertive energy. The dogs settle as they know what's expected of them. Bea and Bo can get wonky about something in my hand because they think its for them. I say "Mine" for anything that's none of their beezwax and they stop trying to get it/look at it/touch it/smell it because they know what's expected of them. Practice makes perfect! Your pup is craving leadership from his human pack leaders! Give it to him and you've got yourself a MUCH happier dog to boot.

No dog is too old to "train" -- but it's the human (not the dog) that generally needs the training.

 

[Jackieshoes]

Do they have a boyfriend school?? Could they teach massages, cooking, cleaning, vet tech skills and obedience training?!

It wasn't the brush, I think it's anything that makes the sound like an aerosol can, or that has a handle...

So told the bf last night no more teasing an when he starts to act like that I stop him, and put him in time out. He listens to me, but I need to be a better leader I suppose