My Pomeranian/toy poodle puppy is almost 6 months old, we got him at about 3 months, he has always had issues with teething and nipping but it was never malicious he was just hard to train with this behavior. Recently, he started biting HARD and angrily when we do something he doesn’t like. He bares his teeth and bites our hands if we try to take something from him he shouldn’t be chewing on, and if he knows he’s going to be put in the crate. (I have to put him in the crate every day he has never gone in willingly. He’s rarely in there more than 4 hours as I often work from home but he has NEVER bitten me for this until recently, only whined). This is not his typical biting behavior!! If he is play biting and we tell him to stop he stops and starts licking which is progress from before! This is new and very obviously aggressive he doesn’t let go and draws blood! What should I do?
NEW BEHAVIOR - biting!
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I just want to add, he is always made to sit and wait for food, he typically obeys commands to lay down, always stops barking when I tell him to, never sleeps in bed with us, etc. up until this point he seems to recognize our dominance and I don’t know where this is coming from.
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This sounds a lot like resource guarding, and also an aversion to being picked up/handled. I imagine you physically place him in the crate by picking him up, right? Resource guarding is usually genetic, but it can be made worse or better by the dog's environment. Instead of taking things away from him, play the trade game. You can look up a training guide on the forum. If he has a long-lasting chew, trade him for something even better, like cheese or deli meat, then put the chew away.
This way, he doesn't become defensive when you need to take something from him. He thinks, "Hey, what I have is great, but mom/dad has something even better for me." He will willingly give up his chew for the new, even better thing. Make sure he has plenty of appropriate chews and that you are praising him for using them. It's also important that you control the resources he guards. You should not leave things he guards out on the floor. If he guards regular household objects, this is going to be difficult, but preventing him from guarding entirely is the best option.
Many dogs do not like to be picked up and handled, which is sometimes hard with small dogs when you just need them to do something quickly. I would begin working on making the crate a really, really great place to be. Start feeding him inside his crate, and no other place. Play crate games (look it up on the forum). Give him a really awesome chew, like a stuffed frozen Kong toy, when you need to put him inside to leave. The goal is to get him to go into the crate willingly without any physical prompting from you.
Also, I would suggest ditching the "dominance" or "alpha" mind frame. Dominance between dogs and humans is not a thing. They know we're not dogs. They're simply oppurtunisict, and smart. They will do what gets them what they want, and sometimes that gets mistaken as spiteful or rebellious by us humans. When the act aggressive and bite, they are almost always afraid, not trying to take over your house. Afraid of losing resources, afraid of being hurt because they are being handled and made uncomfortable. Imagine being a 10 pound dog picked up and placed in a crate by a towering 150 pound human against your will....kinda scary. Some dogs like being picked up, others don't, and yours probably really doesn't...
This way, he doesn't become defensive when you need to take something from him. He thinks, "Hey, what I have is great, but mom/dad has something even better for me." He will willingly give up his chew for the new, even better thing. Make sure he has plenty of appropriate chews and that you are praising him for using them. It's also important that you control the resources he guards. You should not leave things he guards out on the floor. If he guards regular household objects, this is going to be difficult, but preventing him from guarding entirely is the best option.
Many dogs do not like to be picked up and handled, which is sometimes hard with small dogs when you just need them to do something quickly. I would begin working on making the crate a really, really great place to be. Start feeding him inside his crate, and no other place. Play crate games (look it up on the forum). Give him a really awesome chew, like a stuffed frozen Kong toy, when you need to put him inside to leave. The goal is to get him to go into the crate willingly without any physical prompting from you.
Also, I would suggest ditching the "dominance" or "alpha" mind frame. Dominance between dogs and humans is not a thing. They know we're not dogs. They're simply oppurtunisict, and smart. They will do what gets them what they want, and sometimes that gets mistaken as spiteful or rebellious by us humans. When the act aggressive and bite, they are almost always afraid, not trying to take over your house. Afraid of losing resources, afraid of being hurt because they are being handled and made uncomfortable. Imagine being a 10 pound dog picked up and placed in a crate by a towering 150 pound human against your will....kinda scary. Some dogs like being picked up, others don't, and yours probably really doesn't...
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If he has something you want and you need to take it from him, then you need to teach the trade game. Have something much better and trade for what he has. Practice this with less valuable items such as trading food for a toy.
Going into the crate.. there are videos Take a look at this:
There is a thing you need to know. EVERY TIME you back down when your dog acts like he will bite you are teaching him that his behavior WILL get you to back down. This means the behavior will escalate as he learns he can make you back off. So, to avoid that happening CHANGE THE CONVERSATION. Redirect the dog to something else. Change what you are doing so the dog thinks about that. PUNISHING will only make things worse and backing down will also make things worse.
We are the ones with thumbs.. so you need to be smarter than the dog. His conversation is "BACK OFF HUMAN!" You need to come up with ways that simply remove this conversation from ever happening.
Going into the crate.. there are videos Take a look at this:
There is a thing you need to know. EVERY TIME you back down when your dog acts like he will bite you are teaching him that his behavior WILL get you to back down. This means the behavior will escalate as he learns he can make you back off. So, to avoid that happening CHANGE THE CONVERSATION. Redirect the dog to something else. Change what you are doing so the dog thinks about that. PUNISHING will only make things worse and backing down will also make things worse.
We are the ones with thumbs.. so you need to be smarter than the dog. His conversation is "BACK OFF HUMAN!" You need to come up with ways that simply remove this conversation from ever happening.
Dogs start to guard more when we grab things away from them. You need to start practicing “leave it” exercises every day. Hold biscuit in fist at dogs nose level, calmly say Leave it (once, don’t repeat cues). Have a good meaty treat hidden behind your back. Once he backs up a little bit, say Yes! and give treat from other hand. Repeat 5-6 times per session. Never grab things and walk away, without rewarding him for giving them up. Keep a few treat jars around the house if you need to get something away.
It’s very important to present the treat After he gives up so he doesn’t give it up only because he’s going for the treat.
Start playing Crate Games, so he doesn’t hate it so much. Throw toys in there, give him a bone or frozen Kong to enjoy in there, toss pieces of food in - while keeping door open. Feed his meals in there with door open. Practice closing door for a minute then let out. 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc... Change his mindset to realize crate isn’t so bad. Search “crate games” online.
You may need to take a class or hire an in-home positive reinforcement dog trainer. I feel these can benefit everyone in so many ways!
It’s very important to present the treat After he gives up so he doesn’t give it up only because he’s going for the treat.
Start playing Crate Games, so he doesn’t hate it so much. Throw toys in there, give him a bone or frozen Kong to enjoy in there, toss pieces of food in - while keeping door open. Feed his meals in there with door open. Practice closing door for a minute then let out. 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc... Change his mindset to realize crate isn’t so bad. Search “crate games” online.
You may need to take a class or hire an in-home positive reinforcement dog trainer. I feel these can benefit everyone in so many ways!
Resource Guarding: Treatment and Prevention - The Other End of the Leash
Years ago, I took care of a gooey-sweet adolescent Border collie, (Tilly, I’ll call her) who flattened her ears and folded like a bird’s wing every time you said her name. She was responsive and polite, and the other dogs seemed to like her as much as I did. It was especially rainy when she […]
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