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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our dog bit DH-- LONG
We found Henry wandering around our neighborhood two years ago. Flea infested, hungry, dirty, exhausted... in pretty bad shape. After extensively looking for his owners with no luck, we adopted him. He's a big carmel hound mix (we think American Coonhound, but who knows... pic in bio) whom our vet estimates to be about 12-14 years old now.
For the most part, he's been a pretty good old dog. He loves to be petted, take short walks through the bushes and mostly just sleeps all day. He will occasionally get a little snippy when we grab his collar to lead him outside to pee, but has never really made contact.
Tonight, Henry was chewing a rawhide chew (yeah, yeah, I know they're not very good for them) and DH (Rob) was prepping to leave and wanted to get the chew put away before he left. He reached for it and got a little snarl. Rob pulled back. He then ordered Henry (who is partially deaf and blind) to "Drop it!" When Henry did let it go, Rob reached down to pick it up and Henry bit him hard. The puncture wound required a trip to the Emergency room (we could see white stuff- bone or tendons or something?) and resulted in 3 stitches.
The physical wound will be fine, but we're conflicted. Rob's immediate response (and what he's always said when fostering and dog sitting) was that he refuses to be in a home with a dog that has bitten him. Before we left for the ER, he was balling profusely because he hated the idea of having to put Henry down and he just kept asking "Why did he do this?" Henry has never been aggressive with his food before... it's just so weird.
I was just in shock and probably still am as I haven't come to grips with this. I don't know if I feel it's necessary to put Henry down, but I also have to respect that noone should be scared or intimidated in their own home and if he (meaning Rob) is uncomfortable, then that is not fair. I know there is the option of adoption and/or fostering him, but he is so old and fragile AND if he's a risk for other pet owners, that makes me nervous.
On the way home from the ER, Rob called a friend that is a vet to ask her thoughts and we're planning a conference call tomorrow with our vet to discuss the situation. I think now that he's calmed down a little bit, he might be able to approach this a little more broadly. I really want to discuss whether this might just be him getting old and senile and/or if this just a fluke or what.
I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this and/or if you have any thoughts. Thanks.
For the most part, he's been a pretty good old dog. He loves to be petted, take short walks through the bushes and mostly just sleeps all day. He will occasionally get a little snippy when we grab his collar to lead him outside to pee, but has never really made contact.
Tonight, Henry was chewing a rawhide chew (yeah, yeah, I know they're not very good for them) and DH (Rob) was prepping to leave and wanted to get the chew put away before he left. He reached for it and got a little snarl. Rob pulled back. He then ordered Henry (who is partially deaf and blind) to "Drop it!" When Henry did let it go, Rob reached down to pick it up and Henry bit him hard. The puncture wound required a trip to the Emergency room (we could see white stuff- bone or tendons or something?) and resulted in 3 stitches.
The physical wound will be fine, but we're conflicted. Rob's immediate response (and what he's always said when fostering and dog sitting) was that he refuses to be in a home with a dog that has bitten him. Before we left for the ER, he was balling profusely because he hated the idea of having to put Henry down and he just kept asking "Why did he do this?" Henry has never been aggressive with his food before... it's just so weird.
I was just in shock and probably still am as I haven't come to grips with this. I don't know if I feel it's necessary to put Henry down, but I also have to respect that noone should be scared or intimidated in their own home and if he (meaning Rob) is uncomfortable, then that is not fair. I know there is the option of adoption and/or fostering him, but he is so old and fragile AND if he's a risk for other pet owners, that makes me nervous.
On the way home from the ER, Rob called a friend that is a vet to ask her thoughts and we're planning a conference call tomorrow with our vet to discuss the situation. I think now that he's calmed down a little bit, he might be able to approach this a little more broadly. I really want to discuss whether this might just be him getting old and senile and/or if this just a fluke or what.
I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this and/or if you have any thoughts. Thanks.
Re: Our dog bit DH-- LONG
I'm no dog behavior expert, but when you mess with a dog's food, you can expect them to not be happy about it. Especially an old dog who was previously neglected and possibly abused.
If he's never shown this behavior before, I'd just make sure to not take food/treats away from him during eating, and I wouldn't expect any other problems if there weren't any to begin with.
Maybe he's sick or in pain?
I think the conference call with the vet sounds like a good idea.
I am so sorry, Kelly. This is such a hard situation to sort out. When we first got Tinker two years ago, it was a rough transition. He came from a home where they clearly didn't realize how much work it is to have a dog. While they met his basic needs, they often had him locked up and he rarely interacted with people or other dogs. I brought him home as an anniversary gift for DH (who had been begging for a dog). In hind sight, I should've had DH go with me to get him. Tinker was obviously scared and confused when he got to our house. He stuck close to me and immediately started snipping at DH. The next day, we took Tinker to the park for lunch and he bit DH causing him to bleed. Tinker is an 8 pound Yorkie, so the bite itself was not that bad. Although, DH and I had a serious conversation about whether or not to keep Tinker or send him back. DH was ready to send him back b/c of similar concerns to Rob. I really wanted to give Tinker another chance.
Ultimately, we gave him another chance and two years later things have improved dramatically. I think it's a great idea to talk to the vets. I wish I had some better advice! Hang in there!
You have my sympathy. Our dog shows aggression with real bones - we found that out the first time we gave him a cow knuckle. We have been trying to train it out of him, but I don't know how successful we'll be. When we first started, we just tried walking into his space, but he would bite what was nearby (I wore DH's old shoes so he bit into those). He's a little better now, but I don't think we'll ever be able to take a bone from him - he'll come if we call him, so during then the other person just swoops in and takes it.
Our dog is not aggressive about kibble, rawhides, or other treats, so maybe testing his reaction when you come close (properly protected, of course) when he has other food will let you know if just removing his access to rawhides will eliminate the problem.
An actual visit to the vet is a must to rule out any medical condition that has caused him to be snippy. I second the trainer. You should also look into practicing NILIF.
I can give you a rec for our trainer that has done wonders with Petey, as well as a couple of behaviourists if it comes to that. Email me if you need help with NILIF -- Petey is always in NILIF bootcamp because he's a sh!thead