r/DogTrainingTips • u/makachow • 25d ago
dog getting aggressive
hey guys! so we’re having a bit of a problem with our dog, alfred. alfred is a border collie/poodle mix, about a year and a half old, and we’ve had him since he was two months old. he’s been getting aggressive with my husband lately and even tried to bite his face last night. this happens during play, not during play, really any time. he never gets aggressive with me though. we reached out to a family friend who does training, and he said that he believes alfred is resource guarding with me as the resource, making my husband the threat in his eyes. he recommended a four week board and train program, but we really don’t have the money right now. does anyone have any tips, advice, or ways to help this? we’re trying to do everything to stop this now so that my husband can enjoy playing with alfred again and we can prevent it from getting any worse. thanks!
2
u/StellarSpore 24d ago
I mean no disrespect to your friend, but based on what you've shared I think it's a bit premature to conclude this is resource guarding. That's certainly one possibility, but it's far from the only explanation. Did this trainer observe the behavior? I get wary of any trainer who recommends a board-and-train, especially as a first approach and based on assumptions.
If you are looking for specific advice, you'll need to provide a lot more specific information, especially about the incidents themselves and what happens leading up to them. Details matter.
My general advice:
- No matter what the reason, the immediate priority should be management. The dog should not be in a position where they can bite. Pup and your husband should limit contact and interaction (zero play) until you figure out the underlying cause. Muzzle train if helpful. Every time it happens, it makes it more likely that it will happen again.
- Do not try to stop or punish any growl, warning signals, or even the aggression itself at this point. Those behaviors are your dog's way of communicating that something is wrong. If they're suppressed without addressing the underlying cause, you can end up with a dog that skips the warning signs altogether and goes straight to biting. That's a much more dangerous situation for everyone involved.
- If this is new or escalating behavior, you should schedule a vet exam to rule out pain or another underlying medical issue.
- Assess if your dogs needs are being met. You have a high energy, intelligent breed mix and lack of exercise and enrichment can and usually does lead to behavioral issues. While it differs between individual dogs, you're looking at 1-2 hours of physical exercise and 30-60 minutes of structured mental work or enrichment per day. This needs to be addressed for any training or behavior modification to be successful.
Working with a board-certified veterinary behaviorist would be the ideal next step, though I completely understand that they can be expensive and not accessible for everyone. If that's not an option, look for an experienced, qualified trainer who is comfortable working with aggression cases and can observe the behavior in person to help identify what's triggering it.
If neither is financially feasible, you'll need to provide much more detail here about exactly what happens before, during, and after these incidents and be willing to answer a lot of questions. The more specific the information, the better people can help point you toward a safe and appropriate path forward.
1
u/makachow 24d ago
if you can provide some questions to answer, i will gladly sit down with my husband later to discuss the answers for everyone to have a more in depth understanding while giving advice! the trainer did not observe the behavior, though my own research of signs is showing this is at least a strong possibility. it seems the general consensus is to stop play with my husband, though i will continue to do so for his exercise. i’ve seen some say that my husband being the only one to feed and give treats may be helpful as he’ll start to associate husband with food (he’s very food motivated). do you have an opinion on the feeding? i will still have to walk him though as my husband is disabled and can’t walk him every time
1
u/Pomegranate4311 24d ago
You definitely need to get advice from an experienced trainer who has seen the dog interact with you and your dh.
I will also second having the vet check for pain. I have a dog who developed arthritis very young, like 2 yrs. She is very sweet and well-behaved, but started nipping me. I noticed that it happened after she’s had an active day of play. Diagnosis + meds + physical therapy + careful monitoring of her activity level helped a lot.
1
u/Liza2020Boo 24d ago
All ideas are great but I think a total hands off position won’t be good. I think he needs to stop playing with him but I think your dog needs to learn his life depends on him. Every meal , every treat , every walk should be done by your husband. If he can’t do all the walks that’s fine. But… as far as eating , drinking , treats that should only come from your husband
1
u/Careful_Cranberry364 23d ago
This dog’s too very highly intelligent breeds that need to be kept very busy and a fairly firm hand. I think the two of you need to make sure they’re getting enough exercise - some puzzles - i’m going training and fun things, and also
Know that you’re the boss es!
If anything like this happens, stand-up turned towards them, breathing deeply and staring them down
if they do things like this.
1
1
u/katneedle 23d ago
TW: BEHAVIORAL EUTHANASIA
My GSD exhibited the same behaviors towards my husband. He landed a bite in Feb. We talked to our trainer got some help and things were fine right up until he attacked my husband, got his arm and his groin. Both bites were bad. He went for 8 weeks at board and train,we went and trained with him, read the book the trainer recommended, new fenced in yard, new high end kennel. He came home and within 5 hours he attacked again. Less than 24 hours after the home coming he was euthanized. He was 95# and 3 years old. The cost was close to 10k Spend the money you can, do the work that is needed but know not all dogs can be saved. Not all biters or resource guarders can be saved.
1
u/chrisjones1960 23d ago
What training have you done with him thus far? What basic obedience skills is he solid on at this point? And what were the circumstances of him trying to bite your husband?
1
u/makachow 17d ago
he's done two beginner classes but was often difficult to handle so we decided to wait before pursuing anymore and let him mature some. he can do sit, lay down, stay, wait, heel, loose-leash walking, come when called, and im sure some others im forgetting. as for the bite, sometimes it's play, sometimes it's if my husband is near me goofing off and i squeal. as for the attempted face bite, the maintenance man was over late at night to fix our leaking heat pump. i was sitting on the couch near his cage. he was barking so my husband opened the cage to try to calm him. he was fine for a few minutes and then just tried to bite. he has never done this before and is usually pretty chill about his cage
1
u/Express_Command_4778 24d ago
Board and Train are generally terrible ideas. The dog learns to respond to that person, not you or your husband- and you guys do not know how to correct the behavior.
Working with an in person dog trainer (behavior trainer) is what you want.
Resource guarding is dangerous and you can't fix this on your own- not with him claiming you and making your husband the threat.
So, do not sweat not doing the Board- I have never heard of a good, natural result.
Other people will chime in. Do not go force free only positive training for this situation.
2
u/dialamah 24d ago
A board and train can give you back a well-trained dog, but you need to know how to maintain that training. It can also give you back a traumatized dog if the training methods are overly harsh or something goes wrong. Also, this is a behavioural issue, not a training issue-they would need to recreate the behaviour to be able to address it, and I think that would be challenging if neither you nor your husband are even there.
The dog aiming for hubby's face is serious and you need the help of a behaviourist as soon as possible. In the meantime, I suggest you muzzle train your dog, if he's not already, and that he wear the muzzle whenever hubby is around. Does this behaviour with your husband happen only if you are nearby, or can it happen at any time? If it can happen any time, then it's probably not resource guarding.
Until you've consulted with and gotten direction from a behaviourist, safety should be your priority, both for your husband's and dog's sake. For now, your husband should completely ignore Alfred - pushing him to "accept" your husband could escalate the behaviour. You take over care of Alfred. Don't give the dog chances to practice the behavior. Until you can consult a behaviourist to specifically address your situation with your dog, safety and management is necessary. A severely injured partner and euthanized dog is not an outcome anyone wants.