My dog is very aggressive and bites me. Can she still be trained?

I hate to hear this is happening. If you do not want to rehome her, I recommend to work with a professional trainer because this will give you the best results the fastest. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. A professional trainer is fully capable of reading the body language and then teaching you how to modify this behavior. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

Because Milo is still so young there is definitely time to correct her aggressive behavior. You should start with basic training commands (sit/stay/come) to help establish the fact that you are the one in charge. It is also important to make sure she is getting plenty of exercise. You should take her on fast-paced walks for 20-30 minutes at least twice a day. I would also recommend that you seek the help of a veterinary behaviorist to help you identify and treat Milo's underlying problem. Good luck.

Desensitization and counterconditioning Desensitization is the process of taking a fearful stimulus and slowly exposing your dog to it. You have to start slowly and gradually increase the amount of stimulus that your dog is exposed to, until she is no longer responding negatively to the stimulus. Counterconditioning should be used in conjunction with desensitization. This is the process of pairing the fearful stimulus with a reward, such as praise or a treat. Your dog thus begins to associate the previously feared stimulus with positive emotions. An Example of Desensitization and Counterconditioning: Dog Afraid of Men In a spacious, neutral environment, like a park or large fenced yard, start with a man at a distance from your leashed dog where she does not cower, growl, try to run away or otherwise appear fearful. Make sure you have a good amount of high value treats to work with, which may be hot dog pieces, cheese, etc. Small treats given fairly constantly with proper behavior are a great tool. Adjustments to distance from the stimulus should be gradual and paired with constant treating while the proper behavior (i.e. lack of fearful behavior as described above) is maintained. Your dog may reach a point where she feels threatened and may display signs of fear toward the man, possibly even aggression. If this occurs, expand the distance and repeat the process. This technique can be adjusted and applied to most situations that cause your dog to be fearful. Conclusion Keep in mind that this is a process and will take some time. Have reasonable expectations of your dog and what is acceptable behavior within your family unit. Each fear will likely have to be addressed separately and may never be abolished completely. And as with any training exercise, it should be fun and a great way for you and your dog to bond! Adding obedience training or agility classes may make the process smoother and ultimately more enjoyable for everyone involved. For further information and help, especially with working with specific triggers, please contact your veterinarian.

This is a serious and potentially dangerous situation and I recommend you enroll in some behavioral/socialization classes in order to create some positive behavior patterns. I do not recommend any rough play at this stage and only use exercise and toys which do not create such heightened excitement - do not encourage any tug games or chasing of ropes/toys in hand or of your own hands/feet shoes under any circumstances as this blurs the lines of acceptable behavior and biting/chasing behavior. Ensure he is receiving adequate physical and mental stimulation daily in order to fully engage body and mind

Your puppy is still young and has a lot to learn. You need to work with her on potty training (consider crate training), socialization, and basic commands like sit/stay/come. Take her on walks frequently to help her energy level. All of these things will help foster and grow your relationship with her. Let her know that it is not appropriate to bite or growl by correcting her and then ignoring her after she does it. Some dogs have a more independent personality and she may be one of those dogs. But if you continue to work with her I'm sure you two will have a great relationship some day soon.

This can be very common behavior for young puppies. It is important that you initiate training with your dog now so that his aggressive tendencies do not continue into adulthood. Somethings you can do to discourage his nipping and aggressive behavior are to try and redirect his aggression by giving him a toy to play with and bite on instead of using your hands and fingers. Also, when he missed behaves firmly tell him no, put him down and walk away and ignore him for 2 to 3 minutes. After that time you can start playing with him again and if his bad behavior returns ignore him again. If you continue to do this he will quickly learn that when he misbehaves you will not pay attention to him so he should stop the bad behavior. It would also be beneficial to start training him with basic commands like sit, stay, and come. This will help establish your role as the dominant one in the relationship. Also be sure he is getting plenty of exercise by taking him on 20 to 30 minute fast-paced walks at least 2 to 3 times a day. This will help drain some of his energy and make him be able to focus on training with you better. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. That’s the one.

The saying that old dogs can't learn new tricks is certainly not true. Dogs can benefit from training at any age and can learn new behaviors, so I think it would be a great idea to get some training for Rusty in your new city. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.