My dog bit my child over a bone. How can I prevent this again?

Pipo is being aggressively protective of his bone. I would take away that bone and not allow him to have it while this other dog is in your home. I would also look into keeping them apart as much as possible. He isn't neutered, and dogs who aren't neutered can become territorial over their toys and home, leading to aggression. Keep them separated as much as possible during this visit will help prevent any further incidents of aggression. Feed them in separate rooms, and definitely do not allow this other dog near Pipo's food while he is eating. If you do face another situation where he has a toy the other dog wants and Pipo is getting upset, immediately remove the other dog from the room, and Pipo from the toy. Do not reach for the toy as he will likely bite again. If you are going to be babysitting other dogs in the future, I would consider neutering Pipo, as that cuts down and can eliminate hormonally related aggressive behaviors such as territorial aggression.

I'm sorry to hear that this happened! How upsetting for you and your cousin. The situation you describe - a child coming up behind a dog and startling it, particularly when food is involved - is an extremely common trigger for bites. Any dog will bite if it feels scared or threatened. Our responsibility as adults is to make sure that these situations don't happen. For safety reasons, I would recommend keeping Max separated from any visiting children from now on to prevent this from happening again. Also, in the future, please don't hit him or scold him for reacting this way - the aggressive behavior was prompted by fear, so punishment will only make him more tense and defensive around kids in the future. This is likely why he growled at your friend once he was back in the house - he was stressed and upset, and already "on-edge" from everything that had happened before. If you want to try and work on this issue through training, I would strongly recommend getting help from a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Max in person and help you put together a detailed plan for him. Training for aggression issues is generally focused on teaching the dog to associate good things with whatever he is currently afraid of (such as children, visitors, etc.), and should not involve punishment of any kind. Management is also extremely important to ensure that everyone stays safe, for dogs with any history of biting. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Oh goodness. This is a big question. You may want to consider a visit with your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist. As a veterinarian and a mom I can tell you that is pretty easy to keep them separated the first year of baby’s life, but as they become more mobile the next several years are hard. If you have a dog who as a low bite inhibition, meaning he has already proven he will bite, then the likelihood that he will bite a child is high. Other options are to keep them separated 100% of the time (near impossible in my experience), or to keep a basket muzzle on him any time he has access to the children. I also encourage you to consider the size of the dog - and how powerful and destructive a bite will be to a small child. I have been in your shoes and it is a very hard decision to make. I have also been the mom of the child who was bitten. I encourage you to always put your child’s safety above all else. If you want to discuss this further I would be happy to consult with you. Take care.

Hi there. Aggressive behavior towards small children in the home is always very concerning, so I would definitely recommend getting a professional on-board who can help you determine what is causing this behavior and put together a detailed plan to work on things. I can't really give any specific advice without being able to evaluate Kiwi in person and get a much more detailed behavioral history, so the best thing I can tell you for now is to keep him separated from the child until you're able to get an appointment with someone who can work with you on changing his behavior. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here, which would be the best options: www.dacvb.org. If you don't have a VB nearby, you could also search for a trainer here: www.ccpdt.org

I am sorry you experienced this. It must have been scary. Maybe he felt he was protecting your kids? Either way it is not ok. There is no way to ever guarantee that it won’t happen again. I would recommend that he always be on leash in those situations so he is under your control. As well as a basket muzzle is a good safe guard against injury. They look dramatic, but it also keeps other people and their dogs from approaching you on a walk which is probably a good thing. Also training with a behaviorist is probably a good idea. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there! When it comes to resource guarding of a specific location or area of the house, this is a fairly complex problem that can't really be addressed properly in this type of format. I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a detailed plan to work on this behavior. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org or a qualified trainer here: www.ccpdt.org In the meantime, if she only shows this behavior with people she doesn't know, I would recommend separating her from visitors by putting her in a crate or another room with the door closed to avoid any further problems until you're able to get some in-person assistance.

While your daughter probably startled him he should not have bitten her . You should have him assessed by your vet or a dog trainer for aggression potential and ow he interacts with you and your family in certain situations and then work with a trainer to hopefully alleviate this risk of hurting people. Your daughter needs to be educated about how to approach him (so he does not get startled, or not to interact with him without supervision by an adult).