Hey all, 1st post here. Not looking for criticism but rather proactive suggestions

Hello all,

I have owned very well mannered dogs in the past, however a 29 month SBT and 2 boys (five & eight) seems to be very challenging lately.

Swiper, my SBT was a nipper when a pup, he drew blood a few times on my sons while playing and trying to grab loose clothing and got skin etc. I clicker trained him out of this behaviour. But now, within the past 2-3 weeks he has been getting riled up by my sons playing in the backyard on the swingset. He had got them a few times with his teeth which I ruled as being accidental......son going this way on the swing and Swiper going that way equaling a whoops!

Earlier this evening my 8 year old was swinging on the swing upside down and screaming hysterically, Swiper ran up to him and nipped him on the back of his arm. I saw the whole thing and it did not look like a bite, but after we looked closer it did look like a pretty good nip.

The reason the dog was in the yard at the same time was because we were going to go for a drive and we were waiting for the mrs.

I have told my older son that he has to start training Swiper and feeding him as well. Practice NILIF on Swiper and make Swiper earn his keep from the boys.

I am also going to get Swiper excited and then go into an immediate calm down mode to practice this behaviour and get him used to a shut down no matter what type of state he is in.

Over all he is a pretty good dog and his obedience is acceptable. He is a yard dog because he is DA so he does not get many walks. (Please do not suggest me to socialize him more)

He does get a fair amount of daily physical and mental exercise. Flirt pole, sit stays, hide and seek.

I was hoping for a non DA dog so that I could do agility and flyball but I guess it was not in the books for us.

I am new to this forum and I hope you all can offer some good suggestions.

Thank you,

Russ

Hello! Although it's definitely unacceptable behaviour, it sounds like pretty "normal" behaviour, I would keep the dog away from the children when they are playing in such a wild manner! Aswell as impulse control training with your dog. Sounds like either his play/prey drive went into overload with the squealing, or he was "telling him off" to stop the behaviour, considering it was just a small nip.

Does also sound like he has some pent up frustration. Why can't you lead walk him with a muzzle on? He must be going stir crazy being stuck inside the same four walls without any stimulation from different smells/sights/sounds. My dog is DA too, I walk her every day without fail. I'm not suggesting socialize more if that's not what you want to do - but you can manage the behaviour in the community.

Thank you Rachel, I will look into a muzzle. It will be good distraction training.

Oh, I forgot to add that we do have some BSL talks in our municipality.

Sounds like you're experienced enough to control it - I use distraction techniques and alternative commands (mostly focus) when seeing dogs/men from afar and if the red mist comes over (rarely does anymore) we just leave the situation swiftly, go home and try again later; but she's only ever in that predicament through others lacking brains (off lead dogs walking on pavements next to busy roads for example and approaching us?!)

I use the raggy to teach impulse control and also can't take her to agility or flyball which sucks, BUT if you can get him to, I found swimming gets all or her energy out of her, she can learn and cope so much better then. I'm lucky to live near dartmoor so she swims in quiet areas there, or on quiet beaches, but she will go for hours! Our daily walks are in farmer fields where nobody else can be bothered to go.

Sounds like you know as Swiper very well. If it had been more than playfully nipping I think you would know. He is in his teenage years and has a lot of energy so is most likely just wanting in on the fun and not realising that he's gone a bit too far.

Getting your little ones to do the feeding is a great idea, this will help reinforce the rules.

I would also suggest trying to get Swiper out for longer walks. I know it can be hard to find the time whilst living in town and having a young family but with the great countryside you have in Canada, I'm sure you can find some really great, quiet places to let him have a good run on a long leash or off if his recall is good.

The muzzle suggestion is fine for local walking in the park. There are people on the forum that have DA dogs but have found ways to manage this using the muzzle and distraction methods (I use distraction myself). We also tend to avoid situations where there may be the potential for conflict by looking ahead on walks and altering direction if needs be.

Rachel33 wrote:Hello! Although it's  definitely unacceptable behaviour, it sounds like pretty "normal" behaviour, I would keep the dog away from the children when they are playing in such a wild manner! Aswell as impulse control training with your dog. Sounds like either his play/prey drive went into overload with the squealing, or he was "telling him off" to stop the behaviour, considering it was just a small nip.

Does also sound like he has some pent up frustration. Why can't you lead walk him with a muzzle on? He must be going stir crazy being stuck inside the same four walls without any stimulation from different smells/sights/sounds. My dog is DA too, I walk her every day without fail. I'm not suggesting socialize more if that's not what you want to do - but you can manage the behaviour in the community.

I agree. I also think walks are important for bonding and exercise. If you can have you kids hold the lead while being supervised during the walks this will also help in addition to the feeding and training you are already planning on

Thanks again for the added input. We have a 25' lead for walks but it has not been used for a while. LOL I have a memory of my then 2.x year old son securely holding the leash while Swiper was running around at the school yard, I was talking to him and then he disappeared to the left suddenly when Swiper ran and the line went taut. hehe Max went sideways and had a pancake landing on the grass.

We are lucky that Swiper is very food motivated and took to the clicker immediately because of the treats. We are going to put Swiper through a fun training term now.

Have a great day all!!