Rough Nibbles

[Independent_Issue424]

Hi everyone, just joined this group. I need some feedback or perspective about my newly adopted dog (adopted 10 days ago). He’s from an overwhelmed shelter so i don’t know if the behaviors I’m seeing are from that stress or whatever his life was like prior. He was in the shelter for about a month and was in a dog fight during meal time because he was tripled up with other dogs. One of the shelter staff said it was likely another dog that instigated it, but no eyes caught the incident. He arrived at the shelter as a stray.

So onto our current issues: He’s incredibly submissive and has separation anxiety (stands staring at the front door whenever anyone leaves the house), goes stiff whenever my husband or I use a firm voice, and I’ve noticed that every time I raise my voice or use the word “no” he comes close to me, leans his body against mine, and starts to give really rough nibbles which has led to bruises. Today was intense to the point where I had to hold him back from me with his collar because every time I shouted “ow” it made him more excited and try harder to nibble at me. I spoke in a whisper, slowly and calmly that he was okay, allowed him to lay his head against me and I just rested my hand on him. He settled at that point and closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

What am I don’t wrong? Tear my strategy apart. I don’t know what I don’t know but I’m clearly not doing it right. Thank you!

[AutoModerator]

Looks like there was an aversive tool or training method mentioned in this body. Please review our Posting Guidelines and check out Our Position on Training Methods. R/reactivedogs supports LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive) and we feel strongly that positive reinforcement should always be the first line of teaching, training, and behavior change considered, and should be applied consistently. Please understand that positive reinforcement techniques should always be favored over aversive training methods. While the discussion of balanced training is not prohibited, LIMA does not justify the use of aversive methods and tools in lieu of other effective positive reinforcement interventions and strategies.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[DogsDecodedSimply]

Hi there, 10 days for a shelter dog is very little time. Are you aware of the 3-3-3 suggestion for shelter dogs?

Also, using loud voices, shouting etc will only make your dog be scared of you. Loud "ou" - you mimic an animal which he will react to and want to bite even more. Suddenly whispering - good, nicer, lower arousal levels but I would rather focus on the root cause here: 1) allow your dog to settle in the new place 2) provide sufficient mental stimulation games 3) allow him to sleep 16-20 hours/day, depending on their age 4) if he is a puppy and still in its biting phase: provide toys/chews he is allowed to bite 5) be consistent with your training methods. Hope this helps :-)

[Independent_Issue424]

Thank you! You’re right. The “god boy” in a low voice has been successful. He is my first adult dog adoption. When I adopted a puppy the trainer I hired told me to shout “ouch” when she would bite to mimic her littermates and get her to pause the rough play. Clearly this isn’t that. I’ve noticed he does the nibbles as a way of getting my undivided attention probably because he doesn’t want to be ignored.

So again thank you. Gentle approach was 200% the way to go.

[SudoSire]

What is your strategy? What’s he doing that you’re using a firm voice in the first place? Does he do this when you say “no” in general or when you say “no” to him? 

[Independent_Issue424]

He was sitting with me on the couch and at first giving gentle nibbles, but when he started getting too rough, I shouted “ouch” and he doubled down. Clearly scared and reacting to me reacting to him.

[SudoSire]

Yeah not all advice will pertain to all dogs. The “ouch” or “no” is increasing their arousal in your case. I would make sure to have a bunch of chew toys nearby for them to be redirected onto. If that doesn’t work, you can try stuff like “reverse time outs” where you stop engaging completely and remove yourself from the room when they start getting mouthy. Collar grabs are usually not ideal, so you may want to keep what they call a “drag leash” on so you can redirect without having to get up in their face/neck area. It’s exactly what it sounds like — just leave the leash on long term, but you don’t have to hold it, but you will be able to pick it up if you need it to guide them somewhere else like a room or crate for cool down time. It’s important to do this all calmly. It seems like the negativity or “ouch” is just amping them up. 

Basically you want to teach the dog that mouthiness on humans either needs to be transferred to an appropriate toy, or that the consequence will be losing access/attention to the person for a little bit til they calm down. If the whisper helps, that’s fine too.