[BetsyKinGA]

Hi, this is my first post. I have two rescue dogs, a brother and sister from the same litter. The female was obtained first and then we ended up getting the brother 9 months later. He came with a lot of baggage.

His name is Bubba and he was first adopted by a family. When they were bringing him in to their home, he escaped. He was running around for nine weeks before he was caught. The rescue organization was able to catch him and was kept with them.

To make a very long story short, he has issues with strangers by aggressively barking at them. He even barks at our children when they come in or come downstairs in the morning.

He has been getting closer to them though. He will follow me upstairs to their bedrooms and will jump on their beds. He will allow them to pet him too. BUT the other day he was being petted by my daughter. I was not there but my husband stepped away and then he nipped her on her face. I don't think that he really meant to do that but... The only mark on her face was a scratch in between her eyes. She was hysterical and we said NO and BAD Bubba several times. We then ignored him for the rest of the day.

My husband (and somewhat me) think that we should give him back to the pet rescue group. I am very saddened by this because I really love this dog very much. He is my shadow when I am in the house. I don't want to give him up and my husband is giving me a chance to work this out with him...if I can. Our children are both at overnight camp for another two weeks.

He has nipped before too but never a real bite. He doesn't do it very often. He does it more to my son than my daughter (never before) and he aggressively goes after people even ones he knows when they enter our home. Even sometimes wagging his tail. I tell him NO Bubba be nice.

Does anyone have any ideas on on curb this? Please help! I don't want to give him back. I think that would only screw him up more.

[Joe]

The best way to fix this is to set up a controled situation where the dog has the oportunity to fail (nip/bite) and then correct the behavior. Put him near the child on a short leash, have the kids start to play with the dog. If the dog starts to nip give a leash correction, if you are close enough to do so imediatly open the dogs mouth and use your thumb and forefinger to pich under his toung and under his chin, think big mouth bass here. ONLY pinch long and hard enough to cause MILD discomfort, the dog will whine. He will soon associate nipping with a correction and discomfort and will not want to repeat the behavior.

Now the tricky part. For every negative correction there needs to be a positive reinforcement to build the dog back up. We want him to understand what he did was wrong but don't want to break his confidence and make him feel as if he is ALWAYS wrong. So give a basic command (sit, down) and give a treat and praise when he does well. Also be sure to give plenty of treats and praise when he plays nice with the kids.

Puppy lights (red light green light for dogs) is also a great game to play with the kids and dogs to teach the dog a stop command. Have the kids jump and dance let the pup join in, as soon as the pup starts to get "too" hyper yell stop. On that command the kids must freeze. The dog will learn that stop means to be still and calm. Do not give a "go" command untill the dog is calm. Once the dog has a good grasp on "stop" let the kids take turns controling the action (be close3 by so if the dog gets too hyper you can add a command). By the kids controling the game they take a more dominate role in the dogs life.

One last hint, since dogs nip as a sign of dominance and dogs see kids as equals try having the kids take turns putting the food bowl down and making the dog sit before they get the bowl. This will also show the dog that the kids are far above him on the totum pole.

[PawsitivelyUnleashed!]

First of all, DO NOT put your dog or a child in jeopardy "by setting him up to fail" and then correcting him. It is proven that correction only makes the matter worse as your dog will associate the stress, pain and cofusion of the correction with the child not his behavior and the problem will become worse. You also risk the child being bitten again and your dog being removed or worse.
He needs to have a positive behavior rehab plan, not one based on fear and intimidation if you wish to make his "issues" better. He is already unsure and untrusting so to use "dominance techniques" would be totally wrong for this (and most any) situtation.
There are many GOOD and reputable books, DVDs and trainers who can help you work through your dog's issues.
A very good book is Help For Your Fearful Dog by Nicole Wilde. It can be purchased at Dog Wise link through www.pawsitivelyunleashed.com you will see a search box in the top left corner you can use to find it.
Another good one is the DVD set "Fighting Dominance in a Dog Whispering World" by top trainers Jean Donaldson and Ian Dunbar....
You will find there is a world of excellent knowledge out there, but you need to look away from dominance training, and corrections as they DO NOT work to solve this problem and wil make it worse.
You should also find a knowledgable behavior specialist to visit and understand the dog, there is not anywhere near enough information here to even begin to help you address the issues.
Good Luck
Renea Dahms
www.pawsitivelyunleashed.com