|
|
Health and Behavioral Problem Discussions |
|
|
In this section, Dr. Dare Miller answers our customers' letters.
LETTER# 9:
DISTRESSED WIFE AFRAID TO TELL HUSBAND THE DOG BIT HER
Dear Dr. Dare:
Help! My own dog had bitten me and I don't like to say where. I was leaning over trying to close a drawer when it happened. I didn't want to tell my husband for fear of what he may do to the dog. He's a good-sized dog and because of this I'm afraid of him now. When he was a puppy if I needed to correct him I used a rolled newspaper on him like the dog books say. Could he be getting even with me for something I did before he was fully grown?
Bitten... in Baton Rouge
Dear Bitten:
Various things can cause dogs to bite. It does depend a lot on how a certain dog was raised. Your first mistake was in trying to correct your puppy by using a rolled newspaper. The newspaper appears as a fast moving object that a dog will react to. Dogs have a sharply developed oral-eye reflex. Fast movement communicates causing the dog to think "bite" and to grab at it. For example, dogs are good at catching fast-moving flies. The very way professional dog trainers go about teaching a dog to attack is by utilizing just such a fast hitting movement. In using a rolled up newspaper you may have unintentionally taught your dog to bite.
Another possible cause in your case is that you may have not yet created a good master image within your dog. A good way to do this is by teaching him a few useful things such as Come, Go, Sit, and Lie Down. The dog is born a herd animal and badly needs to feel he has a master. Otherwise he readily thinks of himself as his own master and won't hesitate to bite. He has no one to turn to— he's too lonely "up there" and often his behavior becomes worse. This is especially true when you lean over and do something to HIS drawer.
Copyright©2011-2012 All Rights Reserved DOG-MASTER LEARNING SYSTEM |
|
DOES YOUR DOG HAVE A PROBLEM?