Biting

[longhornkelly]

I have a 1.5 year old female rescue that's been in our home for 3 months now. She's settled in beautifully with our other cairn Petey. Now it seems that she and I are having a bit of an issue. I find that sometimes when I reach down to pick her up she snarls at me and bites my hand. She sounds posessed, I always joke about needing an exorcist.

One time I reached down to pick her up and she snarled and attacked my sneaker. She had previously been hiding under the bed and when I looked under to see her she snarled at me, I knew better than to stick my hand under there.

Last night she was in her crate (voluntarilly, she likes to go hang out in there) and I was trying to get her out to do a final potty run and she snarled and bit me, so then we had to just carry the crate outside and dump her on the ground (first I slammed my hand on the top of the crate and yelled NO BITE, not sure if that's good or bad?)

A third time, she was hanging out in a little nook between our couch and end table where I made a little nest for her out of blankets and I went to pick her up and she bit me there too!

Sometimes she's so loving, this morning she came running up to me on the bed and was snuggly and asking for a tummy rub and I love to pick her up to put her on the bed with us or on the couch but now I'm afraid to because she seems to snap without warning.

I'm also concerned because we have young nieces and nephews who love to pick up and snuggle with our other cairn Petey and she's always been great with them but I'm scared she'll turn on them one day. This is a new behavior so I imagine it's related to something we're doing wrong. She's always been skittish about being picked up but sometimes we just need to and she sometimes seems to enjoy me picking her up and snuggling her and showing her things she's too short to see.

So A, what could be causeing this and B how should we respond when she does bite us. Obviously giving her a wide berth when she's in a "mood" is good, but sometimes we don't realize it until she's taken a bite out of my hand.

[cairnsby3]

I have never worked with a rescue, but I would think something in her past made her fear or just not like being picked up. Now that she has settled in with you, and feeling more comfortable she is pushing the limits. I would try the nothing in life is free program. She has to work for all treats and food. Have her food bowl and have her come to you, start feeding her by hand, while you are touching her, but be on her level while you are doing this, not towering over her. Have her jump up on the couch and do it there. Raise the criteria by having her on your lap while feeding her. Work on your recall, get her to come to you, get a treat and then release her back to wherever she wants to be. She needs to know that everytime she comes to you, or you touch her, you aren't going to pick her up, sometimes, but not every time. Never just grab at her or you will find yourself going backwards. But she needs to learn that all good things from from you. Also when you have worked up to the point of being able to pick her up, put her down before she is tired of it, so it's you that is in control.

[rileyboy]

I have heard that dogs will bite if something hurts them too. Is it only toward you or others also? I think I would invest in a snack belt or fanny pack that I could put around my waist and just start offering her alot of goodies when you need to pick her up. Rather than waiting until you NEED to pick her up, try this exercise with her JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT and "offer treat-pick up-yeeesss..goodgirl...another treat" then love her and put her back down. A few minutes later try again. If she is a rescue it is hard to tell what is going on in her head. It can't hurt to work with her though. I hired a trainer once and I keep trying to instill things she taught me and when I have a problem I think to myself...what would Julie tell me to do that is positive reinforcement rather than negative. Not that a good smack on the snout would hurt either if she just bit you but that may cause a confrontation. Anyways, it's just an idea.

[sheila and Misty]

when was the last time she was at the vet? scruffy use to do the exact same thing when something was bothering him-ears-upset stomach nails too long and as he got older he was just grouchy. If its not a health issue -I would try the fannypack strategy. Maybe he is afraid of heights. ? hold him real secure;ly when lifting off the ground..

[Idaho Cairns]

If it is any consolation, we have rescued two Cairns, both adults, and both had a tendency to growl and attempt to bite when picked up or when awakened suddenly. Both gradually worked themselves out of the behavior over time and NEVER reverted to the growling/biting.

When we rescue we really don't know what the dog has experienced in their previous interactions with humans so the behavior may simply be a case of being neglected, not handled, or handled too roughly.

Cairns are, in my experience, really adaptable little dogs. Once they come to realize that the human is not a threat they come to enjoy the touching and the handling.

Our new puppy, obviously from a breeder that interacted with the dog in a positive way, will sometimes growl when picked up--she doesn't attempt to bite, only growl, so I'm not completely sure that the behavior isn't an innate part of the Cairn personality. If a dog is allowed to express the tendency, it will continue.

At a year and half, your dog isn't nearly complete yet. Our two rescues were six and ten respectively and they made excellent dogs--one lived to age 18 and never bit a human after the first few months and I don't thing she was even capable of doing so.

I tried to hard cure both with physical means--holding down and growling back. That didn't work--what worked was making sure the dog knew when I was going to pick it up--stroking, talking to it, petting, making sure the dog was awake and fully aware of what I was about to do. Over time, it all came together and no problem.

Best advice I can give you with my limited experience is to simply be patient--forewarn the dog that you are around, let the dog make the first move, and make sure the children understand that both your dogs are not equal and to leave the new one alone. I laughed about your striking the crate and shouting--I tried that, I tried the spray bottle of water, I tried everything but what worked was time and patience. Give her both.

[sheila and Misty]

now that I think about it-we got scruffy from a pet store and he had his puppy worms still at age 21-/2 months They always had him out of the cage and kids were always picking him up and sqeezing his poor little belly-the vet told us he was more than uncomfortable..so theres a small example of why a dog may growl. thanks for reminding me

[pkcrossley]

we have all seen in our dogs the behaviors you describe. ginger sounds to me like she is in real distress, but she may also have simply reached the point (all cairns get there) where she wants to try on a bit of aggression to see if there is any advantage in it. the question is how to handle it, to get ginger on a more healthy footing as soon as possible.

the best dogs will be tempted to bite in certain circumstances --physical pain (like an earache), awakened from a deep sleep, bright light and deep shadows obscuring the vision, or fending off people who like to pick up the dog (some dogs will not tolerate being picked up, since their are completely helpless when their feet are off the ground). but the circumstances you describe sound like the reaction of dog that is being stressed and has developed a nasty defensive reflex. you need to find out what the stressors are in order to get rid of the original problem, and then you will need to work on resocializing ginger.

as everybody says, first make sure there is no physical problem that is causing her pain, interfering with her vision or hearing, or depriving her of sleep. if she checks out, take a very close look at her life to see if you can detect anything causing psychological distress --incessant noise, loud noise, loud thumps or vibrations, tiny fingers in the face, tension with petey, anything. a dog that is retreating under beds, into her crate, or into little nooks is probably trying to shield herself from something that distressing her, possibly just unwanted attention. if the kids have a tendency to follow her, cajole her when she is hiding, or reach for her when she has retreated, they need to take the pressure off. you may find that when the pressure is off ginger will come out on her own and look for company.

once you are pretty sure that you have eliminated the worse sources of stress, work on resocializing ginger. dogs who have been in pain or have been under stress will have a certain amount of kindling in the brain, and over-react to circumstances that suggest that pain or stress is on the way, even if it isn't. there are all kinds of approaches to resocializing, but i would think the elements you would be looking for are:

resocializing environments: as soon as ginger is reliable on the leash, take her as many places as you can to get her used to being in different circumstances, and relying on you to solve problems. a training class might be ideal.

resocializing her body: ginger is probably defensive about being touched, which means you will have to work on getting her comfortable again with being touched frequently. if she has had pain, get if fixed and then work on reassuring her that touching is not painful. if she has had stress, teach her that being touched is not threatening or demeaning.

work on making yourself courageous: getting bitten by a cairn, especially one who is in a frenzy (seems like what you are describing in a few incidents) hurts like the dickens. for grownups it is not dangerous, but anybody who has been bitten by a terrier is going to become hesitant to touch the dog, and perhaps even fearful. you absolutely cannot fear your dog. she has oversized jaws and teeth, yes, but you still have the advantage. if you are afraid of grabbing her to control her, put a harness and leash on her for a couple of weeks so that you can always control her without putting yourself at any risk. get kitchen mitts or fireplace gloves so that you can grab her without hesitation. ginger must be completely, crystal clear that you have no fear of her. a terrier who suspects that she has found a way to intimidate people is not going to listen to anything you have to say. she has to be convinced that you are not afraid of her, or impressed by any kind of antic she can come up with. never lose your temper with her, never get physical --that would only reinforce her idea that the nastiest contestant wins. never, ever flinch. if you are likely to flinch now, get over it.

get all the kids on board: so long as ginger is not reliable around the kids, give her a time out when they are around. as soon as you feel confident, teach the kids AND her how to behave around each other. she must be polite at meals, at walk times, and she must not guard her toys. they must not pursue her, call her when she retreats to her crate or a nook, and must not stick their fingers in her face. they should be quiet around her for a time so that she can understand that kids and stress do not necessarily go together. if they are old enough, they should learn fearlessness techniques. they have to understand that when it comes to dealing with terriers every single member of the household must be on board. if she finds just one weak link, she will focus on manipulating that one person to get what she wants, and she won't take anybody else very seriously.

my dog went through a phase of fear biting and snapping, and he grew out of it. i don't think only time did it, i think he needed to understand that he was safe and respected, but also that there were limits and expectations of his behavior that he was supposed to live up to. he does live up to them now.

[cairnrescueleague]

I would also contact the rescue you got her from. I'm sure they'd want to know this is going on and may have some resources that would be helpful, i.e., may know of a trainer, rescue volunteer, breeder, etc. in your area that can help you work through this and/or provide support.

[Sandi16]

Louie is this way with my kids. Honestly, I don't blame him LOL. In Louie's situation, the kids pester the hell out of him. He's just gotten to the point that if they even come near him, he snarls and runs. He doesn't want to be held, stroked or touched by them, if they touch his ball, he runs upstairs. I tell them it's their own fault. He really doesn't like the kids all that much.

He started doing this to me awhile ago, and like someone else mentioned.. I just made it really clear on what I was going to do. He once snapped at me while I was messing with him while he was asleep, if he had connected, he would have done some damage. I immediately made him get off the couch, and I admit.. I sulked. LOL. For awhile after that I made my intention clear. I would make a noise, or call his name to wake him up. Now I can pick him up while he's in a deep sleep, it doesn't bother him. It could be she is just pushing her boundaries and needs to reassure herself you're not going to hurt her. I think that's what Louie was doing with me. He just needed to make sure that I would stick with him even at his doggy worst and once he saw I was going to love him no matter what, he relaxed.