It’s National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Although huskies are not aggressive by nature, it does not mean that under the right circumstances that they won’t bite. Bites can happen for a number of reasons and the most common reason that bites occur is due to dog aggression. When a dog is afraid and does not know what to expect from his environment or does not understand what is expected from him, he will quite often default to aggressive behaviour that may, or may no, end in a dog bite. From the dog’s perspective , “I am afraid. I will get YOU before you have a chance to get me.”
The Key To Keeping Safe From Aggressive Dog Bites
The key to being safe from an aggressive dog attack is understanding why the dog might be acting aggressively and being able to accurately interpret the body language coming from the dog. Dogs are always communicating how they are feeling so we need never feel like we are caught off guard by their behaviours. Education and information is the answer for keeping people safe from aggressive attacks and bites.
What Is Dog Aggression?
Aggressive dog behaviour is both the most common and the most serious behaviour problem that can show up in dogs. It is the number one reason why dogs are given up for re-homing and it is also the number one reason that dogs are returned to shelters and other dog rescue organizations.
Aggression can be defined as an adapted effort to establish control (physical or mental) over a vital resource or situation that cannot be controlled (from the dog’s perspective) through another means. It is a rather generalized term used to cover a wide range of behaviours beginning with a mild behaviour like issuing a warning bark, growl, or snarl and ending with a full on lunging attack with a skin puncturing bite.
Behaviour displayed by aggressive dogs include:
- Rigid postures, erect ears and tail, piloerection of hair (raising of the hackles).
- Growls, snarls or deep chesty barks.
- Lunges with or without bites.
- Bites ranging from snaps, nips, to skin puncturing bites.
- Mouthing to control a person and their movements.
- Muzzle punch (driving the muzzle into a person’s body.
- Repeated bites with or without shaking of a body part.
How Aggression Is Triggered in Dogs
Recognizing and understanding the triggers to aggression is the best way for people to keep themselves safe from an aggressive attack. Learn to recognize the signs of these different triggers to aggressive behaviours.
Aggression and bites can be triggered in a number of ways:
- Fear Related Aggression – The dog will try to move away from the situation and will bite if he feels trapped or cornered. It is not safe to corner a fearful dog.
- Inter-dog Aggression – This issue is related to the workings of the social hierarchies of dogs. Aggression between dogs occurs when neither dog is willing to defer to the other. Tensions escalate and explode into physical altercations. Without proper and sufficient interventions, repeated occurrences with escalations in frequency and intensity of these interactions can be expected.
- Pain Related Aggression – A dog who is in pain from injury, illness, or from age related arthritis will often respond to humans or other dogs with aggression and retaliatory bites. Small children touching or accidentally falling on these dogs or high energy young dogs climbing on them may cause a dog that is in pain to deliver an offensive bite.
- Play Aggression- A dog bite can happen during or just after very excited play. An overly aroused dog can become aggressive to both humans and other animals. This kind of aggression usually stems from a lack of early and appropriate socialization, removal from the mother and siblings too early, or a lack of appropriate bite inhibition training. To avoid triggering an aggressive attack or bite, avoid rough housing with a newly re-homed dog until you have been able to fully assess their behaviours.
- Possession Aggression (resource guarding) – This occurs when the dog perceives (can be real or imagined) a threat to its food or other valued objects. He will guard his property by standing over it, barking, growling, snarling, snapping , and by lunging to try and drive away the source of the perceived threat.
- Sex Related Aggression – Intact male dogs will vie for the attention of females in heat and females will still compete for access to a male. Intact male dogs can fight with other male dogs (especially living in the same household) even if no female dogs are present. Also, females living together in the same household may compete to establish social ranking. The most common time for sex related aggression to emerge is in dogs aged one to three years old.
- Predatory Aggression- When a dog aggressively stalks or stares intently at other any moving object, is a signal that an attack or bite is very likely to happen. Though this is not considered to be a true social aggression, the outcome of this behaviour is still likely to be a delivered bite. Careful supervision is a must for these dogs and all stalking behaviours must be modified and redirected.
- Protection Aggression-This type of aggression occurs in dogs that guard or protect people or other members of his social group from anything perceived as a “threat”. Sometimes the act of “guarding” a person has nothing to with protecting them from danger as much as it does as conveying the message that the person is considered to be the dog’s property. This kind of resource guarding can be modified through a combination of counter conditioning to change the dog’s opinion of the perceived threat and then operant conditioning to teach the dog a new behaviour to practice where this person is concerned.
- Redirected Aggression-A redirected bite occurs when a bite that is intended for someone or something else becomes redirected at a target that happens to be within striking range. A bite or attack is a common occurrence when a person tries to intervene in dog on dog aggression. It can also happen when someone enters a space where two dogs are in a heightened state of aggression. To avoid getting bitten, never grab fighting or aggressive dogs by the collar and never place your hands near their face or mouths. Instead, use an object like a broom or stick to intervene and separate them. If you absolutely must physically separate two fighting dogs, try grabbing the back legs of the primary attacking dog and pulling him away from the other dog. At the same time as you are pulling the dog away, attempt to turn and flip the dog over onto its back. You can also try break up the fight by using a blast of water from a hose, using dog pepper spray, or even throwing a blanket over one of the dogs.
- Territorial Aggression-This aggressive behaviour occurs when a dog is protecting its house, yard, fence, crate, etc.. The already aggressive dog can often be made more aggressive by the addition of a fence or other confinement of a territory. Unless this behaviour is modified, the dog’s territory will continue to “expand” to include new areas, people, and other dogs also. Do not allow territorial dogs to freely guard their territory. Use counter conditioning to convince him that having someone approach his “territory” brings pleasant things with it ( a yummy high value treat).
- Status Related Aggression-This kind of aggression happens within the social group of a dog. Conflict develops from the failure of one of the group members to submit to another member. This aggressive behaviour worsens with the addition of punishment or physical force as this only adds tension too an already tense relationship. Always strive to neutralize these kinds of interactions. Redirect the inappropriate or offending behaviours and reward the appropriate submitting behaviours.
Most common times for Status Related Aggression to occur:
• Feeding time.
• New dogs or people entering into their space.
• or when getting ready to move from one location to another i.e.: leaving the house to go to the car.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2: Strategies For Breaking the Cycle of Aggression.
As always, we encourage you to ask questions, comment, or share your stories about his topic. When we share our stories, we might just be helping someone who is struggling with their dog.
Helping ALL Snow Dogs … one owner at a time.
Did you encounter some instances where Huskies nearly to bite due to aggression? Though aggression is not really in their nature, there are some incidents or situations where they are forced to do so. They are not that aggressive to easily bite people. But this is not a guarantee that they will not do such.
I have a question I was just introduced The Other Day to my daughter and son-in-law has news 3 year old white Siberian Husky the dog came over to me because I had nailed down to meet the dog on his level the dog put his mouth right against my lips and didn’t move and it lasted about 10 seconds I did not make a sound and then it was it moved away and that was it however today they brought their dog to my home I met the dog for the second time and I was going to take him for a walk and I hooked the hook on his leash and started to stand up and he lunged at my abdomen and bit me he did not draw blood but I felt it through my clothes immediately my daughter and her husband who were right with me put that dog down on its back and out came no you do not do that no and then it terrified me and I walked across the room as to not be near it and it glared at me with very mean looking eyes I want you to know I love dogs I would give anything to have a dog but my husband is allergic I am so kind and friendly to this dog what on Earth happened? By the way the dog is also pretty new to them they got it from the Humane Society and it had a history with the previous owner of biting their children and showing aggression the dog has not shown any aggression to the new owner who is my son-in-law and my daughter is it time to get this dog disciplined and trained by a professional
I have a 14 week old female husky pup she can be really nice , but in the matter of a second can turn on me ,she bites hard and doesn’t let go even when I tell her off she’s drawn blood several times , I love her to the ends of the earth and won’t let her go, any suggestions on what I can do
Help! We have a 6 year old female maltipoo and we adopted a 4 year old female husky from a local shelter a month ago. They met at a neutral area near the shelter and they were very friendly together. They also have their own area at the house and the only time they were near each other was at the family room. We would keep the husky on a leash attached to a table as a safety precaution but she suddenly lunged at our malipoo and bit her neck. Sometimes she’s friendly to her and ignores her and sometimes she tries to bite our maltipoo. She has bit our maltipoo 3 times and we don’t know what to do anymore. We don’t want to rehome her since she has a special bond with one of my daughters. Our husky lived with other dogs in her previous and never had this problem before. What can we do to fix this? Please help!
I have a 4 year old female rescue husky we have had about 7 weeks. She has food agression with protect it by growling but will also do this for some toys until she deems it okay for us to play with it. She has bitten my partner while protecting something. We need help
I have a 3 month old husky we was just walking and she started jumping and biting and she jumped and bit my leg blood started coming out and I love her but I don’t know how to control her we’ve tried training her to stop biting but she still does it. What can I do for her to stop biting me and my family.
I have a husky and he 2yrs old and he just started to bitting my niece he snapped at her firsts on her arm a 4weeks later he got her again and all she was doing was petting him but he was drinking water out of the pool but this time he went of her face and got her good what should I do he play with my granddaughter and she does everything to him and he is great with her but I have a 9month grandson and he will be walking soon so what should I do with him now I won’t let my granddaughter play with him anymore because I’m scared
Following… We’ve had our 2 year old husky a year and she was never snippy until we moved and now she’s been growling at my daughter out of nowhere she will snip
I have a one year old husky that just turned one. He gets very aggressive toward me all day till bedtime. He bites me scratches me an barks none stop when I try an sit on the couch. I try an Punish him an it does nothing. He listens to my boyfriend which I don’t know if it’s because he has a deeper voice. But I don’t know what to do. I can’t even sit on the couch for 5 minutes without being attack. Whenever my boyfriend is home my dog does none of these behaviors he acts like a completely different dog.
My brother got a husky three months ago I don’t know her age but she gave birth three days ago and since then she’s been very aggressive and no one could get near her
She had a calorie on but she toke it off and six of her babies died only one remains
I don’t know what to do, if u get close she will bark and might even bite
What should I do ????
I have a 2 year old male Husky. He is the sweetest pup I have ever had, almost not a mean bone in him at all. I say almost because the only time he has ever snapped at me was when I tried to pet him while he was eating beef I let him eat as a treat. I tried again some months later and he snapped again when I got close, needless to say I learned my lesson that he will never learn his lesson, so now he’s on a strict kibble diet. His permanent punishment for snapping at me is he will never taste anything but kibble ever again.
I just adopted a 3 year old husky. He is overall an affectionate dog, but my best friend sat down on my bed and he snarled and snapped at her face. Then, two days later, I thought it would be best if he stayed in his crate when company came over. When a new person walked in the room, he was in his cage, he snapped and snarled again while in his cage. Then, within the same day, the room was quiet and calm and he randomly bit someone’s hand. I don’t know what to do about this.
Hi I recently adopted a girl husky who’s 14 weeks, i’m 15 years old and have a little sister (11) and brother (13) and my Mum, and she is an overall good pupppy but gets really aggressive when we come near her toys or when we attempt to get a shoe or sock of ours out of her mouth and she snaps, growls and attempts to bite our hands. Also when we try to put a leash on her or touch around her collar area she tries to bite us again and then after the leash is attached she bites it and when i try to pick it up she snaps at me. Also when we are having food she jumps up and attacks us (jumping on us and nips our arms to attempt to grab the food) . I don’t know if she’s play fighting or if it’s because she’s teething but I really want this problem resolved before she gets older and her bites become worse. Please help!
Lydia,
Hi I have three 11 month old huskys. I know this may not be the best advice but my male did this exact thing to me. You need to stop being scared of your dog, walk up to your dog with confidence and take it out of his mouth, do no punish your dog with popping him on the nose or butt. That will cause it to happen more. You need to learn to ignore it and eventually it will go away. Put his collar on fast, don’t even thing about it. If he bites you, (I know this sounds crazy) but put your hand in his mouth (deepish, to the back of his mouth) and keep it there. Hold your hand in a fist, it doesn’t hurt them, it just lets them know you are not scared of getting bit. As soon as my male started biting me because I took his harness of him, I literally just didn’t even look at him, I moved my arm away and ignored it.. that stopped in a week. When he started biting my hand randomly as I was walking I started putting my hand deeper in his mouth with a fist kinda, and he would try to chew on my hand but he soon noticed I didn’t care about getting his teeth on my hand. I know it sounds so stupid but it worked for me you need to be patient and understand your dog is just walking on you.. (all three of ours tried to walk on us and get away with things) you need to be confidence and be stern with them. If you hit them it makes the biting turn into aggressiveness
Hello
Im on my second Husky and this young dude is a real pain in the rear (literally) to my Shepard.
He is 8 mos old and will not allow her to chase after he beloved ball with out going after her tail or back.
Any suggestions?
This is not a behavior I have seen in the past.
Sincerely
I have a husky got him at an older age. He bites people I just cannot have him. We love him but not safe. Does anyone know where to take a husky besides dog pounds?
Take them to a rescue if you can’t handle a dog you shouldn’t have gotten one, not trying to be rude, but huskys are hard to handle and you should work with him instead of throwing him away to the next family.
I really want some help here, my 16 week old husky has recently tried to bite me in an aggressive manner. I will say no and she responds by trying to bite or jump or both. She was doing well and this behavior only began in the last week. I’ve had her for 5 weeks and I don’t think it’s something I’m doing. I reward good behavior and do timeouts. What can I do to curb this behavior?
Hi I am needing some help
I recently got a husky she is 10weeks old
And she puppy bites a lot so to try and stop it we gently grab her muzzle and say no the release but when we do she get really hateful and will growl and try to bit you
She basically will just become aggressive
But that not the only time she does that…
She will do in anytime we do something she doesn’t really like.
Any help???
I have a 9 week old husky pup and am having the same issue.
What I use to do with my husky was hit her on the mouth and say “NO!” every time she would bite. I wouldn’t hit her hard. Just so she can get the point. Most people believe hitting is not necessary but it worked for me only when she would try biting.
I need some advice.We adopted into our family a Husky. As follows we have a 10 year old, 7 year old, 5 year old, and 2 year old. Where the other oldest 3 are able not the direct attention of this, our Husky continuously charges and bites are our 2 year old. We are now at our wits-end. We did good behavior technique with our Husky, (Whom is going on 16 weeks). Put a toy in his mouth when he’d bite…First saying, “NO!” to scare him to stop….then putting the chew toy into his mouth saying, “good boy!”
Just recently, our near last straw and not knowing what to do…When I had went into the house to go to the bathroom, our 7 year old was with the 2 year old, and our Husky outside. Our Husky was at the other side of the yard (told from the 7 year old side), he looked at our 2 year old, charged and started biting him. By no means do I think this is a means to hurt the 2 year old. I believe the Husky is thinking he’s another puppy to play with…but this time he punctured the skin. The Husky ran off when the 10 year old ran outside ( again, I did not hear anything or know anything happened, due to going to the restroom), and he (the Husky) stopped and ran off seeing the 10 year old.
Please help. I’m ready to rehome to maybe a not so young-aged family (10 year old+), but he’s such a huge part of our family, having him since 8 weeks. We all love him, but I really do not know what to do…We thought we were getting ahead when he was actually being really gentle with our 2 year old, but now after this incident, I don’t know if it’s a sign. I don’t want to have to always keep the Husky in his Kennel when they play, because I don’t know if that truly is the answer, maybe hire a personal at home trainer to help us learn better training techniques.
summer of 2017 I took my family’s senior dog (15) to the dog park to get some fresh air. we went to the little dogs area, because he is a senior beagle (he doesn’t bite, and he is always greeting everyone that arrives. That’s just his thing). long story short during our time at the dog park we encountered 2 Siberian huskies 1st one bit the neck of my dog, the owner did nothing…. I was extremely horrified a by stander stepped in and pepper sprayed the dog (he told me that he bought pepper spray for that exact reason). 2nd one bit the neck of my dog I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. The thought of going home and telling my family our dog was murdered, was striking my heart, and this owner didn’t do anything but gasp praying there was nothing wrong with my dog, she looked and said I don’t see any marks. B*tch he is scared for the rest of his life! anyways, The same by stander had to step in again and pepper spray the siberian husky to get him to let go of my dogs neck! the 2nd lady turned around and went back home. My dog survived and was scared to death, he trembled as I carried him back to the car. After a full check up he came out of the situation with a small puncture wound.
I wanted to B*tch slap the owner from the high heavens! Both middle aged women who refused to think that there was anything wrong with the situation. My response “How dare you bring a large dog with behavioral issues to the dog park, and deny that there is anything wrong! SMH”
I haven’t been back to the dog park again. I am prepared with pepper spray, and my close friend won’t hesitate to put the next husky that attacks down right there. Yes, it is not the dogs fault for showing such aggression, but the fear of huskies is strong now. It is the owners fault for knowingly bringing such dog to the park that is dangerous to other dogs and people. My advice to siberian husky owners or potential owners is to expose your dog to as many types of dog breeds as possible, all ages and properly correct any aggression. If you don’t, I promise Someone will “TAKE CARE” of the situation.
My wife and I each have a husky mine is a pure breed and her’s is a husky malamute mix. Lately my dog Zabina has been showing her teeth and growling against the dog with their toys. Also growls at my wife and me at times when we move her.
Do you have any ways or ideas where i can correct this behavior.
I have a husky he’s 6 month old and he’s always biting me he bites so hard and it hurts once he bite me and i started crying please tell me what to do…
I’m no expert on dogs, but their aggression tends to vary with each breed and depends on how they were treated as puppies.
Hi.
We rescued a 2-1/2 year old female husky just 3 weeks ago. She is a great dog and we are slowly trying to introduce her to our cat of 9 years. I am usually holding the cat so she can’t chase her, but our husky likes to jump up at her and poke her with her snout. Sometimes it’s more calm and she only sniffs her. Today she tried to nip the cat while I was holding her which made the cat hiss and upset.
Just wondering if you have any tips. Our cat has been living in the garage the last 3 weeks and she wants so badly to be back in the house and we miss her. We bring her in when our husky is on a leash and have also had her in a crate for these short visits or I’m holding the cat when the dog is loose.. Otherwise they are separate. We know this will take time and patience but any helpful suggestions would be welcome. We wondered if we should get a muzzle for the dog during these visits until they can share (hopefully) our home. Thank you!
I found a husky and i had already a few cats..seniors. I was extremly worried about them and my husky Lily tormenting them and giving them unnecessary stress. In time she learned not to mess with them. I just gave her attention but reminded her they were not her toys and not to bother them. She is perfectly fine around them and most times pays no attention to them. I think the more you keep them away the more they will desire them. So you really shouldn’t keep the cat away.
I am really happy to report that after the initial first 4 months of separation, a see through gate and a lot of patience, the cat and dog are completely fine together now and frequently can be found sleeping on the same couch or bed! I am beyond happy and thrilled. Our husky is a wonderful addition to our family. #princesscharliemaekodarose #syrenthebengalcat
I bought a husky puppy, Hank, who had three siblings but I was told two died at birth and one froze. So, he grew up an only child. On the farm was his mother, his mothers son from another litter, who was big, and the father, who was small. Hank is 11 weeks now and bites 80% of our interactions and a fair amount of those times are out of anger at which time he snarls. For instance, when I sit on the couch, he jumps and attacks repetitively. I’ve tried redirecting. I’ve tried time outs. I’ve tried focusing on the positive. Maybe I’m failing. Today he bit me hard..though no blood.
At night time, when he is in my room, he is good. He gets me up when he needs to go out and he follows me without trying to lead or bowl me over. He listens to me without attacking. My roommate watches him during the day. I think my roommate sleeps on the couch a lot of the day and night ignore Hank but could that make the couch a trigger for when I get home from work and attempt to sit for five minutes (more like 30 seconds). Either way, it’s beginning to be a real problem and my puppy seems unstable. He knows ma decent amount of commands (sit is down and some
Others more than halfway down) he’s mostly potty trained with a few accidents, and he learns quickly. He also weighs 30 lbs so I want to get this under control. If he weighs this much at 11 weeks-I need to be his undeniable leader for when he is 80+.
I do not think he respects my roommate as a leader. I’m considering letting Hank go to Doggy daycare to see if he can run off some steam and to neutralize any differences in the way my roommate acts towards him and the way I do during the week while I’m at work.
Any direction or advice for this situation? My roommate is a nice person but I just have a feeling this situation and perhaps inconsistency is not benefiting Hank or maybe it’s a combination of that and something I’m doing wrong. Help. I want to encourage his good traits. I don’t like that he snarls, that worries me.
☝️Excuse the typos. I should have proof-read.
I need advice plz! I have a 7 week week Siberian husky puppy I got for Christmas. She’s adorable until you try to take anything away from her. She attacks me! seriously! I was trying to take a away my sock so I grabbed her before going under the bed and all hell broke loose! Teeth, gums, and biting hard. So I flipped her on her back and closed her mouth and she kept going! She wouldn’t stop. I don’t know what I am doing wrong or why she feels the need to defend herself from me. Can someone please advise?
I have the same problem with my husky. Were you able to get information about how to stop this?
U need to hit them with two fingers on the side of them or put them on the floor on any side and holding their neck like their parents, you need to show them Dominos
I broke up with my parter on Monday and he moved out that same day. We have had our make Siberian Husky for the last year and we have both bonded with him and I have established pack leader. My mum has come to stay this weekend to help me through my first weekend without him and my Husky has taken a dislike to her. He has snapped at her a couple of times. Could this be because she has slept where he used to sleep and sitting in his seat and he has seen us both removing all of his “dads” things and making changes with new bedding and items etc and they all have new smells. I would expect him to be upset with changes but he’s never been aggressive towards anyone before and he has met my mum before as well. Prior to this weekend he has been okay with me and didn’t seem to be missing his “Dad”. I’m not sure how to deal with the situation shutting him away might only make it worse? Anyone with any experience please advise
My female red and white husky is around 11. Got her when she was 1 1/2 years old. She already had a litter of puppies. My other dog is around 7. Had her since she was a puppy. Today the younger of the two went to eat the huskies dropping. Rite after that my husky got very aggressive toward her. And a number of times. What does this mean? Is that the reason for the agression? Please respond to help me.
Hi, we have a 8-9 month old female husky. She is all around a sassy good dog. My only worry is that she nips a lot. We keep saying its play biting but I dont want it to turn into something more. I want to get her out of this behavior but don’t know how. She nips at the air and at our hands or feet but never actually bites and always looks to be playful about. But when she gets older is my concern and I don’t like that she has even been doing it for this long.
You need to stop playing with her if she nips you right away and tell you no bitting and wait a minute to start playing with her again
Hi, I have a 3 year old husky. I have had her since she was 8 weeks old. She has always been very friendly and is usually scared of new people, but has never been aggressive with anyone. She play fights with my other little dogs but it has never been anything serious or mean. Today I woke up to my little dog bleeding out from horrible bites that my husky did. I was terrified and took my dog to the vet. She is now getting surgery on those horrible bites. I don’t know what to do, my dog has never acted this way. Please help me out.
Thank you, Karla
Was you’re female husky in heat at the time? I had the same problem but with a Chow, She came into heat and started attacking out 11 week old Pit for dominance and she didn’t need surgery but got some stitches If You’re Female Husky was Fixed at the time it could’ve been a provoke or a jealousy Thing If Not none of those then i don’t know.
I HAVE A GREY BLUE-EYED HUSKY , (2 Months) HE CRIES A LOT WHEN LEFT ALONE . WHEN I BRING HIM INSIDE THE HOUSE AND TRY TO PLAY WITH HIM ITS DIFFICULT. AT FIRST HE LICKS ME BUT SLOWLY STARTS ELEVATING INTO A STRONG BITE . AND WHEN I YELL AT HIM SAYING NO ! HE BARKS BACK . PLEASE HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO
I have four Siberian Huskies they are a family mother father and two of their babies had the parents from puppies at 2 months old the biting is probably teething my first husky chewed up my dining room table get them lots of chew toys Kong’s are the best and make sure you show that you are the pack leader if you ever need to get physical using newspaper wrapped up lightly and hit them in the rear end you never want to hit it husky in the face because of they will get hand shy
Just wanted to add about the newspaper you’re using it to scare them to show them that you are the alpha it’s not meant to use to hurt them when you hit them on the rear you hitting them lightly but also telling them no about whatever they did wrong
I have a husky that is about seven months old. he is brown and blue eyed he has recently started to aggressively bark, jump, and bite myself and my family. he will bite anywhere on us our arms and calves are the main targets he was such a lovey puppy I don’t understand why he is doing this or how to fix it we have tried the crate the smacking and telling no but nothing is working and he is getting more aggressive. yes he was just recently neutered
I have a husky we got when he was 2 years old, a rescue dog. He’s been with us since. Just last week when I was petting him, he bit my hand. I needed stitches. Then today, my husband was pulling some hair off of him and he snapped at him too, luckily my husband pulled his hand away just in time but he was PISSED that this dog, who we care for on a daily basis, would do this. These incidents aren’t the first either…he’s snapped at us and at others several times throughout the time he’s been with us. My sister says not to touch him at night as he’s probably trying to rest or sleep but when he lifts his leg to me as if he wants a tummy-rub, I think he’s being friendly and not aggressive! Then this incident today…it was 2:30 pm, not night time! No growls, no warning. Just BOOM! So just a week ago, he got me pretty good and then just this afternoon, a week or more later, he tries it again. I don’t know what to do. We are getting frustrated. When we have people over we warn them NEVER to pet him. He’ll sniff them then walk away and lays down or plays in the backyard. I know he’s a rescue dog but it’s been almost 6 years we’ve had him and I am still walking on eggshells around him. He’s beautiful, soft, brown eyes….loves going for runs or walks but when he does something like this, it’s like…what the hell?? A co-worker of mine claims it’s the kind of breed he is. I also say, he’s an animal first and a pet second. Gee…at what point will he calm down and trust us to just reach for him to pet or groom him….when he’s old and crotchety? He might even be worse then! I know I might be cranky when I get old too!
Hi , i have 2 years old male husky . And i observed that lately he is kind of grumpy . Sometimes He just bite with out any reasons . There is one insident that my 16 years old cousin who used to live with us , just walking from the toilet to the living room and its just happened that my husky is walking same time with him and my husky just attacked him without any reasons . He bit him . I wonder why my husky behaving like that lately . Sometimes my sister just want to play with him and like holding his face and he will act like he wants to bite my sister . We begin to feel unsafe and scared that he will just bite one of us anytime . What do you think we need to do . Hope you can help .
Thank you
Have a 12 week old husky that is usually sweet but he growled and gobbled his food if you correct him with a no and take it he submits but he does it without thought again he amys rough with our older dog and gets pretty aggressive over toys so I take them from him and scold him and he lays on his side and seems to understand no have a one year old baby and don’t want anyyyyy dominance issues, please help, he is an excited jumper too
My husband and I just rescued a beautiful bi-eyed boy (estimated to be about 2 years old) from a shelter here in korea where we are stationed and he a really great dog but we have noticed serious aggressive tendencies towards koreans(the vet mainly) and with food and toys and general obedience training.
Hes been through alot and we have to nurse him back to health because he is severely underweight. The thing is he doesnt give any warnings signs before he’s about to snap. He wont show any submissive behavior for me to praise (if he does he quickly realizes it and snaps and trys to dominate me) I want to help him realize its okay for me and my husband to be around his food and toys that we gave him.
With the toys he acts like hes completely not interested in then never play with them or chew on them and then when hes all the way on the other side of the room uninterested we will go to pick them up and he runs and attacks us.
Yesterday we went to the vet they had to sedate him because he was pulling off his muzzle and biting them for just putting the stethoscope to his chest. (I got really mad when the vet suggested we put him down if we cant get him under control).
He is fine at home as long as there are no triggers around like food or toys and hes just a super happy lovable goofy dog.
Hes doing well with his positive training and in just a couple days hes already got down sit, lay down, wait (for his feeding with release word “ok”) and in (for his kennel which was another issue but is solved now).
i need help on how to get him to submit on his own will so i can praise him for that with out having to fight him for the little things.
HELP!