Hey there! We are currently having a new issue arise with our weim. She is a couple months shy of 2 yrs. She has been very loving and sweet to us and our 2 kids and our husky. Weve had her since she was 6 weeks old and we love her dearly. Previously: we have had issues in the past with Shelby 's dominance. She seemed to think she ran the house. We did training with her and followed many tips from trainers to help with obedience and dominance. That is now an issue of the past that we have over come. Currently: Shelby had always favored my husband. However, I've never had an issue with her being aggressive. The past 2 weeks I've noticed her getting more and more aggressive as time goes on. Her aggression is only towards me (when it's her bones it's everyone except my husband). It started one day when she was sitting in my spot on the couch and I went to scoot her to the side and she growled and then Barked before getting up and leaving. I just figured, okay... maybe she's having a bad day. Lol. I let it go. Then this behavior continues when I move her out of our bed at night(as we do every night), only this time she bares her teeth. (Hubby was in the bathroom). I've been telling him about her aggression, but she never exhibits this behavior in front of him, so he thinks I'm overreacting and doesn't think she's really being aggressive. He believes she's just playing because he hasn't seen it and laughs it off. Until tonight......i bought our dogs new bones today. Gave each one their own. They were happy and fine until my daughter walks past Shelby. She growls very loudly. So I go to Shelby to remove the bone (I've been told to remove the source of aggression and have them earn it back by using commands to teach them "nothing is theirs" and any human should be able to remove anything from the dog, but returned for reward of good behavior) and She growls, and snaps at my arm twice. This is something she has NEVER done. We buy them these bones all the time and she's never been like this. I remove the bone for a few minutes and return it to her after a good patient sit. She retreats to our bedroom by my husband's side of the bed. (Where he is actually present). I go over to the side of the bed to grab a shirt and she growls and snarls. My husband was in shock and instructed me to remove the bone. As i grabbed the bone she refused to let go. I calmly told her "shelby, drop it". She lets go while growling and snapsbat my hand. He was in complete and utter shock and couldn't believe what he just saw from our beloved dog. I have no idea what could be causing this behavior. Please help!!! Any ideas or tips?! We cannot afford a trainer at the moment. So thats not an option for us at this point in time. Thank you in advance!!
What a situation to find ourself in, sadly I can't offer any advice, I hope someone can so that your family can get back to normal. Our Akita is 5 months old and we gave him a bone when he was younger, he displayed some aggression which made me feel nervous, so, I won't give him one again. He lets me take things out of his mouth that he shouldn't have, things he picks up from the street and I don't feel nervous doing that, but, the ' bone ' experience definitely shook me up and I know I wouldn't challenge him, so, as I said earlier he won't be getting another. I can empathise with you and hope you overcome it
@Tiffany.riha and @My bear Yoji - I honestly do not know what to suggest to either of you but hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I will be able to give you advice. I have a small two-year old cross Doxie/Minpin and she is very possessive with her special chews. Nothing I have done will stop her so I have just let her chomble or hide them and ignore the fact them. She will drop things she should not have picked up, outside or inside, but her special chews? They are hers and she will growl and not let me near her when she has one. Would she bite me? I do not think she would, but I respect her guarding of them and she respects me for that. But she does not guard her food, nor does she attempt to come near me when I am eating. All dogs are different and maybe I did not train Tikva as I should have done, but with a bigger dog I think I would have been in trouble by now.
I may come over as being a bit hard, but I do not let my dogs use our furniture or beds, (unless they are sitting on a knee for a cuddle that is). They have plenty of floor space, and there are two comfortable dog beds in each room. Weimaraners are beautiful and elegant, but they are very high energy dogs, and at two years Shelby will be at the peak of her fitness. Do make sure that she is getting adequate exercise to burn off at least some of her energy - a tired dog is usually a contented dog. For some dogs, a fresh bone will always be contentious. We only give them in the run or the garden, and then leave the dogs in peace to gnaw. I even separate my two, to prevent any attempts at swapping, and which might end in aggression. Please do not ever try to remove a bone from a snarling dog, - this has moved beyond being a warning. If you do need to remove an item from your dog, and it seems reluctant to cooperate, offer an exchange like a tasty treat, or distract with a game with a favourite toy. It is much safer, and builds trust as the dog doesn't feel that it has been robbed of its prize. I note that you have a child in the house. It is very easy for a child's actions to be misunderstood by a dog, and it may be advisable for you to consult a positive methodology trainer or behaviourist, who will be able assess your exact situation, and give you tailored advice. Stay calm, your sweet puppy has just grown into a bolshy teenager - she will be sweet again, but it won't be an instant cure. Best wishes.
Quote ) we have had issues in the past with Shelby 's dominance. The dominance theory has been debunked. One solution would be to keep her off the sofa and bed for the time being, if that’s not what you want then you could train her to jump on the bed/sofa when you ask her to, when she's up give a titbit, then say off’ by throwing tit bit or toy on the floor once she's got the hang of it start fading out the titbits, until she is doing the “Up” and “Off” on verbal command only. When mine has bones, before I take it away I have some tasty titbits in my hand to replace it, when they leave bone for treat I take it away but give it back immediately, Building it up until I can take bones away without using titbits. Go slow, and don't force the issue, the goal is for the dog to associate people taking things as a positive experience and to realise that they get it back.
An afterthought. I think I would capitalise on Shelby's gundog instincts by teaching to retrieve. This would serve two purposes, it will give her lots of fun exercise, and it will get her used to handing items to you - initially for a reward. As her retrieve becomes more reliable, do not limit the article to a ball or gundog dummy, encourage her to find and deliver the types of article that are causing problems around the home. (Not talking bones here).
