16mnth BB becoming extremely territorial and attacking kids!! Help

[bigdex]

Hi,

This is my first post on here. I adopted a 9mnth male Boerboel from a local lady who could not manage him/trust him. He is now 16mnth/60kg/healthy/BARF diet etc...

My other half really wanted this dog but I was unsure as I had never handled such a powerful dog and we have 3 kids aged 12, 10 and 8. I have successfully owner various dogs over the years and never had issues. I think the issue is with my partner

With him being at work all day the mammoth task of raising and training Dexter has fallen to me. He is my life between 9-4 daily. He does as he is told and respects me big time. He arrived completely untrained/untamed/unsocialised. It has been tough introducing authority and he still tries it on from time to time but I must say, I am comfortable around him and he obeys me. After a few weeks he was showing signs of aggression and I spoke to the previous owner who then told me that he had bitten children before through her fence. My immediate reaction was to get this beast out of my home and away from my kids! We keep giving him chances cos we love him.....

The problems begin when the children arrive home from school. My attention might be drawn away with homework, play etc and the second Dexter is unattended by me, he attempts to dominate my youngest. I can NEVER leave them alone. Dexter frequently snacks, growls and lunges at him. When the kids are home Dexter tends to get locked in his den til it all settles down after dinner. They frequently have friends round or knocking at the door for them and Dexter wants to kill every one of them.

He is extremely protective of the whole family and sees every visitor as a threat to within a few metres from our perimeter. He escaped through an unlocked gate last night and attacked a small girl. I was hurt defending her but luckily she was missed. This same girl had a VERY near miss just last week with him when he shoved my son away from the door to get at her.

I am on constant high alert and forever thinking 'wheres Dexter? Are the gates and doors shut? Is anyone else in the house?' Everybody takes great care and we are forever taking precautions but there have been mistakes made and things get left open. When this happens, all training goes out the window as Dexter goes into demonic mode and really goes for anyone nearby. No amount of firm talk will work. He gets instinctive and protects us.

My partner comes home and smothers this dog with affection for far too long imo. He is 6'2, large build, with a very deep voice and Dexter I would assume would expect him to be alpha over me. So if he gets away with it around him then I stand no chance. He does not listen to me when he is around and allows him to jump up for cuddles and practically sit on his lap on the sofa. He greeds from him and no-one else. My OH thinks that love is all a dog needs and we forever argue over this dog.

Every time he harms, intimidates or threatens someone my OH blames them and gets completely defensive and emotional. All I can think is that everytime its a step closer and he will end up being taken away. I cant believe no-one has complained yet. My vet, trainer and all family and friends think he needs to be put to sleep and I must say right now I'm in favour for it because I cant risk my children or anyone else for the sake of this dog. My OH of course says that he will change and keeps sending me articles he finds interesting but things never change. I am losing respect for my man as well as my dog and feel annoyed with myself for putting up with this week after week.

Theres obviously no miracle cure and the solution is obvious but I think I need to see that other people agree or find out if its something I'm doing wrong?? Otherwise he is fit and healthy with no medical condition.

 

[jcook]

oh man, that is a tough situation. I have to side with you though because your family comes first. I dont agree with the philosophy that "all a dog needs is love". They need training & they need direction. I hate to say this but some some dogs are not suitable to be part of a family. I have a sister who got a two pups from a BYB and one was extremely aggressive at 9 weeks, they gave it back and kept the female. Well even with extensive training the dog just had psychological issues. 3 vets straight up said the dog had an inherent problem that really couldnt be "fixed". After the dog bit her baby for the 3rd time she knew she had to get rid of it (the dog was living in a crate). No shelter could re-home the dog because the vets had labeled it aggressive. The dog ended up getting put down. It was no fault of my sister, but it was what was best for her family. I should also mention that this was a 5lb dog, if this was a mastiff her baby could have been killed.

It was sad because the dog was great at moments, but it also had it really bad moments ( i saw it first hand because I lived with my sister for a year).

Ive also dealt with the issue of having a boyfriend who has a different philosophy regarding dogs than me. My bf's english bulldog is poorly trained, and I have been bit twice and he has 'accidentally' bit a few friends. The bulldog also took off my boyfriends thumb nail a few months ago. Now it was an "accident" but it was an accident that resulted from poor training (the dog lunges for certain objects and loses its mind despite us telling him "no"). I have also seen him bite our friends childs foot (adam picked up the kid, like sort of rough housing, and Sampson jumped up and bite his foot, thank god the kid had boots on). I cant imagine having children with this dog in the house (and the bulldog isnt even what I would label aggressive, he is just poorly trained). Bulldogs are stubborn and they have obsessions so like tennis balls are a huge trigger for Sampson, he will take off my hand to get a tennis ball, it isnt something we can change but it is something would could help control through training. However, by boyfriend is sort of like your husband, he thinks all a dog needs is love, which leads to many disagreements between us. I am just thankful we dont have kids or a lot of visitors.

I fear that it will take a serious accident before your husband understands the seriousness of the situation.

I worked for a family who had a neurotic Australian Shepherd, one day the dog tore my eye open (thank god it was a clean cut and it only required minor surgery). After that incident they gave the dogs to a family member who lived on their ranch property (these people were really rich lol). If I wasnt under my parents really good insurance and if they werent wealthy then it really would have turned into an ugly situation. The surgery was done by one of two surgeons in southern Ca who could do it (special reconstructive surgery of the eye) it cost around 12,000, if I remember correctly, but because of my health insurance it was 300$ total. They were milionaires so they could have paid for it, but my question is can you guys pay for that? And if they couldnt pay for it then it would have gone to court and the dog would have been put down.

Im not saying this dog has to be put down, but I dont think it is a dog for people with kids.

 

[jcook]

Its also not fair to you because you are the one dealing with the dog for the majority of the day, IMO.

 

[bigdex]

I too fear that between us we are waiting for a serious incident before anything changes. Me less so. His time was up the first time

It's not like he is just puppy mouthing at people or going for a nip. He is full on animal attack and at his size it is scary. I am truly blessed that he has not reached far enough to cause serious damage yet.

At the beginning I attempted to rehome him somewhere without children but no one would take him. My trainer (20yrs military dog handling) says that he is not suitable for rehoming as the likelihood of this continuing is high.

I feel such an idiot. Everyone warned me from the start and he's proving them right. Days such as this (weekend) he is living in his den because the kids are home and I feel sad for him. I thought of muzzling him but feel that too would be restrictive and unkind. He doesn't deserve this. I wish we had had him earlier on and this may never have happened. Probably his lack of training as a pup has exasperated his tendancies.

I feel so sad right now.

I must add that my children are respectful and demand respect equally from him at all times. They have been taught early on all about this and despite his constant testing of the youngest, the other 2 are great around him.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Some dogs are simply highly protective, and in that are stranger aggressive, especially in percieved protection of family and the family's property. I'm not saying this to excuse his behavior, but in an attempt to explain it. And unfortunetly that doesn't explain why he has a dislike for your youngest. It may be that he's a dog who also doesn't do well around kids. Or there may be another problem, I'm not sure it matters at this point.

Management: He needs to be crated or otherwise seperated from non-family people at all times when they are in your house. And extra care needs to be taken when he is loose in the house or yard, that doors and gates are never opened without care taken to be sure he can't get through. This may mean that you put him away right before the kids are due home from school and don't let him out till you and your partner are home to keep an eye on him.

Training him to wear a muzzle is honestly a very good idea. A good quality basket muzzle will allow him to pant and drink through it, and at the same time make sure that you can be sure he won't bite one of your kids. Please note however that a dog truely bent on causing damage can cause quite a bit of damage even without his teeth, especially once of this size, so management still has to be done. Restrictive yes, but it means that he can't kill a child.....

Your partner needs to get a grip. Unfortunetly far to many people DON'T, sometimes even after the dog does serious damage and has to be put down.

Member on here, named DMikeM, has a BB, and I know he's talked to some folks in the BB rescue community. He may be able to point you towards some resources for BBs. Unfortunetly with his history of aggression I'm not sure that much can be done, but its worth checking.

And Jcook is right, about the costs involved with a dog attack. In theory your home-owners insurance will cover at least a portion, but then they'll jack up your rates. And thats just the medical. If the bitten person (or their parent) sues for mental anguish or the like, well, thats another huge lump sum.....

 

[bigdex]

Thank you for your advice. I know its a management issue mainly but I cant be around 24/7 and I cant expect my children to be in charge. My OH and I have had a very serious chat this morning and I think he finally gets the bigger picture. We have been out and bought yet more new measures for our home today including a chain for him in the garden. I will feel more secure knowing that there is that extra barrier between him and kids if the gate is ever left open again. We have also purchased new signage to warn people of the threat and direct them to the 'safest' entrance.

I have a question about collars: He could escape his collar if he really wanted to so I am thinking about a check chain to attach to the garden chain. There are so many on the market, can anyone recommend the best type? Half check seemingly doesn't work and prong are frowned upon here in UK. Also, sizing... his neck is 26" so do I buy a check collar that size or with extra/less inches? Can't get my head around it

Muzzle wise: my problem is when do you select to use it? I don't want him in it 24/7 but I cant know for sure when these crazy things will happen plus he can still take people down! I think locking him away is the safest solution for now as he is a real opportunist and I couldn't just say between * and * he wears the muzzle because theres always a delivery, guests and the likes so it would be forever on and off haha

On a negative, he lunged and barked at a kid on a walk today which is new. It used to be just the property area. God help us.

 

[DMikeM]

Hi all I asked Bigdex to come here and ask for advice as I know there are many experienced mastiff owners here. I know this is a BB and a little different from most of the other mastiffs but am hoping someone might know of a good trainer in the UK or a technique for reducing this dominant aggression.

I have looked at pics of Dex and can see in his past he loved being around his kids and you could see he was good about it in his eyes. But most of his recent pics I see a dog that does not want to be messed with. You really can see the difference in his eyes.

Shakira did anything happen from 10 months to 16 months that could have set him off? Do you think any of the kids could have done something to him, (kids sometimes can be bad when we are not looking)? He really has a serious look now and actually looks like he may have some of Jade's kin in him too.

 

[DMikeM]

Were you able to correct him today when he reacted to the kid? Have you tried to socialize him by taking him around lots of people and keeping him calmed down or does he just go off?

 

[bigdex]

As far as I know, the children have all been fine with him. He has obviously attempted to assert himself over them all at some stage and hates the fact that they do so. They are very respectful of him and leave him be unless he comes asking for a play. He is loving and gentle with my eldest two (he adores them) and as I said tries it on with the youngest who is now quite afraid of him. I make sure they are never alone together. Now i think about it, there have been more bites to him than I mentioned so no wonder he is afraid. It has been suggested that the youngest feeds the dog (supervised of course), grooming is out of the question. The brush saved his hand last time.

Jades kin???

 

[DMikeM]

Somehow he needs to learn all family members are higher in the pack than he is.

Jade is my BB and they have similar facial structure. Different lines of BB will show certain features. Jade and Dex have a kindred look.

 

[bigdex]

I was just about able to keep hold during the 'attack' but firmly told him NO and directed him away. His attention was fully on that person til out of vision though. I could not distract him. He seems to go into a different world, like you aren't there!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Ah, didn't realize you were in the UK, not sure at all what resources there are over there, but you might check with Mooshi's Mummy then, she's done some rescue work and might be able to point you in a direction.

I'd not do a choke collar (or a prong) when he's on a chain. Half check (aka martingale) collar, sized to fit snug at the top of his neck, right behind his ears, would be harder to slip out of. Or maybe a flat collar AND the choke using a double hookup like this: Ella's Lead - Oscar's Attachment .

Muzzle wise: I know of a few folks who litterally muzzle their dog anytime he's out of his crate (where he's also fed). Its not a fun but its management. And by having the extra safety of the muzzle they've been able to work with the dog far more than they expected to.

If your youngest is becoming fearfull of the dog (and I don't blame him) then that is likely aggravating the problem. CAREFULL hand feeding may help. I'd suggest first starting with you or your partner rather than the child. Put the food on the flat palm of your hand like you're offering a treat to a horse (he's less likely to accidently grab fingers that way). If he does ok with you guys then have the child put his flat hand on top of yours and try that. Make sure you impress on the kids that they are NOT to do this without one of you RIGHT THERE supervising as its not something that can be done easily with a muzzle on.

I think, for the moment, I'm going to suggest management for all "outsiders" and you work strictly on getting him comfortable with the family. Muzzle, and hand feeding (can you manage to hand feed him ALL of his meals? Or at least one entire meal a day?), and what management has to be done to get that to work.

What kind of exercise does he get daily?

 

[bigdex]

I was about to order a Martingale right before all this flared up. DMikeD makes some beautiful ones!! It will be weeks before we receive it though so I was thinking short term...

My kids all regularly hand feed him and he is happy with this. They can all remove food from him too with LEAVE IT. I don't think he is food aggressive thankfully! However he will give the youngest 'that look' if he has a particularly nice bone or if he is tired etc. They know to leave him be. The kids call them his 'whale eyes' and take that as a signal to not get involved right now.

He gets an hour/two of off leash exercise and loads of play inbetween. I DO THE PLAY, no-one else is allowed. We get kinda rough but he knows ENOUGH. I'm busy bulking him up for an appraisal.

Could it be extra testosterone/endorphins from extra work?? Light bulb moment!

 

[ruthcatrin]

at 16 months its entirely possible he's getting some adult temperment in. If you want to call it hormones you can, neutering doesn't really affect it. Its also possible that if he's getting to worked up in play he then can't calm down enough, and is taking it out on people. Where is the play sessions in relation to the aggressiveness that you're seeing?