Advice needed

S

Summer

Longterm Registered User
Hi all,

Ok I have a 6 month old pup, bitch, cross alaskan malamute/northern inuit. Now she is lovely, she has a lovely nature, oh and i should say that she is a family pet. In every other way she is fantastic, great on lead and off when i take her out, usual puppy mischief around the house, everything is now at least 5 feet off the ground cos she is getting bigger by the minute, lol, she is great with the kids (10yrs and 13yrs) in all but one way.

In amongst all the puppy mischief, she is getting into things that she shouldnt, as pups do, but when either of my kids try to take said items away from her she goes for them, it began as a growl but now there is a definite snarling and biting element creeping in, like she really means it. She hasnt hurt them as yet, just given them a fright and a couple of teeth marks but after seeing the last time I am starting to have concerns.

She doesnt do it to me, just them, I know its a dominance thing but if i can't shake her of this then I wont be able to have her around the children and it would break my heart to have to give her away.

Can someone give me any tips or advice on how to handle this please. And no she hasnt been into puppy training yet, all the classes were booked up and another one comes available in 8 weeks time but I want a handle on this before that. Any advice would be gratefullly received.
 
This really is not a good place, in my opinion to get advice on a matter concerning a large dog, aggressive. Your children's saftey is key. It's like asking a vet for advice over the inter-net with out seeing the dog.

Any advice could be wrong or mis-interpreted, if you don't know what to do keep your dog away from your children. If one of my dogs showed aggression to one of my children one time, depending on circumstances, he/she would be removed from them, possibly killed.

Could be a genetic problem, could be a handling/ keeping/ training problem or combination.

Make sure you know what you have.

Where do you live?
 
No she hasn't, vet told me its best not to do it until she has reached her second season. She doesn't attack, she protects what she has and she doesn't continue the attack, however aggression is aggression your right.

On all other occasions she is very affectionate and playful with the children which is why I am hoping there might be something I can do to head this off. Perhaps I am being too optimistic here and there is nothing I can do, I don't know, hence the request for advice.
 
Tough breed to be trying to calm, and no advice given here could be correctly carried out without supervision. That's not to say you'd get bad advice, but timing and safety is everything!!!!

Listen to H-K9, get some professional help. And don't put your kids in any situation you'll regret, for the rest of their lives! Over-dramatic? Only to those who don't know how much damage a juvenile mass of muscle can do!
 
Protects what she has? It won't be long before she escalates and protects what she wants, regardless of who has it.

Remember, you pup has nothing! Everything belongs to you and the kids, everything.
 
Summer, i believe Hk9 has given you pretty good advice so wont add anything. I believe your vets not correct about female dogs, if female dogs are neutered before their first season it lessens the chance of mamary cancer by nearly 100%. At least that is what our service vet has quoted.
 
aes69 said:
Protects what she has? It won't be long before she escalates and protects what she wants, regardless of who has it.

Remember, you pup has nothing! Everything belongs to you and the kids, everything.
Click to expand...


No i realise that and perhaps I put that badly, I am just trying to describe the situation and her actions in basic language. And not to be defensive but please do not ever assume that my children are not my utmost priority in this.

And thank you Mali, I will seek advice from another vet concerning this.
 
Hello Summer,
The advice given so far is perfectly sound and correct. I am sure we all know your kids safety is paramount.
I have a large Northern Inuit of my own and I know how bloody-minded they can be.
I may be able to help, where are you in the country?
PM me if you prefer.
John.
 
Summer, dont think anyone was making that assumption. Most people who have pet dogs dont realise the damage dogs can do. You have a very large breed who can cause considerable damage to adults nevermind children. We dont know your experience with dogs but the fact that you have asked the questions leads me to believe that it is limited therfor the answers will spell things out very clearly.
 
Summer, if I've caused offence, I apologise for not being clearer. No assumptions have been made about your priorities, just experience telling those who know there is a danger present. Every single dog attack in the UK is due to someone believing their dog wouldn't hurt someone. You're lucky in that you've identified a potential problem early!
 
No offence caused at all, I don't want to be thought of as some tit that bought a dog without thinking.

I have had dogs in the past, grew up with dogs in the house, although I admit not for some years and not this breed and this is an issue I have not encountered personally before.
I did research the breed before buying and it did say that they could be hard to train and stubborn which I was confident I could deal with and she is an absolute pleasure in all aspects except this recent development.

I just really hope I can nip (no pun intended :rolleyes:) this behaviour in the bud because I will give her up long before she becomes a risk to the family.

Thank you to everyone that has responded so far, your insight is genuinely and greatly appreciated.
 
Summer, no offence intended but your dog already has become a risk. Limit the contact unless very strictly controlled untill sorted.
 
Mali said:
Summer, no offence intended but your dog already has become a risk. Limit the contact unless very strictly controlled untill sorted.
Click to expand...

Again, me not putting myself very well, lol, i know what u mean and have already taken those steps, thanks ur all being awesome
 
kitty kat i have had a similar issue with my cocker and he went as far as nipping El's at xmas, and god knows i wanted the little git out of my house, but then discovered she had trodden on his foot accidentally. Now i know it doesn't excuse his actions but i am still really really cautious, to be honest i am with all my dogs and the girls as i am sure you are because i know you love the kids well when they don't give you cold that is :), i hope you sort it out hunny as dogs lovely and i know you adore it, but i alos know you'd never put the kids at risk
 
I was offered a job in Canada running dogs for tourist sled trips. After the interview I asked what training methods they used, the bloke laughed and said, 'we use a big stick on the biggest dog until it know's we're boss!' And he bloody meant it too! Regardless of pay and setting I just couldn't bring myself to work that way!
 
Back
Top