How to Train a Chow Chow to Not Bite

Hello Jane, It was likely a respect, tolerance issue...put simply he doesn't have any respect for he kids (opposed to adults), he felt uncomfortable next to them, so he decided to respond with aggression to make them move. Chows are unfortunately known to not always give a warning before a bite - that could be behavioral or it might be that the signs they do give are just harder to see with their fur. Either way pup probably lacks respect, impulse control, and tolerance. I wouldn't trust him around kids in the future and would hire professional help to deal with his lack of tolerance, impulse control, and respect around people. It's also possible that there was a toy, object, or person he was guarding at the time that no body saw, and this is a case of resource guarding. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jane, First, I highly suggest hiring a professional trainer to help you. Check out Jeff Gellman from SolidK9Training, Sean O Shea from the Good Dog, and Thomas from the Canine Educator on YouTube. Aggression is a complex topic that takes a lot of experience and a comprehensive approach. The trainers I have listed have hundreds of videos on the topic if you want to learn more about aggression yourself. Second, whether neutering will help or not depends on the type of aggression. Neutering can decrease testosterone - which can add to aggression, it can decrease competitiveness with other dogs, and generally make training easier, but it will not eliminate the aggression - behavior modification training is what's really needed - neutering might make that training easier though. Third, I don't recommend letting Mocha sleep in the bed with people with aggression going on. My general rule of thumb is that it's only okay to let a dog sleep in your bed if there are no aggression or respect issues and the dog will get off the bed at soon as you say off at all times - since pup has a history of people aggression - no bed. The hallway or in a crate are both fine as long as he won't get into anything out there. Fourth, beating will worsen the aggression. It's important to let pup know that aggression is not acceptable and to have a fair consequence for it, but doing it via beating typically causes human fear aggression and will almost always result in an aggressive dog redirecting their aggression toward you - resulting in a severe bite. Check out Jeff Gellman from SolidK9Training on YouTube to see examples of how he (an aggression expert) very calmly corrects dogs in a clear, calm, and safe way without using his hands on the dog. Also, note that Jeff and other experts use positive reinforcement too to teach pup to respond correctly to situations. The corrections are only to stop the unwanted behavior long enough to have the opportunity to teach something better instead, positive reinforcement makes up 50%-90% of the training typically. Good dog training should be proactive and not just reactive - with situations set up to practice the dog's reactions around people in a controlled setting, with safety measures and the ability to correct the dog from a safe place - using things like e-collars or muzzles, then rewarding the dog for all the good reactions - which should out number the bad reactions if the training is done correction. Before you do any of this, typically a foundation of respect is laid out through obedience exercises and strict household rules. The best way to earn a dog's respect is through structure, boundaries, consistency, and training that challenges their minds to think and choose to listen - not physical coercion. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Yvonne, First, I suggest desensitizing him to being touched and handled. Use his daily meal kibble at least once per day to reward him for tolerating being touched. Measure his food out into a Sandwich baggie instead of grabbing it out of his bowl. Gently touch an area of his body that he tolerates best, like his shoulder and while you are touching him, feed him a treat with your other hand. As soon as he finishes the treat, stop touching him. For example: Touch his shoulder and feed a treat. Touch his paw and feed a treat. Touch his ear and feed a treat. Touch his tail and feed a treat. Touch his belly and feed a treat. Repeat touching him all of his body gently, one area at a time while you feed the treats. Be gentle and go slow with this to that he isn't overwhelmed. If he seems nervous about an area, make that area more fun and focus on that area carefully for longer with more treats until he is comfortable with it after several training sessions. Continue to practice this even into adulthood. Practice often until he tolerates touch well, and periodically after that to maintain his tolerance. Also, work on the Leave It command for general biting. If after reading the article linked below, you feel like the biting is not normal puppy biting, but something more severe, hire a professional trainer who is very experienced with different types of aggression to help you. Puppy biting is very normal, but true aggression at this age needs to be addressed as soon as possible because the potential outcome is far better if it is addressed early, and a lot less dangerous to work on before 6 months of age - since dogs' jaws get stronger starting at 5-8 months of age generally. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Valerie, I suggest checking out solidk9training.com. See if there is a weekend workshop within any nearby states happening that you could attend with your dog. The trainer, Jeff Gellman does board and train, Skype sessions, and weekend workshops in a few states that he travels to. I would find a trainer like that who specializes in aggression. He may not be beyond help but it will be a lot of work and you need the right person to work with him and you - most trainers are not experienced with multiple types of aggression. You will also need to continue a lot of structure in his life once the aggression is addressed. He probably can't be given as much freedom to do whatever he wants - he needs to be told how to respond in situations, but with the right management it might be something you could address. Without evaluating him in person I can't really say one way or the other though. Even if the aggression improves with help, I do NOT suggest breeding him - temperament is inherited and he may produce aggressive puppies who tend to be suspicious of strangers also. Sean O Shea from the Good Dog may also be closer to you, or Thomas from America's Canine Educator www.SolidK9training.com - Jeff Gellman https://thegooddog.net/ - Sean O'Shea https://www.americascanineeducator.com/ - Thomas All three of these trainers have Youtube channels showing their work also. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Monica, You need to hire a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues and aggression to help you in person right away. Look for someone who comes well recommended by their previous clients whose dogs struggled with aggression. Ask a lot of questions about their experience and how they train prior to hiring to ensure they fit your needs - not all trainers are experienced with aggression. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jordan, It's definitely time to hire a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues and is very experienced with aggression. Check out their reviews and referrals from their previous clients to ensure they can help with this particular issue - not all trainers have experience with aggression. This isn't something to wait on and this isn't something I suggest tackling on your own. If you can't hire someone to come to your home due to the virus, many trainers are offering skype and remote training, and that type of training would at least allow the trainer to ask more detailed questions about what's going on and pup's history and temperament, come up with a feasible plan and demonstrate things remotely for you to implement. Check out trainers like Jeff Gellman from solidK9Training, who specialize in aggression and offer Skype training. For now, desensitize pup to wearing a basket muzzle, and have pup wear that during the day. Pup's life needs to become extremely structured right now. He needs to work for everything he gets in life - by doing a command before you give him something he wants, such as Sit before eating, Down before going on a walk, Come before petting, ect... Pup needs to learn a Place command and work up to being able to stay on place for 1-2 hours to build impulse control and respect calmly. Crate training is a must - pup should be crated anytime you aren't directly supervising him right now. Imagine that pup is in doggie bootcamp to gain their respect in a calm way. Feed pup their meals in a locked crate as well to avoid food guarding and stress around mealtimes. Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Crate manners: https://thegooddog.net/training-videos/free-how-to-training-videos/learn-to-train-the-good-dog-way-the-crate/ Working and Consistency methods: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-doberman-to-listen-to-you To introduce the muzzle, first place it on the ground and sprinkle his meal kibble around it. Do this until he is comfortable eating around it. Next, when he is comfortable with it being on the floor with food, hold it up and reward him with a piece of kibble every time he touches or sniffs it in your hand. Feed him his whole meal this way. Practice this until he is comfortable touching it. Next, hold a treat inside of it through the muzzle's holes, so that he has to poke his face into it to get the treat. As he gets comfortable doing that, gradually hold the treat further down into the muzzle, so that he has to poke his face all the way into the muzzle to get the treat. Practice until he is comfortable having his face in it. Next, feed several treats in a row through the muzzle's holes while he holds his face in the muzzle for longer. Practice this until he can hold his face in it for at least ten seconds while being fed treats. Next, when he can hold his face in the muzzle for ten seconds while remaining calm, while his face is in the muzzle move the muzzle's buckles together briefly, then feed him a treat through the muzzle. Practice this until he is not bothered by the buckles moving back and forth. Next, while he is wearing the muzzle buckle it and unbuckle it briefly, then feed a treat. As he gets comfortable with this step, gradually keep the muzzle buckled for longer and longer while feeding treats through the muzzle occasionally. Next, gradually increase how long he wears the muzzle for and decrease how often you give him a treat, until he can calmly wear the muzzle for at least an hour without receiving treats more than two treats during that hour. I suspect pup is either resource guarding certain things around the kids, simply lacks patience and impulse control around the kids, or is fear biting...Knowing how the kids are acting around the dog too is important...Talking more with a trainer should help shed light on exactly what's going on to see what additional training is needed. Pup likely needs to be desensitized to certain things that the kids do and their general behavior - to teach pup to leave the area when he is uncomfortable instead of act aggressively. Jeff Gellman from solidK9Training also has a YouTube channel with a number of aggression videos - including videos about desensitizing dogs to kids or dealing with resource guarding. Depending on what the trainer assesses is going on, you might be able to learn from those videos as well, but I would implement under the guidance of a qualified trainer. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Saeed, Are you wanting to train Lucy not to bite, or for something else? Assuming you are referring to biting, I recommend hiring a professional trainer who specializes in aggression and fear to work with you in person, and to evaluate pup. This may be fear related - which would involve desensitizing pup to their fears through counter conditioning. This might be related to a lack of respect for you, and more structure and boundaries and less confrontational ways to increase trust and respect, like obedience and having pup work for everything they get in life and new rules around the home, being started to build respect. This could also be a genetic or neurological issue. Or likely a combination of a couple of things. The best way to figure out what's going on and address it correctly is for someone highly experienced with aggression to be able to observe pup and ask you a lot of questions about their history, then make a training plan and adjust it as you go based on how pup responds. You can also check out a couple of trainers who specialize in aggression online, such as Thomas from the canine Educator to learn more about aggression, but I would recommend an in person evaluation. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, I can understand your nervousness, especially when the behavior comes out of nowhere without warning. I hope your boyfriend is willing to work with Sam to fix the problem. How are Sam's obedience commands? That is a good place to start: https://wagwalking.com/training/obedience-train-a-whippet As well, work on the Alpha Method as described in the guide where you submitted your question, which is here: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-chow-chow-to-not-bite. Let Sam know that the behavior is not acceptable and be firm. Use a commanding tone to tell him "No!" when he acts aggressively. Work on the command "sit" and have him sit before doing anything - before he eats, before he gets his leash on, etc to try and assert dominance over him. If the obedience classes and the firmness on your part do not work, I would call in a trainer for at-home lessons so that Sam learns how he should behave on his own turf. Good luck!

Hello! Puppies may nip for a number of reasons. Nipping can be a means of energy release, getting attention, interacting and exploring their environment or it could be a habit that helps with teething. Whatever the cause, nipping can still be painful for the receiver, and it’s an action that pet parents want to curb. Some ways to stop biting before it becomes a real problem include: Using teething toys. Distracting with and redirecting your dog’s biting to safe and durable chew toys is one way to keep them from focusing their mouthy energies to an approved location and teach them what biting habits are acceptable. Making sure your dog is getting the proper amount of exercise. Exercise is huge. Different dogs have different exercise needs based on their breed and size, so check with your veterinarian to make sure that yours is getting the exercise they need. Dogs—and especially puppies—use their playtime to get out extra energy. With too much pent-up energy, your pup may resort to play biting. Having them expel their energy in positive ways - including both physical and mental exercise - will help mitigate extra nips. Being consistent. Training your dog takes patience, practice and consistency. With the right training techniques and commitment, your dog will learn what is preferred behavior. While sometimes it may be easier to let a little nipping activity go, be sure to remain consistent in your cues and redirection. That way, boundaries are clear to your dog. Using positive reinforcement. To establish preferred behaviors, use positive reinforcement when your dog exhibits the correct behavior. For instance, praise and treat your puppy when they listen to your cue to stop unwanted biting as well as when they choose an appropriate teething toy on their own. Saying “Ouch!” The next time your puppy becomes too exuberant and nips you, say “OUCH!” in a very shocked tone and immediately stop playing with them. Your puppy should learn - just as they did with their littermates - that their form of play has become unwanted. When they stop, ensure that you follow up with positive reinforcement by offering praise, treat and/or resuming play. Letting every interaction with your puppy be a learning opportunity. While there are moments of dedicated training time, every interaction with your dog can be used as a potential teaching moment.

Hello! Yes now is a great time to get started. I am going to send you information on nipping/biting. If you need help with potty training, feel free to message again. Nipping: Puppies may nip for a number of reasons. Nipping can be a means of energy release, getting attention, interacting and exploring their environment or it could be a habit that helps with teething. Whatever the cause, nipping can still be painful for the receiver, and it’s an action that pet parents want to curb. Some ways to stop biting before it becomes a real problem include: Using teething toys. Distracting with and redirecting your dog’s biting to safe and durable chew toys is one way to keep them from focusing their mouthy energies to an approved location and teach them what biting habits are acceptable. Making sure your dog is getting the proper amount of exercise. Exercise is huge. Different dogs have different exercise needs based on their breed and size, so check with your veterinarian to make sure that yours is getting the exercise they need. Dogs—and especially puppies—use their playtime to get out extra energy. With too much pent-up energy, your pup may resort to play biting. Having them expel their energy in positive ways - including both physical and mental exercise - will help mitigate extra nips. Being consistent. Training your dog takes patience, practice and consistency. With the right training techniques and commitment, your dog will learn what is preferred behavior. While sometimes it may be easier to let a little nipping activity go, be sure to remain consistent in your cues and redirection. That way, boundaries are clear to your dog. Using positive reinforcement. To establish preferred behaviors, use positive reinforcement when your dog exhibits the correct behavior. For instance, praise and treat your puppy when they listen to your cue to stop unwanted biting as well as when they choose an appropriate teething toy on their own. Saying “Ouch!” The next time your puppy becomes too exuberant and nips you, say “OUCH!” in a very shocked tone and immediately stop playing with them. Your puppy should learn - just as they did with their littermates - that their form of play has become unwanted. When they stop, ensure that you follow up with positive reinforcement by offering praise, treat and/or resuming play. Letting every interaction with your puppy be a learning opportunity. While there are moments of dedicated training time, every interaction with your dog can be used as a potential teaching moment.

Hello Lowlah, I recommend hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression, comes well recommended by their previous clients, and can involve you in a decent amount of the training. Likely, your relationship and interactions with pup need to be observed, more boundaries set at home and with you, and calmly implemented. I would probably recommend following the methods from the article linked below. You might need to desensitize pup to wearing a basket muzzle while you are home, to prevent potential bites while you are working through this with them and pup might protest any changes to rules and consistency from you. You will want to desensitize pup to you being near their food or objects by pairing your approach with treats whenever pup stays calm, starting from further away - only rewarding good responses with treat tosses, then gradually decreasing distance as pup relaxes more with your around the food bowl. When you can get as close to pup as 1-2 feet, a fake arm can be used to touch pup or the bowl and reward with a treat toss whenever pup tolerates the touch - this shouldn't be done with your actual hand though. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Tanya, For this type of aggression I highly recommend hiring a professional trainer who specializes in behavior issues like aggression to help in person with this issue. Look for someone who comes well recommended by their previous clients and will work one-on-one with you to evaluate pup and see exactly what's going on. In the meantime, I would not trust pup with people pup had a known history of aggression toward, especially children, since it is likely to happen again right now, even if pup seems fine right beforehand. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden