The Fear Biter

The other day I was introduced to an adorable little dog that had the habit of biting visitors.  Upon first meeting this little firecracker, who is close to 13 years old, I observed a cute little guy that stood in a corner and shook.  His little legs were wobbly from shaking.  When he saw me, he ran over and immediately began biting at my shoes.  This is clearly a sign of fear biting and not aggressive behavior in the ordinary sense.  However it is something that needed to be dealt with.  He was an older man, so approaching him as you might a younger, stronger powerful dog will not work.   He needed a clear approach that would make sense to him.  First off, his owner would have to take control and become a stronger leader.  With a few simple exercises we were able to accomplish this.  Next we had to address some underlying issues this little man had about the way he was approached.  He was very head-shy, which is a typic sign that the dog was abused.  Building confidence in a dog is a good way to eliminate negative behaviors.  

If a dog is biting, barking, growling or exhibiting any strange behavior it is important to evaluate the behavior before you try to solve the problem.  Much like a mechanic would test drive the car before he begins taking apart the engine, so should your dog be properly evaluated before trying to solve a problem.  Simply jumping in with a "standard training approach" can cause more damage to a dogs already temperamental behavior.