# 5 Month Old Aggressive Biting



## oakley8 (Aug 26, 2015)

Our soon to be five month old puppy, Oakley, has started snarling when being prevented from nipping and biting at us. He has always been mouthy, and we have tried to manage this using a few different methods.. holding his mouth for a few seconds, diverting his attention to a suitable toy, ignoring him, and saying 'ouch' or 'no'. So far nothing has seemed to work.. or it works for a few days and then he resists. Because he is about 45 lbs now his biting is getting to be painful and is constant. Our vet says he has a great disposition and is a seemingly happy pup. He not only bites us, but also anyone who comes near him.

He just started teething a few weeks ago, which was strengthened the issue.. but it is not new. 

In the past week or so he has been physically resisting any attempt to calm him. He has started snarling and baring his teeth at us if we even try to give him a toy during his fits. Any attempt to handle him during his episodes results in him attacking our hands and moving so that we can't get ahold of him. He knows when we are playing with him and he does not act in this manner. I know he is young, but it is starting to seem aggressive in nature. 

We have no idea what to try next.. any suggestions as to why he is acting like this or tips to curb this behaviour would be greatly appreciated!!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

If he is still teething some of it is that. It should stop after all the adult teeth are in. How is the snarl. Does he make a noise? When chloe is being told no she sometimes will wrinkle her nose. No sound is made. When she does it her teeth show. It's nothing aggressive but she is conflicted because she wants to do what we are telling her she can't. She doesnt do it often though. Once those adult teeth all come in it should stop. But you need to let him know it's not acceptable. If you have a small area grab his collar and put him in timeout for a few minutes.


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Have a lead on him at all times. When he acts up tether him away from you. He's being a brat. Consult a balanced trainer to setup an environment of boundaries for him


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Keep a drag lead on him at all times when he's not crated. You can buy a cheap leash and cut it off to about 2 feet long and have it attached to his collar at all times. Use this to regain physical control rather than touching his collar or restraining him with your hands. 

I have a couple questions about his daily routine and how you manage him.

1) Is he alone during the day? How many hours does he spend crated, total?

2) is he in obedience classes and how many times a day do you give a short, quick obedience training session?

3) Have you taught him any thing to help him learn self control? Things like "leave it" or "settle" or "place" or "wait"?

4) Do you leash walk him? Does he ever go new places or is it mainly in your neighborhood?

5) How many days a week does he get off leash, aerobic exercise that leaves him tired and panting?


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## oakley8 (Aug 26, 2015)

Thank you for your replies! I will look into getting a short lead in the next couple of days. 

To answer your questions:

He is crated throughout the day for 8 hours, with a walker about half way through for 20 or so minutes. He gets a short walk in the morning and then fetch and free run of the yard for about an hour prior to us leaving for work. After work he gets another short walk before supper and then a long walk after supper. On weekends he comes with us wherever we go, so he is only crated during the night.

He knows 'stop' and 'stay' and usually responds very well to them, except during an episode. 

He has not been to training classes yet as we live in a small city and there have no been any classes that have started for his age group so far. We are hoping to get him into one soon. We usually do 3 training sessions with him at home per day, about 10 minutes each. He is very food motivated.

We often take him out of our area. Thus far he has been in busy city areas, on a farm, camping in a tent, camping in a trailer, parks, baseball diamonds and many other places. 

He has been exposed to dogs of all ages and sizes and seems to react well in general to them. Though he plays with them, he does not try to bite excessively like he does with humans


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## daisypie (Jan 18, 2015)

We are experiencing the same behavior in our 6 month old boy. (This is our third golden...he is awesome in every way, but this one problem). He is smart and very obedient when it comes to loose leash walking, coming when called, and totally non-food protective. He will sit and stay while I prepare his food and stay until I invite him to eat. However, when he is ramped up to play , he wants to mouth with snarly, bared teeth. He never fully bites down. This happens only when my husband and I sit down at the end of the day to relax. How do we teach him appropriate canine-human play interaction ?


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

daisypie said:


> We are experiencing the same behavior in our 6 month old boy. (This is our third golden...he is awesome in every way, but this one problem). He is smart and very obedient when it comes to loose leash walking, coming when called, and totally non-food protective. He will sit and stay while I prepare his food and stay until I invite him to eat. However, when he is ramped up to play , he wants to mouth with snarly, bared teeth. He never fully bites down. This happens only when my husband and I sit down at the end of the day to relax. How do we teach him appropriate canine-human play interaction ?


What almost has completely stopped Chloe's identical behavior is a two mile walk at about 700 every night.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Golden Retrievers are large sporting dogs and they were made to go all day long. If you have time, take a look at the videos I've attached. They are only a couple minutes to watch. These are tests that simulate hunting conditions and give an idea of a hunting situation and a retriever's job. The dog is working with and focusing on what his handler wants him to do - retrieve 3 birds that have been shot down in quick succession so that the hunters can keep shooting. The dog is full out for long distances, and they were made to do this with short rests in between for half a day. This is why your puppy can't sleep for 8 hours at night and then 8 hours during the day while you're at work and then be expected to behave like a sedate, elderly dog when you're home in the evenings. 

I completely agree that the out of control energy, jumping and biting at people is not acceptable dog behavior and it needs to stop. But as non-hunting or urban owners, we have to understand that the lifestyle we expect these sporting dogs to conform to is not what they were meant for. It is our responsibility to provide more MENTAL and Physical work for them so that they are able to be good family members. Some dogs take more than others, and good breeders will try to judge this before they place a puppy. But oftentimes they are off a little with their guestimates on what a dog requires. That's not the dog's fault, it is our responsibility to make it work. A walk around the block is very good exercise for your 80 year old grandmother but it is not going to make a dent in the energy level of a healthy, growing retriever puppy. Take a look at these beautiful dogs. These are short videos. 

This is Puzzle, he is a Canadian conformation champion and an obedience trial champion as well as a Master Hunter. His owner is a fantastic trainer and he is an amazing Golden:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_YWd8kH2jI 


This is a black lab running a Master series hunt test - he is easy to see since he's a dark color and you can see how physical his job is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekLOFNdWSv8


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## ktaylor320 (Jul 15, 2015)

I'm running into the exact same issue! almost 6 month golden who last week was a precious loving angel has started biting and nipping at me almost as badly as he did when he was teething. My frustration levels are at an all time high and I can feel that it is damaging our relationship! I am trying to do only positive reinforcement, but I've had a very trying week and he bit me hard on the face today and I cried and hit him on the nose. And then of course I feel terrible because that's just contributing to the problem. I don't know what to do! I am at my wits end right now, and don't know how to remedy this behavior. 
And I don't believe it has to do with exercise, because I tire him out sufficiently every single night. It's not feasible to expect them to be running all day long.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

ktaylor320 said:


> I'm running into the exact same issue! almost 6 month golden who last week was a precious loving angel has started biting and nipping at me almost as badly as he did when he was teething. My frustration levels are at an all time high and I can feel that it is damaging our relationship! I am trying to do only positive reinforcement, but I've had a very trying week and he bit me hard on the face today and I cried and hit him on the nose. And then of course I feel terrible because that's just contributing to the problem. I don't know what to do! I am at my wits end right now, and don't know how to remedy this behavior.
> And I don't believe it has to do with exercise, because I tire him out sufficiently every single night. It's not feasible to expect them to be running all day long.


I feel for you. One of the very first things you need to do is keep a mental note or write done what you were doing at the time he starts in his biting moods. You may find a common thing that sets your pup off. If you can figure that out then you can start by not doing those things. For instance one thing that totally sets Chloe off is if your playing and throwing her duck or ball to play fetch. After so many minutes she starts. It has something to do with the hands and it gets her excited and she loses her mind for a second.

Another thing we have found is she hates the baby gates or the tablemate beside my chair. All we have to do is make a little noise with either of those and she stops. Although she doesn't do any biting much anymore these things work when she does do them. 

I also recommend a gated area to put your pup in when they do this. Your pup may be tired and need put to bed or a timeout.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

ktaylor320 said:


> I'm running into the exact same issue! almost 6 month golden who last week was a precious loving angel has started biting and nipping at me almost as badly as he did when he was teething. My frustration levels are at an all time high and I can feel that it is damaging our relationship! I am trying to do only positive reinforcement, but I've had a very trying week and he bit me hard on the face today and I cried and hit him on the nose. And then of course I feel terrible because that's just contributing to the problem. I don't know what to do! I am at my wits end right now, and don't know how to remedy this behavior.
> And I don't believe it has to do with exercise, because I tire him out sufficiently every single night. It's not feasible to expect them to be running all day long.


Perhaps you're over-tiring him. Max would have a toddler type melt down when he was overtired, and he needed to just take a nap. Try just calmly crating when it starts.


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## Goldylover2 (May 1, 2014)

ktaylor320 said:


> I'm running into the exact same issue! almost 6 month golden who last week was a precious loving angel has started biting and nipping at me almost as badly as he did when he was teething. My frustration levels are at an all time high and I can feel that it is damaging our relationship! I am trying to do only positive reinforcement, but I've had a very trying week and he bit me hard on the face today and I cried and hit him on the nose. And then of course I feel terrible because that's just contributing to the problem. I don't know what to do! I am at my wits end right now, and don't know how to remedy this behavior.
> And I don't believe it has to do with exercise, because I tire him out sufficiently every single night. It's not feasible to expect them to be running all day long.


I was in the same situation you and Oakley are in. My pups biting and snarling got so bad we were and the end of the rope. My girlfriend got to the point she was afraid of him. I walked him every day and let him run in the back yard. So it wasn't pent up energy. He seemed to want to be the pack leader. Especially in the house. He was fine at dog parks. Walks at the park were a chore to say the least. He would bite the leash and lash out at me. This golden was the opposite of our last and it wasn't fun at all. We found a trainer and he helped us out tremendously. He kept him a week and we went back each weekend for an hour or two additional training. He's 19 months old now and is doing great. So don't lose hope. Just seek out an experienced trainer.


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

My dog did this since he was 4.5 months. Long walks were not possible because biting often happened during the walks- longer ones triggered them more than short ones. I have a couple of very looooong threads about this, including one where I considered rehoming him to a more experienced home.

Every dog is different. For sure, my dog can "go" all day long. Even after we come home from training class at 9:30 pm, he looks at me like, "What's next?" I think a romp in the woods off leash on a regular basis would work wonders, but alas, not possible where I live.

Anyway, he is 9.5 months and things have improved drastically. I still don't trust him yet-- we monitor-- but the times he actually does the bitey thing are so very rare, and when they happen we can redirect/it's done within seconds.

Some dogs need more exercise. I am sure mine does, but what made the difference for us was basic: prevention and redirection, repeat, repeat, repeat. We use only positive training (there are always negatives with positive training, of course!) and for us I think that was the right choice. He had some handling issues but because we have built up such a savings account with him (plenty of deposits into his, these people are nice account) they have disappeared. 

If you read through my threads you will see plenty of people have dealt with this and come out the other side. You are not alone. Just make sure you practice a lot of handling exercises separately in the meantime.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

ktaylor320 said:


> I'm running into the exact same issue! almost 6 month golden who last week was a precious loving angel has started biting and nipping at me almost as badly as he did when he was teething. My frustration levels are at an all time high and I can feel that it is damaging our relationship!...I don't know what to do! I am at my wits end right now, and don't know how to remedy this behavior.
> And I don't believe it has to do with exercise, because I tire him out sufficiently every single night. It's not feasible to expect them to be running all day long.


It might be helpful if you looked at the questions I asked the OP and gave us some more info about the way your dog's daily schedule tends to go and how much daily obedience work he gets, how you manage him and what his boundaries and structure are. 

6 months is the typical time that dogs are hitting sexual maturity and the 'bratty teenager' phase as is often discussed on this forum. Do you give him daily sessions on obedience, on leash where you give him direction and he works for you, are you taking classes with him? Do you work with a trainer?

Is your dog crated while you're at work?  Do you work a traditional 8 hour day? It would help to know what your definition of "tiring him out" consists of. It might be different than mine - is he getting aerobic exercise most days of the week? It may not be feasible for anyone to have their Golden Retriever running all day long, but please understand that these are working dogs. I am telling you this because you need to understand that it is inbred for the dog to require physical and mental challenges. What you're seeing with the bratty behavior is probably a combination of a couple different issues and they need to all be addressed.

An interesting thing I noticed with all the people chiming in with their experience is the dogs biting and carrying on when restrained by the leash for out door walks. I've never thought about it, but these dogs have so much energy to burn and they need to have an outlet. Being held back by a leash when all they want to do is run must be SO frustrating for them. And then it translates to the tantrums on leash. It's not to say that we have to accept that behavior, but it helps to understand why they are so frustrated and to know it's our job as the owners to come up with ways to avoid the frustration. We can make their lives easier and ours by at least treating exercise and training to be as crucial to health and well being as a healthy diet.

I have raised three Goldens and a rough collie in the past 6 years. They are all individuals but the common denominator has always been that they need structure and consistent enforcement of boundaries and they need more exercise, both physical and mental, than most pet homes are willing to provide. If you don't have another dog in the house to entertain them, you have to expect that for the first couple years of life, that you can't confine them while you work at a full time job, confine them while you sleep 7 or 8 hours over night and then expect them to lay under the table or at your feet while you watch t.v. I completely understand that when you only have 4 or 5 hours free on a work day and those hours have to be used to shop, cook, do chores and eat and somehow find time to have a social life and relax so you can do it all again tomorrow, it is very difficult to deal with a high maintenance dog. I understand, believe me, I've been there, I get it. But for the next two years it's going to be like having a preschooler in the house. He will need a lot of time and attention. If you need to watch t.v. or read for some down time, crate him with a frozen kong. Otherwise you're going to have to step up the attention he is getting. 

My other suggestion is to do a search for the protocol "Nothing In Life is Free" for dogs. This is what I would try with your dog if you honestly can say that your dog is getting enough training and aerobic activity every day. It basically has him receiving no privileges in your home that he hasn't earned. (If he wants to go outside, you have him "sit" or "down" and "wait" then you take him out. Put him in a "down/stay" while you fix his meals and don't release him until after you put the bowl on the floor. Start working on teaching him self control) Have him drag a short, cut off 2 foot leash in the house. Use the leash to control him when he gets wound up. Is he food motivated? Keep a baggie with treats in your pocket or on a counter top at all times. When he acts out, go into obedience mode and give him a command, something to do that you can reward him for.

If you click on Anele's name in her avatar, you can see all her threads, take some time and read through them, look at what she has done to work with her dog and the suggestions people made. See what you could make work at your house. Treating your dog like a sweet puppy is just not going to work anymore and it's time to start making some changes if what you've been doing isn't working anymore. You will get through this, it will be worth it. The more time you invest now, the more you will get from your dog over the next 12 years.


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

Agree with all Kristy said in her two posts, regarding exercise and venting out energy, after all these are hunting dogs.

My problem is that Ella 6 1/2months injured her knee and is waiting a couple of more months to do surgery, how do you exercise in this situation? We are trying to stablished a schedule to go to the beach to swim for her to have very low impact exercise as we need to prevent her from having a total rupture of the ACL or rupturing the other knee. But still struggling with getting to the car to the front door as I need to park in a distance that I consider too much for her to walk right now.

I've completely stopped training because I can see her difficulty to change position from seating to standing, so we just reinforce what she already learn very short walks for poopoo and peeped = very limited socialization with other dogs although she thinks they are all her best friends even the very little toy dogs around here (I taught her to lay down on the floor to play with other dogs because of those little ones and to prevent the crazy jumping with the big ones)

Yes she tends to bite me when playing and whenever she wants my attention, we divert her attention to toys, sometimes we close her muzzle in a soft way and saying NO BITING and then resume play, if she carries on she gets a nice time out in her bedroom where she can see us enjoying our sofa.

Surgery should happen I a couple of months we believe as she seems to have slow down growing


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

anamcouto said:


> Agree with all Kristy said in her two posts, regarding exercise and venting out energy, after all these are hunting dogs.
> 
> My problem is that Ella 6 1/2months injured her knee and is waiting a couple of more months to do surgery, how do you exercise in this situation? We are trying to stablished a schedule to go to the beach to swim for her to have very low impact exercise as we need to prevent her from having a total rupture of the ACL or rupturing the other knee. But still struggling with getting to the car to the front door as I need to park in a distance that I consider too much for her to walk right now.
> 
> ...


Food puzzles, hide and seek in the house, teach her the names of toys and ask her to go get specific ones. 

I feel for you. Restricting a pups activity is hard work, and frustrating for both of you.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

for anamcouto. This video gives training games for dogs that are under crate rest. You can adjust them to your own needs for Ella. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfL99xcEpXc Donna Hill


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## ktaylor320 (Jul 15, 2015)

Haha yeah I think it just happens when he's "extra aroused" or super hyper. Like today, we went for a walk after it had been raining all day and he just went nuts! Leash pulling, running around in a circle, growling and snarling and biting, jumping and biting at my sleeves, you name it! I have NO idea how to approach this at this point! He's entering the teen phase and its nuts!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

ktaylor320 said:


> .... I have NO idea how to approach this at this point! He's entering the teen phase and its nuts!



Not sure if you're just commiserating or what, but there are a lot of good ideas being floated around on multiple threads. Tell us what you have done to switch things up with how you manage your dog to work on it.

Mylissyk just added a couple terrific ideas about mental work, with puzzles and hide and seek in the house etc. Go to youtube and search for videos on tricks to teach him. Dogs are sort of like people, they're individuals and certain things will work better for some than others. You're going to have to dive in and start making changes and figure out what makes a difference.

If you get yourself a spiral notebook and make a list of the things you could try to do at your own house and then start working on making them happen you could track the dates of what you're doing and then see how things go over a 2 or 3 week period. These are all things that will not be quick fixes. You will have to be consistent about daily activities for a couple weeks to see a change in him.

I know you said earlier that your dog gets plenty of exercise but you've never told us what your daily routine is with him. Have you signed up for obedience class yet? What changes are you making?


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

Some really fantastic ideas have been posted. I can't add much except that 8 hours in a crate - even with a walk in between - is a lot of inactivity for a young Golden.

Have you read "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson? It's a great starting point for training and games and learning what works and what doesn't. Rally-O and agility are a great way for the 2 of you to enjoy an activity together.

Have you thought about working toward the CGC? When Chance was young, he was more tired when we went to agility and obedience classes than when we worked on the same training at home. So much more stimulating in group classes for the pups.


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

solinvictus said:


> for anamcouto. This video gives training games for dogs that are under crate rest. You can adjust them to your own needs for Ella.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfL99xcEpXc Donna Hill


As i was now getting ready to study/research on the contents of the suggestions and videos just noticed that you guys may think Ella is crated, luckily I have some experience with an older dog also with some hip problems due to a hit and run accident so I managed through this month after Ella's injury to teach her to play while lying down and she seem to have accepted that condition quite well. In fact Ella is not crated at all since 3.5 months when she took power of the guests bathroom during the day while I'm at work. Since she was4.5 she gained her own bedroom full of toys and her crate converted into a dent where she can go hide and her bed, she also keeps her bathroom (who cares about the guests needs!) and the small vestibule that connects both. She has a small kingdom.

She's just not much food oriented now! However I'm finding that she has a passion for water that is unbelievable so I take all opportunities to let her enjoy swimming.

I'm really thinking on learning my self some nose work to keep her stimulated and teaching her the toys names, it is a great idea not just for Ella and any fog with similar problems but for all dogs (there's always those cold rainy days)

God if Ella had to be crated I don't know what I would do

Thank you all for the great ideas


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

What is worrying is that Oakley also seems inclined to bite at other people. My 5 month old is like an energizer bunny with bad behavior when she doesn't get at least 1 one hour's walk during the day (in addition to the shorter walks later in the day). Then she unleashes her frustration on me and my family by jumping on us, barking and biting. If I recognize these periods as simply being tired (because sometimes we walk for an hour in an entirely different place, then she has so much to absorb and is literally knocked out from this experience), then i crate her and she immediately settles down (after trying to attack me with teeth bared while I try to get her to her crate!!!). But sometimes, it really is just frustration, so I always manage to calm her down by doing some training (come, sit, high five, heel) and then going out for a short walk. i don't know why, but going into training mode is like flipping a switch...from bad behavior to good behavior in a second. One minute she's barking and nipping, and the minute i assume my training stand, she sits at full attention in front of me like a soldier.

The difference with Oakley is that Amber has remained (overly) enthusiastic and friendly with other people so...the question is.. has Oakley had any negative experiences while outside with you or the dogwalker? It could be a dog trying to bite her (or has bitten her) or a fear triggered by someone? Or, do you notice that he doesn't like being touched which is why the reaction is to bite. It could be a health issue.

Also, according to our dog trainer, dry dog food high in protein percentage can sometimes result in a very hyper dog. the best is to feed dry kibble meant for large breed dogs, or dry kibble with high meat percentage. seriously though, I don't know much about this protein percentage thing, but i keep to a well known brand with a high meat percentage. I guess following this logic, maybe a change in diet can also tamper down the bad behavior you see in oakley.

another reason is...dog is entering puberty age! yes, teenage rebellion and all!! i am beginning to also see this in part in amber, who suddenly turns deaf when she just does not want to do something i ask or adds another 100 kgs to her weight which means I cannot budge, move or lift her when she is protesting something.

the last bit is, given that he would be crated for about four hours before a walk break, it's probably best to give him a whole hour's brisk walk in the morning before you leave. from my experience with amber and her 1 hour morning walks...it's enough to keep her quiet and/or sleeping for the whole morning. then the 20 minutes in between lengthened to 30 minutes, and the after dinner walk made into a short walk and/or training session for about 20 minutes. 

hope this helps and i hope you resolve the issue soon!!


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## oakley8 (Aug 26, 2015)

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. Oakley is 24 weeks today and his biting has lessened significantly! We have tried to provide him with more mental stimulation and more contact with other dogs, which has helped.
However, we had a major setback the other day.. My fiancé was out with him on his evening walk and they were attacked by 3 dogs. They were passing a house, and the front door was open leaving only the screen door, unfortunately the 3 dogs inside the house seen them and broke open the screen door and rushed at them on the sidewalk. They were large dogs, 2 pitbulls and a collie and were barking as they ran at them. Once they got to them they started jumping on Oakley and mouthing at his neck keeping him on the ground and pouncing on him. My fiancé did his best to keep Oakley near his legs so they couldn't completely get at him, but he was also trying to avoid triggering more aggression in the dogs. He tried to get away with him but the dogs kept on them for a few houses, probably totally about 3 minutes until their owner realized they had escaped. Needless to say Oakley was an absolute wreck. 

He did not seem to be physically injured, but he shook the entire way home after that and once inside ran straight into his kennel. He did perk up a bit later that night and we tried our best to comfort him.. But it is apparent that he is fearful of being outside now if we leave our yard. He is even hesitant at first when we touch him. 

He was supposed to start at doggy day care this week, however we have postponed that due to his fearfulness of other dogs at the moment. 

Our plan is to have a dog that he is very familiar with over to our house sometime this week to see how he responds to him. He did respond well when he seen the neighbours dog after the incident .. So we think this might just be a fear of new dogs rather than ones that he already knows well. 

We are not sure what else to do to help him get over his fears, but any ideas would be appreciated. We don't want his training to go backwards and for him to start snapping or biting again.


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## Chritty (Aug 17, 2014)

Is your fiancé strong enough to pick Oakley up?

If this or a similar scenario happens again I personally would pick my dog up. 

I'm sorry I don't have any help going forward regarding fear. I hope he can shake it off and move on.


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