OMG!!!! My dog attacked me!!!!

Traci

Traci

Crazy for LV
Apr 18, 2006
7,701
12
#1
Hi all. I am so upset right now I don't know what to do. I hope someone can help me.

My usually loving pug attacked me today, a little while ago.

I had made sandwiches for my kids for lunch and my daughter dropped a half on the floor. The dog got it and I said, "Give me that" and went to take it out of his mouth. I got half of it and he got the other half. He put it on the floor, when I went to pick it up he hissed loudly at me and came after my hand. He was trying to bite my hand and then clamped onto my leg and was trying to bite me!!! I was freaking out and got so scared because he has never done anything like that to me before.

He will fool around with the kids and get rough with them sometimes, even give me "backtalk" sometimes, but will never, ever, pull any of that with my husband.

He is very protective of us and will bark if anyone comes near the house.

I am so upset over this I don't know what to do??? I am afraid what if that was one of my kids that did that and he attacked them? They are small and now I am afraid of my dog.

My heart is breaking because I love him, and I can't believe he attacked me that way, so vicsious, hissing and barking, and biting.

My heart is broken.
 
#2
traci.... it seems like your dog does not think that you are higher than him in "the family rank".

My puppy used to do that when we just got her. She used to hiss and kinda growl at me when I took her bone away from her. But after going through some training for a while, she never does that anymore.
The trainer said that she did that (hissed and growled at me) because she thought that she was higher in the rank than me.

I am no expert in dog's behavior. I said all this based on my experience with my pup.
Good luck hon....
 
#3
Thanks. Yea, a trainer has told me the same thing before. My pug thinks that he is above everyone but my husband.

Many people have told me that this is the way pugs are. That they are fiesty and demanding, and basically will do whatever they want to do.

He has never done this to ME before however.

I mean, I know I was trying to take food away from him, but I am his owner, shouldn't he have NOT done that to me?

I'm just so upset.....
 
#4
I agree with me_love_purse. It seems the pecking order in your home is your husband, the dog, then you and the kids. This is not good. You need to establish dominance over the dog in a constructive way. Have you ever seen the show "The Dog Whisperer"? It is a very good show which deals with these kinds of issues. It's on cable. You should check it out.
 
#5
Hi,

It is a common misconception that we owners think we can take food away from our dogs because we are their owners. Some dogs allow it, others don't.

There is a lot that I could say right now but the most important thing is: DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR DOGGIE. Your dog isn't mean or vicious, this was just his way of communicating and quite possibly a consequence of the things he could get away with so far.

My advise would be to look into NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). It is basically a system that will make your dog take you NOT for granted. For every privilege (water, food, walks, playtime, toys) the dog has to offer something (sit, stay, down, also eye contact is a rewardable act). If he ignores you, tough luck for him, then there's no privilege. This may sound harsh but it isn't.
If your dog is allowed on the sofa or any other elevated space in the house, from now on this privilege is cancelled. The dog has his space (pillow or whatever) and that is it.
Another misconception is the hierarchy thing. Yes, we should be higher up in the hierarchy but in a pack leader the alpha has to earn his position. The position not only brings rewards but also responsibilities such as leading the pack and making the right decisions. It is quite possible that your dog doesn't accept you as leader because you do not communicate clearly and consistently.
Having said that, dogs aren't stupid and they know that we aren't dogs, so the whole leader of the pack theory in context with humans is somewhat erroneous.
Being a pug isn't an excuse for unacceptable behaviour which means that you as the owner shouldn't be too lenient 'because he's a pug'. A pug is a dog is a dog is a dog and dogs need consistent rules.
Please don't go into so called alpha-rolls and such things to establish your superiority to your dog - this will only make it worse.
As I said, check out NILIF (google it) and hopefully this will take you and your kids a lot further.
Good luck!!!
 
#6
^Yes! Get Caesar Milan! but in all seriousness, I know that you must feel slightly betrayed by him. Is there a reason why he might be getting food aggressive?
 
#7
^^Well, I don't think so. He really likes when he accidentally gets some table food. I have kids so he hangs around them hopeing that they will drop something and sometimes they do and he runs for it.

I know that he thinks he is above me because like I said, my husband will just point his finger at the dog, and he will stop doing WHATEVER he's doing and listen to my husband.

Yes, I feel betrayed and hurt and sad. I love him, I wanted a dog all my life and then finally got one at 36 years old and now I feel like he hates me.
 
#8
Hello2703-- thanks for your help! I will check that site out. I know that a dog is a dog, however, I have talked to so many pug owners and they all say the same thing. That it's like the dog almost thinks they are a person so entitled to all the privilages we have.

I know that is wrong and not the correct way to train a dog. But, I'm just saying I am not the only one I've heard say this. However, I am going to check that site out because, well, this way is obviously not working.
 
#9
tr444, your dog doesn't hate you! And don't feel betrayed - dogs don't do things out of spite.
Put in a few corrective measures - NO MORE TABLE FOOD!!!!! - and you'll be OK.

Believe me, I own another breed that people say have their own heads and are non-trainable, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Yes, while our breeds (like any breed) have their loveable quirks and eccentric personalities, this doesn't mean that the basic principles of dog and man living together should be overlooked.

There's two books I'd like to recommend if you are interested: Karen Pryor's 'Don't Shoot The Dog' and Jean Donaldson's 'The Culture Clash', both my personal doggie bibles.

You'll be OK, don't worry. And nobody expects your pug to be a good-behaviour-automaton. BUT he has to learn that you are SOMEBODY in the family and the best way he is going to learn is that you hold power over things he wants and that he has to do something to get them. Let him work for his food.
 
#10
Don't feel too bad, most likely she was just being a greedy little piggy. But it would do well to try some more training. I would try googling it, and see what you can find. I'm sure there's some great information and tips out there! *hugs*
 
#11
^^well you say that they don't do things out of spite, but let me tell you what this dog does.

We have a dog gate blocking off our hallway. If he wants to come in the gate and we don't let him, he'll bang on it for a while then pace back and forth in the kitchen, then bang some more----then he'll poop right in front of the gate.

Now he's fully trained. He usually does NOT have accidents.

Or, sometimes if my husband and I are hugging, he'll get right up in the middle of us and if my husband doesn't pay attention to him, he'll walk away and try to pee pee on our rug!!!

I think this dog has a little bit of spite in him.
 
#12
Okay, ladies....I have read the page about NILIF!!! It sounds really good to me and I'm going to start doing it right away! I hope it helps me and the dog.
 
#15
tr444, I would say your dog has you pretty well trained. If he poops and pees he gets attention and this is what he wants. Negative attention is better than no attention at all. I am sure that if you start ignoring even the pooping and the peeing and after a while (after the dog has given up) remove it without any fuss, this should pretty soon take care of itself.
I truly hope that you find a good way that works for you and remember that you MUST be consistent (and your kids too).
 
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