# 2 Yr old Biting/Snarling when you move him



## Vickytick (Oct 4, 2012)

Hi,

Freddie is now 2 years and 2 months old. He is generally a well behaved dog. His obedience has increased over time. He nows answers to most commands, is great off lead etc. 

Our problem, and its one I posted about 2 years ago when we first had him, is that if you try to move him off the sofa or chairs he will 'go' for you. This used to be simply a turn of the head but no contact then you could gently push him off. He's got worse and now he will snarl and try to bite. Its not everytime and its more night time when we are going to bed. he is then very contrite and wants to lick you. We now have a 5 month year old and im worried his behaviour could escalate into other areas and he will get jealous as he was our baby. i do ensure he still gets attention.

I've started to teach him to get off the sofa by the 'off' command and will randomly do it throughout the day with either a treat reward or simply well done high pitched tone and stroke. This was working but the other night nothing worked and he went to bite my husband when as alast resort he tried to move him off.

What do i do as we cant/wont leave him on the sofa all night. Do i carry on with the off command training or do i simply stop allowing him on the furniture? WE've been tryimg to resolve this and its the one thing we cant sort out everything else he's learnt.

thanks


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

I think that if he was my dog I would prevent him from going on the furniture in the first place. In the short term I'd leave a light house lead on him so that you can just take hold of that turn your back on him and walk away calling his name. Always reward him when he has come off.
Sometimes these situations can escalte because your whole posture becomes very threatening towards the dog - when you are trying to get him off you are probably standing square on to him, eyeballing him and possibly rasing your voice (understandable, it happens when you are frustrated) but for a dog it can be quite scary, turning away from him as you call him or even calling him from the other room while rustling treat packet - makes the situation less threatening. If your dog feels threatened and scared he may respond in a way that makes you feel frightened, so you back away, giving him space and he then feels that his response has worked.
Is your boy still crated at night? If he is perhaps he would be happier left with the run of the kitchen.
Ask your vet to recommend a personal trainer who can come and give you some one to one help - you may well be feeling a bit overwhelmed and some professional help can quickly restore your confidence and hopefully prevent this situation from escalating.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Hi Victoria,

Freddie being allowed on the furniture is a luxury and not a right. If he cannot respect that at present then I would ban him from the furniture and only allow him up when asked. Both of my girls have free reign of the house but they move when I want them to, this is done by us asking them to move and they obey the command. On occasion, I have moved them and it has been fine, I remember one occasion Lola growled but she was young and we had failed to tell her what was about to happen so she was startled. I really think it's important to give warning if you are going to move him. I would definitely work on this first by removing his luxury of being allowed on the sofas and chairs for a while and then reintroduce by inviting him up, but this has to be on your terms. When it's time to get off, tell him and give him the command to get off. If he shows any unwanted behaviour just remove the luxury, he has to respect your rules but do remember that he needs you to tell him what you need him to do and train him on this. What may also help is use of a house training lead, so you can let him know it's time to get off he sofa, give him the command and guide him off using the lead, keep it light and positive and always reward good behaviour. 

Good luck, I'm sure some others will be along to give advice too.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Haha Marzi, we posted at the same time


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

I totally agree with the others - withdraw sofa privilege for now and work on his training. 

Work on his off for coming off the sofa - but I would say for now in the early stages of training he should be rewarded every time. Growling and then being contrite and licking is almost certainly because you are scaring him. From his point of view he is very comfy, then you loom over him and threaten him, then try to drag him when he is already worried about your behaviour. Once he is on the ground you stop being threatening and he then wonders what that was all about and comes to you for some reassurance. 

If he is on the sofa and needs removing there are loads of ways of shifting him, ring the doorbell, open the back door, open the fridge (!) - if all else fails tip the sofa or keep a throw on the sofa which you can pull off to remove a reluctant dog, but while you are doing it think about keeping it light - no threatening "I will make you move" more a light "come on silly - shift"


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## Vickytick (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank you so much for your advice. I have put a temporary stop on him getting on the furniture. He has as usual learnt very quickly that he's not allowed on without mummy or daddy saying so. He's sitting waiting to be invited. We've had the odd blip and most times he's got off straight away. In fact he's chosing to sit on the floor more which isn't a bad thing. 

The comments about my stance and tone with the off command make absolute sense given that he's the most placid dog. I hadn't really thought about that. I'm trying the call from the kitchen technique when he's on at night as that's the worse time. It seems to be working. I know it's a work in practice so will take time. I feel for him as with the baby I've had to curtail some of his freedom at home but he's taken it all in his stride. I make sure when the baby is in bed he gets lots of loving. 

Thank you for your help and non judgement it's made a hormonal woman feel better.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Hormones 

Glad you are feeling more in control and less worried and stressed.
You are obviously doing a fantastic job.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Glad it seems to be resolving. He's probably just pushing the boundaries with home dynamics being a little different. Be kind to yourself and try not to let him worry you too much, he will definitely sense this. He's going to be a lovely constant in your life and will provide you with much love as you know.


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