I suggest you find a behavior specialist online to consult with. I am not a professional dog trainer myself. Take a look at dogstardaily.com where a number of top trainers blog.

And best wishes!

Rosana

However, one day after about 3 weeks we took her out for a walk and she nipped at one little boy´s ankle and then right after that bit a little girl in the FACE who tried to pet her. Since then we are obviously very wary about having her interact with anyone besides us, especially children. She does fine with both of us in the house and gets along well with our other dog… but since then whenever other people come over she barks and barks; and the other day when I took her to the vet we had to put a muzzle on her so that the vet could check her teeth, because it seemed like she might bite the vet otherwise.

I am living in Chile in a medium-sized city that doesn´t have any behavioral specialists; so I won´t be able to consult with one. Can you give me some tips about how to try to get to the root of her problem and start to solve it? I would like to be able to take her out and let her interact with children some day…

Thanks so much for your advice!

And do continue to put him away when the kids are there.

That said, here is a possible approach. Do manage the situation for safety especially around children and your fiance. Do as many of the nine steps as you can.

If you haven’t already downloaded my free ebook on clicker training — link on a tab at the top of this page — then get it and start clicker training your dog.

Or even without a clicker, one way or another, start playing with food treats and your dog. I would try this first a short time AFTER she has eaten a meal, so hunger is not a factor. Here is what I mean:

I would also use rather boring food treats to keep her emotional level lower. Just one piece of her dry food at a time would do. O

Ask her to sit (or do some other behavior she knows) and then give her a food treat which she has to take out of your outstretched palm, if this is safe for your hand. If it isn’t, then set the treat on the floor or a chair for her to take. You want her to develop some self control around food.

This is a whole long process that is worthy of an entire blog post itself, but in a nutshell, training any dog to actually reach the point where she is ok with you or your fiance being around when she eats is essential…

BTW, I once had a veterinarian who was extremely relaxed about most things but he felt very strongly that rawhide chews were dangerous. I have never used one since. I highly recommend Nylabones (or there may be other brands) instead.

Another resource: I am really impressed with the Clickertraining ebook that I’ve reviewed: http://www.training-dogs.com/blog/clickertraining-4-secrets-review.html

It would cost some money, though less than one session with a trainer, and these people really know their stuff. Way more than I do!

Here’s what I wrote about them and dog aggression:
http://www.training-dogs.com/blog/dog-aggression-handled-by-clicker-training.html

Also, click on the category Aggression in the sidebar for an article I did about other websites on dog aggression.

I’m just worried that if we have kids over or, God-willing, kids of our own, then we willb e putting them in danger. Any ideas or tips? And I read the 9 here, and they are good, I just didn’t know if anyone had any personal success stories that may help me out.

Thanks for reading!

This sounds like something where an experienced person present will see things and be able to help you. I’d say it’s highly likely that you can work this out if you do find a good trainer.

Best wishes!

Rosana

The dog plays with Alex and the other dog all the time. Alex spends lots of time with the dog, takes him for walks, and has trained the dog to sit, stay, come, lay down, and even roll over. Then, when I come home from work the dog has a completly differant personality! He growls at Alex and almost completly ignores him and his commands. He’ll only answer to me, if he answers to anyone. I’ve tried all the advice that has been given to me. I’ve tried ignoring him, and having Alex give him treats. I don’t pet him or try to confort him. I’ll usually take him buy the collar and lead him to the crate. But in the end, he does the same thing the next day.

What did you do to stop this? When your husband gave the dog treats in the hallway, did he call him? Did he not let him back in to the office? How did he keep the dog from growling at him once all three of you were in the office? Any feedback would be great. Thank you!