Can this behavior be changed?

[brit]

Hello all, our family has been looking for a dog to adopt/rescue for a month or so and think we have finally found our girl. She's been with us since Friday evening and things have gone pretty well so far. I know there is an adjustment period to be expected. 90% of the time she is a mellow/sweet girl that loves to be close to us. However, 10% of the time, she can get a little scary. I have a 3 and a 5 year old and whenever they run or play she chases/knocks them over/tries to bite at them. Also, she seems to be fearful of many things (vacuum, lawn mower, blender, balloons, hose so far) and she goes into full flip out mode; lunging, barking, trying to attack it (and me if I'm holding it). The adoption lady, who was her foster, is supposed to come over on Friday to fill out the paperwork to make the adoption final. I guess I just really want to make sure this dog is the right dog for our family. Can this behavior be adjusted? Obviously, for us, the behavior with our kids is paramount. 

[G22]

I definitely think some of that can be adjusted. I'd get her in with a trainer asap to work on how she acts around the kids. When you say bite, are we talking play biting or aggressive I-want-to-hurt you biting? I'd be worried if it were aggressive, but play biting could definitely be fixed.

As for the things that freak her out, can you temporarily put her outside or in a room away from the vacuum/blender/etc when they are being used? How old is she? Possibly over time she might get used to a few of those things.

[dearprudence]

The fear aggression sounds relatively normal and something that can usually be worked on with a behaviorist (or dissipates on its own as the dog gets more comfortable/confident).

As for the chasing and biting at your children, I'm assuming that when not playing she's non-aggressive with your kids? Since you didn't mention that she "attacks out of nowhere" and you're not immediately determining her to be a bad fit. (which I could see any mom doing if she felt her children were in serious danger). If this is true, I see the behavior as coming from a number of sources.
1) Puppydom - I don't know her age, but certainly young dogs get over-excited and have trouble controlling their nips. This is something that can easily be worked on.

2) Breed - is she by any chance a herding dog? Some form of shepherd? I know that often these breeds try to herd - children, other dogs, and one of the ways of doing so is through nipping as a form of redirecting. I don't have a lot of experience with training out of this behavior, only witnessing it with other dogs, but I would think it could be worked on? Since not all herding dogs do this. (My grandmother had German Shepherds my entire childhood and I've never been nipped by a dog)

3) Fear - given what you said about other things that are strange/loud to her, is she reacting to their "kid screams" and energy in a similar manner to the vacuum? I know dogs behave differently, and my fearful dog used to pee whenever he heard loud noises. It took a while of us never raising our voices until he was comfortable/confident enough to know that it wasn't something threatening. This can be worked on like other fear aggression issues, and in the meanwhile, like my DH and I walking around whispering, the kids may have to restrict crazy screaming running time to a dog-free area.

[brit]

No, she has not shown any aggressive behavior towards us or the kids outside of when they're playing/running around. Alh

[brit]

No, she has not shown any aggressive behavior towards us or the kids outside of when they're playing/running around. Although, when I was watering the garden today, she started by biting at the water, then the hose, and then my arm bc I was holding the hose. I scheduled a consultation with a behaviorist for tomorrow at 11:30, so hopefully they can set my mind at ease.

[patches31709]

I'm glad you called in a behavorist. I hope she/he can help you guys. Report back!

[brit]

Okay, so we met with the behaviorist today and am really satisfied with what he said. We have a training tomorrow at his facility and then on Saturday at our house. After that, we'll start group classes twice per week. He made me feel really confident that our pup is not aggressive, but is nervous/scared because so many things are new to her. Also, he said the "scary" bark is not aggressive at all, but just excitement. I only get scared bc I've never been around a big dog bark. I'm looking forward to her training!

[dearprudence]

Yay!

It is so promising that the behaviorist thinks this can be worked on. But even more so it shows what a fantastic dog owner you're going to be. Gosh, I'm getting teary just writing this, but I think your girl is really lucky to have found you guys.

Training is going to be fun. And it really does help with confidence.

[brit]

Oh! I forgot to mention that the behaviorist works out of this big facility that does all sorts of agility training and dock diving. I'm super excited to look into those things down the road!

[patches31709]

Glad to see your update. What type of dog do they think she is? And post a picture if you can.

Dock diving looks like lots of fun, but my dog doesn't like to swim so that's something for a future dog I suppose. We do agility though and LOVE it. It really is a great way to work with your dog and have your dog work with you.

[brit]

She loves to swim so far. And there are lots of guesses about what kind of dog she is. The rescue did a DNA test that should be back by early next week. The guesses include part boxer, GSD, great dane, mastiff. Basically she's just a pound puppy. Here's a photos:

[G22]

She's beautiful!

And I agree with the PP who said training will be fun! We did basic obedience classes with 2 of our pups and it was fun to see them grow and learn! Good luck!

[patches31709]

Oh she's a cutie! The DNA tests aren't accurate at all so don't put much weight in what it says. I definitely see where the Great Dane and Boxer guesses are coming from. Enjoy her!

[purrbox]

brit, your pup is such a cutie! Good luck with the training. That's one lucky pup!