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Expert: Madeline Friedman - 7/6/2009


Question
I have three dogs in the house the shih tzu is the oldes.A weak ago the shih tzu bit my 15 month old in the face and today bit my 6 year old in the face. It is my wife dog and i will not let the dog around my 15 month old, I told her that i didn't want the dog here but she loves her dog and i don't now if i can brake of bitting in the face.Can you help me?

Answer
Hello Chris,

In my opinion, a dog having bitten two children in the face is a very serious issue, one that warrants a paid professional trainer coming in to help you and work with you to resolve the problem, and probably most certainly a trip to the vet so that the dog can get a complete check-up as suggested by your veterinarian.  

Do this as soon as possible, and in the meantime do NOT leave your dog and your children unsupervised for any period of time.  Also, make sure your kids are told and shown rules about how to gently handle the dog.  

If the dog has been around a long time and never bitten the children before, but is biting all of a sudden now, my thinking is that the sudden biting points to either a medical issue (pain or discomfort of some kind in the dog), or an issue with the children not being given instructions and limitations about how to treat the dog, and not being properly supervised with the dog, all of which need to be addressed.  

Since you have a 15-month-old, my guess is that this child has recently become more mobile, suddenly walking perhaps, and has more access to the dog.  More access to the dog means that your 15-month-old has more opportunity to cause distress or pain to the dog, of course unknowingly.  But, 15 months of age is not too young to start teaching a child how to be gentle with a dog.

A professional coming in to help you can also give you strategies for protecting the dog, since children can't always be relied upon to handle a dog as gently as dogs should be handled.  They simply don't have the coordination or the experience yet.  So, protect your children - but also protect your dog.  And, please do take him in for that vet appointment, particularly if he's getting older.  Older means that he may be unable to tolerate as much stress as he used to be able to, and that may be one of perhaps several explanations for the (apparently sudden...) biting.

Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Madeline Friedman, M.A. at AllExperts
www.ny-njDogTrainer.com

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Madeline Friedman

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Do NOT ask about: MEDICAL ISSUES, ILLNESS, WOUNDS, DIET, PREGNANCY, GROWTHS, STOOLS. I REJECT MEDICAL/ILLNESS QUESTIONS! IF YOU FEEL YOUR DOG NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION CONTACT A VETERINARIAN ASAP. Indicate in your question that you've READ MY BIO by putting @ the beginning of it: "I have read your bio & will read and rate your response fairly within 3 days." Unless you agree to this Virtual Contract, I reject your question & won't answer it even if you re-submit it. Keep questions brief to an area of concern. Prioritize. I won't answer multiple questions w/myriad aspects which would amount to a small thesis. I don't respond to follow-ups which are new questions. Questions re: canine behavior AS IT RELATES TO TRAINING/tricks, & daily interactions ARE WELCOME. My answers reflect years of experience and research; formal, ongoing, self-motivated education in the areas of my expertise; & study in hehavioral biology & behavioral psychology. If you dislike my answer for my honesty, don't blithely rate me 'down' or say I was impolite when I wasn't. When I respond to your question, you can expect an honest answer although it may suggest you have work to do. Such aren't reasons to take shots at me in ratings. I'm polite & expect same. Your question must make sense & be grammatically well-structured & literate or I will reject it. I won't spend time "decoding" questions. If you would like to retain my services in the NYC, NJ, or Palm Beach Co., FL, areas please contact me. If I answer within the time frame provided by AllExperts, don't unfairly comment that I didn't answer your question quickly enough. I answer within the time frame provided. If your dog dies or you euthanize your dog before or after I respond to your question in my area of knowledge, don't lash out & blame me for your dog's death or your actions. The dog is yours, has been, and is your responsibility. Don't depend on me to save an animals's life which may need immediate vet attention. Questions must be public.

Experience

Professional dog trainer and behavior consultant full-time since 2002, and hands-on owner and operator of my dog training business; professional dog portrait artist and professional painter for 20 years. Professional State Certified Educator since 1992.

Organizations
Founding Member of The Behavior Education Network (B.E.N.) of Animal Behavior Associates. Five year professional member of APDT. Two year member of ABMA. Was Animal Science Major, Rutgers University and Psych Major, Caldwell College. Permanently Certified NJ State Instructor Since 1992 and dog trainer/behavior consultant since 2002; AKC Certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator; multi-species experience with horses, swine, agamids, with primary focus on domestic dog. Please keep questions related to dogs only in this forum.

Publications
Chronicle of the Dog, Yankee Dog, local news writings, "Popular Dog" Series magazine - Housetraining issue, quoted in Tonawanda (NY) News, July 2007

Education/Credentials
Master's Degree, State Teaching Certification, plus additional undergrad college credits in psychology, and accredited college study in Animal Science.

Awards and Honors
Published author on dog training and dog behaviour, and business aspects of dog training. F.I.T. "Commitment to Illustration and Excellence as an Illustrator" award. Second place internationally in Society of Illustrators international art competition. Jellybean Photographics Award (for illustration).

Past/Present Clients
Over 2,000 satisfied clients since 2002.

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