I am reaching out to my fellow Redditors in desperate need of help with my doggo, we call him Big Boy.
Approximately 1 year ago we saw posts on social media of a stray dog roaming our general area for about 10 days. He eventually made our neighborhood his "territory" but wouldn't come within 100 yards of anyone. Most everyone in our 'hood tried to feed/water him and get him caught but no success. However, after 3 days of gentle coaxing, I finally got him to come to me and as soon as I gave him a good petting, he trusted humans again.... showing affection to any and all people that were around. We already had 2 dogs and 1 cat but him and I immediately had a deeply rooted connection.
I'll pass through the early days fairly quickly but my wife and I agreed to foster Big Boy, while I was very open to adopting him. He was well behaved, getting along great with our kids and other animals, his biggest issues being "manner" related such as jumping or gentle hand biting. We have a good trainer locally who works with foster dogs so we hired her for a hefty sum and did a week of full-board training. His manners improved drastically and those issues resolved.
However, in the last approximately 6-months, biting has become an issue. When a delivery driver or guest comes to our house, he runs to the window and barks in an aggressive-sounding manner. He also tries to get through the door in a way that makes us worry that he would bite someone if let out. He has had 3 actual biting incidents with friends of my kids. All 3 incidents were either Level 2 or Level 3 bites and his demeaner seems to be protective. When he interacts with other people off of our property, he does not seem to have this protective/aggressive demeanor about him. If we kennel him when someone arrives, he stays calm and once everyone has settled into a seat, he can be let out and has no behavioral issues whatsoever. He has never had this aggression with anyone in our family but he is becoming a risk when people (delivery driver, friend or other) come to our house unannounced, which we obviously cannot control.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am willing to do literally anything to improve his behavior but I have very serious concerns about the risk he poses to the kids who come to my house regularly and my wife's patience with the situation is running out. Any books, videos, trainers or suggestions are very welcomely appreciated!
Approximately 1 year ago we saw posts on social media of a stray dog roaming our general area for about 10 days. He eventually made our neighborhood his "territory" but wouldn't come within 100 yards of anyone. Most everyone in our 'hood tried to feed/water him and get him caught but no success. However, after 3 days of gentle coaxing, I finally got him to come to me and as soon as I gave him a good petting, he trusted humans again.... showing affection to any and all people that were around. We already had 2 dogs and 1 cat but him and I immediately had a deeply rooted connection.
I'll pass through the early days fairly quickly but my wife and I agreed to foster Big Boy, while I was very open to adopting him. He was well behaved, getting along great with our kids and other animals, his biggest issues being "manner" related such as jumping or gentle hand biting. We have a good trainer locally who works with foster dogs so we hired her for a hefty sum and did a week of full-board training. His manners improved drastically and those issues resolved.
However, in the last approximately 6-months, biting has become an issue. When a delivery driver or guest comes to our house, he runs to the window and barks in an aggressive-sounding manner. He also tries to get through the door in a way that makes us worry that he would bite someone if let out. He has had 3 actual biting incidents with friends of my kids. All 3 incidents were either Level 2 or Level 3 bites and his demeaner seems to be protective. When he interacts with other people off of our property, he does not seem to have this protective/aggressive demeanor about him. If we kennel him when someone arrives, he stays calm and once everyone has settled into a seat, he can be let out and has no behavioral issues whatsoever. He has never had this aggression with anyone in our family but he is becoming a risk when people (delivery driver, friend or other) come to our house unannounced, which we obviously cannot control.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am willing to do literally anything to improve his behavior but I have very serious concerns about the risk he poses to the kids who come to my house regularly and my wife's patience with the situation is running out. Any books, videos, trainers or suggestions are very welcomely appreciated!