Teach your boyfriend’s mother how she can be more of an authority figure around the dog. And you and your boyfriend need to make it very obvious that you view his mother above the dog as well. Do things that raise her status like totally ignore the dog when you are talking to her. Don’t let the dog come push his way in between you, etc.

It would be a good idea to find a local dog trainer in your area who can help because a dog bite is nothing to take lightly.

It’s obvious he considers my boyfriend and I the pack leaders because he is an AMAZING beautiful dog inside and outside. We walk him without a leash, he is very friendly with other people and dogs, and even greets people at the door with kisses and belly rubs. But this is far beyond his usual behavior and we are at our wits end trying to figure out what to do. His mother stays at home with us and she doesn’t work so she does not want to be alone with him after this incident, but he is our baby and we don’t want to put him down or give him away.

Someday we will get married and have a family of our own, but I don’t want to have to worry about my children getting attacked by the one family member we depend on to protect our home.

What should we do?

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First off, I would not completely freak out. He is still very young and has alot of energy. He still is learning his limits and his place. It does not sound like he “bit” your boyfriend as much as he “nipped” him. There is a huge difference.

Although neither is tolerable, nipping is a very easy fix with training and consistency. Where as a bite requires a different approach entirely.

I would implement a NILF type policy around the house and elevate your bf’s status in the household a bit.

He is at the teenage stage and they can get a excitable and test you. Just keep up the good work and watch the situations that make him excitable.

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Trooper is a “big” dog (though not huge) and could easily and seriously hurt someone if not controlled. I don’t like it when his daddy plays rough with him but he *seems* to know the difference between rough housing with papa and playing with me. He never wins when he plays with me. Tug of war is always won by mama and if I say ‘drop it’ he drops it or he gets ‘taken down’. Once he drops it I give him the toy on my terms.

And I never chase him. I let him chase me and he thinks that it’s super fun. I never want chasing him to be a game. I want chasing ME to be the game in case he gets away from me (this happened when he was super young near a busy freeway *sob*).

And I know that my big doggies can so easily hurt with their mouths that we try to train that hands don’t belong in the mouth. This is good and bad. Good because if my hand gets in his mouth he doesn’t bite down but bad because he doesn’t WANT my hand in his mouth even when I need to check something or brush his teeth.

I had to take trooper down more than usual the other day. He would NOT stop growling at Kodiak when I was preparing their food. I went through my usual routine…told him to stop, then touched his nose with my finger. Then wrapped my hand around his muzzle. Then grabbed the back of his neck. He was STILL raising his lips and growling. So down he went to the floor, on his belly. STILL growing. Sheesh. I was getting ticked but I just rolled him over and let Kodiak stand over him. And finally all was well. He submitted and didn’t growl at his brother again.

It was cute when he growled as a small puppy but he can’t ever be allowed to get away with it and think that he’s ever in charge.

I hope your boyfriend is okay. Ace will be okay too.

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