Answered by Dr. Jeff Feinman
If your dog has been biting people and is now continuing to bite people, you want to look at the full context of the symptom, the behavior symptoms, because the continuation of biting may indicate an earlier training issue. It could be a socialization issue. It could be a medical issue. It depends on the full context of the symptoms. Symptoms like is your dog happy otherwise, happy in any specific situations or only in specific situations. There could be symptoms of aggression that are triggered by certain people or places, so it would really depend on the full context.
The treatments kind of depend on a bit of the context of the symptoms, and we’re talking about the symptoms before biting, of things like the ears going down, the tail going down, the hackles going up, the body posture. Dog’s have pretty good dog-to-dog visual communication. It’s just up to us to us to get to be as good as the dog and knowing if the dog is gonna be aggressive or more likely if he’s scared and the fear is gonna end up as a possible aggression.
The treatment if he’s continuing to bite is to get with your vet and check out medical problems, especially the thyroid, as the thyroid is known to be associated with aggressive behavior issues, and then start working intensively with the trainers.
Hi, Jeff Feinman, holistic veterinarian here in Weston, Connecticut, answering your questions about your pets. Thank you, and we’ll talk soon!
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Suggested Treatments:
- most important treatment is determining the context and triggers
- training based on what your pup loves
- conventional drugs like prozac
- holistic support w/flowers and reiki
Related Symptoms:
- growling, lifting lips
- snapping, crouching
- BEAM symptom changes
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Dr. Jeff
Jeffrey Feinman, BA, VMD, CVH, graduated in 1985 from the University of Pennsylvania and was Penn’s first veterinary dual-degree University Scholar, holding both molecular biology and veterinary degrees. He is the founder of HolisticActions.com and dedicated to pet parent empowerment.
Dr. Jeff is devoted to researching about how to harness the innate power of the individual using Vitality and Balance. He and his wonderful wife Amy live with Archie, a rescue pup, and a Rex cat named Tigger.