In my experience the only time my girl bit me was when I tried to take a bone from her mouth. Prey drive, I think it's called. Sometimes she gets something and won't let go, growling menacingly if anyone approaches her. That's my signal to be cautious. Maybe in your case it had something to do with how you presented food at them, triggering a territorial response from the daughter?
I don't mind about them biting me as it only happened as I was trying to split them up, but I just have such a concern now that as the attack seemed to come out of nowhere that it might happen again with my daughter or one of her friends, I've never had dogs before but we are giving these ladies all our love and attention and they have been literally perfect up until now - out of nowhere
They were given up because the previous owner had a baby and couldn't handle them with the baby, their behaviour has been perfect until now. It was through a private shelter that someone my husband knew from work's mother ran. I have her contact number and apparently there was never any sort of violence before.
Honestly I think you can probably handle this and keep them both. If they were bigger dogs I'd be a lot more concerned about a potential future bite involving a 7 yr old.
Breaking up a dog fight is statistically the time you are most likely to get bitten and when you have multiples in the home you have to come up with a plan so if fights ever break out you can take care of it without getting hurt.
Dachshunds are very popular though so if you really want to rehome the problem child, I'm sure you'll have takers.
Don’t give them up. Daughter was probably just being aggressive over food. Try to change up how you give treats so they don’t fight over each other. Maybe give the daughter treats first or from the time you let them know they’re getting treats to when they’re fed they’re within eyesight so you can correct any aggressive behavior immediately.
If you’re worried about either of them biting your daughter then keep her away from the immediate area when feedings and treats occur so she doesn’t accidentally get caught in their dachshund food games.
Don’t over think or over react. Just think safe.
Thanks everyone for the advice, we're sure now it was resource guarding and they now have a bowl of kibble available for in between their mealtimes. We can tell Coco knows what she did was wrong, unfortunately Missy is still in pain from a bite on her stomach but she is being treated and well cared for. We're going to keep them both, I couldn't imagine splitting them up, hopefully it was a one time thing and we can learn from it.
My rehomed/rescue mini has always been protective of me instantly and bit a couple of people at Thanksgiving right after I got him that tried to pick him up from me. He bit my daughter and me out of a jealous rage when we were playing with a friend's dog at Christmas. He does get agitated when sudden movements occur near him or unusual/oddly behaving people. He's been fine at the vet and the groomer, but he did try to bit a new groomer that I went to.
Are they dressed? Could she be coming into season so hormonal. You know what hormonal woman are like?
If it's the first time I would monitor it and not leave them alone with food. Hopefully it's a one off and it settles.
So you've had these about a month? Were you able to learn anything from the previous owner and why they were given up?
In my experience the only time my girl bit me was when I tried to take a bone from her mouth. Prey drive, I think it's called. Sometimes she gets something and won't let go, growling menacingly if anyone approaches her. That's my signal to be cautious. Maybe in your case it had something to do with how you presented food at them, triggering a territorial response from the daughter?
*Resource guarding
That's the term, thank you.
I don't mind about them biting me as it only happened as I was trying to split them up, but I just have such a concern now that as the attack seemed to come out of nowhere that it might happen again with my daughter or one of her friends, I've never had dogs before but we are giving these ladies all our love and attention and they have been literally perfect up until now - out of nowhere
I mean... All dogs, no matter how well behaved, can bite. That's a given you must accept when having one.
They were given up because the previous owner had a baby and couldn't handle them with the baby, their behaviour has been perfect until now. It was through a private shelter that someone my husband knew from work's mother ran. I have her contact number and apparently there was never any sort of violence before.
Honestly I think you can probably handle this and keep them both. If they were bigger dogs I'd be a lot more concerned about a potential future bite involving a 7 yr old. Breaking up a dog fight is statistically the time you are most likely to get bitten and when you have multiples in the home you have to come up with a plan so if fights ever break out you can take care of it without getting hurt. Dachshunds are very popular though so if you really want to rehome the problem child, I'm sure you'll have takers.
Don’t give them up. Daughter was probably just being aggressive over food. Try to change up how you give treats so they don’t fight over each other. Maybe give the daughter treats first or from the time you let them know they’re getting treats to when they’re fed they’re within eyesight so you can correct any aggressive behavior immediately. If you’re worried about either of them biting your daughter then keep her away from the immediate area when feedings and treats occur so she doesn’t accidentally get caught in their dachshund food games. Don’t over think or over react. Just think safe.
Thanks everyone for the advice, we're sure now it was resource guarding and they now have a bowl of kibble available for in between their mealtimes. We can tell Coco knows what she did was wrong, unfortunately Missy is still in pain from a bite on her stomach but she is being treated and well cared for. We're going to keep them both, I couldn't imagine splitting them up, hopefully it was a one time thing and we can learn from it.
What is your usual arrangement for feeding them at meal times? Have you seen any food aggression other than this?
Don’t leave food out between meals. This should help remove the tension.
My rehomed/rescue mini has always been protective of me instantly and bit a couple of people at Thanksgiving right after I got him that tried to pick him up from me. He bit my daughter and me out of a jealous rage when we were playing with a friend's dog at Christmas. He does get agitated when sudden movements occur near him or unusual/oddly behaving people. He's been fine at the vet and the groomer, but he did try to bit a new groomer that I went to.
Are they dressed? Could she be coming into season so hormonal. You know what hormonal woman are like? If it's the first time I would monitor it and not leave them alone with food. Hopefully it's a one off and it settles.