American Eskimo biting

Question
I have a 2 year old female. All and all she is a great dog. However last summer she was abused by some neiborhood kids. Since that point she now attacks and bits other children. How would you suggest i correct the issue? She only tries to bite them when they walk to close to her.

Answer
Hi Tracy,

If your think your dog may attack or bite a person, you shouldn't be letting the dog outside unsupervised, and the dog should be wearing a muzzle when it's outside. A basket style muzzle is the most humane, allowing the dog to pant and even drink water while it's worn.

Second, your dog needs to learn obedience commands so she will calmly stand or lay at your side on command. The fastest way to achieve this would be to work with a professional dog trainer. If just reading about how to fix this problem worked, your dog would probably be under control by now.

You can contact a dog trainer in your area by asking your veterinarian or boarding kennel for a referral, or by looking it up in your yellow pages. I urge you not to put this off. Most communities have laws regarding dogs that attack, and it's possible that you not only lose your dog, but end up being sued by a victim of one of your dog's attacks.

Best of luck,

Patti