sudden change of personality

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

A dear friend of ours suddenly passed away and no one was left to care for her "middle aged" Rat Terrier.  We have rescued all kinds of dogs from Mastiff to Mini Rat Terriers and have a great record of either keeping them as our own or finding them a great home.  But this little gal has suddenly had a huge change of disposition.

When we got her, she was great.  She slept with me and my husband and our other Rat Terrier.  She was a little shy, but stood her ground with all of our other dogs.

Suddenly I noticed she would not come to me at all any more.  I asked everyone in the house if they had been having problems and there were none.  But after several attempts to re-introduce myself to her, I have given up.  She will not let me near her.

Then, she viciously attacked my husband and he had to shake her off of his hand.  He was only going to pick her up to take her outside.  Then, as we were trying to get her to go out on another occasion, she bit me and broke the skin.

2 of the 3 kids (all teens) can get near her on occasion, but my son is the only one she will allow to hold her.  She does come in and sleep with my daughter, but as soon as we are up for the day, she disappears.

We love the dog, but she is hiding all the time and we can't even take her out.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Tam

ANSWER: This sounds like it is a dominance issue-she is probably used to being in charge,and now that she is settled in,she is set on taking over the household,hiding is also common in dogs that think they are in charge because they don't know what to do when they are faced with something else

your best bet would be to take her to obedience classes,for a couple of reasons

One is that will will actually bond you with her,and second it will put you in the alpha position

Also a trainer can see the issues you are having with you,and find out the best way to fix them

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I cannot even get my hands on her to begin to take her to training.  She will not even let anyone begin to put a leash on her.  Is there a "nice" way to muzzle her so that we can be safe as we work with her?  I would not begin to be able to do any training with her as I can't even touch her without getting bitten.
thanks,
tam

Answer
There is no 'nice' way of muzzling dogs,but the best way is to grab the scruff,because it is harder for them to bite you,and have someone put the muzzle on her,or vice versa-that's the way I do it,and that is with large dogs like Shepherds that could do a lot of damage if they got a hold of someone

Also I meant to mention there's also trainers that come to the house as well,and that may work better for you as well,as a trainer may be able to put a muzzle on her easier