I & my boyfriend have a 2½ year old 15kg Spitz-type neutered female dog.
She is intelligent, good at picking up commands, and means a lot to me, but she has a bite history.
The (only) two people she's bitten are me and my boyfriend. At first, the bites left red marks and didn't break the skin but it has been escalating and has sent my boyfriend to hospital (he got bandaids, antiseptic cream, and a tetanus shot – no stitches but still scary and I'm deeply concerned about it).
The bites happen in the evening and often happen when one of us gets up from the couch to walk to the other side of the room (even if she's not guarding anything) or if she is guarding an object and we don't notice and move in a way that bothers her (e.g. small pieces of dirt, leaves, clumps of fur).
We look for signs that she is guarding something. For example if she's tense, growls, staying still, chewing something, showing her teeth. But sometimes we slip up.
For example:
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My boyfriend stood up and accidentally dropped something and instinctively put his foot on it to stop it rolling away. The dog rushed towards it and stared at his foot. He slowly and calmly backed away and got bit on his leg and hand.
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I was sitting on the couch and the dog jumped on my lap. I told her "down" and then felt something else drop on my lap (a piece of dirt). I told her to go to bed (a command she otherwise knows well) but she ignored me. I slowly lent forward to get a treat to trade and she went berserk. I managed to stand up but I got bit on my hand.
When she is guarding something, we never approach her or take it and, if it's safe, we trade the object with a high-value treat. We also continually try and make her safe and comfortable when she has an item while our presence is there using the highest value treats we have.
But we're living in a situation where we don't always know if she's guarding something and going near her is a risk. Our house is clean and we monitor her, but she picks out dried mud from her paw pads or fur from her coat or a tiny leaf caught in her fur. It's virtually impossible to prevent that completely, all the time.
When it comes to other forms of prevention, we've considered… – An indoor muzzle – It's too dangerous to take it on and off and there's always a possibility of her taking off the muzzle or biting us through the muzzle. She is very fluffy and is good at slipping out of muzzles. – Not allowing her on the couch – She has her own comfortable bed she's trained to go to but we're struggling with not allowing her on the couch. She has a "go to bed" command but she will just jump right back on the couch after getting a reward or if she doesn't get a reward. We tried unsuccessfully physically barricading the couch but she is very agile and good at jumping. – Attaching her to a leash in the house – I've seen this suggested online but I'm not sure it will help because if she's attached to one of us she can still get us. There is not anything sturdy enough in our living room to attach her to.
Other things were doing –
We've read books on resource guarding, been through puppy school and additional behaviour classes, seeing a behaviour trainer, booked in for a vet behaviourist, trying out multiple medicinal calming treatments. We've also had her checked for physical/physiological health problems through visual exams, x-rays, blood tests (inc thyroid function), DNA testing, etc. No health problems found, all normal. Medicines she had are calming tablets, sprays, diffusers, SSRIs – all recommended by her vet or her trainer.
Other things we'll consider in the future –
We will have to re-home her (if it's safe to do so – we will talk to local dog charities about this if we go down this path) or behavioural euthanasie her if this continues. This is a decision I will make with the vet and vet behaviourist as an absolute last resort.
I think that's everything. If anyone has advice or support, it's much appreciated. We're obviously booked in to see a certified vet behaviourist but that won't be until after new year's and any advice on how to deal with our dog in the interim will be grand.