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Junior Member
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Last Login: 7/5/2008 6:57:45 PM
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| We have a rescue that we are reasonably sure is a purebred Finnish Spitz. He's a couple months shy of his 2nd birthday, and we've had him 8 months. We've managed his barking pretty well with a spritz bottle. He's been nothing but wonderful with our grandchildren (something we have to watch with our little Spitz mix), and with other household members and guests. But for the second time, we've had an incident when walking him on leash in the neighborhood. The first time it was when an adult male whom he knows somewhat (a neighbor) petted him, ruffled his ears while Rusty stood on his hind legs. Rusty appeared to be fine, then when the petting session was over and Rusty's feet hit the ground, he jumped back up and snapped at the person, biting a hole in his shirt. (No blood drawn, thank God) When we told our vet about it, he said Spitzes are known for not particularly liking adult men. Well, tonight the identical scenario happened, but this time with a strange adult woman. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he jumped back up and bit a hole in her sweatpants (again, no broken skin, thank God). Two questions, I guess: Does anyone with a Spitz breed (American Eskimo, Pomeranian, or other Spitz) know if this is a breed thing? And whether it is or isn't, can anyone explain what's going on, and what we should do about it? This is not the dog we see in the house! And he's interacted with a lot of kids in the neighborhood while on leash and he's been fine. Thanks for any light you can shed...
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Supreme Being
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Last Login: 10/12/2008 4:43:55 PM
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Hmm, how strange.Maybe he's only use to kids they are the ones you socialized him with.But what is strange to me is that when his paws touch the ground is when he bites. And if makes a hole in the shirt then it must have been a hard bite!! I'll leave this to the more experienced dc members since i'm pretty much no use.
 Simba the white terrier mix & Bandito his black-white son.
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Supreme Being
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angelpup (7/2/2008)
We have a rescue that we are reasonably sure is a purebred Finnish Spitz. He's a couple months shy of his 2nd birthday, and we've had him 8 months. We've managed his barking pretty well with a spritz bottle. He's been nothing but wonderful with our grandchildren (something we have to watch with our little Spitz mix), and with other household members and guests. But for the second time, we've had an incident when walking him on leash in the neighborhood. The first time it was when an adult male whom he knows somewhat (a neighbor) petted him, ruffled his ears while Rusty stood on his hind legs. Rusty appeared to be fine, then when the petting session was over and Rusty's feet hit the ground, he jumped back up and snapped at the person, biting a hole in his shirt. (No blood drawn, thank God) When we told our vet about it, he said Spitzes are known for not particularly liking adult men. Well, tonight the identical scenario happened, but this time with a strange adult woman. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he jumped back up and bit a hole in her sweatpants (again, no broken skin, thank God). Two questions, I guess: Does anyone with a Spitz breed (American Eskimo, Pomeranian, or other Spitz) know if this is a breed thing? And whether it is or isn't, can anyone explain what's going on, and what we should do about it? This is not the dog we see in the house! And he's interacted with a lot of kids in the neighborhood while on leash and he's been fine. Thanks for any light you can shed...from what I have read (I dont own a spitz breed) finnish spitz a very good with children and are loyal to their familiy. the vet saying they dont like adult men doesnt really make since, they were hunting dogs and would have been handled primarily by adult men so I dont think the breed would have lasted if it was man aggressive. for now I would not let anyone pet him. I would enroll him in obedience classes. It almost seems like a dominance issue or it could be a fear issue hard to say since I cant see what his body posture is. I would teach him to keep all 4 feet on the ground when greeting anyone. sorry I cant be of more help.
 
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