Question: My German Wire-hair has taken to biting people. He first nipped a neighbor when he was eighteen months old. He's now three and I'm afraid he may hurt someone. He's fine with the family but is very aggressive around friends or neighbors, and guards my house and truck. What can I do to stop this behavior?

Art P., Marquette.

Answer: The Wire-hair was bred to guard as well as hunt. You apparently have a dog that has the old instincts bred into the breed years ago. I have owned many Wires and love the breed for what it is, but the fact is that many of them have social problems. I found an old book one time that described the different hunting breeds and their characteristics. The German Wire-haired Pointer was described as a sound hunter and tracker, reliable with the family but needing to be removed and contained when guests were over. The book described the breed as not to be trusted around strangers.

American breeders have been working to improve the temperament of the Wire-haired Pointers.

You might try a basket muzzle, containing the dog around strangers and leashing when outside of the house. It has been my experience that once a dog starts biting people, there is no returning to normal. There seems to be a mental barrier to biting people. Once the dog has crossed this line, I never trust them again. It is my opinion that the dog should be put down.

Charlie Linblade

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