Hi there, my brother has a mutt, she is about 4 yrs old. I can't do much for training her as my brother is quite the stubborn person. He is truly unique in that way. Couldn't understand unless you knew him. Anyway, his dog is a very nice dog. Mostly. She has been around kids her whole life, she knows how to act around a baby to a toddler to an older kid. She diferentiates between them. So when she had puppies, we took one. He will be 2 in august.(We have a 3 year old and a 4 month old children) He is just like his mother. However sadie has shown a new side to her lately. She can be quite agressive while playing with some people for lack of better words. The other day she nipped his neighbor. He was shoveling and she was excited, so she nippesd him when he came in the yard. Like she nipped my husband in the butt when he riled her up knocking snow off the roof. We were outside sitting on my deck the other night, and my cat was on top of my chair and sadie was trying to get her. She was climbing on me and I tried to tell her get off and give her a little nudge and she growled at me. Now she is a bully looking dog, medium sized, and even though I've known her all her life it was intimidating. After she growled at me that was all I was having from her, got up and shoved her off my chair and off of me. She bit me in the process. How should I be reacting to this? Seems to me she thinks she's alpha, and I'm not sure how to compose myself to show her she is not alpha over me. And how do I keep our dog, her son from acting like this? He takes after sade a lot. Just socialising, dog classes and such?
Not my dog...not training just reacting...
- Thread starter KhayNette
- Start date
Sounds like she's rather untrusting. I would NOT use any form of punishment on her and regain her trust. Associate good things with the things that are apt to rile her up. Prevent her from getting riled up and keep her away from people unless she has a muzzle on, which you need to condition her to accepting happily first. Really, you should see about getting a behaviorist or positive reinforcement type trainer with a fantastic reputation. This is something that's hard to know without seeing the dog and spending a little time watching. But as a guess, it sounds to me like this is a dog that's been intimidated or scolded a lot. Forgive me if I'm wrong. I am only guessing from what you've described. Remember growling is a communication only. It's saying that she feels threatened and wants you to back off. You should thank her for growling and then back off. If it's something you want her to learn, then you can train her most things by pairing those things she doesn't like with things she does. Forget the alpha stuff. That's all nonsense when it comes to domestic dogs. She's probably been sending out signals, but no one was able to read them and it's come to this. I recommend watching some good videos. One gal I think is really good is Kikopup. Google her for youtube. She's got some fantastic videos. http://www.stopbaddog.com/who-is-kikopup-introduction/
Now mind you, I'm not accusing you of harshness with your dog. I don't know. It can also be her temperament or too little of the right kind of socialization as a very, very young pup. But anyhow, this gal's videos are great and easy to follow. But bottom line...get a good trainer to help you...so she/he can see up close and personal what's going on. Best of luck.
Now mind you, I'm not accusing you of harshness with your dog. I don't know. It can also be her temperament or too little of the right kind of socialization as a very, very young pup. But anyhow, this gal's videos are great and easy to follow. But bottom line...get a good trainer to help you...so she/he can see up close and personal what's going on. Best of luck.