|
aggressive dog.
My brother has come to live with us for a bit then he's moving to the other side of the country. But he has a dog and she's staying with us because he can't take her. But the problem is, she only listens to and obeys him. She'll behave around him and then when he's not around she'll become aggressive. Now, she has bitten my brother twice before but that was only when she was around food. But she's so unpredictable. She was in the garage and my cat walked by and the dog walked up, sniffed him, then tried biting him. I was so afraid she was going to hurt him. So how do I get her to STOP being aggressive towards people, animals, and to stop being food aggressive?
She has been around other dogs before, so she's pretty social. Even with cats. Oh yeah, and another question is, how do I get her to listen to me, too? She only listens to my brother and when he's around she wouldn't try to bite my cat. So..yeah. :/
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Domesticity category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
Hello,
This is a subject I am educated in and have much experience in successfully training dogs.
Right now, she is trying to establish her order in your family. She will bite anyone to show she is boss. Be careful with this dog around your kids until she no longer needs to establish an order. When she knows that ALL the humans are boss, she will not act like this anymore.
Aggressive dogs, like the one you describe need to know who's boss. Although the other advice you have been given is good for some dogs, the aggressive ones usually will not stop aggressive behavior with treats and clicks. It may work for less aggressive dogs, but I doubt it will work on her.
Her alpha male is leaving her and she knows it. Do not be fooled into thinking she does not know what is going on. She knows and she doesn't like it one bit. She behaves for him because he is the Alpha male and she his mate. Even if he has a human mate, the dog does not see it that way. She has probably always been aggressive with the food. It is just getting worse because she is in unfamiliar environments and feels she needs to be aggressive to survive.
I agree that a lot of love and cuddling is what she needs. But, she also needs to know that you and your family are the bosses now. This kind of aggression can be dealt with kindly but firmly, and you should see a difference in her in just one session.
Many people frown on this method, but it works better that any others, the results are quick and it is painless for you and the dog.
Start with putting a choke chain or a rope with loops on either end. Make sure that when you put it on her the collar makes the letter 'P'. The long end of the collar should be on the left and the loop on the right. Place it on her, and attach a short leash. Have someone put food in her dish and then you, holding the leash, walk her to her food. Then, have an adult attempt to touch her food or whatever is needed to get her to be aggressive. You need her to display the unwanted behavior so you can correct her. As soon as she growls, or shows any aggressions, jerk up on the leash just enough to knock her off balance. As you do this, firmly say 'NO' and drag her away from the food dish. Keep her at least 10 to 15 feet away and make her sit for a few moments. (If she doesn't sit right away when you say sit, jerk up on the leash as you push down on her rear end, forcing her to sit. If she moves before you let her, bring her back to the spot you told her to sit, jerk up as you say sit while forcing her rear end down.) Once she stays sitting for a few moments, walk her up to the dish again, and do the same thing again. Do this until she stops reacting to anyone getting close to her or her food.
Dogs can only really handle about 10 to 15 minutes of training at a time. So, you will have to work with her every time you feed her, for just a few feedings. This should be all it takes for her to get the hint. You do not need to jerk on the choke very hard. It is not meant to hurt the dog, just knock it off balance for a moment. Which they hate by the way and do anything to stop it. She will learn very quickly that her behavior is causing her discomfort. Dogs are not stupid.
Ignoring bad behavior tells the dog it is ok to do. Dealing with the bad behavior tells the dog it is not ok and there are consequences.
Do not treat her like a child, treat her like a dog, but love the heck out of her. Animals should never be treated like a human child. It gives them mixed signals. Training with treats tells the dog she will get a treat every time she does something you want her to do. When you stop giving her treats, she stops doing what you want her to do. Treats are nice and should be used with a lot positive praise only after she has completely finished a training session without the unwanted behavior. Only treat her when she does not respond to anyone getting near her food, other animals and humans. She will be more likely to want the praise and attention than the treat.
I hope I helped you out. There are books that teach this method and it is the method used to train guard dogs, police dogs and rescue dogs. It is also a similar method to the one 'The Dog Whisperer' uses. He is VERY good at rehabilitating aggressive dogs such as you girl.
Good Luck with her. I am sure once she learns who is boss, she'll be a very happy obedient dog and a great family pet.
If you need me further, please let me know.
-- Stay Honest
]
If you are able to buy clickers where you live, you could try one. They work on the theory of rewarding good behaviour and ignoring the bad.
If the dog does something good, you use the clicker, then give it a special treat, like a piece of sausage. Ignore any bad behaviour as though the dog were not there. (You may want to keep the cat out of the way whilst starting this training). The dog will soon understand that the clicking noise relates to a treat and what she was doing at the time. She should then start to become more co-operative and obedient.
A dog's relationship with food is rather intense, and in the wild, other than the Alpha dog, they will generally have to fight for their share. If you feed her dry food, try feeding her by hand initially, as this will let her understand that you are connected with the giving of food and not the removal of it. Never tease her with it and as she gradually learns to trust you around her food, you could let the dog and cat eat their own food in the same room at the same time, supervised of course. She should then learn that the cat is not a threat or competition either.
At the moment she responds to your brother as the Alpha dog in her pack and she needs to learn that in his absence she is not the one who is going to take over. Again, this is instinct, as with the fighting for food. In a pack, there are usually quite vicious fights to establish the pecking order. Obviously you cannot do this, but with the reward system, you should gently be able to encourage her into thinking your way.
You may need to muzzle her in public for a while if you are taking her for a walk, as if she is aggressive outside, you could lose her.
Don't expect to be able to retrain her instantly. Depending on how old she is, she has had a long time to get used to being the way she is.
You will need to bond with her, so don't shout at her or hit her, as this will only make her afraid of you and more defensive. You need to win her trust that as the new Alpha dog, you will protect her if she feels there is a need.
Dogs are quite complex animals and we are only just beginning to realise how emotional they are. She's probably feeling a little disorientated by the move and she's more than likely picking up that something is going on but doesn't know what. So she's become defensive. She needs lots of reassurance, love, walks, treats and training. With patience you should have a valuable new member of the family.
]
If you want the dog to listen to you, tempt her with treats. Im guessing that the dog can do tricks? If you cut up the cheapest hot dogs full of the nasty meat stuff, and microwave it with some of its dog food, you pretty much have that puppy whipped.
But, it'll probably become aggressive with them so the best thing to do when the dog starts biting and becoming aggressive is to tap her sharply on the nose with a flick.
]
More Questions: |