Got any brilliant ideas? (dog related)

498 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by shannon0218, Mar 30, 2006

Bia

Discussion Starter · Mar 29, 2006

I'm too $&*$^# tired to come up with some new brilliant plan. One of the dogs has started to try to show dominance over the cats. This is brand new never-before-seen-in-the-last-five-years behavior. He is pretty low in the pack and has always exalted in that position (you should see how much fun he thinks it is when they are all playing outside and he is cornered on the bottom of the pile! lol) He never used to even yell at any of the cats. Now he tells them off if they come near him while he is sleeping, and he does that bounding forward yelling at them to make them run sometimes, but he doesn't chase after them. (This is only in the last few weeks). Just now he actually yelled and pushed his closed mouth on a cat! That is unacceptable! Especially since he is a pit mix and is very heavy and strong for his size. What I have done about it is to immediately respond with a no-nonsense voice and push his head down in a submissive pose. Should I make him get all the way down and expose his belly? But he has not behaved like he is questioning my position. (And everytime this has happened has been when the other dogs are around. I can't put him all the way down in a totally submissive position without the slightly crazy alpha female "helping" me put him in his place, which would cause a dangerous situation in the house.) He knows he has done something wrong, because he starts kissing up right away. But then he does it again. oh, I just remembered! He has also been refusing to do as the alpha female dog says, sometimes. This is also new, just in the last few weeks. He has always given up his place if she wants it, but a few times lately he has growled at her, instead! hmmmm. As I said, I'm too tired to be clever about this.
oh, also, I've been being more careful to feed them in order of hierarchy, the last few days.

I'm about to order Cesar Millan's new book, because I feel like I am missing something obvious.

edited because I left words out.

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mamanurse

· #2 · Mar 29, 2006

I'm lacking brilliant ideas these days. Sorry. Good luck solving the problem.

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Bia

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 29, 2006

Thanks for the good wishes!
Maybe there is a correlation between him being inside more and acting out this way. He wasn't outside as much as usual today because of rain. I will have to see if there is a pattern.

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Bia

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 29, 2006

and I have to keep the lhasa separate from the alpha female because she wants to kill him, so for the most part, he ends up being kept away from the main little pack... but lately, the male dogs have had to put up with being around the little jerk (said lovingly

). So maybe that has disrupted things too much. Just thinking out loud.

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rdl2k5

· #5 · Mar 29, 2006

I'm very pro Cesar Milan. That book should help a lot. How old is your dog? Between the 1st and 2nd year is when most dogs began forming their true aggressive tendencies.

Cesar's book is going to tell you that all of your dogs should walk together every day for 45-1hour every day. I'm not sure how many dogs you have, but that will take a sigifnicant amount of work to walk dogs that big!

Another suggestion he will give is to use a correction collar and to place your dog into uncomfortable situations. For instance, if you know the cats are coming around and know that your dog is about to act out on them, you will correct the dog with the leash.

Some will claim that choke/correction collars are cruel. When used inappropriately they can be dangerous. It is not correct to choke your dog with it or to let them struggle in it. Quick snapping motions are the goal. In dog packs, corrections are made through quick bites to the neck which is simulated through this type of collar or can also be done with your fingers.

Good luck with it. I've had times in my life where I've had to separate dogs in rooms and that's a big pain. Ideally, they would all just get along but that's easier said than done!

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Bia

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 29, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdl2k5
I'm very pro Cesar Milan. That book should help a lot. How old is your dog? Between the 1st and 2nd year is when most dogs began forming their true aggressive tendencies.

Cesar's book is going to tell you that all of your dogs should walk together every day for 45-1hour every day. I'm not sure how many dogs you have, but that will take a sigifnicant amount of work to walk dogs that big!

Another suggestion he will give is to use a correction collar and to place your dog into uncomfortable situations. For instance, if you know the cats are coming around and know that your dog is about to act out on them, you will correct the dog with the leash.

Some will claim that choke/correction collars are cruel. When used inappropriately they can be dangerous. It is not correct to choke your dog with it or to let them struggle in it. Quick snapping motions are the goal. In dog packs, corrections are made through quick bites to the neck which is simulated through this type of collar or can also be done with your fingers.

Good luck with it. I've had times in my life where I've had to separate dogs in rooms and that's a big pain. Ideally, they would all just get along but that's easier said than done!

Thanks for your post!
We have had him around five years and he had barely reached adulthood when we found him. I have to be careful using a choke collar with him because he came from an abusive home and when we found him, he was wearing a collar that he had grown into and was causing problems. I don't want to shake him up and cause insecurity when I believe there is an environmental reason for his acting out. He has been nothing but obedient and well-mannered all these years. Also, if I set up a situation with him and the cats, nothing will happen, especially if he is on a leash because that will make him worried and submissive right off. Most of the time he treats them well, it is just occasional acting out that at this point seems random.
I've been utilizing the quick bites to the neck idea using my fingers, that is how I put his head down for a few seconds last night to correct him. (And I've been using that to pin the lhasa when he is spazzing and needs to calm down. Works well!)
There are five large dogs kept together that he is a part of, and two dogs that are separated (but they can be together). The five dogs weigh a combined 320 lbs. so whether they could be walked together would depend on who else in the family was home to help me, so it would be inconsistent, at best. I'm afraid they don't all get off the property much, unless they take turns. But they do usually get lots of time outside to roughhouse and burn off energy.

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shannon0218

· #7 · Mar 29, 2006

Use a prong collar with a correction tab, about 3-4" long (I just use old leashes and cut tabs out of them. that way the clip is already there) Leave it on him at all times in the house or when supervised. The prong simulates a bite on the neck. Having him show his belly to you isn't going to help as it's not you he's trying to overthrow, he does however need a good correction from you as pack leader to know that he is doing something absolutely unacceptable.

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edamommy

· #8 · Mar 29, 2006

Has the dog ever actually bit or hurt the cats?

our Samoyed IS the alpha guy in the house (aside from dh lol) and he will "sound off" and push the rabbit or my older Springer, when he's irritated by them. Or just feeling bossy. I've no fear that he'll actually hurt the others... but he's just boss.

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Bia

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 30, 2006

Shannon, I've been told that prong collars are inappropriate for shy or fearful dogs, and that applies to him. As I said, he came from an abusive situation. But thanks for responding.

Edamommy, "Sound off" is a perfect way to put that. I'm not worried he would intend to harm anyone, but he could easily hurt a cat by playing with them or bossing them, just because of his weight and strength. It's the same for all the big dogs, so any of them would get in trouble for this.

I think the plan for the moment is to go back to not having him have to deal with the lhasa (who came with his own issues), because I think that threw off the whole balance. And to give him more activity.

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shannon0218

· #10 · Mar 30, 2006

Actually I frequently use prongs with shy or fearful dogs and have excellent success with them, it all depends on the way you use them, used correctly they are the most gentle way to correct a dog by far--the school of thought that they aren't appropriate for some dogs came when they gained massive popularity after a study was released saying they were the only collar (including a flat collar) that caused no neck or tracheal trauma. Many "professionals" then jumped on board (often the same ones who had bashed those of us who'd been using prongs for years) but never bothered to learn how to use them or fit them correctly--used like a choke or fitted too loose--yes, they are VERY much not for a shy dog, but I've had many shy dogs really build their confidence quickly when a prong is used correctly.

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