I Can't Stand My New Dog

Off Topic
21

[quote]rds63799 wrote:
My dog’s been sunshine and smiles since day one, haven’t had any problems.

Saying that, I watched one of those “it’s me or the dog” type shows and apparently a good way to show your dominance is to put the leash on your dog (you can do this in the house or outside, it doesn’t matter) and just very slowly pull him towards you. Do it really slowly, like a thumb length at a time.

You keep doing it again and again until eventually the dog stops resisting. Takes a whole bunch of repetitions if your dog is really disobedient, but eventually the dog just kinda accepts that you’re in charge.

Might be worth a try.[/quote]

I am about to leash mine more. he usually walks right next to me…but being a puppy, if there is too much going on he stops listening. Overall, he is the best behaved dog I have ever had…but I want him to listen even when there is excitement.

Seriously, puppies have to be “raised” right…and if the OP got his that young, it is likely somewhere along the line he lost control.

maybe he didn’t reprimand it enough…

22

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]rds63799 wrote:
My dog’s been sunshine and smiles since day one, haven’t had any problems.

Saying that, I watched one of those “it’s me or the dog” type shows and apparently a good way to show your dominance is to put the leash on your dog (you can do this in the house or outside, it doesn’t matter) and just very slowly pull him towards you. Do it really slowly, like a thumb length at a time.

You keep doing it again and again until eventually the dog stops resisting. Takes a whole bunch of repetitions if your dog is really disobedient, but eventually the dog just kinda accepts that you’re in charge.

Might be worth a try.[/quote]

I am about to leash mine more. he usually walks right next to me…but being a puppy, if there is too much going on he stops listening. Overall, he is the best behaved dog I have ever had…but I want him to listen even when there is excitement.

Seriously, puppies have to be “raised” right…and if the OP got his that young, it is likely somewhere along the line he lost control.

maybe he didn’t reprimand it enough…[/quote]

my dog is great off the leash except when there’s barbecues nearby. This time of year the local park is full of people drinking and eating and it turns her into 12lbs of lightning fast food stealing fury. It doesn’t tend to piss people off too much as she’s pretty cute, but it’s pretty embarrassing standing there calling to her just for her to ignore you completely.

how are things going with your new dog?

23

[quote]rds63799 wrote:

how are things going with your new dog?[/quote]

He is a part of the family now. That fucker is amazing. He rides in the car with me, wakes me up when my alarm goes off in the morning and stays near me. Even if there are 15 people in the room, when I leave, he leaves…and he is walking with me, not doing his own thing.

he is still a puppy. I have all faith he will be one bad ass adult dog.

24

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]rds63799 wrote:

how are things going with your new dog?[/quote]

He is a part of the family now. That fucker is amazing. He rides in the car with me, wakes me up when my alarm goes off in the morning and stays near me. Even if there are 15 people in the room, when I leave, he leaves…and he is walking with me, not doing his own thing.

he is still a puppy. I have all faith he will be one bad ass adult dog.[/quote]

That’s awesome. It amazes me how fast dogs can become such a close part of the family.

25

[quote]bpick86 wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]rds63799 wrote:

how are things going with your new dog?[/quote]

He is a part of the family now. That fucker is amazing. He rides in the car with me, wakes me up when my alarm goes off in the morning and stays near me. Even if there are 15 people in the room, when I leave, he leaves…and he is walking with me, not doing his own thing.

he is still a puppy. I have all faith he will be one bad ass adult dog.[/quote]

That’s awesome. It amazes me how fast dogs can become such a close part of the family. [/quote]

absolutely! Our little pup is every bit as much a part of the family as I am. It’s unreal how attached you get.

26

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.

OP, you don’t have to ass whip your dog to show you’re the alpha. In fact that’s one of the worst things you can do. The best thing you can do for the pup in a word, repetition. It’s a day in & day out job for 30-45 days depending on the pups attention span. & it’s a constant.

You want him on his bed? Then you might put him on his/her bed 50x in a row using the same cues. Eventually it’ll be ingrained.

Good luck.

27

[quote]rds63799 wrote:
I watched one of those “it’s me or the dog” type shows and apparently a good way to show your dominance is to put the leash on your dog (you can do this in the house or outside, it doesn’t matter) .[/quote]

I had good results with this. My dog was very alert to dominance and would submit, but only to strong consistent leadership.

Another good trick, to help with pulling and trying to lead on walks, was a “doggie vest” that you strap to him and could put weights in. He went into “work” mode and behaved like a champ with the vest on. After a couple weeks he would still behave without the vest, but still would see the walk as joy instead of work.

My dog also had a high degree of food aggression, we broke this (as best it could be broken in him) by feeding him out of our hands for like 8 weeks… At that point I could stick my hands in his dish and rub him while he ate, but we kept the bowls in different room for his sanity anyway. No need to put him in position to guard his bowls if we didn’t have to.

28

My dog growing up from the moment we got her to the day she died. If you said, “Summer get in your crate.” She would go straight to the place her crate was as a puppy and she would lay down and calm down for 15 minutes.

Also she would pee on the floor only when I came into the house. Even after being at college for 9 months. It was a riot to see my Mom Yell stop making Summer do that.

29

Flipping the dog on it’s back and holding it’s neck (not choking it) is called the Alpha Roll. It was popularized by the Monks of New Skete in one of their books. I have an old copy and they endorse it, the new one’s do not.

30

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.
.[/quote]

Actually, it isn’t. My dog is a pit mixed with boxer. I do that all of the time. he is a rough dog. I can play rough with him and he knows the difference between that and me trying to reprimand him.

Showing dominance with a dog that can kick your ass is a GOOD IDEA, not a bad one.

31

I would say be real honest with yourself about what you want and your own personal level of commitment to keeping the dog and working with him.

I had a dog I got a while back and with the experience I have with handling and training quickly realized that it was going to be a lot of work. Similar issue with mouthing everything. Rolling her and such was not an option as it only increased aggression. She would let me roll her and simple hold her there with just the weight of my hand but no matter how long 5 min or 30 min as soon as I lifted my hand she would make it a point to clack her teeth at me. I let my wife know at the 2 month mark that if we really wanted to keep this dog there would be certain rules, no ruff housing, no tug, ect and that in order for her to become livable I was going to have to invest a considerable amount of time and effort into training her.

I also told her that his dog is the type that would bite someone without hesitation in the right circumstance. (It was a bullterrier Corgie Mix and got the worst combination of traits from both breeds). Long story short we had her for 4 years, she was the best and worst/most challenging dog I have ever owned, my wife broke the rules and played fetch with both dogs by the pool and they got in to a nasty fight resulting in a punctured salivary gland on my small dog and 16 stitches in my wives calf.

We kept hee a year longer but with the baby coming and other issues that had occurred I had to decide to put her down. She had some health issues and with the unpredictability of possession aggression and the bite history on my dog I could not feel it was right to re home or return her to the pound.

So if you have a family or plan to during the life of the dog realize that you are not the only factor to consider when taking on this responsibility. You will be asking anyone currently in your life or who will be in the future to take it on as well and this maybe an unfair request.

The behaviors that you mention are not necessary and there are plenty of dogs that do not posses them naturally that are put down everyday.

32

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.
.[/quote]

Actually, it isn’t. My dog is a pit mixed with boxer. I do that all of the time. he is a rough dog. I can play rough with him and he knows the difference between that and me trying to reprimand him.

Showing dominance with a dog that can kick your ass is a GOOD IDEA, not a bad one.[/quote]

This falls into the most but not all cases realm. Find a hard bred herding breed dog and you may end up with very undesirable consequences given their inherent tendency to bite.

33

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.

OP, you don’t have to ass whip your dog to show you’re the alpha. In fact that’s one of the worst things you can do. The best thing you can do for the pup in a word, repetition. It’s a day in & day out job for 30-45 days depending on the pups attention span. & it’s a constant.

You want him on his bed? Then you might put him on his/her bed 50x in a row using the same cues. Eventually it’ll be ingrained.

Good luck.[/quote]
C’mon man, saying that’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve heard on this site?
That’s practically an attack on my character.

I’m not saying to hurt your dog or to make physical altercation the foundation of your relationship with your pet, but if a dog is acting overly aggressive, or playing too hard, rolling them on their back into a submissive position to show you can hypothetically “throw them around” shows you’re dominant and deserve to be heeded. The hand on the neck is to keep a thrashing head under control, not to restrict breathing.

Obviously I don’t choke slam my dog, I love my dog.
On the rare occasion that my verbal commands have failed to calm him down though, I will not hesitate to get a little physical.

Once again, because I was seriously offended at the implication I’d hurt my dog.
I WOULD NEVER HURT MY PET.

34

There is always more then one way to skin a cat. People who say its unnecessary have probably not come across a dog that required this type of correction. Most people who have bullies have expectations for how they want their dog to behave that often go against the very instincts of the breed. Utilizing alpha rolls and such is a quick way to get a message to the dog, but often controlled socialization and positive reinforcement is not utilized enough to reinforce the desired behavior.

35

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.
.[/quote]

Actually, it isn’t. My dog is a pit mixed with boxer. I do that all of the time. he is a rough dog. I can play rough with him and he knows the difference between that and me trying to reprimand him.

Showing dominance with a dog that can kick your ass is a GOOD IDEA, not a bad one.[/quote]
If you are doing it all of the time, then you are missing the positive reinforcement opportunities most likely.

36

[quote]BlakeAJackson wrote:

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.
.[/quote]

Actually, it isn’t. My dog is a pit mixed with boxer. I do that all of the time. he is a rough dog. I can play rough with him and he knows the difference between that and me trying to reprimand him.

Showing dominance with a dog that can kick your ass is a GOOD IDEA, not a bad one.[/quote]

This falls into the most but not all cases realm. Find a hard bred herding breed dog and you may end up with very undesirable consequences given their inherent tendency to bite. [/quote]

That is what I’m saying. Showing dominance doesn’t have to be aggressive, and the wrong dog will respond the wrong way to aggressive behavior.

All I’m saying is think before you just assume every dog is going to respond well to physical reprimand of that nature. If the dog in front of you shows signs of aggression, dominance or possession issues, I would recommend not taking the physical/aggressive route until after the initial training.

37

[quote]BlakeAJackson wrote:
There is always more then one way to skin a cat. People who say its unnecessary have probably not come across a dog that required this type of correction. Most people who have bullies have expectations for how they want their dog to behave that often go against the very instincts of the breed. Utilizing alpha rolls and such is a quick way to get a message to the dog, but often controlled socialization and positive reinforcement is not utilized enough to reinforce the desired behavior. [/quote]
Agreed, repetition is key.
Like I said, physicality should NOT be the foundation of your relationship with your pet.

Sometimes though, to avoid people(specifically kids) getting hurt, you just have to roll and subdue.
Often times, at least IME, dogs are more receptive to training after an event like this happens.

Consistent care, cues, and boundaries are what makes a good dog though, not the Alpha Roll.

38

Some good info in here that I’ll be implementing. Our American Staffordshire is about 9 months old now. We’ve had her about 2 months but we’re still working on basic training, housebreaking, and getting her to be cool with our two cats (that’s more about getting the cats to be cool with her though).

We rescued her from a shelter and actually, strangely/randomly, later met the people who brought her there at a local “doggie day at the park”. Turns out they rescued her from a backyard breeder who was raising fighting dogs. Our pup wasn’t breaking/doing what he wanted, so she would’ve probably ended up for bait or breeding.

She’s calm 99% of the time. No food or toy aggression (I can easily pull things from her mouth when playing or eating), not riled up by roughhousing/overexcitement or when the cats bop her nose, but she flips the hell out if you grab her neck or collar too quickly. I tried the ‘roll and neck brace’ thing once or twice, before I made the connection to her abusive past, and she thrashed as if she were on fire and nipped at me until I let her up.

We had our first meeting with a trainer last week and she convinced us to start crating her. Seems to have helped the housebreaking pretty quickly. We’ll probably start the more comprehensive 6-week training course soon. I do want to eventually get her certified as a therapy dog so we’ve got to buckle down on training ASAP.

39

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:

[quote]print wrote:

[quote]iVoodoo wrote:
I flip my dogs on their back and grab their throat when they act up.

Obviously I’d never choke out my dog, but once they realize you could end them and choose not to, they’ll be a good dog.[/quote]

This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time! & on this site, that’s saying something.

OP, you don’t have to ass whip your dog to show you’re the alpha. In fact that’s one of the worst things you can do. The best thing you can do for the pup in a word, repetition. It’s a day in & day out job for 30-45 days depending on the pups attention span. & it’s a constant.

You want him on his bed? Then you might put him on his/her bed 50x in a row using the same cues. Eventually it’ll be ingrained.

Good luck.[/quote]
C’mon man, saying that’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve heard on this site?
That’s practically an attack on my character.

I’m not saying to hurt your dog or to make physical altercation the foundation of your relationship with your pet, but if a dog is acting overly aggressive, or playing too hard, rolling them on their back into a submissive position to show you can hypothetically “throw them around” shows you’re dominant and deserve to be heeded. The hand on the neck is to keep a thrashing head under control, not to restrict breathing.

Obviously I don’t choke slam my dog, I love my dog.
On the rare occasion that my verbal commands have failed to calm him down though, I will not hesitate to get a little physical.

Once again, because I was seriously offended at the implication I’d hurt my dog.
I WOULD NEVER HURT MY PET.
[/quote]

Your initial post comes across a little aggressive. Had you posted it like this post, mine would of been different. Just the way I read it. You’ll never convince me that holding a dog down on its back & cutting some wind off works.

I’ve owned nothing but rescue & shelter dogs for yrs. I’ve never had to actually get physical w/any of them. Everyone’s opinion will differ on this subject. I only speak of my exp.'s.

40

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Some good info in here that I’ll be implementing. Our American Staffordshire is about 9 months old now. We’ve had her about 2 months but we’re still working on basic training, housebreaking, and getting her to be cool with our two cats (that’s more about getting the cats to be cool with her though).

We rescued her from a shelter and actually, strangely/randomly, later met the people who brought her there at a local “doggie day at the park”. Turns out they rescued her from a backyard breeder who was raising fighting dogs. Our pup wasn’t breaking/doing what he wanted, so she would’ve probably ended up for bait or breeding.

She’s calm 99% of the time. No food or toy aggression (I can easily pull things from her mouth when playing or eating), not riled up by roughhousing/overexcitement or when the cats bop her nose, but she flips the hell out if you grab her neck or collar too quickly. I tried the ‘roll and neck brace’ thing once or twice, before I made the connection to her abusive past, and she thrashed as if she were on fire and nipped at me until I let her up.

We had our first meeting with a trainer last week and she convinced us to start crating her. Seems to have helped the housebreaking pretty quickly. We’ll probably start the more comprehensive 6-week training course soon. I do want to eventually get her certified as a therapy dog so we’ve got to buckle down on training ASAP.[/quote]

Hey just a little personal experience. You should always crate the dog when you are not there to supervise them with the cat. Also completely discourage any chasing of small animals like squirrels. You do not want to develop their prey drive in any fashion, especially if you are going to ask them to live in cohabitation with a cat.