It is especially difficult to become pack leader to an aggressive dog because we will naturally fear our dog’s aggression.
My Shiba Inu used to have the worst bouts of aggressive leash biting. He would jump up on me, grab my jacket sleeve, and shake his head very rigorously, in what I call the kill-move (the shaking, head tossing motion that animals make to kill prey).
The more fearful I got of my dog, the more aggressive he became. He started humping my leg, and attacked the leash whenever I held it. Thankfully, he never broke skin, because of bite inhibition training. Nevertheless, I dreaded walking my dog, or even just being with him.
Here are some techniques that helped me conquer my fear, and become pack leader to my aggressive dog.
1. Practice calm energy
Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer always emphasizes the importance of projecting calm energy, especially when interacting with an aggressive dog. If we interact with a dog using nervous, submissive, fearful, or otherwise unbalanced energy, the dog may pick up on that, get stressed himself, and behave badly or start showing aggression.
Some techniques that helped me remain calm include:
- Taking deep breaths and focusing on breathing to remain calm.
- Actively thinking of something else, whenever I start to get stressed about what my dog might do.
- Using the “tsch” from Cesar Millan. No, it is not a magical sound for calming dogs, but it helps to remind me to stay calm.
- Walking with an assertive posture (shoulders back, head up).
In addition, make sure that we are not putting undue tension on the leash.
The thing that helped me most was to imagine the worst that my dog could do. In the leash biting case, it was a bite to my hand or arm. I decided that for my Shiba Inu, I could deal with some bites. If he did that, I would hold firm, get him home as quickly as possible, and thus end the fun walk. If he continued to bite at me or the leash once we are home, I can put him directly in a time-out area. In this way, he learns that –
Biting on leash = End of walk or temporary loss of freedom,
No biting on leash = Fun walk and exploration continues.
Once I had a plan for dealing with the worst, I became less fearful.
Once my energy improved, my dog’s bad behavior also improved significantly.
2. Have a drag-lead on our dog and keep him on a schedule
When our dog does something undesirable, it is always our reflex to chase after him. However, we will quickly realize that our dog can run much faster than we can!
To get better control of my dog and avoid chasing games, I usually put a drag-lead on him. Initially, I use a longer leash so that I can control him without being close to his mouth.
Only use a flat collar with the drag lead and NOT an aversive collar. Some example aversive collars include the prong collar and choke chain.
Also remember that while dealing with an aggressive dog, safety is of the utmost importance. If necessary, I muzzle my dog with a basket muzzle. A dog can still chew with a basket muzzle, and it is less restraining. To make the muzzling process less stressful, we may want to desensitize our dog to the muzzle, by pairing it with food and fun.
3. Have clear and consistent rules for our dog at all times
In the beginning, we want to be more strict with our dog. Institute more rules so that we have many opportunities to show our dog, that we are the boss.
If my dog does not follow the rules, then he does not get his most desired resources, for example, access of the backyard, walks, yummy dog treats, fun dog toys, play time, and access to pack members.
One of the best ways to become pack leader is to control his resources by following the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program.
This just means that our dog does not get anything, until he does something for us first.
I do not give my dog all of his food on a silver platter. Instead, I use it for dog training, grooming, and other activities. I don’t leave food or high priority resources (e.g. food toys) out for him to use whenever he wants. Being the boss means that I control the key resources, and I decide when, where, and for how long he gets access to those resources. Of course, I also make sure that my dog has many opportunities to work for all the things that he wants.
Some useful rules to establish and maintain pack leadership include:
- No getting on furniture.
- Sit calmly before going through doorways, and only go through on command.
- No jumping on people.
- No leash biting.
- No food aggression. Must release resource (food, toys, or other items) on command.
- Absolutely no growling, barring of teeth, mouthing, or biting of people.
Once we gain some confidence and our dog is behaving better, we may relax some of these rules.
4. More walks of shorter duration
Most aggressive behaviors occur on neighborhood walks because that is when our dog is exposed to the most interesting stimuli (e.g. other dogs, cats, squirrels, people). On walks, we also have less control over the environment, and may not easily and quickly get our dog under control.
When I had troubles with my Shiba Inu, I shortened our walks but increased their frequency.
First, I would walk him in a heel position inside the house. Doing the heel exercise helps to put me in a pack leader mindset, and enforces my leadership status. In addition, if my dog starts any aggressive behaviors, I can more effectively stop him.
Once we are ready to go, we practice manners at the door. This helps to further secure my leadership role. My dog has to sit calmly while I open and close the door. If he remains calm, we can leave and start the walk.
Initially, I walked my dog close to the house, so that I can quickly end the walk, get him home, and put him on a time-out if he shows any aggression. As we started to have more and more successful short walks, I was able to gain more confidence, and control my fear. When things started improving, I slowly increased the distance and duration of the walk.
5. Address aggressive behaviors as soon as possible
A good pack leader is a vigilant pack leader. Watch our dog closely, especially when he is young (< 1 year old). Stop any aggressive behaviors as soon as we see them.
If we do not address aggression issues early, our dog will likely escalate his behavior, and start practicing aggression in a broader range of contexts. Once this occurs, it will be harder to break him of the habit.
I do not let my dog leash bite, show teeth, growl, or mouth at me. Any of these offenses will get him a warning (ack ack). If he continues, he gets a time-out. I carefully manage the everyday details of our time together, so that I set both of us up for success.
Proper management can significantly increase the number of successes, reduce the number of aggressive episodes, and help us become a good pack leader.
For aggression issues between two family dogs, please refer to Introducing a Second Dog into the Home.
Hello! My husband and I got a Rottweiler puppy named Bear at 8 weeks and he is now almost 7 months old. In the beginning, he had his usual puppy issues w/biting and we really worked on bite inhibition. Never did we have any issues w/aggression, listened to both of us, did great with other dogs, and overall Bear was a great puppy to have around. I am now home w/Bear all of the time due to job loss (have been for the past 4 months) and 6 months pregnant. About a month ago we had to board Bear while we went on a very short vacation because the person who was supposed to house-sit got sick. I was nervous to board him at a kennel, but it was our only option. When we picked him up, the owner of the kennel said Bear did great during his stay and I was super happy about that. That is when things went down-hill. Now all Bear does is jump on me repeatedly, snarling, and biting my hands so badly that they are both incredibly bruised. I have tried staying calm, getting angry, pushing him away, putting him in time-out, yelping in pain, using treats or redirection and nothing is working. He has scratched me horribly, including by the eye. When my husband is home, Bear is a completely different dog and does not act like this at all. Last night my husband was sleeping, so Bear started attacking my hands again, biting and pulling on them. He stopped immediately when my husband woke up. Obviously Bear does not see me as the pack leader or even remotely at the top of the pack. He will listen to commands from me and has no problem of biting his leash when I walk him, but I am really unsure of what to do or where to go from here. Overall he is a good dog and we have no intention of getting rid of him, but with me being pregnant and the behavior in general I am at a loss.
Sephy my Shiba Inu was also very mouthy, especially with me, when he was young. One of the key reasons for this was because I had bad energy. I was frustrated, angry, and frankly, more than a little bit fearful of him. He sensed this, and his behavior got worse.
Some key things that helped with Sephy-
1. I had to control my own energy consistently. I try my hardest to be calm not just sometimes, but in all my interactions with him. If I get angry or frustrated, his behavior becomes worse.
2. No pushing him or physically engaging him in any way. If I push and move around a lot, Sephy thinks it is a fun game, and he will get excited, and bite even more. Dogs are built to be very sensitive to motion. If I need to take him to timeout, I use a leash.
3. I have to be decisive, consistent, and have a good game plan. What I do when my dog jumps and bites at me.
4. I set up a fixed routine and a consistent set of rules. This creates structure and sets up boundaries for Sephy. More on what I do to establish structure and teach self-control.
5. I establish pack leadership by following the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs.
Sephy wasn’t biting me because of spite or because he didn’t love me. Sephy wasn’t even trying to dominate me. There were two key reasons that Sephy was biting me and biting me more than others in the household –
1. My energy was bad. I was always stressed when interacting with him, especially when he starts to bite. He would pick up on my anxiety and fear, get stressed out himself, and act even more crazy.
2. Biting works. When Sephy bites, he got my attention, he got a strong reaction from me, he got me to interact with him, so biting works. When Sephy bites, I back-off and he gets to break rules and do whatever he wants, so biting works.
To stop biting, I need to control my own energy and teach Sephy that biting *never* gets him what he wants. In fact, biting causes him to lose resources, to lose my attention, to lose his privileges in the house, and to lose his freedom (temporarily). When Sephy consistently saw that biting only causes him to lose the things that he wants and gains him nothing, he stopped that behavior.
With Sephy, I need to consistently be calm when interacting with him. I need to be sure of myself and not be fearful. I need to be consistent with how I respond to his behaviors, I need to do the right thing at the right time, and I need to use effective techniques so that he learns the right lessons. All of these things were important and part of the process of both of us getting to a better place.
Dog behavior is very context dependent, and timing is very important in training. Therefore, during Sephy’s difficult period, we visited with several trainers who could observe and evaluate Sephy within the context of his regular routine and environment. They could also observe and evaluate my interactions with Sephy, and give me advice on energy, timing, execution of technique, and more.
Based on what you describe, especially with a baby coming, I would consult with some professional trainers. With Sephy, I also read up a lot on dog behavior, how dogs learn, and more.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
My difficult experiences with Sephy.
How dogs learn.
How I deal with bad dog behavior.
Hi, my wife and I are having some serious difficulties with our 2 year old Jack Russel.. the problems started a year ago with light nibbling and unfortunately we didn’t address it immediately. . Since then it has turned into random aggressive biting, being persistent with the thought of not giving up on this dog because he is family has taken us on a long unfortunate journey of lots of little scars on our hands… for awhile he was doing good until tonight he bit my wife really bad on her finger for no reason(teeth definitely went through) while we all laying down, please help me, what should I do to keep him from biting, I’ve done a lot of the above listed in the article and I DO NOT want to put him down… please help. I’ve also immediately smacked him if he bit on my glove, my friend used to train his dog not to bite this way… is this causing more damage? Again please help
What kind of training is he used to? What is his daily routine like? Is he biting to get attention or does he bite when being stopped from doing something? Does he mostly bite your wife or certain particular people? How is he with guests? How is he with people and other dogs during walks?
Was he sleeping before the bite? Was he sleeping next to your wife? Often, when a dog is in a deep sleep and gets startled awake, maybe when we move or by an accidental touch, they can go into protective mode. This is an instinctual reaction.
I did that once with my Shiba Inu. He was sleeping deeply by my feet, and I stroked him. He got startled awake and went for my hand. Luckily, he has very good bite inhibition, so it wasn’t a hard bite. However, since that incident, I always make sure to make some noise etc. so that he wakes up first, before I touch him in any way. I believe that is where the expression, “let sleeping dogs lie” come from. š
The thing is, dog behavior is very context dependent, so in cases of random aggression, it is best and safest to get help from a good professional trainer. When I had problems with my Shiba Inu, we visited with several trainers. Each of them had an evaluation session with Sephy first, so that they could view his behaviors and body language, and see for themselves what triggers those behaviors. Aggression is complex, and can come from multiple different sources/triggers.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/aggression-dogs
When I get a new puppy, I do-
1. Bite inhibition exercises to teach them to control the force of their bites.
2. I teach them not to mouth on people.
3. I set up a fixed routine, structure, and daily exercise. This is very important because it helps to manage their excitement level and teaches them self control.
Puppies do not know that people have more sensitive skins than dogs do, and are usually not very good at self-control, so the exercises above help with these things.
However, aggressive behavior can be the result of many different things. Therefore, especially in cases where the trigger of the behavior is unclear, it is best to get help from a good professional trainer.
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Hi my boyfriend and I just recently got a Siberian Husky puppy, Bruno. Today is day 4 with him. Since day one, we have noticed he seems a bit aggressive during the early morning. During the day, afternoon, and evening he is very cuddly and playful. But in the early morning prior to going poop he is very aggressive, wants to jump on us, on the couch or bed, and if we try to touch him he shows teeth, growls, barks, and even bites. After he poops, he is a completely different pup. Because it has been consistent, I am unsure if its the food (Blue Wilderness for pups) or something else š
thoughts?
How old is Bruno? What is his daily routine like? When he needs to poop later on in the day, does he also show this behavior? What is his body language like when he growls and bites, is it relaxed or stiff?
My dogs are more excited and energetic in the early morning, and also right before and after poop time. Husky Lara will sometimes do zoomies + jumping in the backyard right after she poops.
When my puppy is excited, she would jump and play-bite on me, especially when I try to interact with her, because she thinks I want to play. She has a relaxed body posture at this time, and may also do play-bows.
I teach my puppy to control the force of her bites, especially with people (bite inhibition), because people have more sensitive skins than dogs do. I also train my puppy not jump on people. Dogs interact differently than people do, so I teach my puppy how to interact properly and safely with people.
More on how I trained my Husky puppy.
More on how I keep my puppy calm and discourage biting.
More on how dogs learn.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and situation is different. Therefore, when in doubt, I get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
Hello there, I adopted a male husky pup about a month ago and he’s about 10 months old now. I’d say he’s pretty much at his adult size. I have no idea what he was like beforehand but he is quite aggressive. Here’s a little run down:
– Extremely aggressive with other dogs and will bite them or growl if he can’t get to them
– Aggressively bite hands
– Resource protective (food and toys)
Thoughts, insights and advice?
Thank you!
Have you had dogs before? Who did you adopt him from? The people at the rescue may be able to provide helpful information on how to train and handle a dog that was previously under their care. Our local SPCA and Humane Society also provides free training classes for dogs who are adopted from their facility.
How hard does he bite – break skin or more? Does he have a previous bite history with people or dogs?
For dog-to-dog reactivity issues, I did desensitization and counter-conditioning exercises with my Shiba.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-to-dog-aggression#desensitize
This is what I do when my Husky puppy bites on my hands.
http://shibashake.com/dog/how-i-trained-my-husky-puppy#bite-training
More things that help me with puppy biting.
I also do bite inhibition training with all of my dogs.
More on why dogs get aggressive over food and toys.
What I do with my dog to discourage resource guarding.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each dog and each situation is different. I write about experiences with my own dogs, but their temperaments, background, and surrounding context, is going to be very different. This is why in cases of aggression, it is usually best and safest to get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
http://www.apdt.com.au/trainers-directory/how-to-choose-a-trainer.html
Thank you for your help!
We adopted him off a friend’s friend, so we don’t have direct contact with the previous owners. He does not break skin as I don’t allow him to bite my hands but he will take the lunge if he can. He usually responds well to a ‘no’ in a stern voice but he will come back to take try bite again. He’s usually a great loving puppy but would love to correct these matters in case anything escalates.
Yeah, I definitely agree. I made a lot of mistakes with Shiba Sephy, but one important thing that went in my favor was that I started to address his issues early on, before they became really serious, and that helped a whole lot.
Big hugs to your boy!
I wish I would have discovered your site when my Shiba (Duke) was younger! Duke is now 10 months old and about 4 months ago he started acting bi-polar. It’s hard to describe, but here goes:
He gets very growly and sometimes snaps viciously in random situations. We initially thought he was simply resource guarding his food and bones. But it occurs when he is not near any food or even toys just as often. He often acts this way in the morning. Typically he is sitting on his chair in the kitchen, which is by the window so he can look outside. He’ll just be sitting there and if I go over there (calmly) and start to pet him he’ll start growling. If I don’t back away he will growl more and eventually snap at me. I have put him in timeout in the past, but it hasn’t seemed to have any impact, and it’s kind of scary to try to get him there (I will try using the drag lead). It’s a like he’s just very grumpy when he’s sleepy. He is great with other dogs (99% of the times, there have been a couple dogs he didn’t get along with).
95% of the time he is a fantastic dog, very smart, friendly and playful. I really need to get him out of this habit. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!
What I have observed with Sephy is that he is very particular about his own person and his personal space. In addition, he is confident and sure about what he likes and what he dislikes. If he doesn’t want something done to him, he will say it loud and clear. My Huskies usually just submit when they see that there is no getting out, but not Sephy. If he thinks there is no other way out, he will fight. For things that are important to him, he will not give up and will not surrender.
I have found that the best way to deal with Sephy is not to challenge him, but to make him think that it is his own idea to begin with. For example, if I want to give him affection, I may called him to me. He knows that when I do this, he will get rewarded with food if he comes. If he is hungry enough, he will come and let me pet him. By making him work for his food and everything else that he wants, I can get him to do a lot for me around the house. Its his own decision, so he behaves. Often, he will just come over on his own.
With Sephy, it is much better to set him up for success. I manage his environment and do not expose him to more than he can handle. The more positive and calm interactions he has with me, the more well behaved he becomes. If I want to increase his tolerance to certain things, e.g. handling, I slowly desensitize him to it in a positive and structured way. More on how I desensitized Sephy to handling.
There is an Aesop fable that I like called the North Wind and the Sun. The moral of the fable is that persuasion is better than force. I think that that really applies to Sephy and to Shibas in general. When challenged, he will really dig in and fight like crazy. However, if it is about working for the things that he wants, he attends to those tasks with the same tenacity. Therefore, I try to structure things so that his Shiba energy is directed to working with me, rather than against me.
More on how I motivate my Shiba by controlling his resources.
I have a 10 year old shiba inu and am at the point of considering rehoming due to his aggression at times!
Basically whenever I or my husband attempt to attach his lead to go for a walk he’ll snarl and attempt to bite. He has connected on occasion drawing blood and its now at the stage that I dread the lead battles.
We’ve tried a soft leather collar and a harness but it doesn’t seem to matter what he’s wearing, he simply does not want to go out. Once he IS out, its as quick as he can do his business and straight back to the house. He’ll try and slip his collar if you attempt to take him any further. He’s fine with other dogs so its not that.
He does have lots of allergies (show me a shiba that doesn’t) and is now on a raw diet to see if that makes any difference but he has several lick granuloma on his paws that the vet keeps checking. He gets an antihistamine tablet every second day to try and help but the vet is reluctant to start steroid injections etc given his age.
I have a 3 year old daughter and she’s always very good with him (no fur pulling etc). Tonight I went to attach his lead and after growling at me, he lunged with teeth bared and would have bitten had I not managed to close the door quickly and secure him in the utility room!
He gets a walk morning and evening for between 20-30 mins but as I’ve said, once he’s done his business he refuses to go any further and will issue the shiba scream if you try to cajole him along (not pull I might add).
He’s part of the family but I will not tolerate biting and either he stops or he goes.
Ps I’ve also tried giving treats when putting on the lead but he just ignores them / ditto a toy etc as he’s too busy growling to notice.
The main battle seems to be in the afternoon when I get in for work as I can’t leave his lead on for safety reasons. He has the run of the downstairs living room / kitchen and utility room when we aren’t in so isn’t cooped up in a cage or kennel during the day.
Any suggestions to teach this old dog that walls are fun and the lead is a good thing? As a younger dog he had no issues but its just in the last year (like a grumpy old man not wanting to go out).
So previously he was good with putting on the leash? Did his behavior change suddenly or did it happen more gradually? Did anything unusual happen at the time when his behavior changed? Were there other changes in behavior, changes in energy level, eating, etc? Is he feeling pain or discomfort from the allergy issues, and could that be causing the change in behavior?
Does he snarl when people approach without a lead? Does he snarl when people approach with a toy or some other object? Is his aggressive behavior only with respect to the lead? So he is fine with putting on a collar or harness? Does he show aggression in other contexts? What was he like before last year?
Does he simply not want to go out at all? What about going in the car? Does he go out into the backyard? Is he aggressive about the lead in the backyard?
Sephy is also pretty picky about going out. Now that he is older, he goes out for a 1 hour walk in the mornings, and then he doesn’t want to go out anymore after that.
For the most part he’s a happy go lucky wee guy. Wags his tail at people that say hello on walks, will stand patiently if there are kids or puppies (so much so he’s been at daughters nursery and I’ve had other owners comment on how good he’s been with their puppy – letting it make the first moves rather than jumping straight in to play). We were very careful introducing him to our daughter when she was a baby and he’s very good with her (will let her brush him etc).
He hates baths (most Shibas do I think!) and will scream like its molten lead on his back rather than water but its all noise – no aggression. ditto with car journeys but he’s been like that since a puppy. I don’t think it’s fear rather that its like a kid not liking school!
He doesn’t like the vet and will growl if he’s to get an injection but normally doesn’t try to bite (just wriggle to get away).
He’s had allergies since he was about 6 yrs old and had a thyroid test but came back negative. Last year he had an ear infection and had an operation but that’s been all clear for many months.
He doesn’t like getting his harness or lead on. He’ll wear his collar ok and it doesn’t appear to cause any discomfort. The only issue is attaching the lead and going outside. He doesn’t get pulled and the collar is a simple leather one with holes and a buckle rather than a choke chain design so there’s little to no tension on the neck unless he’s pulling me. There is no skin sores etc where the collar is though under his legs are red on occasion (with the allergies) so when that happens we have him on the collar rather than harness. I find its easier to attach the lead to the harness so that’s why we tried that as I can often quickly snap on the lead before he starts growling.
He’s not food or toy possessive and doesn’t growl with either.
No, it’s just attaching the lead and going out (especially in the rain). He HATES the rain and will slam on the brakes at the door rather than go out. Again, that’s only got worse in the last couple of years. Honestly think he’s just a grumpy old man that doesn’t like getting wet or going out. But he has to go for a wee walk (as our daughter plays in the back garden so can’t let him do his business there – plus he’s never been comfortable doing it in his “territory” – another shiba trait I’ve been told (not soiling his own area). He will happily go out and sit on the grass / step though getting a suntan in the summer (but will come into the house if too warm).
When he does growl / snap usually 15 minutes later he’ll “apologise” and come over wanting a pat and sit beside me – almost like he knows he’s done wrong and wants the approval of the alpha female again. For the most part he plays the omega role to my husband. He occasionally tries to exert his authority e.g. Sit at my husbands chair and growl if he goes to sit down but my husband tells him “no” and he’ll wander off “grumbling” under his breath (not growling but a shiba noise like “ok, you’re space…”).
I know I’ve used human emotion terms to describe the behaviour and that its not but just easier to describe that way!
I can put up with most of his grumbles but the fact he lunged at me with teeth bared and would have bitten had I not closed the door concerned me. My husband takes him out on a Saturday morning and sometimes my daughter wants to go for a walk too and will lift his lead over. I’m worried that if she tries to “help” and put his lead on that he’ll try to bite her. I want him to enjoy his walks out with the pack.
oh, his paw pads are fine so I don’t think it’s due to sore feet. He’s not as agile as he was as a puppy but can still run around so don’t think it’s arthritis and sore joints. He’ll stretch in the morning once his lead is on but doesn’t appear to be in discomfort when he is out on the walk.
Only other thing, its worse in the winter months when its cold and wet. When its sunny he’s better and doesn’t growl as much (or at all some days).
As I said, weird dog!!
That is really interesting. Sephy also hates going out in the rain. Ditto on soiling his own area. He also doesn’t like walking on wet grass.
In terms of aggression, I went through some of that with Sephy during his early years. Two things that come to mind during my experiences with Sephy –
1. Persuasion is better than force
Sephy is extremely stubborn. If I try to push him to do something, he will dig in and really not want to do it. I am a bit like that too, so I understand where he is coming from. š There was this one incident where he did not want to put on his harness, and we sat waiting by the door for 4 hours, before he would allow me to put it on and go for his walk!
Sephy responds much better when there is no challenge and nothing to fight against. For example, when I want to brush his teeth, I call him to me, and ask him to lie down on his side. I reward him very well for this, and start brushing. If he lets me brush, I continue to reward him well. I use a special treat for teeth brushing and nail grinding, which he only gets for these special activities. At the end of brushing, he gets his dinner kibble ball.
If he decides he does not want to brush, I leave, ignore him, and go do something else, and he does not get attention, his special treat rewards, or his kibble ball. I try again later, and he is usually in a different frame of mind by then, and more motivated to do brushing. In this way, there is nothing to be stubborn about, and he is not pushed into a position where he feels he needs to fight back.
I do a similar thing for walks. When it is walk-time, I call my dogs to me. I reward them well when they come, and they have to sit calmly while I put on collar and leash. I desensitize them to collar and leash beforehand if necessary. I reward them for being calm while I put on collar and leash, and then we go for our walk.
If Sephy doesn’t want to go out, he doesn’t come, and he doesn’t get the rewards or the walk. I try again later on when I am free. In this way, he doesn’t have anything really to be stubborn about because it is his choice.
I also follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs.
2. My energy
Sephy is really sensitive to the energy of the people around him. He was a little spitfire during his youth, and I often got frustrated with him, and sometimes a bit fearful when he started jumping on me and biting my jacket sleeve. Unfortunately, he would quickly pick up on my energy, get stressed out himself, and act even more crazy.
He was not an angel with others in the family, but his behavior was worst with me because of my energy. I remember this one incident very well where one family member passed his leash to me so that I could take him out, and straight away, he started jumping on me and biting my clothes. Once I changed my own energy, things also improved with Sephy.
However, as you know, dog behavior is very context dependent, so each situation is different. Given that there is a very young girl in the house, it may be best and safest to consult with a good professional trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
we have small chiuaua dog who goes and sleepsn the den every night, we close the door as soon as he is in, he was out in a shelter for a months and returned home two days back, as soon as we ask him to goin he does but very agressive if try to close the door. Any advise on how to deal with this issue?
Dog behavior is very context dependent, so in cases of aggression it is best to consult with a professional trainer.
A dog may develop confinement anxiety after going through the trauma of being caged in a shelter situation.
My 1 year old Black Lab has been racing around the yard and jumping up to bite my arms and hands. I have usually remained calm and just kept doing what I was doing and ignored him but it is getting worse. His hairs stand up and he races around and barks at me, I tell him No. Tonight he bit my arm and kept coming back for more. He comes up from behind me doing this especially when Im not paying attention to him. He does not do this to my partner nor my babies but I am concerned he may start being aggressive to my children. He does listen to me when he is inside however, this bite has happened whilst my partner has been away for the weekend. I cant even take the rubbish out without being attacked. I don’t know what to do. I am scared of my own dog. have owned many animals including dogs before but have never experienced this.
Yeah, I went through a similar thing with my Shiba Inu, Sephy.
This is what I do to teach my dog not to jump on me or bite me. I use a drag-lead to control him if necessary. I *only* use a drag-lead with a flat collar (*not* an aversive collar) and only under supervision.
More on what I do to control my dog’s biting.
Daily exercise and structured activities also help with my dogs because it is provides a good opportunity for teaching them how to control their impulses, and gives them an outlet for their youthful energy.
Some of my experiences of being scared of my own dog.
Hello,
I brought home an orphaned puppy from a rescue when she was 6 weeks of age. She was hand raised & came with no understanding of dog body language & no idea what bite inhibition is. She’s Aussie Shepherd / Aussie Cattle Dog mix. I’ve had Australian Shepherd mixes for years & know the intelligence combined with the manic energy means working both mind & body so at the end of the day I have a tired & happy dog. She is also affectionate, sweet, adores kids, never meets a stranger & wants to meet everybody she sees.
She’s four months old now & has learned so many important things, I blame myself for what she won’t learn. She came to me a biter convinced from Day 1 that she’s supposed to be in charge. I won’t get into every problem we’re working thru but there is one leaves me at a loss. Indoors she has absolutely no food, toy, or water bowl aggression & I check regularly. Outside, she becomes very aggressive, seriously aggressive, over mud, wet moldy grass & other animals poop.
We’ve had tons of rain so when grass is mowed the little clumps the mower leaves behind dry on top in the heat. But turn them over & the grass is wet and slimy. She constantly grabs mouthfuls of mud. And she never misses an opportunity to grab other animals poop. Off leash she then avoids me until she’s finished. On leash, she will clamp her jaws closed. Sometimes she will drop & leave on command but usually she hunkers down, curls her lip, snarls & growls, then lunges at me.
If anybody can shed a light on why she has this behavior problem and/or knows how to put a stop to any of it, I would be greatly interested.
Thanks
Yeah, my Shiba Inu showed similar behavior when he was young. He would treat pine-cones, sticks, and other outside objects like they were gold. I think they were really high priority to him because-
1. He never gets to have them.
2. I always try to take them away from him by force.
All my dogs also liked playing with wet grass when they were puppies. I think wet grass has a strong scent, and they like picking it up and tossing it around, in play.
Ultimately, my Shiba started to protect pine cones and sticks from me, because he knew that whenever he gets them, I would take those objects away. Some things that helped with my Shiba-
1. I did object exchange and other resource guarding exercises with him. I start with low priority objects, and then slowly move on to higher priority stuff, including outside objects such as pine cones and sticks. I picked a few good ones, brought them home, so we could practice a bunch (in a controlled environment) while we are at home.
I practiced inside the house, in the backyard, and when he was ready, in other outside locations. I make sure to have him on-leash during these exercises, and I use other safety equipment if necessary.
2. I taught him the Leave-It command. We would first practice it inside the house, then we would move on to the backyard, and in the end, we practice it during walks as well. When I give that command, I make sure I have good control, and can prevent him from getting to the target object, if necessary.
With poop, I am especially strict with my dogs. If they try to *eat* the stuff, I no-mark the behavior, and march them straight home. This teaches them-
If Shiba tries to eat stuff that he is not supposed to in the backyard, then he loses his backyard privileges temporarily. My Huskies were both interested in eating cat poop, but they stopped that behavior after I marched them home a few times. They all love their walks, so ending the walk is a very good motivator to get them to stop eating poop.
3. With resource guarding, I have observed that prevention is much better than cure. It is usually best when I can prevent my Shiba from getting his mouth on a particular object. Therefore, I watch him closely and keep him on a short leash in places where there is a lot of temptation.
If I miss something, then I give him the Drop command (pre-trained). If he drops it, I reward him really well with a favorite game or chew. If he does not want to drop, then I no-mark and start marching him home. I only remove things by force if they are dangerous objects.
This is because the more frequently I do a forced mouth removal, the more likely he is to start guarding behavior again. Therefore, I want to minimize these occurrences, and maximize successful encounters where I get to reward him for “leaving it” or voluntarily “dropping it”.
Here is a bit more on my resource guarding experiences with my Shiba.
Hey, I like this site a lot and it has given me some good ideas. I have a 1 year old German Shephard. She was fairly aggressive as a puppy and it has gotten worse. We took her to a trainer and she was doing great but recently has started to regress. She starts biting and nipping especially when I lay down. It is all attention seeking, and I have been told not to put her in time out because the simple act of getting up is rewarding her behavior since she wants attention. I have tried the “tsch” idea as well, and it was working but it has starting being less effective. Thoughts??
Yeah, my dogs are also more likely to come over and lick me when I lie down on the floor. They see it as an invitation to play or interact. š
What type of exercises or methods did the trainer suggest?
I am not sure I understand. Is the suggested solution for us to simply lie there, do nothing, and say nothing? Such a strategy does not seem effective to me, but perhaps I am missing something. I would need more details before I can comment further.
This is what I do with my dogs to teach them not to bite on me –
1. I start with a no-mark to let my dog know that it is an undesirable behavior. Then I tell my dog what to do instead, e.g. give a simple command or redirect him onto a toy.
2. If he redirects, then I make sure to reward him well by playing a fun game with him, with the toy.
3. If he continues biting on me, then I withdraw my attention by standing up, folding up my arms, and turning away from him. In this way he learns that –
Following commands and biting on a toy = Get to play a fun game,
Biting on me = No games, and lose a fun playmate.
4. If he stops biting on me, then I mark the behavior and reward him by giving him attention again.
5. If he escalates his behavior by jumping on me or biting on my clothes, then I say “Timeout”, and calmly put him in a very low-stimulus timeout area. In this way he learns that –
Being calm and not biting = Get attention from people,
Jumping and biting on people = Temporarily lose access to people as well as freedom in the house.
What works well for my dogs is to not only tell them what not to do, but also teach them what *to do* instead.