What is a dominant dog?
Some people attribute all problem behaviors to “dominance“, while others do not want to use the “dominant dog” label at all. The truth, as always, is somewhere in-between.
It is useful to recognize dominant behaviors in our dog, so that we can better manage him, keep him safe, and set him up for success. Refusing to use the word dominance, or denying its existence in dogs, is unhelpful.
Any pack animal including humans and dogs, have to deal with dominance issues, because it is part of pack dynamics.
Similarly, trying to explain everything away by using the dominant dog label or excuse, is also unhelpful. To really fix a problem behavior, we want to fully understand it, and correctly identify its source. For example, a dog may show aggression because of dominance. However, dog aggression can also be the result of fear, stress, play, curiosity, boredom, or something else.
Dog Dominance
Dominance is a fluid concept.
Dogs are not dominant all of the time.
For example, many dogs will show greater dominance when they are on home turf, or when their owners are around. Under different circumstances, these same dogs may become less assertive, or may even become submissive.
Observe our dog carefully, and identify when he is more likely to show dominance, and why.
Dominance is a relative concept.
My Shiba Inu, for example, is more dominant than most dogs I have owned. He challenges me more frequently, and is constantly testing his boundaries. He has a dominant body posture, and he will not back down when challenged by other dogs.
My Siberian Husky, is a more submissive dog. She usually stops whatever she is doing, when I tell her to. She very quickly backs down, and uses submissive body language, when confronted by other dogs.
However, this does not mean that my Husky will always back down, or never show any dominance behavior. She simply prefers to avoid conflict, and has learned that she usually gets more, by seeking a peaceful resolution. I make sure to encourage this behavior, by rewarding calmness and conflict avoidance very well.
What is a Dominant Dog?
- A dominant dog will likely respond with aggression when he is frustrated, or when he feels threatened. He may also redirect that aggression onto us, if we try to physically engage him.
- A dominant dog is more forceful when it comes to fulfilling his own needs and goals. He is not afraid to challenge those around him, and to continually test his boundaries. My Shiba Inu is always testing to see if particular rules, such as the no getting on furniture rule, still hold true.
- A dominant dog is more likely to fight, and less likely to submit or run away. My Shiba Inu likes playing with other dogs, but he generally does not get along with dogs who try to dominate him. If challenged, he will not back down, and this can result in a dog fight.
Dealing with a Dominant Dog
1. Calm and decisive pack leader
Being angry and shouting at our dog, will only worsen his behavior. Fear and uncertainty will increase his level of stress, and cause him to behave in a more erratic fashion.
The best way to deal with a dominant dog is to remain calm, and firmly remove him from the environment or object, that is causing him to act out.
2. Avoid physical corrections
Contrary to common belief, physical force or physical corrections is NOT a good way to deal with dominant dogs. If not perfectly executed (with perfect timing, force, and technique), a physical correction may further frustrate our dog, and cause him to get more aggressive.
Instead, stay calm, keep physical interactions to a minimum, and quickly leave the stressful situation. In addition, using physical force against a dog, may end up teaching him the wrong lesson; in particular, use violence against violence.
True alpha dogs lead by controlling the pack’s resources. We can control our dog’s resources by following the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) program, and using reward obedience training.
3. Management and supervision
We want to step in and stop any aggressive behaviors, before our dog escalates and loses control. Prevention is key when dealing with a dominant dog. It stops him from practicing aggressive behaviors, and it enforces the important lesson that we are calm and in charge.
4. Consistent rules
To become a good pack leader, it is important to develop a set of house rules and some structure, for our dog to follow. Always be consistent with enforcing all of those rules.
My Shiba Inu’s most important house rules include –
- No getting on furniture,
- No biting on people,
- No leash biting, and
- No food aggression or resource guarding.
5. Frequent obedience training sessions
Schedule at least two or more short (10 – 15 minutes) obedience training sessions with our dog, every day. It is a good idea to keep up with obedience exercises, throughout a dog’s life. This keeps him mentally sharp, and makes it clear that we are in charge.
6. Use proper equipment to control our dog
When dealing with aggression, safety should always be a primary concern.
Use whatever equipment is necessary, to keep all the people around our dominant dog safe. A drag lead may also be useful because it gives us good control of our dog, without having to lay hands on him or his collar, and without resorting to chasing games.
If our dog has a bite history, it may be necessary to use a muzzle. I like the basket muzzle because it does not overly constrain a dog’s mouth, and is more comfortable. A basket muzzle will still allow a dog to eat and pant.
Be careful not to aggravate our dog’s aggressive behavior by overly constraining him, and causing barrier frustration. When in doubt, consult a professional trainer.
7. Set our dog up for success
Try to minimize the number of dominant displays. Identify objects (e.g. other dogs, cats) and environmental conditions (e.g. loud noise) that trigger dominant behaviors, and avoid those triggers.
Then, gradually desensitize our dog to those events, in a controlled fashion.
Many dog behavioral issues, including resource guarding, biting people, dog-to-dog aggression, sensitivity to handling, growling at humans, and general disobedience, are often attributed to “the dominant dog”.
However, each of these problems are unique, and complex. They are usually the result of many factors, one of which may be dominance. In fact, many behavioral issues are the result of stress and fear, and have nothing whatsoever to do with dominance.
When dealing with dog behavioral issues, it is best to keep an open mind.
Observe our dog and his environment carefully. Identify the triggers for his aggressive behavior, and try to understand why he is responding in this way. If his aggression is extreme (e.g. he is breaking skin, and/or causing puncture wounds), hire a professional trainer to help us carefully trouble-shoot the problems.
Hello, I have been reading some of your posts and I can see you’re very knowledgeable on the subject of dog dominance, so I would like to ask for your advice.
My neighbor’s dog (a Border Terrier mix) has always been very aggressive and territorial, getting help from said neighbor has never been possible. His dogs pee, sleep and mark (with their paws) places on various blocks away from their house, including our house and lawn.
Months ago the dog began to follow me barking and growling, at first I wasn’t afraid, but seeing he was increasingly aggressive made me more and more scared, as soon as I saw he was there I moved to the other side of the street but he always followed me barking, then last week he ran towards me barking, he kept circling around me, almost about to jump, and even if I said his name he didn’t calm down, I simply couldn’t approach my house.
I was absolutely terrified, the neighbors stood there staring and finally when he backed a bit I went to my house, I grabbed a small pot with water and threw it at him, he ran away very quickly and it didn’t even touch him, but he kept barking from a distance.
I even got ill from the shock, I know I shouldn’t have been scared, but I’ve always been afraid of dogs and this was a trigger.
So now I’m wondering, what am I going to do next week when I have to return from school?
A long time ago my mother told him “no” when he was about to follow my brother, that seemed to make him go mad, because he didn’t stop barking for some good 15 minutes, so I don’t know if saying “no” would be a good option, also, I’m thinking about carrying a bottle of water in case he becomes aggressive again, Do you think that would be a bad idea?, or should I just keep walking and stand still if things escalate?
Thanks for reading this.
It sounds like it may be best to get help from your parents or relatives. Perhaps they can have a talk with the neighbors, or failing that, get help from the local animal care and control agency.
Thank you for replying.
Well, talking to the neighbors is out of the question because it has been done before and they kind of feel proud that their dog is that way.
There’s a German Shepard across the street, he’s behind a gate, the Terrier goes there EVERY SINGLE MORNING to bark at that other dog, the owner just stands there laughing, he thinks it’s hilarious that his tiny dog is not scared of the other one.
About 4 months ago the German Shepard killed one of said neighbor’s dog, and he still thinks it’s funny! He has seen his dog run towards me and just carries on with whatever he is doing, if I ask for help, he giggles!
As for an animal care place, there’s no such a thing in this country. When the German Shepard killed yet another dog (about two years ago) we tried to get the police involved because the owner said he couldn’t do anything about it because his dog knew how to open the gate.
This has been going on for years as you can see, everybody lets their dogs do whatever they want, and nobody cares what happens to them.
I don’t want to turn this into some emo letter, but really, my mom’s response was “Oh, yeah, I heard the dog barking like a maniac, and because of the time it was I knew it was you who was outside” and yet she couldn’t be bothered to go out to try to help me…
So yes, I’m in trouble.
Hello Lilly,
It sounds like a difficult situation. Does your mom know that the dog is charging at you and not just barking? It may help to explain that the dog is escalating his behavior, since your mom may not know the whole situation. Is there a relative, such as an aunt or an uncle, or a teacher, that can also help with this?
In general, I do not try to confront or engage with off-leash neighborhood dogs. I also do not give them eye-contact, which can be seen as an invitation to interact, or as a threatening gesture, similar to when a stranger stares at us.
I have also been charged by off-leash dogs before, but luckily, there are usually people around who help to secure the dog. Off-leash dogs are really a people issue. A good long-term solution will likely require getting people involved.
HELLO AGAIN. I HAVE ADDITIONAL INFO. REGARDS MY MASTIFF’S BEHAVIOR AT THE ENCLOSED DOG PARK. 30 MIN. PRIOR TO HIS OUTBURST BEHAVIOR A DOBERMAN PINCHER WAS AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS HIM AND SNAPPED AT MY DOG. MY DOG JUST TRIED TO BRUSH HIM OFF AS USUAL WITH OTHER DOGS THAT WANT TO FIGHT WITH HIM. BUT IF THEY DO THAT TWICE OR MORE HE WILL QUICKLY STAND HIS GROUND. WELL, HE DID IT TWICE BUT MY DOG IGNORED HIM AGAIN AND WALK CALMLY AWAY. IT TAKES 2 OR 3 TIMES FOR MY DOG TO GET AGITATED. SORRY FOR HOLDING THIS INFO. I DIDN’T THINK HIS EARLIER ENCOUNTER AFFECTED HIM. WHAT DO YOU THINK? THANK YOU.
Hello Joel,
Since I was not there to see things as they unfolded, it is difficult for me to say what actually contributed to the behavior.
However, most of the enclosed dog parks that I have been to, are unstructured and have very little supervision. Many of the visitors are focused on chatting, and are less interested in managing their dogs. As a result, a dog may pick up bad habits from observing other dogs, may get overwhelmed during play, and may get into altercations with other dogs.
In the end, we decided that Sephy (our Shiba Inu) would do much better in smaller and more structured play groups, where there is much more human supervision. In this situation, I am in control and can use his desire to play with other dogs, as a way to teach him good behaviors.
i have 2 male dogs. 1 is retriever/pitbull mix and the other poodle mix. They use to play all day everyday together. One day the poodle mix started growling at the younger, bigger and gentle dog whenever he seen him. I’m not sure, but i think it was because our female started her heat cycle, even though the bigger dog was still to young to be interested. Well this went on for a few weeks and the bigger dog just ignored him. But then one day he got tired of it and they got into it. Now they fight the second they see each other. I have grandkids who i worry about getting hurt, not to mention the little go dying. What can i do? Will getting them fixed work? Keeping them in separate rooms is making things worse.
Hi, Thanks for the great advice. I’m hoping I can further pick your brain. We have a male pit who has some issues. He came from a home where they may have tried to teach him to fight, is dog aggressive with other dogs except ours (a female pit and a female chihuahua mix), is pushy, rambunctious and, growls at my daughter at times (she’s 23 yrs old and was his previous co-owner). I have spent so much money on trainers and although he has improved somewhat, I’m still struggling with him – especially when out on walks (he gets riled up really easy when he sees other dogs and even remembers some of the houses where dogs have barked when we’ve walked by) and I don’t like that he growls at my daughter. I would soooooooooo appreciate any tips you could provide. Thanks so much. Laura
What type of training have you tried wrt. his dog-to-dog aggression? What was his response?
I do not have experience with retraining a fighting dog, and can only speak to my experiences with my own dogs.
In terms of dog reactivity issues, what has helped with my own dogs are-
1. Structured and well-managed desensitization exercises.
2. Creating neutral experiences with other dogs.
3. Setting them up for success. For example, I only expose them to situations and environments that I know they can handle. We first leash train in the backyard where there are no distractions. Then, we start walking in very quiet parts of the neighborhood. We drive to a quiet place if necessary.
I find that it is best to keep my dogs below their reactivity threshold, by managing their environment. The more a dog practices aggressive behaviors in the presence of other dogs, the more likely he will repeat the behavior in the future.
Therefore, I am careful about managing their surroundings, so that they only have positive or neutral experiences with other dogs. This helps them to build confidence, and to reassociate other dogs with something positive.
However, my dogs do not have to get over a difficult past. Given what you describe, I would only do training under the direction of a good, positive-based professional trainer; preferably one who has extensive prior experience with rehabilitating dogs that have been taught to fight.
I have a pitbull male at about 11months old.we got him a friend,female pitbull/lab mix at 8 weeks old, we put them together and all went well , its been a week and everything was fine , then the little one got out the gate for maybe 2 second, I picked her up and put her back in the yard as soon as I put her down our male just snapped at her, and ever since he has not allowed her near him! What to do?? Plz help
What is puppy’s routine? How did she act with the male during the first week? What is the male’s routine like, and how did his routine change? Did they play all of the time? How were their play sessions? Puppies usually don’t know what their boundaries are, so they may overly pester our existing dog.
When I get a new puppy, I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. In this way, puppy knows what is expected of her, the other dogs know what to expect from my new puppy, and vice versa. Conflicts usually arise out of uncertainty – so I set up clear boundaries on what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Then, I supervise closely, and if there are any issues, I step in and resolve them in a consistent way.
Here are some things that I did while introducing a new puppy to my existing dogs.
Note though, that dog behavior is very context dependent. Each dog and each situation is different, so some things may apply and some may not. Getting a good professional trainer can be helpful, because he can observe the dogs together, read their body language, and properly identify the source of the behavior.
HELLO, CAN SOMEONE HELP ME(S.O.S.) IDENTIFYING IF MY 18 MTH. OLD NEAPOLITAN MASTIFF IF HE IS BEING STRONGLY PLAYFUL OR DOMINANT? WHILE BEING AT THE DOG PARK WITH MY DOG EVERYTHING SEEMED NORMAL AS USUAL. AS I WAS SITTING ON THE BENCH SUDDENLY MY DOG STARTED PUSHING ON ME OR FORCING ON ME AND WHEN I GOT UP HIS BEHAVIOR ESCALATED FOR A LONG TIME. I JUST COULDN’T CONTROL HIM. HE THEN STARTED SNAPPING AT ME THEN BITING MY ARM ENOUGH TO BREAK MY SKIN. THAT GOT ME WORRIED SO I STRUGGLED WITH HIM BUT I FINALLY PINNED HIM. WE WERE BOTH TIRED AND HE CALMED DOWN. WHEN HE RECOVERED(TIREDNESS) HE START UP AGAIN. SO WE(MY WIFE & DAUGHTER) DECIDED TO LEAVE THE PARK. HE DIDN’T LET ME WALK AND STARTED ROUGHING ME UP AGAIN AND BITING A LITTLE MORE HARDER. THAT SCARED ME MORE. FINALLY MY WIFE CALLED THE DOG TO DISTRACT HIM AND IT WORKED. WE THEN LEFT THE DOG PARK. WE ALSO HAVE A FEMALE NEO (1YR.) IN HEAT WHICH WE LEFT BACK HOME. WE ARE SKIPPING HER SECOND HEAT AND ARE KEPT APART. MY ARM IS ALL BRUCE UP AND SCRATCH UP FROM HIS FANGS. I WORRY FOR MY FAMILY. HOW DO I CORRECT THIS BEHAVIOR. IF ANYONE CAN HELP I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.
Hello Joel,
The best way to identify the source of aggression for a dog, is to hire a professional to come over and observe the dog, read his body language, as well as look at his routine and environment. Dog behavior is very context dependent, therefore to properly diagnose an issue, a trainer would need to see the dog, get to know his temperament, and interpret the behavior based on what is happening in the surrounding context.
For example, what kind of dog park is it? It is a fully enclosed dog park? What other dogs were around then? What was your dog doing before the incident occurred? Was he doing excited playing? Were many other dogs chasing him and he was feeling overwhelmed?
Enclosed dog park environments are often chaotic, with few rules, and very little supervision. My Shiba Inu picked up a lot of bad habits at the dog park.
Re: Alpha roll or pinning a dog down
I used alpha rolls on my Shiba Inu when he was young, and unfortunately, it made his behavior even worse. He also became very sensitize to handling, and started to lose trust in me. I later found out that alpha rolls can also encourage aggression.
Here is more on my experiences with alpha rolls.
Here is a short but good article from UC Davis about dominance and dog aggression.
I do bite inhibition training with my dogs to teach them to control the force of their bites. I also set up a consistent set of rules for them, including rules on how to interact with people. I use the NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free program) to achieve and maintain pack leadership. They have a lot of structure and a fixed routine, so that they know what to expect from me, and what I expect from them in return.
Here is a bit more on how dogs learn.
Each dog is different, and each situation is different. Based on what you describe, it is best to get help from a good professional trainer.
Hi Joel,
I have had similar experiences with my dog and fortunately found a way to stop this behaviour. First, did you do a structured walk with your dog before taking him to the dog park? Dog parks should be considered ‘treats’ not a main meal – his walk is where he will drain his energy, giving you more control of him while in a dog park. Secondly if your dog has a lot of energy to burn, do your structured walk with him with a dog packpack on, with a waterbottle in each side filled with water.
I think what’s probably happened is your dog a) doesn’t consider you his pack leader and b) he’s gone to the dog park with too much energy and without another dog to release it with, he’s directing it at you.
Does he behave this way with you at home? if so, that will be perfect as it’s an opportunity to give him time out. Put him in a boring room with nothing to do, like a bathroom and leave him there for 5 mins. IF he comes out and repeats the behaviour he goes back in for 10mins. Again, if he repeats, 15-20. My Husky learnt VERY quickly wiht this who he could mess with and who he couldn’t. As a simple, easy and non agressive method, it’s my favourite for getting rid of unwanted behaviour. When he misbehaves at home, say Time Out! so he associates the words with being put away from the pack in a boring room (don’t let him out in the yard, it needs to be a place where he’s alone with nothing to do). Once he understands time out, you can use that whne you’re out and about. I only need to say it to my dog if we’re out now and he immediately quits what he’s doing. Also, you could benefit form really working on being the pack leader. There are lots of great tips on this site, but for exxample, give him rules of what he can and can’t do, just giving a rule and enforcing it shows him you’re the pack leader. Don’t let him go through doors ahead of you, eat first, enforce rules with time out and make sure you’re taking him on a sturctured walk every day to drain his energy.
My dog used to break the skin all the time, now he’s great. Good luck and hope this helps. 🙂 Camilla.
Hi I found this article because my partner and I are getting a dog from a rescue centre. She is about 3 years old and is a Labrador and Rottweiler mix. She came in as a stray and since has had dominance issues. She was rehomed initially but came back when she became dominant in her new home. Also she is dominant over women – I have seen this already as when I visit her (we haven’t picked her up yet) she will sit on my feet to mark my rank lower than her. When visiting I have now made sure that if she tries to do this that I make her sit between my legs or beside me so she cannot rank me lower. Finally she can be food aggressive – think this could be to do with stray history.
Sorry for the novel! Just wondered if there was any advice you could give to help me with asserting my rank over her and ensure that she learns to listen to me? I believe she can be a wonderful animal with some time and training, just want to get off on the right foot from the start 🙂
Thank you.
Hello Kai,
Congratulations on your new furry family member!
Here is a more recent article I wrote about dog dominance.
In terms of being pack leader, I find that following the Nothing in Life is Free program works well with my dogs.
As for food aggression issues, here are a couple of articles on my experiences with my dogs –
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys
http://shibashake.com/dog/stop-food-aggression-stop-resource-guarding
When I first got Sephy, I got a lot of conflicting advice from my neighbors, online boards, etc. Finally, what worked best for my dogs is to –
1. Get information from several different trusted sources. The ASPCA has some good articles on dog behavior. I also read articles and studies from animal behavior schools. UPenn, Cornell, and UCDavis has some good articles on dog behavior. Dr Sophia Yin also has an interesting blog on dog training and dog behavior.
2. Observe my dogs closely and let them tell me what works well and what does not. My dogs communicate a lot with me, but in the beginning, I missed most of their communication cues or misinterpreted them. With practice, I am getting better at reading their body language.
3. I also did some training classes and visited with several professional trainers during my difficult period with Sephy. There are a lot of not-so-good and so-so trainers out there though, so it is not always easy to find a good one. This is what I did to find a trainer for Sephy.
Big hugs to your girl! Have you brought her home? How are things going?
Thanks for the fast reply. Haven’t picked Bonnie up yet, just waiting for a home check to approve us but should be sometime in next week.
I will have a read up on the articles that you’ve given, I’m sure they will be helpful 🙂 I went to visit Bonnie on my own the other day as I had only been with my partner and found she was different with just me. After spending some time with her alone though it seems that she has definitely bonded with me and has began to listen to me. I went to visit her again today with my partner and she was as good as gold, completely over the top excited to see me and listened to me on our walk. I hope it doesn’t change when we bring her home!
Any things you can suggest that I can try at home once she comes home?
That is awesome! She will be a very happy girl next week.
Moving to a new home can be stressful for some dogs because everything is so new and they do not know what to expect from the new environment. When we moved to a new house, I set up a fixed routine, consistent house rules, and a consistent way of communication. In this way, Sephy knows exactly what to expect from me and also what I expect from him.
Routine and consistency helps to increase certainty and reduce stress.
Other than that, enjoy your new furry friend and take lots of pictures! 😀
I have a 1 year old rescue dog from the ASPCA. We think he’s some type of terrier and pit bull mix… He’s very sweet and loveable unless he’s laying down in his bed or one of our beds. If some members of the family (all but me) go up to hug or kiss him, he growls. At times he will then crawl over to them like he’s sorry and if they respond, he growls again. His aggression is getting stronger at times towards my 4 year old grandson just coming in the room to give me a hug. I love this dog and want to keep him, but people safety is first. I no longer allow him on my bed and barely in my room at all.
Does this seem like a dominance issue? And how can I fix it?
thank you,
Becky
Hello Becky,
Does he show this behavior when you are not around?
Does he show this behavior around other items – e.g. food or toys?
How does he act towards strangers during outside walks?
Does he show this behavior when someone comes towards him while he is sleeping on the floor?
Dogs are more vulnerable when they are sleeping/resting, and a person (especially a new person) invading their space (especially their sleeping space) can often be seen as a threat. If I woke up and suddenly saw someone looming over my bed, I would feel threatened as well. 😀
Here is an article on why dogs may not always like hugging.
Based on what you describe, it may also be a guarding issue. He *may* be protecting his space (the bed), you, or both.
Dogs often guard objects, people, etc. because they fear that those things will be taken away from them when other people (or other dogs) come close. For example, they may associate a person’s approach with “losing their sleeping area” (getting kicked off the bed), “losing their special person’s affection” (getting pushed to the side), etc.
A dog may sometimes also guard his people to protect them from what *he* sees as a threat.
Here is an article on why dogs get aggressive over food or toys. The article is targeted at food aggression, but much of it also applies to other types of guarding behavior.
This handout from UC Davis gives a quick but good overview of dog aggression and dominance.
Note though that I do not know your dog, do not know the surrounding context, and other related factors. Therefore, I can only give my best guess as to the source of the behavior. For an accurate evaluation, it may be best to get a professional trainer to meet the dog, observe his behavior, and identify what triggers the aggression. Then, a good trainer can also come up with a plan to retrain and redirect the behavior.
Love this website 🙂 I have an 8 year old shiba who is perfect. We don’t crate her, she has perfect manners and has 100% recall but when she was a puppy she was bit by another dog. Now whenever another dog comes towards her she growls and shows her teeth. Usually the dog backs off and then they are the best of friends. The odd occassion the dog growls back and its a full on dog fight. How would you correct this behaviour?? She is always offleash when it happens (she is worse onleash) and its always the bigger breds that growl back so my shiba always loses which doesn’t help the problem. We can always reach down and pick her up as she focuses her aggression on the dog but we would really like to show her that she doesn’t have to show her teeth at every dog that comes near her. She loves cats and other animals its just dogs. She also has zero interst in treats. We have tried numerous trainers who all advise that there is nothing really wrong with her, she is just a dominant dog who is not dog aggressive, she is just protecting her own space and telling other dogs she doesn’t want them in her space but we would prefer if she didn’t do this behaviour. Its embarassing and we have become the joke of the park – every morning the people are like “I guess she hasn’t had her coffee yet” or “your dog woke up on the wrong side of the bed as always”. At least they are used to her and have no problem but new people always have that moment when they think my dog is nuts 🙁 Any tips would be appriciated 🙂
What a sweetie! Are you sure she is a Shiba? 😉
Sephy was also pretty reactive to other dogs when he was young. Dog-to-dog desensitization exercises helped him to stay more calm in the presence of other dogs. The nice thing about desensitization is that it starts-off with a very weak version of the stimulus. With other dogs, distance is often a great way to weaken the stimulus. In this case, I had Sephy on-leash a far distance away from another dog who was also on-leash and focused on his handler. I am far away enough that Sephy is calm and able to listen to commands.
I get Sephy’s attention, we do some simple commands, and I reward him for staying calm in the presence of another dog. If everything is well, then we take one step toward the other dog and repeat the exercise.
We used to practice a lot at a nearby SPCA with one of their trainers. They had a really nice enclosed space where we did our training, and a variety of friendly dogs that we could do train with.
Big hugs to your Shiba girl!
Hi I was just wanting some advice I am hoping to get my Siberian Husky Puppy in Feb 2013 this will be my second dog but not of the same breed, I had my last dog was before I had children my youngest is now 2. I do know the breed need lots of exercise an shed around the year I’ve done a lot of research on the breed an I am willing to put the time into taking care an training this dog well 🙂 I was wanting some tips on how to get my children to approach the puppy an basically teach them how to be around the dog. I know the basics no smacking or bieng cruel to the dog an I will never be leaving the dog alone with the children any advice would be great, thanks in advance.
Hello,
This is not something I have much first-hand experience on, so I may not be the best person to answer your question. Some things that help with my dogs –
1. Stay calm and no quick movements.
Kids tend to move around a lot and have excited energy. This often gets Sephy excited as well, which is when he starts to jump and mouth. Calm energy with slower movements will help keep a dog more calm.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dogs-children-prevent-dog-attacks
2. Bite inhibition training.
This trains the dog to have a soft mouth.
3. Start training right away.
It helps to institute rules right away, and start teaching those rules to puppy while she is still small. They grow up very quickly, and then cute puppy behaviors like jumping or mouthing can become dangerous even if it is only in play. I find that having a drag-lead on an in-training puppy helps a lot, because I have better and quicker control of puppy when I need it.
I establish very clear house rules for both dogs and people. In this way, my dogs know exactly what to expect from me and other members of the household, and vice versa. Rules and routine really helps a lot with a new puppy.
Congratulations on your soon-to-be new family member! Happy Holidays! 😀
Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I have 3 dogs. Mickey, whippet-is a fussy eater he doesnt like dry food but only wants tinned food, i have tried leaving it down all day i have tried only putting it down fot 10 mins, this is the only thing he is fussy about he will happyly eat anything else at all. He is a year and a half old. The other probelm he has is toliet training. He will happly do it anywhere on our walks (concret, grass, pebbles, plants) but he will not do it in my garden. My garden is concret and very very small. I tried doggy nappies (which he takes off) and briught a crate, but he does it anyway normally in his bed.
My other dog bella is a sheppard cross with hunterhound female rescued her so dont know age. She seems to display dominance by mounting, her body language when meeting other dogs, she also gets jealous if i do anything with someone else and gets talkative about it, she chases the other 2 when off lead that seems slightly agessive. Due to pulling she now wears a head coller lead which does work.
Can you give mw any tips to sort out these problems? I would love to be able to enjoy the walks rather than dread them. I am still trying to train my dogs to the basic commands with treats and clicker training
Please help
leanne
Yeah, my Shiba Inu is a fussy eater as well. At first, he didn’t want to eat his puppy kibble. Then we got him a better kibble that was more to his liking. He ate that for a while, then he only wanted wet food. After that, he didn’t even want wet food anymore, but would hold out only for cheese and other special treats.
What helped with Sephy is switching to a fixed feeding routine and schedule. I gave him his food at fixed times and for a fixed duration. I also measured out the amount of food I gave him. He skipped a couple of meals, but then he realized that he wasn’t going to get dessert until after he ate his dinner, so he started eating his kibble.
Another thing that helped with Sephy is to follow the Nothing in Life is free program. With NILIF, Sephy has to work for all of his food – no more freebies in a bowl. This makes him value food a lot more, and is also a great way to motivate him to follow house rules and commands.
Re potty training:
With potty training what has worked well with my Sibes is a lot of supervision during the training period. I watch them like a hawk, and as soon as it looks like they have to go, I quickly take them out to do their business. Since they have to go anyway, they go outside as soon as I take them to their potty spot. When that happens, I praise them very well and reward them with high priority treats (that they only get for pottying in the backyard), a lot of attention, and also a fun game.
In this way, they learn that pottying outside = lots of rewards, attention, and games, while pottying inside = get interrupted and taken outside.
Supervision is probably the single most important aspect of potty training. If we can catch our dog before he makes a mistake in the house, then it becomes a useful learning opportunity; one which ends with a positive reward at the end for doing the right thing.
Here is more on my potty training experiences.
Also, some dogs may not like going in the backyard, or in confined spaces. My Shiba is very picky about his potty spots. For him, I usually take him out to the front-yard, and he is happy to go there.
Re jealous for affection:
One thing that has really helped with my dogs is to have very consistent house rules. I have rules of interaction with people, and rules of interaction with other dogs.
If I am giving affection to one of my dogs and another tries to rudely butt-in, then I no-mark (Ack-ack) to let her know that it is unacceptable behavior. Then I tell her what do to instead, e.g. Down.
If she follows the pre-trained command and is calm, then I give affection to both dogs. If she continues with her bad behavior and harasses my other dog, then she goes to timeout. In this way, she learns that bullying = no affection and loss of freedom. However, lying down calmly = lots of attention and affection.
Here is a bit more on what has helped with training my Sibes.