Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do....

   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #1  

Rotax

Bronze Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2008
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50
Location
Saskatchewan Canada
Tractor
IH B275
Well to make a long story short, our dog has been nothing but a pain since we got him. We cant even leave the house for half hour with out him destroying something. We went to the city for a little bit today, put him in his kennel we just bought for him inside our garage as the weather was cold and damp outside. Come home to find him literally destroyed the $200 kennel we bought.(second one) He went mental and broke all the wire mesh it was made with and got out of it. But he is fine in it overnight when we are at home. I am at wits end here and don't know what to do with him any more. We had thought he wasn't getting enough of a work out when we walked him, so we had ran him till he was played out and it never effected his behaviour. I really don't want to give him away to another family and him terrorize them, and we can't be putting up with him doing stuff like this every time we need to go somewhere. Also our two year old son can't go anywhere near him, the dog will run up to him and steal his mitts off his hands, or if he has any food in his hands the dog will steal it right away. I just don't know what to do anymore! Anyone else have experience with a dog that doesn't behave? One that can't be by himself? What did you do to fix the problem?
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #2  
In one sense you are lucky to only have 1 dog like that.

I have 2 of them & they constantly get into mischief or trouble & it's not that they don't know better.
Once I go outside with them & they have time to settle down they are good. Sort of, most of the time.

They have about 1.5 acres to play run & chase.
Maybe find a friend with a large well fenced yard & see it it gets any better.

More later if interested,
Jim
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #3  
What is the history of your dog, how old? Did you get it as a puppy, or ? What breed and how big? Neutered/spayed?

I've never had a dog that suffered separation anxiety--going nuts when you are not home. But, that is what is going on there I think and something to read up on for treatments.

Taking things from your 2-year-old is a sign that it doesn't recognize the pecking order. I would try gently putting the dog is its place immediately when that happens. Show your dominance by rolling it on its back and holding it down for a bit until it gives in/stops struggling, then let it up.
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #4  
if you get in the dogs face does he cower?
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #6  
What is the history of your dog, how old? Did you get it as a puppy, or ? What breed and how big? Neutered/spayed?

I've never had a dog that suffered separation anxiety--going nuts when you are not home. But, that is what is going on there I think and something to read up on for treatments.

Taking things from your 2-year-old is a sign that it doesn't recognize the pecking order. I would try gently putting the dog is its place immediately when that happens. Show your dominance by rolling it on its back and holding it down for a bit until it gives in/stops struggling, then let it up.

good info. Your dog just wants to be with you and needs to learn the pecking order. My buddy who raises championship dogs says "If he snarls when you put him on his back, you will need to snarl back and bite him on the lip." :)
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #7  
Simple - take him to the dog pound. This dog has the potential to injure your son.
I had rottweiler that I adored, but once we brought our daughter into the house - the dog was GONE the next day. Don't care if the dog "would have been no trouble" with the new born, I wasn't going to sit around and find out.
Bottom line it's an ANIMAL not a member of the family ( although some people treat them that way ).
Why that dog is in your hose five minutes after it ....."and steal his mitts off his hands" - is beyond me. So you're trusting that the dog NEXT TIME will be as accurate with your two tear old fingers and NOT RIP THEM OFF HIS HAND.
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #8  
I had rottweiler that I adored, but once we brought our daughter into the house - the dog was GONE the next day.

You don't even say that there was a behavior problem with the dog (thus probably not, or you would have stated it) you just made it go away. Wow what a gem!:rolleyes:

TRAIN YOUR DOGS

Some dogs are more of a challenge than others but they can/will almost all respond to training. Without training they will revert to natural pack behavior and can easily be unmanageable.
If you are not willing to devote the time to care and train a dog then you should not have a dog. Some people are just not suited for dog ownership.

As to the OP your dog definitely appears to have separation anxiety from your description of behavior. There are some good training techniques that can be used to resolve the behavior. Find a good dog trainer for some techniques. You don't need to medicate the dog like the docs are doing with kids today. May take some work and effort but meds are not the solution to everything out there. Behavior modification works on humans and animals. Meds have their place but they are not the first choice or at least should not be.
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #9  
good info. Your dog just wants to be with you and needs to learn the pecking order. My buddy who raises championship dogs says "If he snarls when you put him on his back, you will need to snarl back and bite him on the lip." :)

Well, I don't know about the biting ... :laughing:

Some dogs with naturally dominant personalities just need to be shown their place. Dogs do this with each other commonly. The OP needs to fill that natural role that is missing.

A dog on its back, usually with its tail pulled up against its belly, is displaying submission. It is basically saying, okay, you are the alpha critter here. Dogs expect to have the pecking order sorted--you aren't being mean. That expectation needs to be met or a dominant dog will assume they are it. Less dominate dogs will be forever confused.

Put the dog into a submissive posture until it gives in, then release it immediately and ignore it, don't praise or reward it. It is important to recognize what "giving in" looks like. It really helps to study dog body language to read what is happening. If the dog submits and that signal is not read, you only add confusion. In the dogs mind, if they did what was needed but that didn't work, they really don't know what to think, but submitting isn't working--so.

Some other dominance actions: use the scruff of the neck like a mother dog does with pups, never let your dog win a staring contest--hold their gaze until they look away, stand upright over the dog straddling it, take food/toys from its mouth. Dry humping falls in this category too but that's a bit too much. LOL

If none of those common techniques work after being repeated with great consistency for a month or two, then you might have a dog with an abnormal personality.
 
   / Got dog troubles! Don't know what to do.... #10  
Well, I don't know about the biting ... :laughing:

Some dogs with naturally dominant personalities just need to be shown their place. Dogs do this with each other commonly. The OP needs to fill that natural role that is missing.

A dog on its back, usually with its tail pulled up against its belly, is displaying submission. It is basically saying, okay, you are the alpha critter here. Dogs expect to have the pecking order sorted--you aren't being mean. That expectation needs to be met or a dominant dog will assume they are it. Less dominate dogs will be forever confused.

Put the dog into a submissive posture until it gives in, then release it immediately and ignore it, don't praise or reward it. It is important to recognize what "giving in" looks like. It really helps to study dog body language to read what is happening. If the dog submits and that signal is not read, you only add confusion. In the dogs mind, if they did what was needed but that didn't work, they really don't know what to think, but submitting isn't working--so.

Some other dominance actions: use the scruff of the neck like a mother dog does with pups, never let your dog win a staring contest--hold their gaze until they look away, stand upright over the dog straddling it, take food/toys from its mouth. Dry humping falls in this category too but that's a bit too much. LOL

If none of those common techniques work after being repeated with great consistency for a month or two, then you might have a dog with an abnormal personality.

You are right about the Alpha dog in the pack. I saw this in action the other day. My neighbor has a Rottweiler (female), a Rottweiler mix(male), and a German Shepherd(female). The Rottweiler is getting older but she is still the Alpha. The German Shepherd must have "offended" her, because the Rottweiler grabbed the G.S. by the throat and took her down and just held her there. No blood was drawn. The GS was on her back with her tail tucked just as you described. After a few minutes the Rottweiler let go and just sat down beside the GS and watched her, still on her back with the tail tucked barely moving a muscle. Each time the GS would move, the Rottweiler would latch onto the throat and hold for a few minutes then release and sit back. This must have gone on for 10-15 minutes until the owner called them in. It was very interesting watching the Alpha reinforce her position at the top of the hierarchy. The mix just laid down and watched. Never left or got involved with this spectacle.
 
 
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