re: Dog thinks he is Alpha, suggestions? update p.9

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Chows are just all around shitty dogs

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Not at all.

A Chihuahua bit me when I was little, but I bit him back. Hard.

We didn't become friends, but we kept a wary eye out for each other.

I grew up around a chow. Mean as hell. Dogs like a chow, pit, etc feed off of aggression. Don't let these assholes in here fool you, that dog would be on you before you could react. And you would be tore up before you could defend yourself. He sees your gf and her place as his property. Nothing you can do. Live with it, or shoot it. The chow I grew up with was the guy next door, but she took the whole block as hers. Never gave us problem, but some guy shot her when she tried to attack him in his yard. She was crazy.

I've slapped the shite out of my gf's dog. Gf was upset for a minute but she understood. Dog learned his lesson.

Pinning is a method of last resort. At this point it's like wanting to punt on 2nd down Pinning is going to be tough with such a big dog who is already thinking he's dominant.

There are all sorts of way for you and your g/f to prove dominance over the dog. The first thing you need to do is present a united front. As long as he thinks one of you is weak, both of you are weak (in his eyes). You're either both alpha to him or neither are. With that said, you both have to discipline him in the same manner, one can't let him get away with something the other doesn't.

Also remember that body language is incredibly important. Your body has to communicate that you expect him to behave. When you go through any exercises you have to be stern in look and tone when correcting him and happy when rewarding him for doing good.

Along that line, make use of noise and gestures to get your point across. If my dog starts acting up I can snap my fingers and point at her and she shapes up quickly. Sometimes I will mix in the command "No" in a forceful tone if it's something important (example: a few nights back I was coming in from getting the mail and Mrs Bard came out the front door with our dog, the dog started trotting out toward me but she didn't see the cat that was coming from alongside the house and the two literally ran into each other at the end of our walkway. She took off after the cat but as she got to the property line I yelled "NO!" in a deep, drill-sergeant-like voice and she immediately stopped and came back... and this a dog that looooooves chasing cats and squirrels). If I clap loudly and have to call her name, she knows she's in deep shite. That's a point you want to get to, but it takes baby steps.

So what are some of the things you can do?

1. Make him sit and wait for his food. Sitting is a light form of submission. Once his food is ready, do not allow him to go to it until you are ready. If this means you have to stand between him and the bowl, so be it. It's your bowl and your food until you give it to him and he needs to understand that. If he starts getting growly, just stare at him but do not take a step back because if you do then he wins and that will make the issue MUCH worse.

--If you have trouble making him sit (ie: he's just being stubborn), put your hand into a claw-like position and press your fingers down gently but firmly onto his back right above his rump (just above where the tailbone starts to come out).

2. Do not let him on the furniture. Not the bed, not the sofa, not a chair. He stays on the floor. Being up higher is an empowerment thing when dogs are getting into a dominance role. Remove the paths to dominance and you go a long way to training him back.

3. If you want to give him a treat, make him work for it by sitting or even lying down.

4. When you and/or the g/f first arrive, ignore the dog when he comes up to you wanting affection. If he is all over you sniffing, give him a quick but gentle knee or shove with the leg to let him know you aren't ready for that. You aren't ready for it because you are the pack leader and you call the shots. Aside from the shoving away, don't acknowledge the dog in any fashion. No petting, no calling his name, don't even make eye contact. Once the dog settles down THEN allow him to come to you for affection.

Without being there and in your situation anything is going to be a best-guess scenario based on what you've described. The points I've listed aren't a cure-all but they give a good idea on the things you need to do to curb this before it gets worse.

If he prevails, can we hire him for game days?

Piss on him

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Posted by southernelite
I had an ex with a Poodle, y'all want to talk about some mean arse dogs......

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Standard poodles were originally bred as hunting dogs, but all of mine have been wonderful pets. One was a bit of a bitch (both literally and figuratively), but none of them even flared teeth.

Not reading the whole thread, have you tried mounting him?

Any update on this? Anyone seen anything in the obits?