Re: bad manners

In Reply to: bad manners
Posted by:  Tiffany
Posted on:  November 28, 2001 at 16:37:40

: Hi, I have a 13 month old neutured male jr and just recently moved. I took him to the beach and it turned out to be horrible. Every person or dog that walked by he would growl and bark at. He does this when he's on a walk but not as bad. My question is I don't know what to do. I have tried things the books say to do, and nothing seems to work. He does not get along with other male dogs, but loves people. The only problem is he gets very excited and jumps up on them when were out in public. At the house he sits as soon as you walk in because that is when he will get pet. I have bought a pinch collar, a choke collar, a harness, and just a regular collar and nothing seems to work. Once he goes up to the person he's fine and acts like there not even there, but if I hold him back he goes crazy. We go on a 6.5 mile walk a day and he plays outside for hours so I know he is getting enough exercise. Another isssue we are dealing with is he sometimes acts like we beat him. He gets down and growls and pees. He has never ever been hit so I don't know why this is happening. Please if there's anything you can do to help I would be greatful.

: Thanks, Tiffany

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Hi, Tiffany,

Good manners don't come naturally to a dog. They must be taught from the very beginning. I'm not a huge proponent of training tools. I work with a run of the mill collar and leash unless I'm dealing with a super aggressive dog, and even then, the training tools only come out when I'm TRAINING. Never on a walk or just around the house.

I have a terrier I couldn't handle for a while until my trainer showed me that I was being inconsistent with him. I made excuses for his behavior, found myself repeating myself CONSTANTLY to him, and when I really examined the situation, I realized that the dog owned ME. This is what I mean by dynamics of the relationship. Role reversal is VERY common, and if your terrier is acting so aggressive toward animals he meets in passing, it basically means one thing. He feels the need/desire to act like he's in charge of the situation. This means you aren't in charge. He is.

You should invest 15 minutes to a half hour a day (at least) in working on obedience with your terrier. Take charge and be a leader. Let him see that he can trust you to be his alpha, and you'll see a huge change in his behavior. And don't confuse training sessions with his walks. Keep them totally separate.

There are a few things that can cause your terrier to be submissive. Genetics can be the cause, and so can the fast moving hands of a person trying to catch a dog and swipe a toy away, or hands that swat butts or noses or hold muzzles. Raised voices and high emotions can also cause submissiveness. I try to be mellow around my terriers and when they do something wrong, I move slowly with them. There's nothing worse than a terrier who gets the idea that running away from the angry lunatic he lives with pays off... the "you can't catch me" game. To find the route of your terriers submissive nature, you should probably talk to your vet and see if he/she can recommend a good trainer. Whatever you do, don't get angry with a submissive dog.

Also, if your terrier isn't fixed, get him fixed. Hormones can play a large part in acting aggressively with other dogs.