Re: My dog can be a bully

In Reply to: My dog can be a bully
Category:   Behavior Problems
Posted by:  Shannon Garrity
Posted on:  September 25, 2002 at 18:24:14

: I adopted a 4 year old JR. We have worked with him a great deal in terms of the "alpha role" and he seems to know his place in the house. However, I get the feeling he was never really socialzed with people or other dogs. We are watching a friends rat terrier. I am sure he feels as though his territory has been invaded. They get along well for the most part. When the rat terrier picks up any toy, my JR immediately goes over and takes it away. Fortunately, the rat terrier is submissive to my JR so it does not take much to get the toy away. Is there something specific I can do to teach my dog to share his toys and not be such a bully?

Response:

Hi Shannon,

While it would be nice for our more dominant terriers to be nice and share, this is asking a LOT from them LOL!!

I think at this point just not having them try to kill another dog for playing with his toys is a big deal haha!

Dogs just don't think like we do, so they don't have the concept of "sharing" like we do. The best you can do is teach him the "LEAVE IT" command but as soon as another dog takes the toy he's going to want to get it back.

If you just want him to be better socialized then a group obedience class is a great way to go. Just make sure there are no more than 10 dogs (and preferably less) in your class. You not only get your dog trained in the basic commands, but it exposes him to other dogs and people in a controlled setting and it really helps with socialization. Of course you must continue to socialize him after you graduate from obedience class.