Training An Anti Social Dog?
October 19, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a 6 year old Parsons Russel Terrier who we got from a breeder at 15 months.. he was supposed to be a show/stud dog so he wasn’t neutered until about 18 months.. anyways, although he spent his first 15 months living in a kennel with other dogs he is VERY afraid (not the best word) whenever dominant dogs are around and he fights with submissive dogs. To be honest we haven’t done much to fix it since its never been a problem, and otherwise he is a saint (don’t give me cr@p about it.. it didn’t effect us or him, we let it slide) He is much better around female dogs then male, but basically they are all problems.
Anyways, right now my family is thinking about getting a second dog (not a puppy, probably greyhound) and we’re worried about how Ace will re act to this, besides him being very attached to me we don’t know if he will ever get used to having another dog around all the time.
I am the his primary “trainer” and do lots of work with him, along with providing the largest part of his care so i would like to work on getting him used to other dogs before we try to bring one into the house. Any tips on doing this?
-i am willing to go to a pro. trainer to help this, but i’d like to try it on my own first if at all possible.
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I really think you should get a professional trainer and make sure that you are there for all the sessions so that you can be trained as well. Jacks can be not so nice to other dogs and the fact that you did nothing to stop this when he was younger means you have to work extra hard now. I wouldn’t get another dog until this has been addressed and progress has been made as it will be most unfair to the new dog and to your current dog and seriously not fun for your family. Correct your inaction now to avoid any further problems in the future.
edit: dogs feed off energy and yours my friend is quite feisty…. NILF is great by the way…
edit: per your edits: then what you want to do is make all his time around other dogs positive. Bring him to a dog park if there is one near you or a place where dogs and people gather. Bring just as close as he will go without reacting. sit down and feed him very small pieces of a treat he will only get when around dogs. Start to move closer and repeat. play with a little, settle him down, treat and leave. keep moving closer and if he reacts, leave come back later or next day and return to the level he was still non reactive in… start at just a few minutes and increase time before increasing movement. It will take time and patience but you should start to see him becoming more comfortable around dogs. You also need to become really good at detecting changes in behavior just as it happens so it doesn’t escalate. Do not punish bad behavior only acknowledge him when he is doing what you want him to do. etc… good luck
The fact that he “lived in a kennel” should have screamed, “This(ahem, hack, hack, puppymill/BYB) “breeder” is a piece of trash.
Do not get another dog until this matter is taken care of.
He is 6 and it is probably going to be difficult at this stage in life-especially since he already has a problem with it to train him. If you bring another dog in the home, it may turn very traumatic and tragic for everyone involved. Especially, a young dog. Dog fights may break out etc. I would definitely get him professionally trained at this point. It is probably best he be the only dog. You can ask your vet for the number of a good behaviorist, and see what they think of his temperament, and of the idea of a new dog. I can tell you that I have a beagle mix (my Mom’s)who can just be the sweetest dog. But at no notice, and for no reason-will attack my dogs. We literally had to wall rooms off downstairs. And she gets through. She attacked my 6 lb male pom. For no reason. It was an accident. He is totally submissive. Got real close to the ground. She still tried to kill him. She tries to kill our female as well. And no matter how careful – accidents happen. My mom won’t get rid of the dog. Who is 11. Funny thing was-we had a dog around her age, for a long time she didn’t attack her. Then, all of a sudden started this. When we got our other dogs-we did not live with my Mom. So it wasn’t an issue. Our dogs, cannot even come and sit in the living room with us anymore-because of the other dog. It is a lot to consider.
The problem I think is the whole living in the kennel- this is usually completely uncontrolled shove as many dogs in there as you can and don’t care if they get along as long as they don’t kill each other kind of thing. Because there were dominant dogs probably with him he was always picked on…So he tries to defend himself with other dogs…
anyways…
It is hard to understand what a dog is doing over the internet. We could tell you millions of different ways to help this..but the safest thing to do is take your dog to a trainer. Again. This is not something we over the internet can tell you what to do- there are MANY different kinds of aggression in dogs and many different reasons for it. So please consult a trainer.
you need to teach your current dog that You are the pack leader. once he grasps this concept then introduce the 2nd dog, but always give your original dog treatment like he’s higher in command so that he knows it and doesn’t have to fight for the position. such as feed your original dog first, etc. there’s more info about this on the web if you look up NILIF training methods (nothing in life is free). goodluck
go to a professional trainer. they will train you on how to train your dog. dog aggression is not something you should try to handle by yourself. you are not a professional, you were not trained how to deal with it, and you have no clue what you’re doing. i know that sounds mean, but its the truth.
don’t just go to any “dog trainer”. talk to them about dog aggression and make sure they know what they’re talking about. a lot of trainers get paid on commission, so they just want you in the class for the money, not to help your dog.