My dog is really loving to us but hostile to any new dog or human she meets. How can we help her change?

Question

We got her from the Animal Shelter two years ago, full grown, already had 8 pupies. The dog in our household makes it really difficult to invite over guests b/c she immediately sees them as a threat and jumps all over them and barks. When we walk the dog and we see one we yell "dog!" b/c it's become a stressful encounter for us too, not just her. It's crazy b/c she has some really close dog friends (a girl and a boy) that she is totally the boss of. She loves them and she is always so excited to see them. I wish it was like that for every dog. Any ideas?

Answer 1

When new guests come over use treats. Meet the person at the door, hand them a few treats have them call the dog by name.. show the treat, ask the animal to sit, and then give the treat.

Repeated practise of this will do a few things.

1) The prospect of your company arriving will now relate a positive enmotion in the animal.

2) The animal will sit when someone enters the house rather than jump around like a goof.

3) When the dog is out on a walk it will no longer fear other humans as potential threats, rather will see tham as potential treats.

Answer 2

DO NOT LISTEN TO OTHERS THAT TELL YOU TO PUT YOUR DOG DOWN. Your dog has dominance issues and does not respect you. It barks and jumps on people because they are invading his territory approaching HER pack. She is dominant and need to be removed from that position of authority. She's dominant over her the dogs that she knows and has integrated that into the household.

Repetition, patience, and staying calm and assertive is the key.
Take the dog for a 45 min.MINUMUM walk to tire it out and make it easier on yourself.
Have random friends come over so you can practice on her indoor demeanor. When they ring the bell or knock, you correct the dogs behaviour with a choke chain or whatever kind of leash you have. Put it at the top of the dogs neck so you can have better control of the dog and this also controls 60% of the dogs brain, when it goes to leap at the guests you give it a quick correction followed by a sound like NO or a quick SHH sound. dont use the dogs name because you will associate name with corretional behaviour. DO NOT answer the door until the dog stops barking and jumping. even those little tiny woofs under her breath are a protest to you. when the dog calms down ask the guest to come in and most likely the dog will do the same thing it did before. Follow with the same corrections until the dog calms down. keep repeating the process until she doesn't bark or protest at all. The proper way for her to greet guests is to sit away or close to the door(whatever you chose) and quietly sniff the guest. thats it. When the dogs done sniffing the intruders scent then the guest can enter.

On walks to begin with you should have a friend accompany you with their dog that is well behaved. Walk with you dog with the leash on the top of the neck for better control by your side and your friend with their dog next to you. It should go like this:

Friends dog, friend, you, your dog or vice versa. but dogs always have to be on furthest side of the group. your dog will naturally pull you to get to the other dog but with the leash on the top of the neck pull upward so the dogs cant go anywhere and give it the same quick jerk correction as done in the house. KEEP WALKING TOGETHER UNTIL THE DOG OR BOTH DOGS CALM DOWN and walk by your sides with NO resistance. If you have to stop to let the dog wear itself out, do so then continue to walk in that formation. for random dogs on the street follow the same corrective process as with the side by side walk and in the house. Show your dog that YOU are in charge and things will change. It can take a really long time but it will absolutely happen.

Answer 3

I've read most of the anwers here and I think you have a very good response for your problem. My dog is not well socialized either, but she's only 1yo. Your dog is older and it's going to be more of a challenge for you. The best thing I know to do is to work with your dog; you have to be trained as well as the dog on behavior issues. And keep walking your dog so she'll continue to have the experience of meeting other pets and people. One thing that I know your doing wrong (with my limited knowledge, of course) is yelling "dog" whenever you see one. She has learned by you doing that, that there is a threat and it actually alarms her to react opposite of what you actually want her to do. I work with my dog a lot at home,...teaching her how to sit and stay; basically just to listen to me so she will learn that I am the leader. When I walk her, I keep the slack of the leash very short so she's close to me as possible. I stop often and give her commands so she has to pay attention to me and what I'm telling her to do. When I have company come over, I put all my dogs up in other rooms, because I want my guests to come back. If I want my to let my dogs out and meet my guests, I bring them out one at a time on a leash, unless we're outside, I'll let them out and run in the yard for awhile. But as soon as I sense my guests not appreciating it for whatever reason, I put them back up

Answer 4

Take her to an obedience class. She needs to be socialized properly. You need to work with her on how to not jump on people or attack other dogs. You also need to try to work on not becoming stressed yourself over these encounters, you will only add fuel to her fire.. she will feed off of your emotions and if she feels that you are stressed about meeting someone new she will be too. If she knows the sit and stay commands you can start there with her. Have her sit and have someone slowly approach her. Praise her for sitting still while they come up. If she gets up have the person stop, make her sit again and then resume. Don't allow a person to just walk up to her until she is able to maintain control.

Answer 5

For people... i would smother the dog with attention from yourself first... then invite a few good friends over often so the the dog gets used to these people as well... and this could help the dog get used to being around people... this is not an overnight change... as for other dogs... you have to introduce the new dogs slowly... walk the dog on a leash and let the dog check out the dogs in the neigborhood but don't let her rush in and bark... try to calm the dog...

Answer 6

You will need to associate new encounters with a positive experience... have people who aren't scared come over repeatedly and then you give your dog a treat every single time (a gooood treat... not a purina kibble... i'm talking like hot dog and bacon pieces). Then start doing it only if he greets and sits or something... Do this constantly until he starts making an association with someone coming over + him not going apesh*t on the guest = only way he gets bacon... then start weaning him off the treats a bit... but every once in a while still give him the positive reinforcement.

Answer 7

A nasty dog is an enormous liability these days. You can be sued, fined or even sent to prison if you know your dog is aggressive and she injures someone. Some dogs can be very aggressive and stubborn.

You and your family are not providing clear, firm leadership if she thinks she can growl, bite and basically threaten the whole world. She doesn't have to like people, but she has to tolerate them because YOU say so.

Everyone in the family should be doing some obedience training with her for at least 15 minutes every day - HEEL, SIT, STAY, DOWN, COME. Make sure she's getting plenty of strenuous exercise every day, at least a thirty minute walk twice a day. Use a choke collar high up on her neck or a head collar like a Halti to control her. (Don't use a PINCH collar - these can escalate aggression problems and severely injure the dog if you have to restrain her.)

Once she will sit and stay without distractions, ask your friends to help you out. Meet them outside and have them walk along with you. Once she settles down somewhat, you can have them face her standing still and then walking up to her. If she begins to stare at them or growl or bark, you have to give her an "attitude adjustment." Tug her hard and sharply tell her "NO!" Make her look away from them. Practice for at LEAST 15 minutes a day and correct her anytime she's doing something you don't want her to do. Praise her quietly when she's being good. "That's a good girl - stay." When she's better outside, start having them come in to the house for practice. Keep her on a leash at all times when there are people around and tie it to your belt so you know where she is. This way you can correct her as soon as she even THINKS about being nasty toward someone.

If the doorbell rings, she should be allowed to bark for about fifteen seconds or as long as it takes you to get to the door. Pick a new command - a word that she's not already immune to - like STOP! or ENOUGH! or QUIT! Every single bark after that command must be corrected. Don't hold her back or pet her to "calm her down" - that makes her feel like you approve. Make her sit and stay at the door - spinning around like a nut is not okay either. Use a leash tug with a chain choke collar, try a spray bottle of water in her face or a squirt of lemon juice in her mouth or bop her with a plastic soda bottle containing a few pennies - find something she just hates. Use a correction word like "ATT!" and repeat your quiet command "STOP!" Ask you friends to come over and help you - the more people she sees, the better she will be. They'll probably be delighted to help - they probably hate her behavior as much as you do. Practice for at least fifteen minutes straight, every day for a month or two. She may never love strangers, but even the most determined yapper will eventually give up if you're firm and consistent. And don't forget to praise her when she's being good!

If she's in bed or on the couch with you, you're giving her the impression that she is your equal - you need to be the boss. Get her butt on the floor and keep it there. Don't do anything for her before she does something for you. If she wants to go out or get a treat, she has to sit and stay first. If she nudges you and demands to be petted, make her lie down before you do it. Don't let her jump up on you - use the leash to correct her and only pet her when all four feet are on the floor. Absolutely no playing tug-of-war; it teaches her to challenge your authority and growl at you.

I'd also suggest reading some really good books on training. Try not to do it randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also! These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com

What All Good Dogs Should Know - Volhard
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan

Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.

Answer 8

My friend has the same problem...her dog, also from a shelter wasn´t socialized with dogs other than the other 4 with her in the house where she came from and she was at the bottom of the pecking order, this is why she is aggressive to other dogs, it comes from fear. My friend called a specialist dog trainer and this is what he said. Its the fear of being attacked, has little to do with the other dogs themselves. She invested in a collar with a built in spray with an unpleasant smell and flavor for dogs, it has a handy remote control too. And this seems to be helping, it may not eliminate the problem but who knows it may improve the situation...maybe you can call a dog trainer near you to get other ideas. Good luck.

Answer 9

since the dog is already in adult stage the problem may not be treatable the best that could possibly be done is to repremand the dog for the undesired behavior untill the problem is resolved if it cannot be resolved within 3 to 4 months then the dog has already set this in its mind as a habbit and cannot be treated it is as most people would call it "set in its ways" in this case it cannot be changed and alternate options should be considered

Answer 10

you guys stressing out and yelling will cause the dog to feel the emotions and pick up on your fear that isnt helping your dog at alltry calming her and relaxing talk to her while she meets new humans and pets ,but some breeds and the way dogs are raised will make a big difference too.