Problem dog?

Question

A little boy down the street moved to a new state, he couldn't take his dog with him so my uncle adopted the dog. He has had the dog for a year now. The dog, named Spooky, was abandoned before the little kid adopted him. Spooky was very obediant to the little 5 year old and followed him everywhere. But now that my uncle has adopted Spooky, She will not do anything that is asked of her, unless I tell her to. She listens when i say sit, but she doesn't listen to my uncle or anyone else. She is very helpful to my elderly uncle though. If he falls down, she alerts someone. If she does that for him why doesn't she listen to any of his other commands? and why does she only listen to me?

Answer 1

Two reasons I can think of...Either she is afraid of your uncle or she doesn't respect him.

Does your uncle feed her? If not, he should be the one putting down the food bowl every day. And he should make her 'sit' or follow another command before she receives her dinner.

He should, with your help, also work on obedience training. Have him work with her, with you enforcing his commands as needed. Give her treats when she obeys him without your interference, not when you have to physically make her obey your uncle.

Look into getting professional help in training, if needed. Contact your local animal shelter or pet supply store for names of trainers who will come to your home and help you.

Answer 2

She may see you uncle as an equal or inferior member of the family and will take care of him, but not obey him. You are alpha to her, obviously. The dog is probably semi-traumatized by losing her companion, the boy. A year would seem to be enough, but dogs are fairly complex mammals.

Answer 3

She probably views you as the alpha canine and sees your uncle as a dependent pack member. Have your uncle take her to an obedience class where he learns how to train her. This should strengthen the bond between your uncle and his dog and hopefully she will change her perspective of things.

Answer 4

Maybe shes atatched to u and really knows u well take it slow show him that your uncle is his owner and its okay to play,listen to him.

Answer 5

maybe he's not as attached to older people ( something could of happened in your dog's past) or maybe it's a thing of dominence. ( she hasn't astablished that your uncle is the boss)

Answer 6

i guess since you are younger and he misses the boy. he might feel more comfortable w/ u instead of ure. but he still cares becuz he warns other people when he falls right.

Answer 7

she was trained by someone, somewhere down the road to protect and be a friend to a child. there isn't much you can do to get her to listen to him.