teeth, she has also started to jump on to our bed and when i try to put her down she growls and barks at me.please can someone advise as what to do as i love her to bits.
2007-01-05 23:10:43 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
She is going through adolecence which lasts usually between 6-10months.Your dog is trying to test her dominance and see where everyone stands in the pack.You need to deal with her calmly and firmly,dont get aggitated or scared as your dog will sense this and she will see it as a weakness,the pack leader always responds in a calm and not provoking way.Every time your dog starts to growl say no loudly and firmly and if possible put her in another room for 5-10mins,also if she's alloud up stairs,stop alowing her get a nice basket and put it downstairs,this is her bed and she will realise she doesn't have the same privelidges as you,same for feeding etc dont feed her scraps of your food and eat before her both at breakfast and dinner,ignore her if she begs,keep training her to develop your bond with her and get her some good toys to releive her boredom like a kong or nylabones,[boredom could also be a reason for her behaviour]take her out for 2/3 walks a day,and during play if you want to end a game thats final just collect all her toys and put them away.How a dogs behaviour is during adolecence is usually how the dog will stay so it is important you nip it in the bud before she becomes a strong adult dog.Good luck.
2007-01-05 23:25:00 · answer #1 · answered by Heavenly20 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Your dog is definitely trying to be dominant, but in order to change this you need to change the rest of her life that is causing her to act this way. You need to feed her meals rather then free feed (probably twice a day) and before she can get her bowl of food she needs to do something such as lay down and wait. You also need to keep her off the furniture. There may be a point when she's older and doing well that you could give her more priveleges, but right now she needs to realize that she gets everything from you (in turn making you the alpha person). Another thing to start doing is to teach her to wait before running through a doorway. If she is allowed to run through doorways in front of you you're allowing her to be alpha. The wait command will be a very helpful thing to teach her. Another thing is to not pet her when she request it. If she comes up and starts resting her head on you or pushing your hand you have to ignore her, or tell her to sit/down etc. By doing this she is deciding when she wants attention and when she doesn't (on the bed). When you do want to pet her have her do something and then pet her for a little while.
As it has already been said, grabbing her by the scruff would not be a good idea. There may be cases where that can work, but especially if you are inexperienced it will probably only bring more trouble.
Another thing to think about would be what you do with her when you're gone during the day. If you don't already crate her you might want to start that, since it will give her a place to feel secure, without giving her the feeling that she owns the house.
Good luck! Don't look at her growling at you from the bed as a solitary problem, if you are going to fix it you need to change her whole life.
2007-01-06 02:22:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
most of your questions seem to have been about this dog which you got and never bothered to train. Now you are seeing the results. You have a dog who is dominant and you don't have the skills or will to train her. Go to training classes with her so they can teach you how to handle her unless you actually WANT her to become another biting dog statistic.
I do rescue and love the breed, but people seem to forget that they are large active gundogs which need training and lots of excersize if they are to be well behaved pets. Loving her is not enough. If you are incapable of treating her as any other large dog which needs training and excersize, then perhaps you need to consider whether a retriever is the dog for you. You might have been better off with something easy going and pretty to fuss and spoil like a cavalier or a little yorkie.
For the dog's sake, you need to do something before one of you gets badly bitten by her.
I find it rather worrying that a lot of people are telling you to shout "no" at her or grab her by the scruff. If your dog is already at the stage or growling at you, actions like these may well provoke an attack.If you are not confident and it doesn't sound like you are, do NOT challenge a dominant dog at the time it is growling and in conflict. You WILL get bitten
2007-01-06 00:16:01 · answer #3 · answered by fenlandfowl 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jumping on the bed means that she wants to take a dominant role. If you see pack animals in the wild, the 'top dog' lies in a position above the rest of the pack. This is what she is trying to do. You have to show, and you MUST show, that YOU are Top Dog, and firmly put her literally in her place. This sounds bossy, but I love dogs too, but you have to be the master of them, for theyr sake as well as yours. If she growls and shows her teeth, very firmly say 'NO'. I take it you've had her since a few weeks old and that she has no history of bad treatment? Growling may be a sign of fear. Do you live in the UK? If you live anywhere near chehire, there is an excellant animal behaviourist there, who sorted my mental cat out very quickly, and I was at my wits end with her. They have a nurse who home visits and gives brilliant advice. sorry cant remember the name but bet it comes up on Google
2007-01-05 23:18:35 · answer #4 · answered by myfavouritelucy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He's probably just enjoying himself. There are only 4 sounds a dog can make: bark, growl, whine and howl. All of their verbal communication has to be done with these four sounds, so a growl is not necessarily aggressive. You have to couple what they are "saying" with their body language to get the entire message. Front end down, ears up, tail wagging and growling is playing. Head lower than or even with shoulders, ears back, stiff-legged, and growling is aggression.
2016-05-22 22:32:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As others have stated she is trying to become the boss. If you haven't already start obedience training with her. Retriever are very smart dogs. Also make a 'time out' area/room for her when she does this behavior remove her to that area and lave her alone for roughly 30 mins (or until she has been quiet for a while). She will learn that if she does that she doesn't get to play with the pack.
2007-01-05 23:18:33 · answer #6 · answered by Fuzzy 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A well-trained dog makes everyone happy, including his owner. Take a little time training him, and you'll never regret it; you'll always have an obedient dog by your side. Find more https://tr.im/0a3Mv
By their nature, dogs are pack animals with a well-defined social order. Through basic training, you need to consistently make sure your puppy understands that you are the leader, not him. So in teaching him the basic rules, you take on the role of pack leader.
To fit into the family circle, your dog must be taught to recognize his name and such commands as come, heel, lie down and sit.
2016-02-16 15:25:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We had a male golden for 14 years and he never growled at us but he did try to get on the bed so we got him a dog bed and put it in our room. We also got a female Golden and she was entirely different she wanted to rule the house and she would growl at us and the other dog. We just told her no and put her out when she started growling, soon she quit but she still was the boss with the other dog.
2007-01-05 23:20:14 · answer #8 · answered by cindy ccc 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
in the dog world there is a alpha and a beta. You have let her become the alpha which means she is the boss. Get the dog into a training school so that you can reclaim the alpha status. Start but everytime she does say no in a deep , strong voice, or bad dog. Put her outside for 10 minutes for punishment
2007-01-05 23:27:57 · answer #9 · answered by scallerbar 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Dogs are originally pack animals and she is trying to become pack leader. You need to train her and discipline her properly so that she understands who is boss. I have a 4 yr old Cocker Spaniel and she does everything I tell her too, she is brilliant. I love her to bits and have never hit or been cruel to her, i use the tone of my voice to control her. With the right training you will find she soon gets the message and will obey you.
2007-01-05 23:20:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋