How to deal with my dog's behavioral problems?

Question

My husband had to leave for a month because of his job. He will be back in 3 weeks. This week has been hell with our German Shepherd....he decided to start sitting on the couch and laying in the bed. We already have an issue (that was almost solved before he left) with the dog jumping up on us in excitment when we come home....but now he jumps up on me when he comes in from using the bathroom....when we come in from a walk....and sometimes just for no reason at all. All the sudden he will get excited and start jumping up on me. I know why he is doing this, because he doesn't see me as the leader of the pack....the dominant one....but no matter how scary I try to make my voice and how calm-assertive I try to be....he doesn't listen. My husband is so pissed of at me and is complaining that when he gets home he is going to have alot of work to do. Any advice for me would be helpful...thanks

OK danny_boy....I too, am a big fan of the dog whisperer and believe that most of the time it is the owner who is the problem, not the dog. I don't feel like you even tried to answer the question....your just trying to be rude....not helping.

OK....I see you edited your answer....thank you for helping me.

Answer 1

When your dog tries to jump up on you, simply turn around. By doing this, you're removing the reinforcing part of the 'picture' - and the dog will stop jumping. Becoming emotional, using a 'scary voice', saying "NO!" and doing things like kneeing the dog in the chest will not actually teach the dog that you don't want him to jump up. Of course it goes without saying that everyone in the household must follow this - the dog must not ever be allowed to jump up on anyone, ever. Simply turn around immediately every time the dog prepares to jump up.
Regarding your other issues - it sounds like the dog has been allowed too much freedom. Has he been crated in the past? Can you put the dog in his crate when you need to, so that you're not having to get him off the couch, etc? Be sure to make his crate a rewarding place for him - feed him in there, and always give lots of treats when he's quiet in there.
Doing a Google search for "NILIF" (Nothing In Life Is Free) will give you more ideas about turning things around. Good luck!

Answer 2

How's that calm assertiveness working for you?

You take the dog to training class. As you start working with the dog, it will learn you are also a leader and will start responding to you appropriately. Calm assertiveness is no help when you haven't the confidence that the dog will respond properly.

You dog isn't doing these things because it doesn't see you as leader of the pack, it is merely that your dog is untrained. Dogs will follow commands from men because of the men's vocal range, it is deeper and more resonant. To a dog, those tones are warning, danger tones. The dog will be more cautious and more likely to move and behave very carefully around anyone using those tones.

Women's voices generally fall into higher pitches, which to dogs represent play and excitement. Learn to deepen the pitch of your voice. Not louder, but deeper.

And learn how to train your dog. it takes practice to learn the timing and muscle skills involved. It isn't something you can get from watching TV, you have to do it yourself. Take a class.

Answer 3

This will be elaborate to teach away! All that tasty trash is almost always valued at the entire scoldings in the world on your dog! Have you attempted placing a inexpensive computerized door closer on the bathroom door? That you will get them at any hardware store, and they are very useful to put in. We did this with mostly probably the most bedrooms in our condo, on the grounds that we are re-doing a leisure room in there and there are nails and such at the ground regularly and we didn't wish the puppies wandering round in there. The door comfortably closes on its own each time it is opened. You might purchase a lovable "occupied" sign and adhere it at the doorknob while the bathroom is getting used, on the grounds that the door will more often than not be closed and it almost always is intricate to begin with as as to whether it is "in use" or not. If the dog can't get in, he are not able to shred the trash. Additionally, have you ever ever attempted black pepper, or sour apple spray? It will must best take a while for the puppy to wholly clutch that trash is not tasty while you spray it with sour apple or sprinkle black pepper over it for each week or so. Excellent good fortune. Dogs do love trash!

Answer 4

First, recognize that it's your behavior problem, not his, that you need to correct. You need training to learn to discipline yourself before you can teach the dog to be disciplined.

Get a book or take you and the dog to training classes. You can do it, but must be consistent and determined.

Answer 5

When you come in don't touch, talk, or look at your dog. Ignore him for 15 minutes and when he is calm go say hi to him. This worked with my dog and she is so good! If he jumps at you gently knee him in the chest.

Answer 6

go get yourself a pinch-collar{they do not hurt the dog}this will instantly make the beast respect you.all the craziness will end.the end.

Answer 7

Just because you're calm, doesn't mean you're being assertive. If you look at dog handlers, trainers, etc., they can be men or women, large or small and watch their demeanor when they approach and/or handle their respective animals. They say what they mean and mean what they say, and, they act like top dog, even though they're not being mean, loud or angry. They never talk, scream, yell or beg but basically lead their dogs. They give their dogs an audible or a signaled command and expect their animals to follow and only when the animal obeys their command, do they reward the dog. It seems like your dog has a case of beta dog syndrome, where he sees himself as the number two in your "pack". That means once the number one, your husband, is away, guess who takes over? That is how your dog sees this pack and he feels the need to establish leadership to "maintain" the order of the pack. He's doing it by claiming the "nesting" areas and the female of the pack, you. First, realize that dogs respond to overt behavior. Dogs communicate with each other through posture, facial expression, body language, and use audible forms of communication, including barks, whimpers and howls in conjunction with behavioral expressions. Even the most subtle, unnoticeable behavior (in your eyes) will be noticed by your dog. You can take him to obedience class and training sessions and may be successful there but if you don't carry your success with you back home, it will all fall apart and a perfectly trained dog in the class will be a monster at home. To regain control, you and your husband must work together, as a team, and your husband shouldn't treat you as a subordinate, especially in front of your dog. Your dog will pick up on that from him and from you and treat you accordingly. If your dog gets aggressive with you, you'll most likely need to consult a behavioral professional. As far as discipline goes, let mama dog be your guide as to how a misbehaving dog is taught manners. She would first stare down an insolent or misbehaving pup, in the doggie version of "knock it off!". If that doesn't work, a short "woof!" or quick growl is issued and when that doesn't work, she'll bite the air near his face in a "click" and perhaps knock her pup on the side with a paw or cuff him on his neck; not hard and not to hurt him but to let him know that he's misbehaving. If that fails, she'll grab him by the scruff, shake him, maybe pin him down and make him submit, then turn away or walk away. When you discipline your dog, you'll become mama dog. You won't bite him but you can use your hands, your fingertips in a similar manner to mama's dog's bite. To start, when you walk in, ignore your dog for a few minutes. Don't acknowledge his presence but own your space. Move forward and don't back away from your dog but towards him as if you own him (because the truth is, you do; he's not your child or your human friend but your pet DOG first, then when he's a good dog, your doggie best friend and to treat him otherwise would be a disservice to him) and the ground or floor he's standing on. If he moves towards you to jump on you, you make a slight move towards him, not a step forward but just face him down as you give him a correction not to jump on you, along with a quick, short "Hey!" or "No!" or "Back!" or something like that and a snap of your finger next to his muzzle, and only when he backs off, walk away. If he does jump on you, a quick short, light cuff on the side of his neck or under his chin should be dealt , just to let him know that you didn't like that, before he jumps on you or as soon as he jumps on you. It should be just hard enough for him to feel, not too light where he can't feel it, not too hard where it hurts but firm enough so that your dog knows you mean business. It's at this point that you need to be an assertive and dominant mistress and leader. If you look at good leaders in general, there's ice in their veins and they never get mad or angry but are assertive and that's the aura and posture they carry. It's important that at this point you don't back down or turn around and walk away. Your dog then learns that he can manipulate you by performing dominance behaviors such as getting on top of you and putting his paw on you. You backing off, or turning around and walking away before he backs off from you becomes a reward for him jumping on you. That may eventually lead to the worst dominance behavior, a bite, if you don't cut it off now. Only when he's calmed down should you acknowledge his presence and pet him, giving him a reward (yes, petting him is a powerful reward, so you won't and shouldn't bribe your dog with food to elicit preferred behavior, but petting and/or food should come only after he performs the behavior you want him to perform) for doing what you wanted him to do which was calming down. Your walks need to be regular and regimented. Because GSDs are working dogs, they need a job to do and your guy might need more physically and mentally challenging work than others. Try putting on a doggie backpack with things to carry such as water, your wallet and money and other things for him to carry. Nothing crazy but a couple of pounds for him to feel on his back should do. Once you've established leadership, you may want to find other activities to do with your dog such as agility or herding or even fetch to drain off the excess physical energy he seems to have. When you walk out of the house, make him come to you and the leash and the doggie backpack, calm him and sit him down. When he's calm, put the leash and the backpack on and invite him to come with you for a walk; no talking or excitement over the leash or the bag, just a quick, loose tug of his leash. If he gets excited again, make him sit and calm him down. Eventually, he'll get that the walk doesn't start and the outside world waits until he calms down. You need to be the first to step out the door and he comes by invitation only, meaning he follows you out. When you walk him, walk him a brisk pace and walk tall and proud; be proud of yourself and your beautiful dog and make sure your walks are at least an 45 mins to an hour or so. If he starts to pull ahead, a quick, slight tug to the side of the leash and wait for him to stop and stay. When he stops and waits for you, move forward and keep him at your side or a little behind you. For the first 15-30 mins of the walk don't let him sniff or pee. The instant he starts to pull away to sniff or pee a quick correction and keep on walking. After he's followed you for a while, invite him to sniff, pee and do his other business as a reward for doing well on the walk. When you let him outside or walk him outside for bathroom breaks, it should be in a similar manner: on your terms, not on his... that is, he needs to be calm and wait for you to tell him it's OK to come outside. When you come back home, you need to keep up the leadership. Make sure he's calm and not bounding ahead of you to get home. Walk into your house first, claiming your home, then invite him in. When he comes back from bathroom breaks, that needs to be in the same manner to. Sit him down and make sure he's calm and waiting to be invited in, then invite him in for being a good dog. Feed him after walks. When you feed him, eat something first and make sure he sees you eating at a respectful distance. Mix his food with your hands, getting your scent into your food and put his bowl down. If he approaches the bowl before you put it down, pick it back up, face him and back him away. He needs to be invited to eat, as well. When he's waiting patiently for food, invite him to eat. I suggest you be the only one to feed him until you've established your position over your dog. Never leave food lying around and put away whatever he doesn't eat. Don't give him scraps from the dinner table, no matter how much he begs or barks or whines. If he stares at you or dinner too hard and barks or growls for food, don't yell or get upset or angry, just face him and back him down. Most importantly, never use his name when he's done something wrong, only use it to elicit the behavior you want or when he's done something right. Remember, you have to mean it, just like telling a child to go to his room. Always walk into a room first and don't let him into rooms you don't want him in, like the bedroom, until he learns to respect you. If he walks into a room before you, turn around and walk away and if he's in a room before you get there, ignore him. You'll need to initiate and end play and affection, not him. As for his claiming the couch or bed, you need to use the same approach. Face him, shoulders up, chest out and an assertive posture; don't get mad at him for being on the couch or bed. A quick short "Off!" and lead him off. At first he might protest by barking or growling but you can't back down. If you think your dog might get aggressive and fight back, I said it before, and I'll say it again, you'll most likely need to consult a behavioral professional. In the dog world, the "nesting" or resting areas are areas of status and only the alpha gets the most comfortable and elevated spots, like the bed or the couch. Don't let him claim these spots and don't sit on the floor with him. You can get started now but you and your husband need to work together on this. Your husband might be pissed at you for whatever reason but he shouldn't act this way around the dog because is only undermines you as an authority figure in the dog's eyes. You shouldn't act as a subordinate to your husband but his equal and co-alpha, especially around the dog. I know I've written a lot; I've tried to outline a basic process but your issues aren't going to go away right away but will take a little time and a lot of patience. Good luck with your pup!