My two year old mixed breed dog Maggie is a very sweet dog, but lately she has shown some agressive behaivior. She used to be very defensive of her bones and chew toys, but now she only defends them around visitiors. She has become more snappy lately, especially if anyone other than a family member touches her things (dog bed, leash, toys, etc). Is there any way to train her out of this behaivior, or is it normal? She has never been to a dog trainer or obedience classes.
2007-06-02 05:03:55 · 9 answers · asked by Mimi 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
It is definitely a dominance issue. Your dog must know that you are the boss. Once she is comfortable with you being the one in charge, she will feel more at ease and not feel the need to be so aggressive.
Try getting a basic training book or signing up for obedience classes. Start with making sure she gets plenty of exercise and then start training her. Keep lots of her favorite treats handy to reward her every time she does well, and use a firm, commanding voice while giving her commands. Dogs can sense human attitudes, so try to be calm (not nervous or jumpy) and assertive (not mad or meek) while training her. Eventually, teach her to let go of a toy when you say "release" and it should help with her aggression.
2007-06-02 05:55:38 · answer #1 · answered by la_rubia 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Your issue is referred to as "resource guarding." A resource can be anything your dog values, toys, food, water, you. My first recommendation is to seek professional help. My personal preferrence is to find someone who uses positive dog training methods. There are many ways to train your dog. My opinion is that harsh methods (i.e. any time you hear someone use the work "correction", that in general means your are causing pain to your dog in response to an unwanted behavior) can backfire and create additional aggression issues.
Some things you can do on your own - 1) Make sure your dog is well exercised. A tired dog is a better behaved dog.
2) If it is okay for you to touch her toys etc, get her interested in a particular toy, take the toy from her, then reward her (praise,treats, whatever she really likes), then give her the toy back. Repeat this a lot (several minutes a day over several weeks) with everything she guards. The idea is that someone touching or taking her things results in a positive outcome and, in the end, she gets the object back. The trick is transferring that acceptance behavior to strangers. That's where you need a trainer. Someone who has enough experience around dogs to see a bad situation developing and stop before it results in aggression or a even a bite.
2007-06-02 05:34:53 · answer #2 · answered by David H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is not normal behaviour , it is resourse guarding and it occurs because we have not established that fact that we are the pack leaders in the relationship. She doesn't see you as protector of the pack because you have never taught her that, so she is acting as protector. If she doesn't become aggressive when you take her toys etc keep practising by taking them and if she doesn't growl or anything reward her and return the toy so she learns that you control everything she has or receives. if she growls at visitors you must take the toy off her and you can give it to the visitor to hold and then you take the toy off the visitor and give it back when she stops growling or if she doesn't she doesn't get it back. Same if she snaps she loses the toy. this shows her you are the boss or alpha and you say who gets the toy. Don't let visitors touch the toys till she understands that she is lower the pack. If she tried this behaviour in the wild the alpha dog or ***** would snap back and take off her what ever she had. sometimes the alpha's even retort to biting to get the message across. If you don't take charge of the situation and let her know you are the boss her snappy behaviour could lead to greater aggression. You are the alpha dog or ***** you must control whatever she gets from toys to food to bedding. dogs do not naturally want to be the leaders but we allow it by not establishing pack leadership in the beggining.
2007-06-03 19:00:11 · answer #3 · answered by Vicki G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What Maggie is doing is called resource guarding. What you must start doing is take away her resources and make her work for everything she gets. Such as sit before being petted. A long down in place with nothing going on. Make her work for each toy she gets to play with. She must sit in place and not move until given the OK to get her food. You must take control of all "her" things. Take them away and until she understands that all good things come from you she doesn't get them back. You are in a red zone with Maggie and you must take control know or risk loosing control and someone getting hurt. And some good old fashion training sessions would help. This kind of behavior can only get worse as she is getting reinforced by people backing away from her. Training with a good trainer is a must.
2007-06-05 02:30:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get yourself and your dog into an off-leash obedience class, one that produces results. To find one, simply visit and compare.
Compare what? Compare each 'graduation' class against the other and select which trainer's class produces the greatest number of well behaved dogs. And remember, a well trained dog is one that is well behaved on or off its leash . So, if the 'graduation' you're visiting is limited to 'on-leash only,' then keep searching; it will not serve your off-leash needs (and I am assuming that your dog does not wear his leash all of the time).
Cost wise, be prepared to pay about a hundred bucks (USD) for such training ... but you should not have to pay much more. Also, ask the trainer to give you a timeline ... such training (for the average pet owner and pet dog) should not be any more than 10 - 12 weeks.
These classes are out there, and know that some trainers may be offended that you would ask them to qualify their product ... but hey, you want results ... don't be afraid to ask them to prove they're capable of delivering. Trust me, they won't be afraid to ask you to open your wallet!
2007-06-03 04:43:16 · answer #5 · answered by koehlerdogtraining © 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try giving her a job. Sometimes dogs learn bad habits because they become bored. Sometimes its related to outside sources. Is she an inside dog all the time, or does she spend time outside every so often. We had a dog who was an outside/inside dog who unknown to us was being teased while she was outside. She became snappy at children and aggressive about some things.
Teach her the basic commands * that is if you haven't already* so that she is learning and not focusing on her aggression. Teaching her to work for you will give her a calmer mindset. And when she gets into an aggressive state you can give her a command from her learned vocabulary and she will automatically go into job mode.
One of my dogs became aggressive as she got older and we found out that it was because of an anxiety problem. Giving her a job * she pulls a cart* has calmed her down quite a bit.
Good luck, and no matter what, keep showing love. She will learn.
2007-06-02 05:18:47 · answer #6 · answered by life_with_maddock 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember the day my brother was born, and I was just before 2 years old. That is the oldest memory I can out a date on. But I have other memories (probably) from the same age that I can't link to any event.
2016-05-19 04:00:01 · answer #7 · answered by rene 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If would suggest getting someone who knows how to train for this type of a problenm. i always believe in dog obedience.
You may also try to socialize her more. good Luck
2007-06-02 05:09:28 · answer #8 · answered by Kit_kat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i have a 2 year old female dog and almost the same way! she will learn to grow out of it she is still in her Puppy years well good luck! =)
2007-06-02 05:10:33 · answer #9 · answered by so simple minded. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋