My dog is irascible, noisy, stubborn, and possessive?

Question

My dog is a little over two years old.
He is a pretty small dog.
He is 3/4 Maltese, and 1/4 Poodle.
My dog likes to bark at strangers (namely visitors that come in my house).
My dog immediately barks whenever he heres my garrage door open and when my doorbell rings.
I have to admit, his barking sometimes does give me a headache.
My dog is very possessive; although he is getting better.
For example, my little brother is playing with his action figure, and then he suddenly drops it on accident.
My dog will immediately run to the toy, grab it, and either chew or just keep it.
To get back the toy, we call my dog to "eat", meaning we will feed him a piece of bologna to get him away from the toy.
Sometimes i feel my dog is so smart that he grabs whatever he can so that we can call him to "eat."
While he is in possession of the toy, if we try to get close to him he will growl. Sometimes he will even attack us.
I have been bitten by him in the past (about five times).
Help?

He is very stubborn.
He will also try to escape outside whenever the front door opens, hoping that we will call him to 'eat"
If we do not call him, all he will do is just sit on the door mat waiting.

I am writing this now because today i tried to call him to give him a bath.
As soon as he heard the water running he ran upstairs under my bed.
I fetched a piece of bologna, but not even that enticed him to leave my bed.
I reached under the bed, and immediately he bit my middle finger, which immediately started bleeding.
I have to admit, it is pretty deep.
I remember seeing him chew on the skin.

I have quite a few more things to say, but i think this is enough.

I really need some advice because i am only 13, and i am thankful that my mom has not yet expelled my dog out of the house.

I am in dire need of advice and help.
Thanks.

Answer 1

I feel for you--- my dog used to have the same problem.

To help my dog, I spent a lot of money on a behavioralist, and it helped me a lot, but can be pricey ($400). I would reccommend it if you can aford it. I guarantee that if you see a reputable behavioralist, they will teach you how to improve on your dog's problem. You should at the very least research it as much as you can, several dog rescue sites offer good information. Here's a good site to get you started:
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/sep-anxiety...

I'll try to list as many general rules here that I can think of to get you started:

-- Ignore your dog when you come home (or back inside the house). Only give her affection once she calms down from the exicitement of you being home.

-- Ignore her when you leave. Don't say goodbye. Just leave. Don't pay attention to her for 20 minutes before you leave.

--Throughout the day, only give her attention when he is calm and doing something independently (i.e. NOT sitting or laying right by you). Don't allow her to demand when she gets petted. Give her lots of attention and praise ONLY if you see him sleeping or playing independently from you. Encourage him to hang out in a different room by teaching "stay." She needs to learn what you want from her-- and this is to be calm and independent when you are not around. This sounds strange but this is the msot important step that I learned from my behavorialist. They don't stress this step as much in online info sheets, but this is 100% the most important step for your dog.

--Don't scold her for being destructive or barking or for the running around or hiding. It makes them more anxious. And what she is trying to do is get your attention by barking and pressing against you, so don't reward her by giving her attention (be it positive or negative).

-- After several weeks of only giving him attention when YOU initiate it, then you can "practice" leaving. Leave for a second and come back. Once you can do that and she doesn't panic, do it for longer.

--If he's food-motivated, give him a very special treat-- maybe a Kong toy filled with cooked chicken or peanut butter. But only give him this when you leave, and pick it up when you return. Try to get him to associate you leaving with something good! My dog only gets wet food when she's being left alone, she loves it. Now that she's pretty much cured, she gets excited about my leaving because she knows she gets a special treat.

Good luck! It will seem for a long time that he's not making any progress, but don't give up-- Once he begins to make a noticeable improvement, he will progress much more quickly. I promise! The whole process took about 8 months for my dog.


Hope I helped!!

Answer 2

All of those bad behaviors you describe are your fault. You have allowed the dog to develop them. How you ask? Because you did not learn about dog behavior and how to teach your dog good behavior. Obedience classes teach you this. Now your dog has really bad and unacceptable behavior with the growling and biting. Biting in a dog is never acceptable. Is it too late? No, but you have about quadruple the work to turn this dog around rather than just being able to teach it good behavior in the first place. Ordinary obedience is not going to do it. You need to engage the services of a good trainer to work one on one with you and the dog. How easy it would have been in the beginning to have attended a puppy class and the obedience classes. You would have a wonderful pet today and you would not have any complaints.

Answer 3

Call Cesar Millan.

Juuust kidding. But definitely watch some of his show. I bet all these bad habits stemmed from when he was a little puppy and you thought it was "cute" when he guarded his toy or nipped at your toes or yapped at the door.

When he barks, try making a loud noise and saying "no". You can rattle coins in a can, bang on a pot (once, not repeatedly) to create a moment of distraction. He should get the picture.

You need to teach him that you and your family are the "alpha leaders" and that he (the dog) is a follower.

Answer 4

He is out of control because you haven't taught him anything at all... Other than he can make you feed him bologna by not giving up toys when you ask him to.. You need help.. Get a professional trainer in to evaluate the dog and the family so that he can give you a good idea what you'll need to do to regain your home from your dog that now owns it.

Answer 5

You have an aggressive dog. Do not feed him bologna unless he is doing something really fantastic. It's not a bribe and never give a dog anything when it's being bad. I agree with the person who posted above, watch the "Dog Whisperer" and you will see what you're up against here.

Answer 6

You are rewarding the dog for taking the toy by giving him bologna while he has the toy. You need to watch some Cesar Millan... the dog whisperer on National Geographic. Comes on I think Mondays.

Answer 7

You need to consult a professional dog trainer or behaviourist when you have a dog that bites you-before he bites someone else. Here are a couple of sites you can consult until you get to see one:

Answer 8

I had my dog in obedience school and was told to tie a long string to his collar. When he grabs something he's not supposed to yank on the string.. As far as barking, grab a telephone book and throw it to the ground when he barks..
I have no idea about the aggressiveness.. I have a small peek a poo and he does the same thing.. Not good!!

Answer 9

I have no idea what irascible is but your dog is out of control & needs serious obedience training. to change his attitude google NILIF. he IS neutered yes?

Answer 10

thats what dogs do when there not trained properly show him whos boss.if he bites u bite him back(not to hard though)