my dog attacks me when i punish him, what should i do?(extra details for my last question)?

Question

i have a two year old cockapoo and he attacks me when i punish him. he is a dominant male that is fixed. he has a potty training problem, ive worked with him since he was eight weeks old and he is still not housebroken. he is crate trained. i correct him by either smacking him on the butt or yelling at him(verbal commands, bad dog ect.) i havent let him get away with much without a punishment. he attacks any dog in sight and doesnt like little children. his attacking has gotten soo bad that i took him back to the breeder for advice. she told me when he attacks me i should grab him by the scruff and put him on his back until he calms down. ive tried this but after he calms down and i let go he attacks me again. he can be a nice dog sometimes. ive taken him to the vet and there are no health causes. please help!!!

Answer 1

Yeah well there ya go.. That's your problem. You are attacking a dominant dog.. You are not only NOT correcting him, but you are teaching him that aggression is perfectly fine.. Why would you hit him, and put him on his back?? You know what aggression does? Aggression builds aggression.. One day my friend, you dog is going to get sick and tired of you attacking him and he is really going to go after you.. He is already starting now..

If you don't get help with both your bad training techniques and your dominant / aggressive dog, then he is going to likely hurt you, and he more than likely is going to go after other people.. Probably those kids that he doesn't like already...
You need a professional trainer, and you might just want to hire him on full time. You and your dog are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Answer 2

Soooo, you can't figure out why you dog has learned to attack you when you attack him? Alright, um, well. The first step is to immedietely stop "smacking him" and "yelling at him". Positive reinforcement is the only thing that will work. When he has accidents, calmly put him in his crate; teach him that behavior gets him removed from people. He must learn that behavior has a consistent result. Also, reward him liberally with treats and praise when he goes outside. Do you walk him often enough? Take him out on a very regular schedule. Set a timer and take him outside for 15 minutes every 90 minutes, reward him when he goes. As far as the attacking other animals and children, it is you responsibility to avoid him getting the opportunity to attack. If you see another dog, distract yours and go the other way. Punishing your dog is only getting him riled up and defensive, you've got to stop that cycle NOW!! Reward what he does right, don't freak out or get tense when he does something wrong. You have empowered your dog and shown him that attacking and being aggrssive is acceptable behavior. Calm down and he will too.

Answer 3

Goodness me !! I had to read this twice, I could not believe it the first time ... I find it incredibly hard to imagine that anybody could be that ignorant and utterly clueless. You've had this poor dog for nearly 2 years and you STILL don't understand the first thing about dogs ?!?!?! Smacking, yelling.... for crying out loud !!!

The best advise I can give you is to re-home the dog and to never have one again. Dogs are living creatures, they are trusting and loving .... you are misusing their trust and violating their love. What makes you think you are so superior to that little dog? How would you like to be treated the way you treat this animal? Did your parents raise you by beating you into submission and shouting at you? Maybe they did and that is why you don't know any better....

You are making every mistake in the book. Violence breeds violence. Contempt breeds contempt. You really don't know why your dog turns on you? I would turn on you if you treated me in the same manner. Treat your dog with the love, respect and understanding you would want to be treated with yourself, and the rest will follow. It is not your dog that needs training, it is you !

Christina

Answer 4

You took a teeny little dog and hit it and yelled at it and you don't know why it attacks you? You cannot train a dog with punishment! You teach them to be afraid....You need to go in reverse.No more hitting,no more punishing. Get training treats and start rewarding for going potty outside.Start training him to look at you only when a dog passes the yard. And pass out the treats freely for every good thing you see him do. After he is no longer afraid of you and your hands,then get him into obedience training.Private classes to begin with, so he doesn't bite another dog. and for the love of Pete don't try to teach the dog that you can beat him up,if you want to!

Answer 5

Your breeder gave you bad advice and you should not use smacking or yelling to correct. What she told you is effectively the alpha roll, which can make things worse too. Find a professional trainer that uses gentle but firm methods. Make sure this trainer has dealt with dominant aggression many times.

At age 2, it is going to take long-term training to resolve his aggressive tendencies. Dominant aggressive behavior usually begins in adolescence and if not addressed early, escalates to the problem you have now when the dog reaches full maturity around age 2. I would try to work with a trainer, but be aware it may be difficult to solve the problem at this point. It's really your only option, since no-kill shelters will generally not accept aggressive dogs, other shelters will euthanize them and since he is not a purebred, so there is not a rescue available to him.

Answer 6

Go to the library or buy the book 'The Other End of the Leash' by Patricia McConnell. Your dog does not understand what you want and is trying to defend himself from being attacked by you. Positive , humane training techniques bring excellent results. Find a good trainer who uses positive methods. You are the one who needs training. Be patient. This dog will need time to get over the abuse he has endured.

Answer 7

Sounds like a real problem. All I have to do is change the tone of my voice and my dogs know that I mean business or that they have done something wrong-which isn't often. I don't hit or yell at them-it would really freak them out and make things worse. Sounds like maybe your being a little harsh on him(NO OFFENSE)some dogs are very emotional(like mine)and it doesn't take much to let them know that they have done wrong. Another thing you could do is to really praise him and make a big fuss over the things that he does do good in. Give him treats, say good dog and extra praise.

Answer 8

O.K. You discovered that inflicting pain & yelling are not working for you. Dogs are kind of like children that way. They don't like that form of punishment. Some people shove them in their crates for punishment & they don't like that much either.

There is not a reason in the world for you to handle your dog in the manner that you have been. He is treating other humans & animals much the same way you treat him. Am I wrong?

Is there a reason you refer to him as a "dominate male"? I don't like that dominance thing in my house. I have 2 males & neither of them are dominate anything. We are all living in harmony.

I understand your dog is not housebroken because he is probably too nervous.

I wish you would try this for one week. You have nothing to lose & everything to gain. Actually I don't want to write all this out only to have you delete it as soon as you read it. If you want to try my idea, email me. I am not a trainer. But I have 2 nice dogs that mind me. And they love every human & animal they come in contact with...............

Answer 9

Good GOD in heaven, step one STOP HITTING THE DOG!!!!! No hitting, yelling, smacking or spanking.

Could you BLAME this dog for fearing your approach and feeling a need to defend himself? Unbelievable.

Here is how to housetrain a dog.

House training your dog is simple if you follow a few basic rules.

1) The puppy must have NO time unsupervised in your home. NONE. If you are not directly watching the puppy, it should be in the crate, or outside in a safe area. You MUST watch the puppy at ALL times when loose in the house. Use baby gates, crates, or tie the leash to your belt.

2) The puppy should sleep inside the crate by your bedside. This way you can hear if the puppy should happen to need to go out during the night.

3) You must go WITH the puppy outside for ALL trips for
elimination. You must have treats with you. When the puppy is
urinating, say "GO PEE PEE" in a nice praise tone of voice the entire time. When she is finished, pop the treat into her mouth at once, and praise praise praise. This should be something she gets at no other time, like tiny pieces of string cheese or boiled chicken. Same for defecation. Say "GO POOP" while she is going, and food reward and
praise afterwards. You must observe and reward ALL outdoor potty time.

4) Keep a schedule. Feed at the same time, and walk outside at the same times. Your pup needs at least 4 trips outdoors each day, and 5 is probably better. Pup needs to go out at wake up time, lunch time, 4-5 PM, after dinner or any other meals, and before bed.

5) Use a key word each time you go out. I say "Let's go out!!" in a happy tone of voice each time I'm opening the door to go out with the dog.

6) If you catch the puppy IN THE ACT of eliminating in your house, CLAP YOUR HANDS, say AH AH, OUTSIDE!! And immediately rush her outside. If she finishes there, do your usual food reward and praise.

The keys to getting your dog reliably housetrained are:

SUPERVISION: NO loose time in the house if you are not watching

REWARDS: ALL outdoor elimination MUST be observed and rewarded. If you only do this ONE thing, your puppy will get housetrained.

PATIENCE: Anger and punishment have no place in dog training. Elimination is a natural and pleasurable experience for your dog. You can teach her to not soil your house, but punishment will NOT help. It will only teach the dog to hide when she needs to eliminate.

If you have applied these techniques carefully for 4 weeks and you are still finding spots or piles after the fact, it's time for stronger measures. Roll up a newspaper and fasten both ends with a rubber band. Keep it handy. The very next time you find a spot of a pile that the dog has left behind, whip out that newspaper, and hit YOURSELF over the head firmly several times as you repeat "I FORGOT TO WATCH MY PUPPY".

Works every time.

Please STOP punishing your dog, and try the above method.

Answer 10

You are going about your training the wrong way.You can never get a dog to obey by punishing it or shouting at it.It cannot understand your language,but it is picking up your agression.No wonder it behaves the way it does.You need tyo do one of three things.Get a proper trainer to train him,muzzle him, or get him re-housed with someone who can be bothered to train him properly.