How do I stop these bad manners?? Dog behavior experts??

Question

I have 2 dogs. One since she was a puppy (Coco) and the other I we got from an Animal Rescue when she was about 2 years old (Pepper). Pepper wasn't very well trained in manners. Although I've taught her many since we've had her, she still is very "mouthy". She'll grab food from the counter or anything that drops on the floor and run off and won't drop it when I tell her to. (She knows DROP as she does it with toys) And when I train her with treats she bites my fingers when I'm giving them to her. I tell her EASY and sometimes this works but most of the time she isn't easy. When I feed both dogs, Pepper inhales her food in seconds, whereas Coco takes a minute or so to finish. Pepper acts like she's starved or something when it comes to food and it's very frustrating because I know she's getting enough food and she is healthy as far as the vets are concerned. I just don't know how to break her of this.
Has anyone experienced this and resolved it???

Just some notes: I always make both dogs sit or lay down quietly before they get food or treats. Pepper will do this and she'll sit there until I tell her she can eat, with treats she sits but when she goes to take the treat she quickly snatches it biting me in the process.

As far as snatching food off the counter, she would never do it in front of me. This normally happens when my kids are getting a snack or get up from the table. (Not when I'm in the room) Then they call me and I tell her to drop it and she slurps it down or just holds it in her mouth until I force it open.

Also:I trained Coco from a pup and don't have any of these problems with her. She is very gentle.

Pepper came to me with all sorts of bad manners: Jumping up on tables and counters with her front paw (she is missing 1 of her front legs) and jumping up on everyone, excessive barking, she would chew on herself breaking the skin and was 20 lbs overweight. None of things are a problem anymore....

Answer 1

By the sound of it Pepper is still stuck in the mindset of competing for food. As puppies it is always the biggest and strongest pup that gets the most food. Quite possibly in the 'rescue centre' she still had to compete. Living with Coco just keeps that going.
So my advice would be to feed them seperately for the time being. Sit down on the floor with Pepper while holding her food dish and feed her one piece at a time. If she trys to snatch quickly close your hand and wait for a minute before offering it again. Make sure that you praise her quietly whenever she takes the food gently. After a few mealtimes like this you can progress to having your hand in her food dish and scooping up handfuls to offer her now and again. What you will be doing is showing her that the food is hers, no one is going to take it away from her and she can relax. When this is going well start to feed her with Coco again but position yourself between the two dogs. This is where you will probably have to go back to hand feeding again, possibly even for both dogs for a short while. The whole process really shouldn't take too long. Another way of easing this situation is to practice free feeding, i.e. leaving food down all the time. Dogs soon learn that if there is food available all the time that they really don't have to pig out. All this should help with the food stealing too. As regards stealing food off the counter that is easy. Either put a gate across the door whilts you are preparing food or if you use a crate, pop Pepper in there. It's better if she can see what you are doing as even though it is enforced control she will still be learning a modicum of self control. If when you have finished you then let the dog rejoin you and you reward the behaviour is learnt quicker.

Answer 2

Poor Peppy. She has had a rough life...thank God you found one another...

First, let me preface, I have 6 dogs, all rescued off the streets....on the snapping at dog treats, give the treat to Pepper in an open hand.

Another thing I do when behavior is not desirable, is I make a sound in the back of my throat "EH-EH"........like nu-uh.........they always know to stop whatever they're doing when they hear this.

Jumping...........get an empty pop can and put in 12 pennies exactly, tape the top. Everything Pepper or Coco jump up or grab food.......shake the can once and yell in a deep voice, very loudly "OFF!" Off is a different command than "down." Eventually, you won't need the can, they will just respond to your voice saying Off.

As for her sneaking the food.........poor baby was on the streets most likely and this is still part of her. She's going to always have a mentality of "where am I getting my next meal" and will want to go through trash, sneak food, you name it. All of my dogs have this in them, because of what they've been through. And with kids, they know exactly how to get the food easily. You can do the Off thing, but Pepper is always going to grab the food. All you can do is let her know you are not pleased with this behavior and get it to be less frequent.

God bless for getting Pepper.......it takes about 2 years before they truly trust that they are "home." She should keep improving with time.

Answer 3

Sounds like you are doing a great job with your dogs. As you know, all dogs are different, just like people. They all have their own personalities. We can influence some of what goes on in their lives, and other things we just have to live with.

This is how to keep her from biting you. This is not difficult. Correct her when she puts her mouth on you. Grab the scruff of her neck, give her a shake or two and tell her "NO", "OFF" or something that you want to use. Be stern when you use the command. Look her in the eye. Mother dogs do this to correct their puppies when they bite. It's very effective.

You MUST be consistent and persistent. Praise, praise, praise when she does not have her mouth on you.

Here's a website that provides information as to why dogs mouth humans.

http://www.puplife.com/dogcaretips/dog-door-greeting3.html

Also, it's normal for for a healthy dog to wolf down their food. You will need to work with this dog. Put a leash and choke collar on her, make her sit and stay. Put the food on the floor, making her sit and stay. If she tries to get up, "pop" her with the choke and tell her "NO". Keep reinforcing the "sit" "stay", by praising, praising, praising. Don't use the treats. That's another lesson. You can drop or have someone else drop the food on the floor and use this same training lesson. "Pop" the leash, making the collar tight when she tries to go for the food.

Hold a treat in your closed hand and let her smell it. Keep your hand closed on the treat. If she tries to open her mouth on your hand, use the procedure above to stop her. Don't give her the treat. Continue to do this until she stops trying to mouth your hand. Then you can try to give her the treat, telling her "easy". If she is too rough, tell her "NO" "easy", but don't give her the treat until she backs off. Then you can reward her with the treat along with praise, until she gets the message.

Answer 4

I guess it is possible, but having had years of living with Basset, the only thing that stops mine grabbing what's available, given half a chance, is PREVENTION. Yes, they know not to grab off a coffee table if we were there eating but I'd not assume that would be the same if we got up and left something on there. By no means am I suggesting you are a lazy pet owner (after your comments here, I'd not dare lol) but I do think you may be expecting too much of A DOG. But again, it depends on the breed, and the individual dog. I'd stress, again PREVENTION. And I don't leave my hounds with access to the outside when I'm not at home because I don't know what might happen. 'Leave' or 'drop' is an essential piece of obedience however.

Answer 5

You are not asserting yourself as the pack leader. I own two German Shepherds (one 14 months and the other 20 months old). Dogs are very clever animals, they learn that a correct response to a sound brings a reward. You get the impression from this behaviour that your dog is "trained" and that you are in control, nothing could be further from the truth. Dogs need a leader and if you are not performing that duty (as they see things) your dog will assume that role, as it's biologically programed to do.

Neither of my dogs would dare take food from the counter, and in the wild, snatching food from the pack leader (much what you are describing) would bring a severe reprimand if not death. I personally seldom use treats when working with my dogs, in the conventional sense I've not really done any training, but even experienced dog owners have remarked on how well behaved my dogs are.

I have found the following sources invaluable:
The book The Dogs Mind by Bruce Fogle
The anecdotal book The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell and how she came to understand that there is an easier way to train dogs.
Finally anything by Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer). Like him or loathe him, he has an uncanny ability to communicate with dogs, and diplomatically point out that the dogs "problem" is always caused by the owner.

Answer 6

I'd start by crating both dogs when you feed them, both dogs get fed in their respective crates, and nobody gets out until they're both done this prevents stealing of food and should reduce Pepper's anxiety. Work on getting Pepper to calm down before you give her the food, before you let her out of the crate, before you let her outside etc. She needs to learn self control.
For being "mouthy" with treats, only let her have treats when she's completely calm, make her sit and if she doesn't sit and wait calmly, no treat. You might need to take this in steps, if she's really excited at first wait until she calms a little, then give her the treat, then keep asking her to be more and more calm before you give her the treat. Teach her that you WILL give her the treat only if she can control herself and be calm, this should reduce how mouthy she is because she isn't so over-excited and careless.

Answer 7

Well the reason pepper may be doing this is maybe she was starved as a puppy with her previous owners (just a suggestion).
To stop her snatching and stealing food off the table you could try deliberately placing food on the table and when she comes in the room make sure you are there and when she is aboutt o take the food tell her off and tap her on the nose. (not cruel as it doesnt hurt them) If oyu do this a couple of times she may get the picture that it is not a good thing and she will get told off for it and perhaps wont do it again.

To stop her snatching treats from your hand:
1. good reflexes will always come in handy my dog did this and to stop him when he went to snatch for the treat take it away from him and tell him to take it gently he eventually realized that he was supposed to take the treat nicely.

I dont know wether this will help you but i used both of these tactics with my dog and it worked so....
Hope i helped and good luck

Answer 8

I have a small terrier who had the same problem. I gradually was able to train her not to bite when she gets food. I always made sure she had to sit and I would always say "don't bite me" while looking straight at her. If she started to bite at it too quickly I did not let her have it and put back for later. It took a long time but it worked. I am going through the same thing with my small Pom who is frisky by nature. She runs off with food and tends to snap at fingers but is learning. Just keep re-enforcing whatever term you use in a calm but authoritative manner and sooner or later you will have success.

Answer 9

Sounds like she was so deprived as a pup that she never got enough to eat and had to eat everything edible quickly before it got snatched from her. Did the vet check her for thyroid problems? I had a mixed foster pup who was really smart, kind of a herding terrier. But she did not have any trouble knocking the kids over to take their food, and wanted to "herd" the kids by biting at their ankles (they were little), so we weren't able to train her as you've done with yours, we had to send her back to the shelter.

I just think it's the Oliver syndrome. Distract the human so you can steal his sausages...

TX Mom

Answer 10

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/r0EO5

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.