HI some infromation needed

rockythepain

New Member
Hi frnds,
I want to ask a couple qustions:
-- Do I need an aphla role with my terrier-japanese spitz puppy,does it really make me bond with him,what about trust and friendship does it means alpha role too, how do I bond with him correctly?
-- How do I know that my puppy loves me,or us (as a familly)?
thanks in advance:doghappy:
 

sarhaspups

New Member
Do you mean do you need to be an alpha to your dog in order to have a bond with him? Depends on who you ask. My opinion, no. You should be the 'leader' but you do not need to be 'alpha' in a sense of the dog always wanting to submit to you. Being a leader to me means that your dog respects you and the pack and understand that all good things in life come from you. Thus creating a bond and relationship.
To create a bond and relationship is easy, play with your puppy, get on the floor and tug or just roll around playing with them.
I think it would be pretty obvious if your dog doesn't love you and the family but most dogs are going to be pretty happy and loving if you show affection to him. Is there a reason you think he may not be happy?
 

fickla

Experienced Member
Please, please, please do not "alpha roll" your puppy. There is a wonderful article that is written by one our members on dominance. Alpha rolling a puppy says nothing about leadership and will only serve to scare your puppy and teach him that he can't trust you.

Bonding with puppies is easy! Play with him, train him, and love him!
 

fickla

Experienced Member
Oh, and hand feeding is also an incredibly easy way to bond with your puppy. And as an added bonus, if you're hand feeding you might as well start using the kibble for tiny bits of training, like eye contact, sits, and hand targeting, etc!
 

sarhaspups

New Member
What exactly is an "Alpha Roll" ? I took it he was asking what kind of ROLE should he be in his dogs eyes? Is alpha roll just scruffing and penning your dog for doing something bad? I wouldn't do this to a puppy either but there are times you do need to correct your dog. Wit growled and snarled at another puppy in class the other day b/c the puppy came too close to us, i had treats and he was protecting them, that's not okay, the puppy did not rush up on us and get into our space so in that case, I grabbed him by the muzzle and told him no in a grawling tone and it was over, he got corrected and he was over it, never did it again. So, depends on what you are talking about here and what circumstances you are using this method. I believe in positive training and if you have ever seen my dogs you would know that I don't use harsh training but there are times you gotta scruff them and correct them for unwanted behavior.
My two cents.
Sarha
 

rockythepain

New Member
sarhaspups;18190 said:
I think it would be pretty obvious if your dog doesn't love you and the family but most dogs are going to be pretty happy and loving if you show affection to him. Is there a reason you think he may not be happy?
no,just wondering why he like to bite us a lot and bark when we try to correct him:dogwink:


sarhaspups;18195 said:
What exactly is an "Alpha Roll" ? I took it he was asking what kind of ROLE should he be in his dogs eyes? Is alpha roll just scruffing and penning your dog for doing something bad? I wouldn't do this to a puppy either but there are times you do need to correct your dog. Wit growled and snarled at another puppy in class the other day b/c the puppy came too close to us, i had treats and he was protecting them, that's not okay, the puppy did not rush up on us and get into our space so in that case, I grabbed him by the muzzle and told him no in a grawling tone and it was over, he got corrected and he was over it, never did it again. So, depends on what you are talking about here and what circumstances you are using this method. I believe in positive training and if you have ever seen my dogs you would know that I don't use harsh training but there are times you gotta scruff them and correct them for unwanted behavior.
My two cents.
Sarha
uuhhhhh,im trying a lot of thing with my dog,holding his muzzle when he bites and say no firmly is not working!!

do these mean,im doing sth wrong,or is it my puppy is so stubborne, or he is teething very bad!????

im desperate!!! 2 months I have my puppy I only managed to let him site,down ,housebreak (75% correctly), and the biting and nipping is there over and over again!!!:msncry:

BTW, I hand feed him a lot,and he wont bite!! thats so weird to me! O_o

by the way I feed him with my hand a lot! and wont bite!! thats so weird to me! O_o
 

sarhaspups

New Member
Okay, do undestand this is NORMAL puppy behavior! It takes TIME AND PATIENTS with puppies. You are not doing anything wrong and there is nothing wrong with your puppy. Biting is a normal puppy behavior. Be consistant in how you choose to correct him. I just wrote to you on the other thread with some other ideas you can try. Teething will cause them to chew as well. Give him something cold to chew on , a wet rag in the freezer and let him chew on that after it freezes. Will help numb his gums and make them feel better.
Most likely he barks back at you when you correct him b/c he doesn't understand what you are trying to tell him.
Hope this helps. Don't give up and keep at it. He will get better!
Sarha
 

rockythepain

New Member
thanks sarha, you are helping me a lot!! what just bothers me is that,his sister is owned by my friend,when she tries to bite,he slaped her slightly and its over, and his brother too, but with me,i did a lot of methods but not over it yet!
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
I have never needed to alpha roll, scruff, muzzle-grab, etc any dog. I DO think that in VERY RARE, extreme cases, a dog can and should be alpha rolled--but again, RARE, EXTREME cases. Virtually any behavior problem can be solved with positive methods. Rusty is still a progressing dog-aggressive dog--initially used "alpha theory"-type methods, but quickly switched to positve and he's improved in leaps and bounds. I don't have to alpha roll him, scruff him, or grab his muzzle and scream in his face. Alpha rolling with wild wolves or even a pack of domestic dogs rarely ever happens unless something REALLY gets out of hand, and with wolves an alpha roll means quit now or you're either exiled, severely injured, or killed. That's not a message I want to send to my dog.

As for muzzle grabbing, with aggression that can be a very dangerous move on the handler's part. Believe me, I have a scar to prove it. With most dogs a sharp, "Aaaah!" or turning and walking away briskly is all that is needed. Scruffing, like alpha rolling, isn't needed that often. Mother dogs will SOMETIMES scruff their pups if they get out of hand--but this is something that a dog needs to learn from another dog in specific circumstances. Again, with PEOPLE it can easily be solved with positive methods.

You DO, in my opinion, need to be the dominant one of the household--but that DOES NOT mean bullying your dog into understanding you're in charge. All that means is that he does not try to take charge in any way. He needs to wait to eat when you tell him it's okay. He needs to wait for you to walk out the door before he does. He needs to follow you on-leash, not drag you on leash. Basically, he needs to be polite member of the family. You do not need to alpha roll or scruff him to be in control, and this CERTAINLY will NOT give you a good connnection with him.

The biting is a normal puppy behavior. All puppies are likely to bite, jump, etc at some point in puppyhood. It is easily fixed with consistency and patience. I would recommend re-reading the thread I linked to on the other post.

Let's take Zeke, for example, my very timid BC/heeler mix. In the past he has had fear aggression issues, mainly with larger, over-friendly dogs. If I were to grab his muzzle, alpha roll him, or scruff him, this would ONLY make him MORE scared. He is not being aggressive out of dominance, but out of FEAR. And making him MORE scared would not solve the issue. This could cause his issue to escalate in so many ways. If I barely raise my voice in an angry tone this dog exposes his belly and shuts down. To alpha roll/scruff/muzzle grab him would be just plain stupid. As a puppy he had separation anxiety issues, and until about a year ago he was constantly trying to get himself in my lap. This wasn't due to dominance, he was not trying to take charge of me. He took comfort in being as close to me as possible and was just that nervous. Now he's just a velcro dog--no longer jumps in my lap, but does stick very close if he's uncomfortable. I'm not going to scruff him for crowding my space or yell at him because I nearly trip over him he's so close. I just work on POSITIVELY boosting his confidence and help him learn that the world away from me is a fun and safe place.

Anyway....my point is I don't approve of or recommend anything like that. You can work through your puppy's nipping just fine using 100% positive methods.
 

rockythepain

New Member
thx a lot, i cant beleive how much information you all have,its like you all were dogs before :) may be because its my 1st puppy and im without exp.
thx again, my worries that my puppy will grow up to be a mouthy dog is reduced because of you all. and its so much comfort now to know that the same method im using,you all used with your dos :))
 

fickla

Experienced Member
I think what tx_cowgirl was saying was that she does not agree with the method of "slapping him lightly" like your sister did, or holding his muzzle like what you've been doing. That generally makes behavior worse.

I recommend what the other thread you started is saying about ignoring biting completely and redirecting. But never using your hands to push away the puppy (this generally is seen as play) and never holding the muzzle shut.

Puppy biting is normal, just be consistent. And I wouldn't worry about him loving you at all :)
 

tx_cowgirl

Honored Member
Staff member
Lol right you are Fickla. ^^ That just reminded me of a girl and her BC in Zeke's class and both me and the trainer are very irritated with her... Anywho, good luck Rocky, and keep your chin up. :)
 
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