My want to eat people pup

M

maukoal

New Member
Hi Everyone,
we are new, I need so much help we moved in to some apartments about 2 months ago, my 1 year old mix now has decided he has an issue with everyone that walks by or is even outside he barks :( and tries get to lose and eat people there :eek: i'am so worried !!! CAN ANYONE HELP????:confused:
 
Hi Maukoal, and welcome to the website!!

First of all, I appreciate you searching for answers for your problem and I'm positive that you will find the answer. If I understand your situation correctly, you are living in an apartment with four dogs. I think you are pretty lucky that only one of your dogs is barking uncontrollably, which leaves your job easier to train only one dog! :)

Do you do anything to stop him from barking when you are home? If you don't, then you will have to address that first, by correcting his behavior. Personally, I do not allow any barking in my household from my dogs, friends and family walk-in my house without a word from them. What I have done is to give a scruff whenever my dogs would ever bark, but I have done that since they were puppies so they learned early on.

Your dog’s behavior pattern will be harder to break since he has gotten away with it for so long – think of the nanny show when she tries to put a kid to the naughty steps – she literally has to put him back 50 times for the first time, and 30 the second and so on, eventually the kid stops resisting.

Eventually when you get comfortable with this, you can set-up scenarios where a friend could walk in front of your house, or knock on your door and test your dog’s reaction, reinforce him when he isn’t barking and give him a fair correction when he is.

Another thing that bothers me about your post, is the sentence “i try to take him out when i hope no one is out” … I understand that your dog might not be the best behaved dog, but keeping him away from a situation where he gets overexcited is actually the worst thing to do. The more you bring him to see people, and the more he is around people, the more comfortable he will become. However you should also stop any unwanted behavior at that time also.

Hopefully this helps a bit, and maybe Lonewolf can give you some more pointers I can’t think of right now!
 
If you want to experiment, you could always try something like, it is an anti-bark device which emits an ultrasonic frequency when the bark sensor is activated. I have never tried it myself, but if it works well, it could keep you from getting evicted.
 
Hi,
I have also seen anti bark collars that emitt a small "puff" of citronella. The citronella isn't harmful to the dog but the smell startles them.

I have also had friends who use a sound diversion technique. As soon as the dog barks immediatley make a loud, quick, "ehh!' noise to redirect his attention away from what he is barking at.
 
You Moved. That is the problem. Dogs are complex. Some dogs can take many different experiences and some dogs can be profoundly affected by a change. Your dog is affected to the point of sheer terror. We can reason, if we feel shy or afraid we know that we can leave the area or we can chat a bit and then leave the room. A dog cannot reason like that. What you dog is saying is: I am terrified and (seen or unseen) you had better stay away from me. It is sheer desperation that the dog is acting like this. He (or she) has no other choice. He is desperate to keep the demons away and he is terrified.
In times of grief or problems, many turn to prayer or counsel of friends or doctors. In this case, you are going to become the dog’s higher power or counsel.
First (if you do not have one, get one) take a dog create. You are going to turn this crate into a Disney land for dogs. Full of toys, a piece of cloth with your smell on it, a ticking clock (reminds them of mother’s heartbeat) and the absolute best treats you can give him. Your 100-dollar bottle of perfume probably smells like crap to the dog but there are perfumes that dogs actually like and it gives them real comfort. Lavender is one. Also very low soothing music can help too.
Ok now you have your crate set up. You have yummy treats. Now get the dog in the crate, if you like you can lie down next to the dog and just feed it treat after treat, do this for two or three minutes. Then take the dog out. Repeat several times in the day, each time letting the dog stay in the crate a bit longer. If the dog barks or gets excited in the crate, DO NOT GET EXCITED YOURSELF. Stay calm talk softly and soothingly and keep giving it treats. Once you have established that this is a safe place for the dog, have the next member of the family do the same thing, everyone in the house must be involved. Remember you are the counsel that is showing the dog there is a safe place and in this place, there are no worries or fear.
Next step. Keep the dog in the crate (this in not in the visitors entrance and the dog is in another room away from the visitors). Have a person come in and sit down in another room. Give that person some treats. Go into the room where the dog is, give the dog some treats and then with a leash bring the dog out into the room. Make sure the person sitting is in a relaxed position and make sure they do not look at the dog. Bring the dog into the room; keep up the soothing talk and more treats as you bring the dog into the room. Bring the dog to the person and let that person start giving the dog treats, still no eye contact. Once the treats are finished take the dog out of the room and put in back in the crate, more treats again and soothing verbal rewards and touching. Do not pat the head or hug (these are signs of aggressions) but rub under the chin, shoulders, ears, etc.
If you bring the dog into the visitors room and he goes nuts, abort and bring him back directly to the crate, still lots of praise and treats. Have the visitor get up and stand in the doorway several feet away from the dog to provide a comfort zone. Give the dog more treats as the person is standing there, if the dog calms down let the visitor come to the crate and give the dog treats through the crate. Keep repeating until the dog understands that the home (all of it is safe).
We do know dogs can suffer from sadness, fear and anger. Love and other emotions no one is sure that dogs can love like we do, we may be simply witnessing pack loyalty rather than love. Nevertheless, for sure your dog is suffering from tremendous fear.
This is a Pavlov theory, meaning you can change the perception of the dog through conditioning. In this case, you are conditioning the dog to understand that strangers in this terribly scary new place are safe and friendly.
 
PS. Just a couple of other things. When you start introducing the dog to strangers in your new controlled environment, make sure the dog approaches from the side or back to your “stranger". A direct frontal approach will put the dog back into being forced to face the fear again and as you know he will go wild. If you look at two dogs that are buddies, you will see they never really approach each other directly but will move towards each other in a forward sideways move. Above all do not let the “stranger “make any eye contact at all. Your dog will be looking for that most of all to see if there is any danger and eye contact is the biggest signal that there is a challenge. We don't want any challenge at all; we want the situation to be free of any type of perceived aggression.

The other thing I would ask of you is to please trace the past two months of your move and the living in the apartment. Did anything occur that was odd for the dog (other than the actual move)? Where was the dog when you moved? Did the dog stay at a kennel or at friends? If so ask them if there were any unusual events. Do your best to trace every piece of history you can about the dog and any type of events out of the norm during this time. This issue started someplace and it could be a single event or an event that occurred over and over. If we can pin point that event, it will be much easier to correct.

If you have ever watched the show the dog whisperer and you have seen him hold an aggressive dog down until it submits: I can assure you those types of events can trigger some real stress related issues and they may not occur until weeks have passed after the actual event.

I know this seems to be allot just for a dog that is barking but if it is really as you say: that the dog is in such a state that he bites all the time, then you have a problem and I would think that re-conditioning would be the safest route for your dog and those he comes in contact with.
 
:goodpost:

Thanks lonewolf! :great:

That is an awesome, informative and comforting post for maukoal. I'm sure she will appreciate it!
 
Hi Maukole, Im new to this site but doesnt lonewolf talk extremely good sense. Just to reiterate his points, this is a 'territorial' problem, due to fear. You must not isolate your new apartment as "his territory" and avoid the issues as this will only make it worse. Your mix will be looking to you for guidance on this, so whatever reaction you are giving at the moment, try stopping and ignoring the behaviour. Lonewolfs crate idea sound great, but if its possible, I would also try tying him up on a long line in the apartment near the main door, then wedge the door open for a few hours a day if possible. You ignore him and come in, go out, chat on the landing to neighbours, etc and completely disregard any fuss he makes. Can you put a chair out on your landing, so you can sit and read where he can see you but people coming and going will stop and chat to you? Just ask them to completely ignore your dog and not look at him. Dont ever forget to tell him 'Good Boy' when hes lying quietly watching out of the door.

It will really help for him to see that you're not bothered by neighbours, and even less bothered by his fuss. Caro xx
 
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