Hey all,
I have been lurking on these and other forums recently and feel it is time I post about my dog troubles and seek advice. I have scoured the internet for information but my girlfriend and I are still at a loss. We recently adopted an 8th month old terrier mix puppy from the SPCA (looks like she has some lab in her as well). She is beyond sweet and incredibly intelligent, her name is Isis. Yet, she is showing signs of dominance issues.
We have gotten her house trained for the most part; we have been using her crate for this. If she doesn’t go potty, or only goes a little (she has a tendency of only going a little unless we repeat “go potty” a few times, probably because she wants a quick treat) and not as much as we know she needs to, she goes back into the crate for 20 mins and we try again. She has gotten better about this and I think by the end of the week or the end of next week she will be completely potty trained. This is all we have been able to work with her on though.
The main issue is she can get very jumpy and lunge/nip, or even latch down on the arm and really bares her teeth (she doesn’t bite hard or anything, it is more intimidating than it is dangerous), but she doesn’t growl. We have tried everything to help correct this! We turned our backs and ignored her, we say “NO!” in low, controlled, dominant voices and we always praise her when she acts like she should. We have tried to say “NO!” and then turn our backs, always avoiding eye contact. If we make eye contact, we always hold it till she turns away. We are both carrying ourselves confidently but to no avail. We have also tried to nudge/push her with our feet (not kicking, never out of anger, just redirecting her), especially when she tried to get us to pay attention to her and/or pet her. This only makes her lunge and nip. We tried doing a time out and she whined and howled like we couldn’t believe, it didn’t stop. When we crate her, especially when we eat or for bed time, she will whine and howl for 5 mins and then stops and becomes very well behaved (back to her very sweet self). This was not the case in time out and she was scratching and chewing at our gate trying to get out. We recently have tried the spray bottle with water and it has shown some promise, although she usually cowers away when she sees me reaching for it. I don’t know if this is ok or not, I do not want my dog to be afraid, I just want her dominance issues to come under control and be the sweet dog she can be. We have done every dominance/alpha techniques in the book like eat first and all that but to no avail.
We have been unable to teach her any commands, she lunges and gets nippy and gets rowdy/acts up whenever we do regardless of what we do. Go potty is the only command she knows, and she really only understands it once we are outside, she hasn’t registered fully what potty means. What is worse is she is VERY difficult on a leash. She chews the leash and nothing we have done, even using things like bitter apple spray, stops her for a second. She sniffs and leads and wants to go wherever she wants and if you try to control her in any manner, no matter what you do or how confident you are, she freaks out and starts baring teeth, lunging, nipping, jumping and rolling on the ground. This is a serious issue when it comes to my girlfriend. The dog is just too powerful for her when she is on a leash. She has back issues and is afraid the dog will hurt her, and rightfully so, as she leads and pulls very hard. I am also concerned for the dog because I am afraid she will get throat damage from pulling so hard on the leash.
Can anyone please offer us help? We have both researched like crazy and nothing has really worked to calm her dominance issues. We are waiting to see a trainer but that won’t be for another week or two. We are unable to play with her or take her for walks and know this will only add to the problem.
I have been lurking on these and other forums recently and feel it is time I post about my dog troubles and seek advice. I have scoured the internet for information but my girlfriend and I are still at a loss. We recently adopted an 8th month old terrier mix puppy from the SPCA (looks like she has some lab in her as well). She is beyond sweet and incredibly intelligent, her name is Isis. Yet, she is showing signs of dominance issues.
We have gotten her house trained for the most part; we have been using her crate for this. If she doesn’t go potty, or only goes a little (she has a tendency of only going a little unless we repeat “go potty” a few times, probably because she wants a quick treat) and not as much as we know she needs to, she goes back into the crate for 20 mins and we try again. She has gotten better about this and I think by the end of the week or the end of next week she will be completely potty trained. This is all we have been able to work with her on though.
The main issue is she can get very jumpy and lunge/nip, or even latch down on the arm and really bares her teeth (she doesn’t bite hard or anything, it is more intimidating than it is dangerous), but she doesn’t growl. We have tried everything to help correct this! We turned our backs and ignored her, we say “NO!” in low, controlled, dominant voices and we always praise her when she acts like she should. We have tried to say “NO!” and then turn our backs, always avoiding eye contact. If we make eye contact, we always hold it till she turns away. We are both carrying ourselves confidently but to no avail. We have also tried to nudge/push her with our feet (not kicking, never out of anger, just redirecting her), especially when she tried to get us to pay attention to her and/or pet her. This only makes her lunge and nip. We tried doing a time out and she whined and howled like we couldn’t believe, it didn’t stop. When we crate her, especially when we eat or for bed time, she will whine and howl for 5 mins and then stops and becomes very well behaved (back to her very sweet self). This was not the case in time out and she was scratching and chewing at our gate trying to get out. We recently have tried the spray bottle with water and it has shown some promise, although she usually cowers away when she sees me reaching for it. I don’t know if this is ok or not, I do not want my dog to be afraid, I just want her dominance issues to come under control and be the sweet dog she can be. We have done every dominance/alpha techniques in the book like eat first and all that but to no avail.
We have been unable to teach her any commands, she lunges and gets nippy and gets rowdy/acts up whenever we do regardless of what we do. Go potty is the only command she knows, and she really only understands it once we are outside, she hasn’t registered fully what potty means. What is worse is she is VERY difficult on a leash. She chews the leash and nothing we have done, even using things like bitter apple spray, stops her for a second. She sniffs and leads and wants to go wherever she wants and if you try to control her in any manner, no matter what you do or how confident you are, she freaks out and starts baring teeth, lunging, nipping, jumping and rolling on the ground. This is a serious issue when it comes to my girlfriend. The dog is just too powerful for her when she is on a leash. She has back issues and is afraid the dog will hurt her, and rightfully so, as she leads and pulls very hard. I am also concerned for the dog because I am afraid she will get throat damage from pulling so hard on the leash.
Can anyone please offer us help? We have both researched like crazy and nothing has really worked to calm her dominance issues. We are waiting to see a trainer but that won’t be for another week or two. We are unable to play with her or take her for walks and know this will only add to the problem.
