DISCLAIMER: I am not Michael Vick, nor am I attempting to encourage dog-aggressive or person-aggressive behavior.
I've wanted to teach these for a while, and I'm even more intrigued since there seem to be few useful online resources. These tricks can be a challenge since they don't lend themselves to luring the same way 'sit', 'roll-over', etc., do.
Also, my dog does not currently exhibit howl or growl with any regularity, so it's not simply a matter of reinforcing a behavior he already does on his own. His natural noise-making tended toward soft whimpering (e.g., when he wants to go out) or squeaking (e.g., when he's excited because he sees his "girlfriend" coming down the sidewalk).
It took me 2 weeks just to teach "speak" (i.e., a proper, manly bark).
When he's VERY excited, he does a hound-like bark-howl, but that occurs only when I first get home from work and quickly subsides.
FYI - He's a 1-year-old intact male Yorkie/Shih Tzu mix.
For the howl, I've tried:
1) Harmonica - for the most part, he ignores it completely. My neighbors, on the other hand, do not.
2) Trumpet - this sends him running to the far corner of the apartment, but he doesn't react vocally.
3) Howling myself - he seems to think I'm in distress (as though I'm whimpering), and he comes running and licks my face. But again, no vocalization. And again, the neighbors are not thrilled.
For the growl, I've tried:
1) Tug 'o war - Some dogs get into this and growl, but not mine.
2) Wearing a wig and sunglasses - It doesn't work when I do it, but he chased my former roommate (who was dressed as Slash, for those of you who were wondering) out of the apartment on Halloween.
3) Youtube - He's vaguely interested but doesn't vocalize.
4) Growling myself - He submits by lying on his back. It's cool, but it's not the behavior I'm going for.
I've considered borrowing my dog's mom from my former roommates hoping that it can help impart the desired behavior to my dog. She is the undisputed pack alpha (she even pees by lifting her leg, and she acts like she's scent-marking), and she growls like a champ on cue (she does it naturally, no training required). Of course, she also dominates the other pack members on cue ("Get him!"), although we didn't train that, either. She always just responded immediately to the tone of voice. She rarely howls, but we can get her to do it if we hide in the bathroom, close the door, and howl ourselves.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to proceed? There a great Youtube video of Omar Muller's wolf-hybrid growling/snarling, but there's a dearth of online instructions. And currently, I'm stumped!
-josanbabu
I've wanted to teach these for a while, and I'm even more intrigued since there seem to be few useful online resources. These tricks can be a challenge since they don't lend themselves to luring the same way 'sit', 'roll-over', etc., do.
Also, my dog does not currently exhibit howl or growl with any regularity, so it's not simply a matter of reinforcing a behavior he already does on his own. His natural noise-making tended toward soft whimpering (e.g., when he wants to go out) or squeaking (e.g., when he's excited because he sees his "girlfriend" coming down the sidewalk).
It took me 2 weeks just to teach "speak" (i.e., a proper, manly bark).
When he's VERY excited, he does a hound-like bark-howl, but that occurs only when I first get home from work and quickly subsides.
FYI - He's a 1-year-old intact male Yorkie/Shih Tzu mix.
For the howl, I've tried:
1) Harmonica - for the most part, he ignores it completely. My neighbors, on the other hand, do not.
2) Trumpet - this sends him running to the far corner of the apartment, but he doesn't react vocally.
3) Howling myself - he seems to think I'm in distress (as though I'm whimpering), and he comes running and licks my face. But again, no vocalization. And again, the neighbors are not thrilled.
For the growl, I've tried:
1) Tug 'o war - Some dogs get into this and growl, but not mine.
2) Wearing a wig and sunglasses - It doesn't work when I do it, but he chased my former roommate (who was dressed as Slash, for those of you who were wondering) out of the apartment on Halloween.
3) Youtube - He's vaguely interested but doesn't vocalize.
4) Growling myself - He submits by lying on his back. It's cool, but it's not the behavior I'm going for.
I've considered borrowing my dog's mom from my former roommates hoping that it can help impart the desired behavior to my dog. She is the undisputed pack alpha (she even pees by lifting her leg, and she acts like she's scent-marking), and she growls like a champ on cue (she does it naturally, no training required). Of course, she also dominates the other pack members on cue ("Get him!"), although we didn't train that, either. She always just responded immediately to the tone of voice. She rarely howls, but we can get her to do it if we hide in the bathroom, close the door, and howl ourselves.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to proceed? There a great Youtube video of Omar Muller's wolf-hybrid growling/snarling, but there's a dearth of online instructions. And currently, I'm stumped!
-josanbabu
