Posted on 08/18/2008 10:03:46 AM PDT by yankeedame
All our dealings with our dog will be from a position of authority, or ALPHA. Being pack animals, dogs see us simply as members of their pack. A pack is a very structured society with a set hierarchy with an absolute leader (ALPHA) on down to a very definite subordinate.
Following are just a few basic rules to follow that allow us to establish our ALPHA over our dog:
Hmmmmm...kind of reads like the way libs think kids should raised!
Especially the part about touching them everywhere...
Sheesh!
I can tell you first hand that this bullsh@t is just that!
When a 6 pound Yorkie can growl at your child without a good “pop” on the nose or anywhere else, THAT dog WILL bite the child eventually unless you either kill it or train it otherwise.
This is NOT a humble opinion.
Heck, that's why we have dogs!
I’m really glad you posted this. Two weeks ago I adopted a youngish, totally untrained purebred Rat Terrier from the Shelter. Lovely little dog, but .........oh........ the energy in that creature. She’s learning, but it’s really hard to NOT do the things this article says to NOT do. Fortunately, my two older dogs seem to be teaching her some manners. Even my cats are helping. She loves them all!
Thanks
I have two Akitas. And yes, they can be aggressive.
Several other things I do:
I always make sure I am the first one through any door.
Every so often I just take something away from them for a minute or so, like a bone or such. I’ll also occasionally just move or take their toys or food. I am the alpha.
You can’t let them get by with anything. Always correct.
I don’t let them get in a position where their heads are higher than mine. Dogs take “king of the hill” literally. (I am convinced that is why so many little dogs are aggressive. It’s just natural to let them on your sofa, your bed. But that position makes them feel alpha.)
Even my 1 year old knows to call the dog when she spills something, because the dog won’t make her wipe it up herself!
Maybe I’ll give SOME of this a try w/my Pug.
I pop my neighbors dog on the nose every time he licks me on the arm. Every time. Some day he’ll learn.
My son just bought a mountain cur thats about a year old. He had to drive almost to Ohio to get the dog. That dog is the most timid dog I have ever met. He likes my son but the rest of him just scare him to death. Any tips on helping this poor dog out? Personally I think the previous owner mistreated him,he was rail thin and his coat was in terrible shape.
Do this three or four times and they will listen to you from then on.
I’m not sure that gentle training like this will work on a headstrong type like the terrier...For instance, trying to wrest a sock away will turn into twenty minutes of tug-o-war, whereas giving him a firm poke can save the sock and your sanity.
Yeah, I completely disagree with no physical punishment. You should have to beat your dog, but in nature, the alpha does indeed use physical methods for behavior teaching.
A pop on the nose does wonders for teaching a young puppy.
One additional thing I would add to many of the steps above: Give and take food one a regular basis when they are young. This will pay off huge when your dog gets something it shouldn’t (something poisonous or maybe your neighbors cat) and you go to take it from him.
5 yrs ago we adopted a full blood Boxer from a shelter. She was skinny as a rail and had obviously been mistreated. We used patience and gentleness to teach her how to be part of our family.
She is the BEST dog we have ever had. It is like she knows that we saved her and appreciates it.
Good luck to your son.
No mention of a cattle prod in the dos and donts.
In reference to another DOG thread going on here, the last and most thing your puppy should know is that you will eat him if he misbehaves.......
I think the point is, don’t beat your dog if you find it doing it’s business on the floor. You don’t beat or hit a cowering dog. But sometimes you have to face down an aggressive one. And you have to face it DOWN.
Better than hitting it, is a sharp correction and then hold it down until it succumbs. They hate that worse than a hit. Have your child hold it down and the lesson will be a good one.
Remember, with dogs it’s all “pride” not the pain. The “holding down” follows the lesson through better than screaming or hitting. The problem is, following through like that takes a little work and time.
I haven’t had this problem in years, but my Akitas used to get into vicious fights. One ripped the topped off the others head once.
At times like that, rules about “not hitting” go out the window. You just have to get them apart. But then I made the bigger one lie down and let the other one sniff him. And then I took the little one for stitches. 28 of them.
But I guess I must have handled it right, because they love people, and as far as each other, we haven’t had a fight in years.
We rehabbed a very timid foster dog with crating & the umbilical method. Keep him in the crate except for a few hours a day when he’s attached to your belt by a leash, and make him follow you around without paying attention to him.
It allows him to learn to ignore the stimuli around him as he must pay attention to you at all times.
Then the crate gives him time to relax and feel safe in his den.
This should combined with long daily walks, so he doesn’t build up a lot of nervous tension.
The food thing does wonders when introducing an adult canine.
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