Dog Behavior

Shortly after high school (many years ago), I became a veterinary techinician. I had the impression the "bad" dog theory was a misconception, surely their owners contributed to their aggression, or maybe the owners used the wrong tools when teaching. I thought the dogs could be trained to be "good" dogs. Then I got my first job. I witnessed puppies, just months old, lunging forward to bite. Many owners would spend big dollars and many hours trying to reform their dog's behavior. They did everything right, yet. I lost hope. I accepted the fact some dogs are born mean.

Then came Ceaser Millan. He put all these "bad" dogs in one place and made them "good" dogs. Wow!

The lesson I learned, there is always hope.

a reply to: Jojoappleseed

Ha ha, I agree.

He reforms pets and trains owners.

Well...
You only hear about or see the ones he can reform.

Not saying he isn't amazing, just something to think about.

Puppies under 6 months old generally don't have angry aggression. They want to play, to playbite, and they're teething. I have a Lab/Bernese cross, she's huge already (80lbs) at 8 months. She's extremely aggressive with her affection.
She ran at our gate once a couple of months ago to greet a friend who was on the other side, and in her aggressive love, she forgot to stop and hit that gate soooo hard she yelped when she hit, even left fur behind on the gate.
First time in her puppyhood that I got home after dark one night,( shes in the house when I'm not here), she ran at me through the kitchen and hugged me hard and aggressively. Gripping me , licking my head all over. She's tall on 2 legs.....

Every dog takes a different type of understanding. I have an overly aggressive loving female, an extremely laid back Akbash male puppy (4 months), and a grouchy, but affectionate 7 year old male Shihtzu.
It's a weird mix. The 2 puppies are totally in love with each other.

The biggest mistake people make is expecting the poor dogs to understand THEIR human needs!

You gotta speak Dog language!

A pack leader is a MUST. Thats You!
How do you become a pack leader?
Not by being a bully!
You achieve leadership by your actions.

You eat first, when you're finished give some to Mr Dog.
Going through a door? YOU go first, if Mr Dog slips through pull him back and make him wait his turn.
Going for a walk? YOU walk in front!
Meeting other dogs? YOU meet them first!
etc etc
Thats dog language! No bullying or evil shock collars needed!

Once Mr Dog understands the above most of it can be relaxed.

originally posted by: snowspirit
They want to play, to playbite, and they're teething.

Mr Dog used my thumb when he was teething
Luckily my job meant I had tough skin and he could really have a good chew, and he'd howl and whine while he was chewing. I think teething is often overlooked when people see bad behavior, in the wild they'd have a nice chewy animal leg to help with it.

Not all dog breeds are alike and different breeds have different traits and dispositions.
One person may be suited to train a certain breed that is easy to work with, but has no business trying to train another breed that is territorial and needs a strong-willed person to establish dominance.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
The biggest mistake people make is expecting the poor dogs to understand THEIR human needs!

You gotta speak Dog language!

A pack leader is a MUST. Thats You!
How do you become a pack leader?
Not by being a bully!
You achieve leadership by your actions.

You eat first, when you're finished give some to Mr Dog.
Going through a door? YOU go first, if Mr Dog slips through pull him back and make him wait his turn.
Going for a walk? YOU walk in front!
Meeting other dogs? YOU meet them first!
etc etc
Thats dog language! No bullying or evil shock collars needed!

Once Mr Dog understands the above most of it can be relaxed.

Good post. Well done.

a reply to: VoidHawk

My girl tortured me for a month when I got her at 6 weeks. No compassion. She even made me let out a blood curdling scream one day. She would bite the back of my leg, my butt, everywhere, all day long. Teeth like needles, I was a scratched up mess
The day she drew tears, she stopped. She had finally found compassion.

My Akbash pup is so gentle in comparison. But I got him later, so he chews on her most of the time.

There was a lot of blood from her mouth when she lost her baby fangs, twice. She even had double fangs for a couple of weeks, after the first fang fell out, then the back one fell out off each side.
She had a lot of teething pain.
People need a large variety of safe dog toys for teething. Saves the furniture

a reply to: Jojoappleseed

Do not forget,even Mr.Milan will tell you the same thing that other trainers I have talked to say.....out of every 100 dogs,there are 2 to 3 that you can do nothing with at all. They are just born mean and aggressive,and will stay that way. The one trainer in St.Louis who is a top notch trainer recommended to those people that had those dogs to either A.turn them over to the army or B. Put them down. Those are your options with them.

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: Jojoappleseed

Do not forget,even Mr.Milan will tell you the same thing that other trainers I have talked to say.....out of every 100 dogs,there are 2 to 3 that you can do nothing with at all. They are just born mean and aggressive,and will stay that way. The one trainer in St.Louis who is a top notch trainer recommended to those people that had those dogs to either A.turn them over to the army or B. Put them down. Those are your options with them.

Or let someone else have a go?

a reply to: VoidHawk

These are not ordinary dogs we are talking about. In 15 years of grooming I have run across a couple of them. These dogs are viscous and will attack ANYONE. Therefore just turning them over to someone else is very risky. If that person does not understand just how bad the dog is,they can be severely injured or killed. Most people do not want that responsibility. I know I would not knowingly turn over a viscous dog to someone else and have them get mauled by it.

Just finished reading Team Dog by Mike Ritland.

He is a former Navy SEAL that now trains Military Working Dogs and explains the basics in training dogs and common methods to handle problems with dogs.

His main thing is you have to make your dog respect you. Not just love, but respect.

Similar to what Cesar Milan teaches, you have to be the alpha

a reply to: Dimithae

Well I certainly did not mean to suggest they be given to a novice! I do know however that where one person may fail another might succeed.
I don't agree that some dogs are born nasty. Something made them that way.

I get on with dogs very well, I dont know why but they just like me. When I was trucking I knew another trucker who like me took his dog with him in the truck. His dog became a psycho whenever anyone even approached their truck. One day I walked towards his truck and I whistled to get the dogs attention long before I reached the cab door. I walked right up to the door and opened it. I made a fuss of him then closed the door, turned to find his master staring in disbelief at what he'd just seen.
His master wanted to know how I could do that, I told him it was simple, I just told the dog I was coming to see him, I whistled at him.

Just heard about this story from a cousin who lives in the area and knew the victim.
www.wbbjtv.com...

The Madison County Sheriff's Office said a 5-year-old Rottweiler attacked and killed the 67-year-old Thursday afternoon. Just hours earlier, Riggs had come back from Jackson-Madison County Rabies Control with a brand new friend he thought would be a great companion for him.
"When I got over there at the time, all were upset," Butler said. "I didn't know what had happened, but when I got over there the dog was trying to attack her, and it was just a job to try and get him out of the house. But the sheriff showed up and took care of the rest of it."
Deputies put down the dog, fearing he would attack the people who had gathered outside.

Very sad. Great guy who just wanted to give a stray dog a home.
Nobody had reported aggressive behavior by the dog, who had reportedly been at the shelter for five days.