need puppy advice again- sorry for being a post hog About This Page:

[disneyknut]

Our puppy, Leia is a wonderful addition to the family & is a very good dog 99.9% of the timer.. she listens, is completely house trained.. walks at our heel etc..

BUT.. she has issues with strangers DD..

If anyone new comes in our house she barks & growls.. (while wagging her tail :laugh: ) she does not let them approach her.she will back away from them..

When MIL was here last week Leia started the barking at her but within an hour they were buddies as long as MIL was sitting.. if MIL would stand up to walk anywhere, Leia would follow her barking.

Any ideas on why she could be doing this?? or solutions to fix this.. I intend to start walking in the local park with her & don't want to spend the majority of my time trying to calm her down..

Also.. she has issues with DD.. At various times if DD (13YO) picks her up she will growl.. I have tried to teach DD to be the alpha but DD isn't getting the concept..

At first it was when Leia had a bone & DD would approach, she'd growl but now it seems that Leia will growl at different times at DD. anyone else can literally take the bone out of her mouth & Leia would do nothing but DD she looks at with such distaste..

thoughts, suggestions??

[kriston]

You may want to get Cesar Milan's book, and watch his show on Animal Planet (I think). I also like to watch "It's Me or The Dog". Both of those shows offer great advice!

[JoanneS]

I have no advice, but I'm interested in whatever ideas people have.

[Paige4]

We rescued our dog she was 1 1/2 years ols at the time and she was the same way even growled at our son( we think maybe she was mistreated or possibly her owner was mistreated)! Advice we got that worked like a charm was invite people into you house all different heights/weights/colors, dark/light clothes some with glasses some with out, have someone wear a hat, men/women/children (not all at the same time of course, one to three at a time) put some treats on the porch and have them hide one in their hand or pocket when they come in tell them to ignore the dog until he/she comes up to them in a friendly way and makes contact with them then give the treat. This only took a few days and our new addition was working out wonderful! Good Luck!!!

[Teresa]

For your DD - if she's not getting it, the dog will continue to see her as either an equal or an inferior.
Who's feeding the dog? Who walks her? It should for the most part be your DD. If she has control of the food, she becomes superior in a dog's eyes.
When your DD goes anywhere with the dog, she needs to be the one to ALWAYS go through the door first - this is a sign of superiority.
I like the suggestion of watching some tv programs about out of control dogs. Yes, yours isn't that extreme - but there are some really good ideas on those shows.
Your DD needs to be watching them with you, and maybe the two of you can discuss ways for her to train the dog.
Have you enrolled them in puppy classes? This might be a great time/reason to do so.

[KMB733]

There is a wonderful service I recommend to a lot of clients called Bark Busters Bark Busters, Professional Home Dog Trainer, Training, Puppy Obedience Trainers I would give them a call and see if they can't offer you some advice.

You may also want to call you vet and see if they have any suggestions for you.

[Huntermom]

I would be more concerned about the puppy and your DD than the puppy and strangers. I would do a couple of things-if you have not done a basic puppy training class, do it with your DD immediately! If someone else has done it with her, have DD do it again or a more advance class with her.

I would have DD do simple obedience commands with her every day, especially while waiting for puppy class. One of our favorites is leave it. It really helps them learn patience and to put obeying you above getting a treat.

And I would do what Kathy suggests-contact a good dog trainer.

If the puppy has not been exposed to other dogs and lots of people, I begin that soon. Dogs can be overprotective of their families around strangers, she needs to learn that you can take care of both of you and that "strangers" are not a threat.

Good luck. Please have your DD do training with the puppy as soon as you can get her in.

[pflamingo]

I much prefer Victoria Stillwell's ("It's Me or the Dog") methods to Caesar Milan's. He is much too "old school" with the Alpha/dominance ideas, for my taste. I also find some of his methods too negative. I've seen him hit and poke at dogs and then make a comment about not wanting to get bit. (Duh. Don't antagonize the dog, then.)

Originally Posted by Paige4

We rescued our dog she was 1 1/2 years ols at the time and she was the same way even growled at our son( we think maybe she was mistreated or possibly her owner was mistreated)! Advice we got that worked like a charm was invite people into you house all different heights/weights/colors, dark/light clothes some with glasses some with out, have someone wear a hat, men/women/children (not all at the same time of course, one to three at a time) put some treats on the porch and have them hide one in their hand or pocket when they come in tell them to ignore the dog until he/she comes up to them in a friendly way and makes contact with them then give the treat. This only took a few days and our new addition was working out wonderful! Good Luck!!!

This is excellent advice. I've seen Victoria Stillwell use this many times on her show. In the case of your MIL, you can do the same thing, but also, keep Leia on a leash (let it trail behind her - don't hold on to it) and when she starts to bark and follow your MIL, take Leia away in the opposite direction and out of the room. It's basically a time out technique that takes her away from the "fun." When she calms down, let her go back into the room (leash trailing). If she starts barking again, take her out again. She'll quickly get the idea of what she needs to do.

Originally Posted by Teresa

For your DD - if she's not getting it, the dog will continue to see her as either an equal or an inferior.
Who's feeding the dog? Who walks her? It should for the most part be your DD. If she has control of the food, she becomes superior in a dog's eyes.
When your DD goes anywhere with the dog, she needs to be the one to ALWAYS go through the door first - this is a sign of superiority.
I like the suggestion of watching some tv programs about out of control dogs. Yes, yours isn't that extreme - but there are some really good ideas on those shows.
Your DD needs to be watching them with you, and maybe the two of you can discuss ways for her to train the dog.
Have you enrolled them in puppy classes? This might be a great time/reason to do so.

Also excellent advice. But if your DD is already intimidated by Leia, she may not want to take this on. You can use the same technique for strangers & your MIL with DD - have Leia on the leash (same as with MIL) and have your DD toss treats to Leia as she slowly gets closer to her. If Leia growls, take her out of the room for a short time (30 secs or so), then let her go back in and try again. Make sure Leia doesn't have any toys or bones or anything she might feel she needs to "protect" when you do this. You might start this with DD sitting on the floor and tossing treats as she slides toward her (again, slowly - baby steps here). In fact, have her toss a few treats from the same spot, then move just a bit closer and repeat. Use some really high-value treats like chicken, but keep the pieces small (size of you little finger nail). You're trying to get Leia to associate DD's approach w/ really yummy treats; growling gets her a time out. Again, she'll figure it out. It may take some time and patience to get this to work, so warn DD about that. As for taking a bone or toy away, your DD needs to work with Leia on the "leave it" command. If you don't know this one, PM me and I'll explain it.

Regarding your concerns about taking Leia out, when you walk her and see someone coming, take her aside a few steps, make her sit, stand b/w her and the other person/dog, and make her focus on you. A treat held up next to your eyes and the command "watch me" will get her to focus on you. If she looks away, lower the treat to her nose then up again and give the "watch me" command. When the other person/dog has passed, give her the treat - as long as she is calm when you do it.

When a dog is on a leash, it becomes very protective of the person at the other end (hence why you want to let it trail when your MIL is there) and can be very reactive. They also sense when you are tense and anticipating "trouble." The more relaxed you can stay in the situation, the easier it will be.

[krisk11]

No advice since I'm not a dog owner but I always read your posts asking for advice in hopes of seeing pictures of your adorable puppy. Hope the advice you recieve helps.

[jennie622]

I agree with the puppy classes - classes are as much for the owner as the dog (I suggest your DD be the one to take the lead in the class while you attend as well). Socialization is key both with people and other dogs. The more places and people you expose your puppy to, the more comfortable it will become. Training, dog parks, doggy daycamp, etc.

Pflamingo is spot on with her advice to have the puppy sit and focus on you as others pass you by and that your DD should always represent "good times". The poke that Cesar Millan uses is less of a poke and more of a snap out of it by taking the puppy's attention away from whatever it is zooming in on and bringing it's attention back to you. My baby, Sid, is so "SQUIRREL!!" and a light tap from me breaks his concentration.

And remember, there are no bad dogs!! I prefer breeds that are viewed as "aggressive" (rotties, akitas, pits, staffys, dobies) and ALL my puppies go to puppy class for socialization, training and to have a great time! I've had show dogs & certified companion dogs but most of all, they are big goobers that I love with all my heart!!

Good luck with your puppy!