OS Pups Thread!

[Chaos81]

re: OS Pups Thread!

My dog Howie was on Animal Planet's "America's Cutest Dog" tonight. I made a video of his segment, check it out!

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That's awesome!

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

i'm thinking about paying a dog trainer to come to my house and see if they can help with brutus, i don't know what else to do..

[Chaos81]

re: OS Pups Thread!

but every so often I still get Mr. Growly where he acts as if he's alpha dog.

When is he growling at you?

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Usually whenever he lies down and has been lying down for a while, be it on the bed or on his bean bag, if you even get near him he'll start growling, and god forbid you touch him, he'll do the warning snap-at-you deal...if you push it then he'll bite at you, although you can tell he's doing it more for show than to try to really take your hand off. And after that initial growling, if he gets up and goes into the hall and you even get near him he'll growl and give you the evil eye..

I realize that he is just in his "leave me alone" mood and that's fine but if company or kids come in I'm afraid someone is going to get bit. Not to mention the fact that from all I've read on dog aggression if he growls at you at all, ever, anywhere, for any reason, then he considers himself to be the Alpha Dog and that can lead to all sorts of issues.

I do walk him 2 or 3 times a day, sometimes for long, long walks, as I've heard on Dog Whisperer sometimes it's exercise that is the issue...and I also live alone so he's alone most of the time so maybe that is part of it. But I don't know what to do about that social aspect because most doggie daycare won't allow unfixed dogs to mingle with other dogs. And he was somewhat like this when he lived with my sister and she has 5 kids and 2 other dogs so I don't think the social thing is the root.

Granted 95% of the time he's a good dog and he listens but when he gets in these "dark" moods there is no reasoning with him and he just becomes, as I call him, Mr. Growly (sung to the tune of Mr. Crowley by Ozzy).

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

My mom says the only thing thats wrong with him is he either needs a g/f or he needs to get fixed...but I dunno. I hate to get him fixed to be honest but maybe that is what I'll end up having to do.

[KG]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Yeah I was going to say get him fixed. That calms down a lot of dogs and has health benefits.

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

I think i'm going to see how much this guy will charge me. What do you guys think?

http://thek9guy.com/

[42]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Any ideas on the alpha dog thing? I already do make him wait for me to walk through doors, I feed him after I eat, I make him do tricks to get his treats, he only gets on the bed when I allow him to (when I'm there) and do many things that Cesar Milan recommends but every so often I still get Mr. Growly where he acts as if he's alpha dog.

Honestly I'm wondering if my dog gets possessed sometimes, it's like Doggy Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde.

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[SoxFan01605]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Awesome dog. Good to see a someone has a bully breed.

Thanks! I love breeds in the class. If in the right environment, they make great pets (Lucy is awesome with my son).

i'm thinking about paying a dog trainer to come to my house and see if they can help with brutus, i don't know what else to do..

Somewhere along the line (and I know others have said this a few times already) the dog got the idea that you aren't ahead in the pecking order. It's harder to undue poor training/habits than it is to build good ones. If it's gotten better at all, you are likely on the right track.

To me, it sounds like you are doing things right in order to maintain a level of dominance, but the trouble is you have to get to that point of maintenance first. It sounds as you are in more of a building phase (which, as I said, takes more time if you are also "undoing").

What may be cheaper than calling someone in to help and still effective (sometimes more-so) is taking your dog to an obedience or agility class, where it puts the dog in a regulated setting where you are clearly in command. You will still get the assistance (in essence, you are the one being trained) and the dog will get all direct correction from you.

Also, you can (and should) continue on your own. Dogs actually like the structure that comes with training...if you make it fun. You can get a simple training collar and work on simple commands on-leash (like sit, stay, heel, down, etc) even if he knows them to build that rapport. Treat every interaction as a chance to further training.

With all that said, it can definitely be time consuming. It requires a ton of patience and most importantly, consistency. I'm sure you've heard plenty, so if I'm being repetitive, my apologies...I didn't go back to the beginning.

[muggins]

re: OS Pups Thread!

My mom says the only thing thats wrong with him is he either needs a g/f or he needs to get fixed...but I dunno. I hate to get him fixed to be honest but maybe that is what I'll end up having to do.

Unless you're a breeder with valuable breeding stock there is 100% no reason to not have your dog fixed.

[PVarck31]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Unless you're a breeder with valuable breeding stock there is 100% no reason to not have your dog fixed.

Agree 100%

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Well after last night I'm seriously considering doing this after Christmas. It was a doggy nightmare before Christmas. Honestly i'm sick of it. I've followed all of the suggestions on here, on Cesar's show and everywhere else and progress is pretty minimal. I did get him to show me his belly last night which was positive but then this morning he started the barking and growling all over again.

[muggins]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Well after last night I'm seriously considering doing this after Christmas. It was a doggy nightmare before Christmas. Honestly i'm sick of it. I've followed all of the suggestions on here, on Cesar's show and everywhere else and progress is pretty minimal. I did get him to show me his belly last night which was positive but then this morning he started the barking and growling all over again.

I'm pretty sure that every dog expert would assume that your dog is fixed before trying anything else.

[ODogg]

re: OS Pups Thread!

Yeah, I guess i'll be calling the vet after the holidays and get the snip-snip setup. I just hope he don't get fat.

[Chaos81]

re: OS Pups Thread!

I just hope he don't get fat.

He won't get fat if you keep him on a proper diet.

How much food and exercise does he get now? How big is he?