zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 So my friend recently brought home a lovley Min Pin pup. Something must have happened to this dog when it was with the breeder. I say this because from the day they brought it home it has harrassed thier older dog despite her protests and size(pulls her long hair, bites her), Humps people, toys, and the other dog. It is extremely food possessive and will Bite, has bitten numerous times. Also hates being held will attack if held against its protests, attacks if it is taken away from its toys (not the other way around). All health checks have been done. I advised the use of Alpha roll, I understand some people are against this but its personal decision. Anyway I also helped her correct the dog vocally and also helped with some basic training with rewards and teaching it to place(on his mat). This was starting to work and behaviours had begun to dissipate if you will. And the corrections where stopping the dog as it was about to bite or about to attack. Im not saying he was stopping what he was doing completely but head way was being made. The alpha roll was only used when the dog bit and when he tried to attack. Food was removed when he attacked and rewards where given when he didn't. Anyways the vices came back when the method of training changed. They took him to a trainer who instructed them to never give another treat. And to only reward with praise and pats! Okay this would be great with some dogs but this dog hates being held touched and would rather not. Im no trainer but shouldn't training be even slightly personalised to the dog. The behaviours have become soooo much worse and the trainer told her the dog will get worse before he gets better. Does this make sense? The trainer advised that the alpha roll does not work and to simply "leave your hand there and allow him to bite until he stops!" Also my friend was planning to desex him at 6mnths but now the trainer has told her not to desex until 18mnths! The reason for this is apparently that once trained before neutering he wont ever go backwards. Or something like that my friend cant quite remember the trainers reasoning really. What are you thoughts?? I just cant help but think if this dog was the size of my boxer, would the trainer tell me to leave my hand there and wait till he stops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The 'wait until it stops biting' is for the dog to learn that it is ineffective to bite. When a dog is not dangerous, then it is effective. You can see it being used with adult dogs in this video: I agree with you re: treats as reward instead of patting, considering the dog is not finding it rewarding. If the dog does not find touching rewarding, then the behaviours will not increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) Something must have happened to this dog when it was with the breeder. Why? Not all dogs are born either stable, or bombproof, unfortunately .research and careful selection of breeder/bloodlines helps to ensure the purchase of a solid temperament pup ...... My only suggestion is to seek the help of a qualified professional, who is recommended by folks in the know ..and who WILL provide assistance tailored to the dog, the problem ,and the abilities of the handler ... oh, and what did the breeder say when told of this pup's behaviours? Edited March 6, 2011 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan3 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The behaviours have become soooo much worse and the trainer told her the dog will get worse before he gets better. Does this make sense? The trainer advised that the alpha roll does not work and to simply "leave your hand there and allow him to bite until he stops!" Also my friend was planning to desex him at 6mnths but now the trainer has told her not to desex until 18mnths! The reason for this is apparently that once trained before neutering he wont ever go backwards. Or something like that my friend cant quite remember the trainers reasoning really. What are you thoughts?? None of it makes any sense at all. I would suggest to your friend to see a trainer with some genuine qualifications, in fact with the problems you have described, a behaviourist might be a better use of time and funds. How committed is your friend to the dog? Seems like quite a challenge for this person, contact with the breeder might be worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 It is not a danger i suppose but my friends hands are becoming extremely cut up and ragged. And they are finding her isn't stopping for atleast a minute and by then she has already removed her hand because of the pain/bleeding. Gloves are ineffective because his teeth are going through it. I understand maybe with a young pup but this dog is already 5mnths or so. sorry shouldnt have written "recently". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Your friend needs to engage a trainer/behaviourist who understands and is experienced in working with dog aggression. Until that occurs, advise your friend to avoid those situations which provoke the dog to react aggressively. Every time the dog exhibits this behaviour is another time it gets to practice it. Your friend should not do anything where your friend is likely to incur an injury. What do you mean by "all health checks have been done" ? What health checks, in particular? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 ..and where did your friend buy this pup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Something must have happened to this dog when it was with the breeder. Why? Not all dogs are born either stable, or bombproof, unfortunately .research and careful selection of breeder/bloodlines helps to ensure the purchase of a solid temperament pup ...... My only suggestion is to seek the help of a qualified professional, who is recommended by folks in the know ..and who WILL provide assistance tailored to the dog, the problem ,and the abilities of the handler ... oh, and what did the breeder say when told of this pup's behaviours? She said she hadnt seen that behaviour before he left, which i find hard to believe because it began as soon as he was comfortable in the car on the way home. She has visited her with the dog but the breeder just suggested training and tried to wash her hands. She bought the dog from a good reg breeder. I went with her and nothing seemed amiss. She seemed as thought she has temperament in mind and tried to spend a lot of time handling the dogs and intorducing them to objects and situations. The only thing that she revealed was that because he was the last pup she favoured him and let him sleep in her bed. So im wondering what else went on that may have encouraged this behaviour to develop. thats why I said something must've influenced this dog. But your right its only a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Honestly, as this pup is now big enough and mature enough to escalate behaviours .. a professional to work with the owner is their only sensible option. No more 'home fixes', alpha rolls or trainers of dubious reputations.. ask on here for a recommendation, giving the city/area where the owner lives ..and get it SORTED! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Routine pup health checks. I would be able to tell you in detail as I wasn't there but she got him completely looked over because another trainer told her there could be a medical problem aggrivating the behaviour. They didn't find anything. I guess there not much I can tell her. Ive suggested finding a new trainer. But she just repeat the trainers words saying that he will get worse before he gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 The behaviours have become soooo much worse and the trainer told her the dog will get worse before he gets better. Does this make sense? The trainer advised that the alpha roll does not work and to simply "leave your hand there and allow him to bite until he stops!" Also my friend was planning to desex him at 6mnths but now the trainer has told her not to desex until 18mnths! The reason for this is apparently that once trained before neutering he wont ever go backwards. Or something like that my friend cant quite remember the trainers reasoning really. What are you thoughts?? None of it makes any sense at all. I would suggest to your friend to see a trainer with some genuine qualifications, in fact with the problems you have described, a behaviourist might be a better use of time and funds. How committed is your friend to the dog? Seems like quite a challenge for this person, contact with the breeder might be worthwhile. She can see its getting extremely serious but she thinks she is doing the right thing because the trainer told her so. And the increase in bad behaviour is being justified by the fact the trainer said it will get worse before he gets better. Its been a month and its just getting a Hell of a lot worse but there are areas where he is improving which is keeping her thinking its working, such as the humping which has stopped. There not much I can do really Other than suggest things as this isnt my dog. I just wanted to know exactly what ppl thought of the methods the trainer is teaching. And this desexing stuff. I wouldve thought they wouldve promoted desexing at a younger age and also to help with the dominance and aggression?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Normal puppy checks will not find problems with hormone levels. or in the brain, or other internal things ..possibly wouldn't even find the source of any chronic pain .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) Normal puppy checks will not find problems with hormone levels. or in the brain, or other internal things ..possibly wouldn't even find the source of any chronic pain .... I think they took bloods but thats about it. I'll let her know about the rest. I hope its nothing like that, as she recently had a dog die of old age at 15. EDITED for my shocking grammar and spelling today! Edited March 6, 2011 by zorroandbig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The puppy is not "attacking". It's a puppy, they bite and lunge during play and to get what they want. You WANT the puppy to bite you, it's the only way it can learn bite inhibition. It's only when it's older and knows that human skin is delicate that you want to eliminate biting. Alpha rolling is pointless, you need to TRAIN the puppy to do what you want it to do. Even trainers who use the alpha roll don't recommend using it until the dog is an adult. Puppies are NOT dominant, they are babies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The puppy is not "attacking". Fuzzy, you are certain of this? I have seen pups of that age disembowel one of their littermates ..and no, they were not playing! Also ,puppies several weeks old can be , and should be taught that teeth do NOT ever touch human skin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I dunno. I can't help thinking if the behaviour is getting worse, the owner is doing something the dog perceives as encouragement. Extinction bursts (ie behaviour getting worse) usually last five minutes of consistent training (ie no rewarding the bad behaviour) tops, not a month. I think leaving one's hand in the dog's mouth as a chew toy is not a particularily good idea. For starter's it's inconvenient, most people don't have time to be their dog's chew toy, they've got other things to do. And my dog is quite happy to chew on something for ages even if the toy remains intact, tho it's more fun if the stuffing can be ripped out. I actually push my hand into her mouth and hold it there for a second after she starts trying to spit me out, and then I let her spit me out. I agree with the others that wrote that this owner needs professional help that is not the same person as she's got now. And I would ask Steve C at K9pro to recommend someone in their area. The owner needs training as much as the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Fuzzy the pup isn't playing in these circumstances. Its ripping flesh it isn't mouthing. My boxer mouthed alot as a pup so I can see the difference and I trained him out of it. And the alpha roll was only used in the incidents where the dog did bite. Training was also used. We've taught the dog, sit, stay, drop, free, place, heel and wait. As I said this isn't my dog and I can only do so much. I was just trying to understand why the trainer would say and suggest some of these techniques. especially the decision not to desex until the dog is mature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 The puppy is not "attacking". It's a puppy, they bite and lunge during play and to get what they want. You WANT the puppy to bite you, it's the only way it can learn bite inhibition. It's only when it's older and knows that human skin is delicate that you want to eliminate biting.Alpha rolling is pointless, you need to TRAIN the puppy to do what you want it to do. Even trainers who use the alpha roll don't recommend using it until the dog is an adult. Puppies are NOT dominant, they are babies. Exactly...and this spunky little Mini Pin is getting everything he wants! By that stage the behaviour will be much more established, with a nice big fat neuron for that behaviour. Puppies might not be considered 'dominant' but from a very early age they are experimenting on how to control situations, exactly like every other animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorroandbig Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 The puppy is not "attacking". It's a puppy, they bite and lunge during play and to get what they want. You WANT the puppy to bite you, it's the only way it can learn bite inhibition. It's only when it's older and knows that human skin is delicate that you want to eliminate biting.Alpha rolling is pointless, you need to TRAIN the puppy to do what you want it to do. Even trainers who use the alpha roll don't recommend using it until the dog is an adult. Puppies are NOT dominant, they are babies. I dunno. I can't help thinking if the behaviour is getting worse, the owner is doing something the dog perceives as encouragement. Extinction bursts (ie behaviour getting worse) usually last five minutes of consistent training (ie no rewarding the bad behaviour) tops, not a month. I think leaving one's hand in the dog's mouth as a chew toy is not a particularily good idea. For starter's it's inconvenient, most people don't have time to be their dog's chew toy, they've got other things to do. And my dog is quite happy to chew on something for ages even if the toy remains intact, tho it's more fun if the stuffing can be ripped out. I actually push my hand into her mouth and hold it there for a second after she starts trying to spit me out, and then I let her spit me out. I agree with the others that wrote that this owner needs professional help that is not the same person as she's got now. And I would ask Steve C at K9pro to recommend someone in their area. The owner needs training as much as the dog. Thankyou Rusty Bucket. I'm going to tell her about Steve C because he is actually in our area! I thought that too at first but for the life of me I couldn't see anything that anyone in the house was doing which was inconsistent. They all seem to be on the same page with the training but now he's being "rewarded" with something that isn't a reward in his mind (Touching and praise). Which seems to be reversing some of the training. I guess its like my mum says you have to use the currency that suits the kid =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 First of all, have they discussed these issues with the trainer they have seen? Does the trainer know what is actually happening at this point in time? If they do know and there has been no resulting, relevant advice- they need a new qualified trainer to assist them NOW, before the issue escalates further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now