How to deal with this?

[oitnb]

So my puppy is extremely smart. I've had her like a week, and she's already potty trained and knows the "leave it" command. (Basically if she's chewing

On something or doing something she shouldn't be doing I say "leave it" and 8/10 times she stops)

 

But I've had a few issues. First,

My life-long friend t is about to move in with me. She's not an animal person. This puppy barely weighs 5 pounds, and she's scared of her. I try to tell her you have to be stern and assert your dominance or else she'll think she can bully you, but t doesn't really

Listen about it. It's very frustrating cause if she doesn't show the dog she's boss just like I am, and I've showed her how, I don't want to deal with her being scared of my puppy the whole time she's living here.

 

Second issue is my dad. He comes by atleast every other day, and when he does he plays rough with my puppy and thinks its cute when she gets all excited and aggressive. I try to explain to him you have to be VERY careful when it comes to pit pups and how you play with them, they aren't naturally aggressive but they are very strong and have a high pain tolerance and I don't want her thinking being "mean" is okay, but he doesn't listen. He just laughs and says this is what he did with his pit bull he had and she turned out fine. I always say "well you got lucky, you're lucky she didn't hurt anyone once she got big." But yeah. He doesn't hear it.

 

Help!

[search4answers]

Hey Bah

 

I've had the "danger" dog that is a pit bull...First off, those are some of the sweetest, most patient, intelligent dogs I've ever raised. With the roommate, she has to be strict because the are inherently pack animals and they need to know their place as a dog. She will get run over with a stubborn dog (I have Boxers these days...geez) and her role needs to be defined as a leader as opposed to a part of the pack. This is something she HAS to do, not because the dog will attack her, but it might jump on her and basically ignore anything that she says

 

As far as your dad, the breed needs A LOT of play, exercise, and anything that will stimulate their mind. It won't make the dog aggressive so to speak, but may teach the dog that "rough housing" is playing and therefore will continue that habit. As a puppy, everything is new and they have a ton of energy when they aren't sleeping. Get a Kong toy (you can put treats in them and entertain them for hours) and make everything a game. Stimulate the dogs mind as it plays, not just play with the dog. Tell him that its your dog and he should throw a ball, teach it commands as this is just as entertaining. Everything at the puppy stage should be a reward for doing something that you taught them (food, water, treats, attention...everything) as this will only reinforce the training. I'm no dog expert but I've raised some great, well mannered dogs in my life. Hope it helps

 

Oh and congrats on the Pitt Bull, and don't listen to those who say they are "killers"...they are ignorant

[oitnb]

Thank you! I know they aren't naturally bad dogs, no dog breed is, but there's no denying they are very powerful that's why I want to be very particular in how I train her. I tried to explain to my friend, she has to show she's the boss just like I am or the dog will not listen to a word she says, but I feel like she's not taking me seriously. I'll try again. I guess I just have to put my foot down with both of them, my dad and friend.

[Seraphim]

Has your friend been injured by a dog before? That could be the cause of her fear. I would not just casually dismiss her fear.

 

I thought you were living with your dad. Isn't that where you moved to last week?

[NIN2000]

I don't think you have much to worry.

 

Your dog will not grow up to be a mean spirited because he plays rough with your father nor will she dominate the house because of your room mates timid behavior.

 

What is more important that your dog is in an environment of love and care -not torture and anger. Dogs adapt to people's behavior and playing rough with your father is just "play" not "survival of the fittest". These dogs are smart and they pick up on human behavior much better than you expect.

 

She will be fine.

[Snny]

OK.... I might be reading into this too much, but I have a major problem with dog owners feeling they have to be "dominant" to get their dog to respect them or another person. You should NEVER use dominance actions on a dog because they can cross into the lines of animal abuse. Studies have proven that dominance training is ineffective and it causes negative behaviors to continue. There is a difference between leadership and dominance.

 

I would not let your friend come live with you if she is too afraid of your dog. Dogs can sense fear easily. Since your dog is a pit bull with high energy and an instinctive high prey drive... this will not be good matching environment for your timid friend. As a dog owner it is your responsible to train and control your dog at all times. If she has nowhere else to go and you are not home but she is... keep your dog crated. However, would that be fair for your dog? Fair for your friend who has to live in a house with a dog that is intimidating? It is in her and the dog's best interest that she finds another place to live.

 

As for your dad you definitely do not want to teach your dog to rough play. I absolutely feel your frustration! As a dog owner, it pisses me off when people interact with my dog the wrong way and then say they have owned the breed before like they are some kind of dog expert. People dont realize that EVERY dog is different. Im like dude, my dog and I have gone to obedience classes, I have hired a dog trainer to teach me ways to curb my dog... please dont mess up my work ive done with my dog. Out of all my dogs in my family, mine is the most well behaved because of professional dog training and hes the youngest dog that's not even a year old.

 

Your concern is valid. Pits have strong jaws; if you let her play with other dogs... she needs to learn to play gently with other digs. I have seen dog park managers ask pit owners to leave because their dogs were playing too aggressively with other dogs and some thought "but thats how pits always play!" No dude, its never acceptable for a dog to ever have their jaws locked onto another dogs throat, chase aggressively, or even be growling. If people aren't going to listen to you about respecting your dog or is teaching it do use negative behavior, you need to take the dog away. I have taken my corgi away from people (yes, random strangers) who have mishandled my dog by putting their hands in my dogs face and encourage him to nip/bite. You are held responsible if your dog hurts a person. Training your dog nonaggressive behavior means life or death to your dog.

[oitnb]

Has your friend been injured by a dog before? That could be the cause of her fear. I would not just casually dismiss her fear.

 

I thought you were living with your dad. Isn't that where you moved to last week?

 

No, she's never been attacked by any animal. (We've been friends since birth, our moms were friends and we were born 5 days apart and she lives accross the street from me so I would know lol) I'm not dismissing her fear but I just want her to understand she can't go squeaking and screaming every time the puppy's near her. It will make for a very uncomfortable stay.

 

I live in my dads house, he doesn't live here he lives with his gf.

[oitnb]

I don't see any problem showing my dog I'm dominant. I don't hit her or abuse her. I simply hold her on her back so her bellys facing up and say "no" in a firm voice, and I only do this if she's nipping to much and really hurting me.

 

And I agree, her living here just might not work out. My pets are like family to me, and I don't want any of them in an environment where someone is pointlessly scared of them. ThAt also wouldn't be fun for my friend as well.

 

I'm just going to put my foot down when it comes to the rough play with my father. I don't want my puppy thinking growling and biting is acceptable play behavior, it's all cute when she's a puppy but when she's 70 lbs and all muscle it'll be a different story.

[Snny]

I don't see any problem showing my dog I'm dominant. I don't hit her or abuse her. I simply hold her on her back so her bellys facing up and say "no" in a firm voice, and I only do this if she's nipping to much and really hurting me.

So if you had a child who was behaving poorly, would you use the same discipline method by pinning him/her on the floor? Why?

 

When you start asking yourself these questions, that's when you start to realize that maybe your method isn't ok to use. I will show you why there is a problem with this method.

 

According to link removed (UK), they have found:

The researchers spent six months studying dogs freely interacting at a Dogs Trust rehoming centre, and reanalysing data from studies of feral dogs, before concluding that individual relationships between dogs are learnt through experience rather than motivated by a desire to assert “dominance”.

 

The study shows that dogs are not motivated by maintaining their place in the pecking order of their pack, as many well-known dog trainers preach.

Far from being helpful, the academics say, training approaches aimed at “dominance reduction” vary from being worthless in treatment to being actually dangerous and likely to make behaviours worse.

 

Instructing owners to eat before their dog or go through doors first will not influence the dog’s overall perception of the relationship – merely teach them what to expect in these specific situations. Much worse, techniques such as pinning the dog to the floor, grabbing jowls, or blasting hooters at dogs will make dogs anxious, often about their owner, and potentially lead to an escalation of aggression.

 

A lot of Dominance theory supports will argue that "wolves do the same thing in the wild." This has also been proven wrong by the link removed:

Contrary to popular thinking, research studies of wolves in their natural habitat demonstrate that wolves are not dominated by an "Alpha Wolf" that is the most aggressive male, or male-female pairing, of the pack. Rather, they have found that wolf packs are very similar to how human families are organized, and there is little aggression or fights for "dominance." Wolves, whether it be the parents or the cubs of a pack, depend on each other to survive in the wild; consequently wolves that engage in aggressive behaviors toward each other would inhibit the pack's ability to survive and flourish.

...

As a result, the idea that dog behavior can be explained through the application of wolf behavior models is no more relevant than suggesting that chimpanzee behavior can be used to explain human behavior.

 

OP, I know you love your do and you want to to raise her the right way to be a wonderful pet for everyone. If you use any training methods or are suggested to use it, I strongly urge that you please do your research on any type of dog training methods. The same concept should follow when you are raising your own child- what may work for one person's pet/child doesn't mean that it will work with yours. With that being said, I suggest finding a professional dog trainer who has long outstanding experience/success and enroll in obedience class to make sure that she is properly trained. I have been around dogs all my life, but my professional dog trainer this year has opened my eyes and showed me better ways to motivate, use positive discipline, and earn the respect of my dog that I now have a better behaved dog than everyone else's in the entire family. If you cannot afford a dog trainer, look through dog training books the next time you visit a bookstore. I would recommend staying away from YouTube videos because many published materials are filmed by amateurs who are not professional dog trainers.

[TattyK]

Although I agree that a dog trainer is a good idea, and that dog abuse is wrong, I strongly disagree with you comparing raising a dog to raising a child. Thats like apples and oranges. People try to apply human psychology to dogs and thats just plain wrong. You can't sit a dog down a reason with it with words, have it explain its feelings, etc. Its a dog. A canine. If you watch how dogs interact with each other, you will get a lot more information from that then you will from a carefully constructed essay by one dog trainer years ago. There is no real school of dog training either, a lot of these dog trainers are "self taught". You need to be careful about that as well, just because you have worked with dogs for years does not mean you are the ultimate authority on canines. There are so many different methods on dog training and you really need to know what sort of dog you have in order to choose the one thats most likely going to be successful, for you. It may not work on another dog, and it usually doesn't.

It is not your friends responsibility to control your dog, its yours. You will have to look into training methods that will help the dog cope with a highly stressed or scared person, so instead of amplifying the dogs excitement he will simply ignore it. This will come in handy around children and mentally challenged people as well, its a good skill to learn. Maybe once your friend has been around the dog for awhile and see's that he is not interested in her, she may want to reach out and attempt interacting with the dog. Maybe not. Either way, it shouldn't be her problem or responsibility.

You can't necessarily control who is around your dog, or how they behave, but you can control how your dog responds to that. But you will more then likely need help with that, it takes a lot of hard work to raise a puppy. And what makes it even more difficult is that your not the same species as him, and you will be tempted to behave as though this dog is a "child". Please don't. Nobody benefits that way.

[Snny]

I strongly disagree with you comparing raising a dog to raising a child. Thats like apples and oranges. People try to apply human psychology to dogs and thats just plain wrong. You can't sit a dog down a reason with it with words, have it explain its feelings, etc.

You read far into my statement. To an extent, you do need to treat your dog as gently as you would with a child. I wouldn't pin a child on the floor because it's considered an act of aggression and assault. So why should I treat my dog the same way? In fact my dog will try to bite me if I did and it would be as an act of defense. Most of the time, dog attacks are triggered by fear. Therefore, using dominance techniques causes dogs to become anxious and intimidated... and risking the chance they will lash out.

 

Best way the discipline both children and dogs is using positive reinforcement. It is the best way to gain respect than using intimidation.

 

If you watch how dogs interact with each other, you will get a lot more information from that then you will from a carefully constructed essay by one dog trainer years ago.

You clearly missed my quote about wolf behavior. My sources came from accredited university researchers and a national legitimate non-profit organization. You're seriously telling me my sources are invalid?

 

In obedience classes, I nor any of the participants have never been told to pin our dogs on the floor.

 

There is no real school of dog training either, a lot of these dog trainers are "self taught".

Unless you go to a private instructor, chances are they are "self-taught." My dog trainer earned her degree in animal behavior and has gotten her certificate to not just train pets, but K-9 police dogs and service dogs. You cannot train those animals "self-taught" - you HAVE to be certified.

 

You need to be careful about that as well, just because you have worked with dogs for years does not mean you are the ultimate authority on canines.

I never said I was and you over read what I posted. My suggestion was to go to a professional or seek professional sources on dog training.

 

There are so many different methods on dog training and you really need to know what sort of dog you have in order to choose the one thats most likely going to be successful, for you. It may not work on another dog, and it usually doesn't.

And so your suggestion is?

[Janeiac]

You say your future room mate and your father both ignore what you say. So, you cannot allow either one of them to interact with your dog, ever. How you accomplish this is up to you, but if you don't you are allowwing your dog to have a terrible experience.

Maybe the friend should not live with you and your dog, and your father should not be permitted to play with the dog. It's not complicated.

Why you allow them to disprespect you this way (by ignoring what you say) is probably a complicated issue, though.