I love Dogs

[J.4knee]

NEO if he is not aggressive when he sees you in the absence of his owner he is guarding for sure. If the owner has any non-connected family members around (relatives or friends whom the pooch trusts but do not live with him) this can be trained out of him fairly easily. Id recommend you have someone who is a competent dog trainer oversee this. But the long and short is the friend/family member will hold control the dog and you will approach and let him sniff you, when he starts to get excited withdraw and try it again until you can approach him without conflict. Repeat the training until you can pet him and he is comfortable with it. The end goal is to do this and then re-introduce the owner back into the equation. I had to do this to introduce my mother-in-laws Havanese to our Malinois pup. Little ankle biter thought she was Cugo the killer fluff ball.

[J.4knee]

Ya know <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Wayne pure compulsive training is on its way out of the dog training arena. You still have the Ed Frawley's around but more and more people are adopting methodologies like those employed by Ivan Balabanov. Our entire Schutzhund club uses induction and praise as primary methods with verbal correction for reinforcement and only as a last resort a compulsive correction. As a testament of his success Ivan just placed 5^th the world FCI IPO trials. He posted the highest scores ever by an American team member. Aversive training gets results no one disputes that but it produces its own set of faults primarily in the form of avoidance and freezing because the dog simply wishes to avoid the punishment and gets no reward out of participation driven by fear.

[neo33]

NEO if he is not aggressive when he sees you in the absence of his owner he is guarding for sure. If the owner has any non-connected family members around (relatives or friends whom the pooch trusts but do not live with him) this can be trained out of him fairly easily. Id recommend you have someone who is a competent dog trainer oversee this. But the long and short is the friend/family member will hold control the dog and you will approach and let him sniff you, when he starts to get excited withdraw and try it again until you can approach him without conflict. Repeat the training until you can pet him and he is comfortable with it. The end goal is to do this and then re-introduce the owner back into the equation. I had to do this to introduce my mother-in-laws Havanese to our Malinois pup. Little ankle biter thought she was Cugo the killer fluff ball.

J, I am afraid I'll have to disagree with you. There are relatives and family members that have been seeing him for years and yet he still exhibits the same behavior toward them. What about when he is in the cage he does't bark at me at all and he's like a cat. How do you explain that?

[Mike Lindsey]

While we're on that subject I would like to ask if you have any special songs or sounds that make your dogs do that rca/victor thing with their heads? One that works well for my dog is a Zappa tune called "Little Green Rosetta". On the intro to the song there's like this fly buzzing type sound that really freaks my dog out. What have you got?? Mark

My old dog Buddy (Cocker Spaniel) would go absolutely nuts when he would hear "Good Lovin" by the Rascals. As soon as that song would come on the radio, or on the TV (Joe Versus the Volcano comes to mind) he would just point his nose up in the air and start howling like you wouldn't believe. I mean thru the entire song! it was the craziest thing. I had another Cocker at the same time and she never did a thing while he was wailing. I wish I had my video camera then as that would been a classic.

He's been gone 9 years now and I sure do miss him. When I hear that song though it always makes me think of him.

Mike

[Mike Lindsey]

J, when his owner is at home but not holding him he will do the same thing to me. But once she's holding him, he stop barking but will growl at me every now and then. When he's alone at home, the owner put him in a cage right by the front door; he never ever barks at me. Strange dog to say the least!

My sister has a Chihuahua and I can tell you from experience that they are one of the most protective dogs I have ever seen. This one is a yapper and she will yap your ear off. But the truth be known she is a sweet little dog. However, when she is on my sisters lap... don't even think about touching my sister or she will bite your ear off. No kidding... that dog will snap at you if you get anywhere near her.

Mike

[J.4knee]

NEO,

It could be he is just a very weak nerved dog. But he is definitely guarding. When he is in his crate/cage he is most likely very secure and comfortable its like a den form him. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[Cal Blacksmith]

Jim,

I am not talking
about physical punishment when the dog does not perform and I do agree with
positive reinforcement but a quick touch to get the dog back into concentrating
on task again is not a bad thing either.

I have Akita's and if you are
not POSITIVLY the dominant pack leader with them, they will walk right over
you. Not to mention that it is a dangerous situation if an Akita does not listen to you.

I have never "beat" my dogs, the most has been a
light bop on the nose (this is a tender area and CARE must be taken to not hurt
the dog) I have also gone eye to eye with them, my nose on theirs and holding
their head to prevent escape until I get submission from the dog. Neither of these methods harm the dog nor are
they afraid of me. I have healthy, happy dogs that listen to me. When I reach
for them they do not try to avoid contact; turn away or blink in fear. They eagerly move to me
for affection.



The PC thing has gone WAY too far, if you ask me.

[Tarheel]

Coytee

About the Rottie.....call the newspaper, radio station, PETA, Humane Society, police. The dog would be better off with just about anyone. Thanks for your efforts and concern! You may just be that dogs only hope

Chuck