Aggressive Behavior - Challenging my Alpha Role

Hi icmag,

I am sorry to hear that your dog is showing aggression and actually hurting you. I understand he is 9 mos old but can you tell us what breed and how much he weighs?

I personally don't believe choke chains and/or pushing him to the ground with force can help you obtain the trust you need to build with your dog. I prefer positive reinforcement using treats and praise but it might not be an option for your dog because the trainer said he is the most dominant dog she had ever seen.

Let us know what breed and how big he is so that someone might be able to give you advice.

Just hang on tight and don't give up yet.

Thanks for the advice - I'll try to answer your questions - I do have one more though - how do I separate myself from him to put him in another room if he is still biting me (do I just let him continue chewing on my wrist and jumping and snapping at me and lead him to his pen or another room?)

Ok - so here are some answers. He is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and is currently about 35 lb - very stong and muscular. He was neutered about 2.5 months ago. He came from a reputable breeder (we checked references).

He was trained by a female. She is quite forceful with her training (no treats, choke chain). Not sure about a pattern in terms of time of day - I'd say more so in the evening and it is definitely when I am giving him a command. I don't think he's playing - I think he's challenging me since it's always in defiance of a command - however, perhaps I'm wrong since he isn't breaking my skin and I know he could. The "attacks" also coincide with recently not obeying other commands - like I might say "come" and he'll run away - which he never did before.

He has yet to be socialized with children (other than the odd child we might run into on a walk) - we're working on adult strangers right now (i.e. trying to make him stay calm and not jump on visitors). The only kids I know in my town are also under 2 years old so I'm a little nervous about that given his excitement level. Unfortunately, I'm now even more nervous. I did socialize him at the dog park regularly from 2 months old to about 7 months old (it's too cold now - minus 30 to 40 degrees). There were also a lot of out of control dogs there and I didn't think it was a great idea. We're starting "good neighbor" dog training next week to increase his socialization.

We last changed his diet over a month ago - he eats Acana grain free and we've pretty much cut out all treats other than bully sticks (we've started doing some new tricks and use his regular food as a reward as he is very food driven and happy with a piece of kibble for a treat). We stopped the treats because he kept getting the runs (vet checks and poo samples confirmed he is healthy just likely has a sensitive tummy).

What does your boyfriend do that makes the dog think he's more alpha than you? Well, I'd say my boyfriend is just more strict and rough - for instance, if he doesn't respond to a "down" command he pulls him down quite roughly by his leash where I would tend to pull his legs forward. If he does something wrong (like get on the couch) he goes into a sit and stay - I'll make him hold it for a couple of minutes, Dave will make him wait up to ten. He also yells more when the dog does something wrong where I try "firm" voice - but not yelling, which I thought was better. If the dog ever nips at him or trys to play rough he pins him to the ground by the scruff but much more forcefully than I would.

Thanks again for the replies thus far. I look forward to hearing anything else people have to offer.

Hi Icmag and Lullabelle,

I couldn't give further advice/suggestions to Icmag since I learned the dog was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which I am not very familiar with. The only thing I know is that the dog has a very strong jaw like pitt bulls and I didn't want to give anybody a wrong idea. Maybe that breed will require a forceful trainings such as choke chains, or using actual force, which I don't believe in.

I think the most important thing you need to establish with your dog is a mutual trust. I trust my dogs and they trust me. Power and forcing might seem to work as long as you demonstrate the power all the time. However, dogs are smarter than we think. They soon learn they can disobey you if you don't continue to practice the power. In Icmag's case, the female trainer might have put the dog in place but it does not mean the dog has learn the proper way to interact with people.

What I would like to suggest you, Lullabelle, I understand you have a jack russel, that is very stobborn and self-minded. Lets start everything all over again to build a good relationship with him. As if you just got him from a shelter or something.

You said you hand fed him for weeks but no progress as far as the food aggression is concerned. Did you try to put a few kibbles in his bowl and you keep adding more and more as he eats? Are you talking to him when he is eating, in a soft voice saying "Good boy, does it taste good? How about some more, here we go!" ,etc. Make him feel comfortable that you are there with him when he is eating. When he gets comfortable, you can pet him as he eats. If your dog is relaxed and comfortable with you, you would be able to even pull his tail while he eats. This is your goal. So, lets start from the very beginning. It might take weeks, but I am sure it will well worth it.

Let us know how it goes. Good luck

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lcmag

I recently attended a dog whisperer workshop from a lady who was trained by Caesar Milan. She said that sometimes we use too many words when we are correcting our dogs. She said we should be able to give "the look" (like a mother gives a child who is misbehaving) and snap our fingers and our dogs will understand that we don't like what they are doing. You don't have to say any words or commands. When your dog is "biting" at you be sure to lean forward towards him instead of leaning away. This will assert you as dominant. Give him eye contact. But, stay CALM...don't let your dog see that he can upset you or make you mad. You want to get him into a balanced state of mind. He sounds like he's in his "teenage" years at 9 months of age...kind of the rebellious stage. Remember he's still a puppy and will be mouthy for awhile longer. I told my Maggie "no mouth!" whenever she put her mouth on me. Remember when you are playing with him that he can't put his mouth on you then either.

I am glad you said that you are walking him daily. He needs lots of exercise and this time out gives you a way to bond with him and work on socializing him more. A tired dog won't be such a challenge! If you have a treadmill, teach him to walk on that too. Pit bulls need more exercise than other dogs.

Good Luck--remember to stay very calm around him and be matter of fact when giving "the look" .