Hi!
I would like to tell you about my dog – Reino – a lab mix. I love him very much but I have a lot of problems with him. Although I had tried to solve them, most of the problems have still remained.
Reino lives with us for a year (he is now one year and one month old). He was already quite mischievous when he was a puppy but now problems have become more serious.
The main problem when he was a puppy it was his habit of biting (nipping), mostly hands and arms. This habit has not stopped. Biting is not so hard to make bleeding but painful enough. He starts biting when he is excited (positively or negatively because of some kind of stress) or too energetic or when something does not go the way he wants.
And he is also quite jealous when somebody (even my husband or children) comes too close to me – no hugs or kisses in front of him! I am his main person in the family. But although he adores me, follows my footsteps etc, he not always obeys and does what I say.
I understand that it is mainly the question of dominance. It is not so that I would not have tried some techniques to prevent his dominant role in the family (feeding after the rest of the family has finished eating, going through doors after us), but I know that there are things I have to change. And they are – feeding titbits from the table (but it is only during the process of making the meal), sleeping/lying (not at night) on my sofa, patting him, rubbing his, back and belly when he demands etc.
One more big problem about Reino is his aggressiveness because of fear. He is very afraid of strangers (people in the streets, people entering our apartment) and of dogs as well. So because of fear he tries to attack them. Till now nobody is hurt, thank god, but I noticed that he is more aggressive when he is on leash. In some cases when he somehow managed to slip off the leash, he did not show aggressiveness. We use a muzzle for Reino, of course, when going out or when somebody is visiting us.
Sometimes when I watch my dog’s behaviour outside it seems that he is afraid of his own shadow. Pulling the leash, of course, is quite common phenomenon when walking with Reino.
Of course, there are usual problems as well:
- jumping on people (when I come home, he is so extremely happy that it seems that some hurricane has started in apartment – running around, jumping and licking my hands and my face, and as he is very strong and big I cannot do anything to prevent it, especially when I arrive with shopping bags in my hands);
- spoiling some items of furniture and some wallpapers but it was more often when he was a puppy;
- some barking when he hears neighbours/strangers outside;
- thieving;
- general disobedience – when I say “no”, he stares and pretends he has not heard or starts biting.
He knows commands “sit”, “stay” (for a short while), “down”, “stay”, “heel” (he knows what it means but he is so stressful that it is difficult for him to obey), he runs after the toys/balls and brings them back, sometimes he is willing to give them back, sometimes not quite so willing but allows to take them out of his mouth. I have trained him that he can start eating his food after I have said “Eat!”
There are, of course, also many good things about him.1) Reino has no house training problems. 2) He knows that at night he sleeps in his place (outside our bedrooms) and he starts whining and tries to enter only after alarm clock rings. 3) He is very sweet and expresses his love (when he is in mood) generously. 4) Reino is very protective and I know that my family and my apartment are not in danger because Reino will not accept any stranger to come in.
To summon it up I have to say that I need your advice and help eagerly.
The main problems are his hand biting and jealousy at home and fear aggressiveness at people and dogs outside. My husband has ordered your book and I have started to study it but maybe you have some advice for me how to start this “treatment” process.
Waiting for your answer,
Inga (from Latvia)
