My Pom hates all animals

Hi there and thank you fr your question.

he first advice i would give you is to ensure you and your family members have read and understand the techniques in the bonus book "Secrets to becoming the Alpha Dog". These are great techniques for maintaining or establishing your position at the head of the household. No matter what the problem is all dogs need to know where the stand in the house for both yours and their peace and comfort.

Here are some ways to reinforce your position-

1) If you come across your dogs while they are sleeping or lying on the floor then you can reinforce your position as alpha dog by making him move so that you can pass by.

2) Make sure that you always go through doorways first. A good method to reinforce your position as alpha dog is to walk your dog around the house on the leash, making your dog wait while you walk through doorways first.

3) At mealtimes make sure that your dogs eat after all of the humans have.

4) Do not feed your dogs tidbits or let it pester you at the table. Save the morsels and tidbits for training sessions instead.

5) Do not greet your dogs straightaway when you arrive home. Make it wait until you are ready and then call it to you.

6) Whenever your dogs want attention or anything wait till they are sitting and being well behaved.

7) When you give a command make sure that you are in a position to enforce the action that you require from your dog, especially in the initial stages of Alpha Dog training. Also, use the Alarm-No-Command technique as described in the Alpha Dog bonus book to reprimand your dog if it does not obey your command.

Generally I do not recommend people give their dogs bones as this encourages the aggression, because in the wild the alpha dog would be the only one to have the privilege of chewing the bones. The reason your dog growls at you when you approach it with a bone is because it believes that it has the right to the bone and is trying to discipline you for challenging your dog for its dominant role.

I also think it is very important that both dogs be banned from couches and beds as these are items that can be used to represent dominance.

You should reprimand your dog for unacceptable behavior, no matter what that behavior is. If you do not reprimand your dogs poor behavior then it will feel that it has the right to behave that way and it will take much longer to correct the behavior.

What I recommend you do, is the next time your dog acts poorly and exhibits dominant tendencies (growling), saturate your dog with the garden hose or a bucket of water, or if it is inside, throw a heavy blanket over your dog and be sure to reprimand it. DO NOT yell, as this has no effect on the dominant dog. Growl instead, use a guttural growl like " AAHHH!" instead of "No!", as this makes a sharper sound then "No" (If done correctly it may hurt your throat a little).

The second after you have reprimanded one of the dogs and they show the correct behaviour you must immediately reinforce this with praise, petting and attention.

The next step you will have to take is to work very hard on both dogs obedience. Regular training sessions are key to improving your dog's obedience responses and keeping it used to answering your commands. Concentrate on the sit and stay, down and stay, heel and wait commands. The more obedient they are the more likely you are to have success and get them to respond to you when they have misbehaved. This training will take a lot of time and patience.

The reason your dog may be being aggressive to other dogs is through a lack of socialisation. I think alpha training and general obedience with reprimanding will go along way to dealing with the issue.

But i think we need to get him used to other dogs. The next time your daughters bring over their dogs work with him to get him used to them.
Find a section of your yard that is free from distraction.

1) Have the dogs sitting around 5 metres apart. Have both dogs on their leads.
2) Make your dog sit. If he refuses reprimand him, and the second he follows your command praise him with attention and petting.
3)If at any stage he growls, stands up, barks or does anything you don't want him to you must reprimand him.

4) After him sitting quietly for 2 mins you can take a step forward. He should stay at your side and follow your order when you tell him to sit. Again reprimand and praise as appropriate.

5) Step by step get the 2 dogs closer and closer.
6)The first few meetings don't let them meet, this will only makes things worse.
7) After a few days the can meet face to face while still on the lead. Only gentle play is allowed. Again reprimand and reward.

After a few more days of this let them off together but always keep an eye on them.

Once he is comfortable with one dog, try another, and another. Once he is good on his section then you can extend this to out on walks. Make him sit and only let the other dog approach.

The more people and dogs he meets the better he will get.

Remember to reprimand and reinforce. If he gets too much at any stage stop the session and start again at the previous stage. make sure to take things slow and be patient.

Good luck and please let me know how things go.

Todd