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I have a 5 year old Rott/Lab mix named Jasper. I have had him since he was a puppy. Usually everything between us is fine, but in the past 3 weeks I think he has "challenged" me.
I am a night-owl. Most of the time I leave the bedroom door open while I am in the computer room.When I come into my room, I'll typically find Jasper lying on my bed. Normally once I enter the room, its my perrogative if he is allowed to sleep on the bed with me or if I take him out. If I take him out, I reach for his collar, say "Come on Boy, off" and just kind of pull him off.
Last night, for the 2nd time, when I went in to do this and reached for his collar, he growled and showed his teeth at me!
My reaction: Direct look in the eye,low commanding voice "Oh he!! no!" I snatched his collar anyway, yanked him (Not gently!) off the bed and sent him out the bedroom door with a smack on his butt. He went into the living room, where I followed, and I immediately rolled him over onto his back. His response when I let him up was to belly-scoot toward me and shove his head underneath my arm. He knew I was *****ed.
This is the 2nd time in 3 weeks he has done this; Other than that Ive had him all his life and the only thing he has ever "challenged" me on is food ( 2 occasions, each 6+ months inbetween, and he lost each time)
Is this a dominance thing, where he needs to be reminded who's boss? Or is it some sort of behavioral issue that I need to investigate further?
Did I do the right thing by getting him off my bed that way? I HATE when we get in these "arguments", and always feel rotten afterward. But if it is him trying to assert himself, that must be nipped in the bud, should it not?
Any advice would be appreciated.I dont know what else to do other that what Ive described.
I'm sure no expert on disciplining dogs (my husband has always been the alpha), but what you experienced sounds exactly what I go through fairly regularly with my 8-yr old son. It seems they all need to be reminded who's the boss from time to time!
If any dog feels that you are weaker than normal (even if you don't feel it), then it will challenge you. All you need to do is to reassert yourself.
I watched Caesar Milan remove a dog from the bed a couple of days ago on TV. (Sky 3 7-8PM, maybe only in UK) He basically got on the bed and kept moving towards the dog. He said that the dog must decide to leave, and you are fighting it mentally. He also said that you must never force the dog to do anything, because then it is not the dog doing it, and the dog will not associate the correct behaviour with what you are telling it to do.
BArkBusters trains you to be the alpha. Basically you say "Bah" loudly, except I growl, like a mother dog telling the pup to behave. If this doesn't work, you immediately follow it up with a thing they give you, to simulate the mother's bark and snap at the youngster. My dogs are 1,4, and 5 and all learned immediately to react to this method. There is never punishment, just the correction and praise right away when they react well. I think pulling him off, as another has said, is not the right way. I like Cesar's way of doing it.
BarkBusters is expensive and probably not what you need for an occasional issue. My newest is a pittie mix and he had more than one issue although he is sweet as can be. He just tried to go over the fence to the neighbor's dog - can't have that! He was also rushing the door when anyone came in or I went out. I could see myself getting seriously injured if he knocked me down the stairs. BarkBusters took care of all that. They will come back for the dog's lifetime if any new issues develop. Oh, and they come to your house for training - I got a 2.5 hr lesson the first time.
BArkBusters trains you to be the alpha. Basically you say "Bah" loudly, except I growl, like a mother dog telling the pup to behave. If this doesn't work, you immediately follow it up with a thing they give you, to simulate the mother's bark and snap at the youngster. My dogs are 1,4, and 5 and all learned immediately to react to this method. There is never punishment, just the correction and praise right away when they react well. I think pulling him off, as another has said, is not the right way. I like Cesar's way of doing it.
BarkBusters is expensive and probably not what you need for an occasional issue. My newest is a pittie mix and he had more than one issue although he is sweet as can be. He just tried to go over the fence to the neighbor's dog - can't have that! He was also rushing the door when anyone came in or I went out. I could see myself getting seriously injured if he knocked me down the stairs. BarkBusters took care of all that. They will come back for the dog's lifetime if any new issues develop. Oh, and they come to your house for training - I got a 2.5 hr lesson the first time.
What another poster has said makes sense: I guess I am weaker subconsciously because I am tired- its usually around 2 a.m when this happens. I'll have to look up the Cesar episode...Other than this his behavior has been just fine. But 'tis the teeth that worries me...
I dont LIKE snatching him by the collar that way, but if I just get on the bed,I dont know if (a) he'll lunge at me or (b) if he'll see it as "She's OK with me taking up this bed"
colddiamond -- i am so glad you posted this! i have a very similar issue with my 11-year old shih tzu.
he's always slept with me in the bed, but in the last two years, he's developed the problem of growling at me if i move him once he's gotten comfortable. i think the reason he does this is b/c he doesn't always feel well due to some health issues AND he thinks its his bed...
then, to make matters worse, in the last year or so, he's twice tried to bite me in the face when i've moved him. obviously, i can't allow this to continue no matter what his reason is.
i have a feeling a whole lot of people are going to disagree with me on the correction, but this is what i did, which was similar to what you did... i immediately rolled him until his whole body relaxed (didn't take but about 20 seconds, and i was very careful b/c this is a dog with arthritis and some disc issues) while telling him NO! and then i exiled him to the floor, where he stayed for a couple of hours.
this is fairly unusual behavior for my boy b/c usually a voice command is enough to get him moving...and, like you, i feel awful afterwards... b/c to me this doesn't feel like normal behavior where sometimes you just naturally have to correct them and keep them behaving properly, this feels really unnatural.
i'm so glad you posted...i'm interested in hearing more responses!
What another poster has said makes sense: I guess I am weaker subconsciously because I am tired- its usually around 2 a.m when this happens. I'll have to look up the Cesar episode...Other than this his behavior has been just fine. But 'tis the teeth that worries me...
I dont LIKE snatching him by the collar that way, but if I just get on the bed,I dont know if (a) he'll lunge at me or (b) if he'll see it as "She's OK with me taking up this bed"
He can probably sense the fear in you as well. As Cesar says, "Live in the moment" The dog will not attack you if you do not seem threatening. Threatening is different from assertive for a dog, so he should not attack you.
Another thing to try may be to not allow the dog on the bed again without your permission. Claim it as your space and only allow him on if he is given permission by you.
I would suggest you address the behavior but not only at the moment he is on the bed. Find other times to exert your dominance as well. I would probably train him to stay out of the bedroom altogether, at least banish him from the bed so you aren't sending mixed messages. IF you want him on the bed it is only when you invite him, not whenever he wants so that you have to go in and ask for the bed back...but you risk sending mixed messages again....so maybe not.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Colddiamond102
I have a 5 year old Rott/Lab mix named Jasper. I have had him since he was a puppy. Usually everything between us is fine, but in the past 3 weeks I think he has "challenged" me.
I am a night-owl. Most of the time I leave the bedroom door open while I am in the computer room.When I come into my room, I'll typically find Jasper lying on my bed. Normally once I enter the room, its my perrogative if he is allowed to sleep on the bed with me or if I take him out. If I take him out, I reach for his collar, say "Come on Boy, off" and just kind of pull him off.
Last night, for the 2nd time, when I went in to do this and reached for his collar, he growled and showed his teeth at me!
My reaction: Direct look in the eye,low commanding voice "Oh he!! no!" I snatched his collar anyway, yanked him (Not gently!) off the bed and sent him out the bedroom door with a smack on his butt. He went into the living room, where I followed, and I immediately rolled him over onto his back. His response when I let him up was to belly-scoot toward me and shove his head underneath my arm. He knew I was *****ed.
This is the 2nd time in 3 weeks he has done this; Other than that Ive had him all his life and the only thing he has ever "challenged" me on is food ( 2 occasions, each 6+ months inbetween, and he lost each time)
Is this a dominance thing, where he needs to be reminded who's boss? Or is it some sort of behavioral issue that I need to investigate further?
Did I do the right thing by getting him off my bed that way? I HATE when we get in these "arguments", and always feel rotten afterward. But if it is him trying to assert himself, that must be nipped in the bud, should it not?
Any advice would be appreciated.I dont know what else to do other that what Ive described.
It sounds to me from your description of the events that you handled that as well as it can be handled. The worst thing you can do is back down from any aggressive display. They seem to learn bad habits much more quickly than good ones and withdrawing from a dominant/aggressive display seems to plant that "You're not the boss of me" seed very efficiently.
It sounds like you genuinely know in your heart that you are the dog's boss and you have to have that confidence to be the dog's boss. If he was a wild dog or a wolf and challenged the alpha animal like that, the alpha's response would be swift, severe and memorable. It seems to me that you played the part perfectly.
Oh man, what a situation...everything, everything, everything I've ever read says NOT to alpha roll. Even the Monks of New Skeet recanted with later publications of their groundbreaking book, How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend...yet I've done it too. I don't know what the answer is, but it does sound like good advice to try and work with Jasper when there isn't an issue (i.e., not at 2 a.m.); as for your remark about you decide if he's in or out...maybe the inconsistency is part of it. Dogs thrive on routine--they are creatures of habit/predictability (mostly) and they love consistent schedules. It seems a bit erratic for his sleeping quarters to be at your whim. What about some kind of compromise of Jasper getting his own dog bed so he can sleep alongside yours?
Best of luck with this...
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I snatched his collar anyway, yanked him (Not gently!) off the bed and sent him out the bedroom door with a smack on his butt. He went into the living room, where I followed, and I immediately rolled him over onto his back. His response when I let him up was to belly-scoot toward me and shove his head underneath my arm. He knew I was *****ed.
I HATE when we get in these "arguments", and always feel rotten afterward. But if it is him trying to assert himself, that must be nipped in the bud, should it not?
