We do some of this, he does need more exercise, although he'd rather snuggle on the couch than run about in our huge back yard (that we bought for him and his brother). It's a weird situation, we have three dogs, MacGregor, a Great Pyrenees (Pyrenean Mountain Dog) , Finnegan, the dog in question and Kayleigh, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (a puppy mill rescue). Of the three MacGregor is the Alpha, but he defers to me as Alpha, I speak he does whatever I ask him without hesitation.
Alot of what your describing is the Ceasar Milan methodology, exercise, discipline, affection, we use the "shh" and the neck touch when disciplining. When that doesn't work, I've been "blessed", with a very loud commanding voice (years of vocal training.) and that usually get's everyone's attention. I think Finnegan needs some more work, he's come along way from the dog he was when we got him... Michael Grant [Modus IS] wrote: > Scott, sounds like a bit of a dominance issue to me. Your dog doesn't > respect the heirarchy of your family. Remember that dogs are pack animals > and there's only one "leader of the pack." (vroom vroom, cue the music) > > There's a few suggestions I can make for what it's worth. Hounds are work > dogs and are task oriented. So you need to put him to work, or what he > thinks is work anyway. The best way to do this is excercise and 'seek' > tasks. Hounds are sniffers so get one of his favorite outdoor toys and work > with him. Take him to a quiet park or if you have a big back yard that will > work. Have him sit/stay and let him sniff the toy. Have him watch you hide > his toy behind a tree, bush etc. Then come back to him and release him. Have > him "fetch it up" or whatever command you prefer. He should insticntively > seek out the toy. If not, help him with the concept. Don't neccessarilly > expect him to retrieve it for you, not his breed. Praise him lightly for > finding it, rinse repeat. This may sound goofy but it will help your dog in > two ways, 1) it helps instill that you are the leader of the family and 2) > it's what he was born to do so it helps him feel satisfied. > > Also taking him for a good run will help work out some energy too, as long > as you don't let him go first. Since you are the leader you need have him > follow you, not the other way around. If he tries to move ahead of you a > quick firm upward tug on his leash everytime he tries. Obviously you're not > trying to hurt the dog, just shake him out of his current state of mind, > which is "I'm the alpha, follow me." It also helps if you have a sound you > use when correcting the dog. Some people use clickers, some people use a > shhhht or uhuh sound. My stupid human trick is that I can snap incredibly > loud, so I snap when I correct. It's important that you correct him right > away and every time. He'll catch on faster than you think. > > Directly regarding the bulldozer effect, you apply the above. If he tries to > bulldoze correct him and have him sit/stay or lay down. If you watch closely > you should be able to see the exact point when his mind is becoming fixated > on wanting to get up and bulldoze. As soon as you see this you correct him > with your click/sound/snap. You are trying to shake him out of his fixation > on bulldozing and have him fixate on you, the alpha. If you consistently do > this he should begin to learn that he needs your approval/invitation to get > cuddles. > > Remember that a dog is one of two things, the leader or the follower. If you > (or anyone/everyone in your family) establish yourself as the alpha he only > knows one other role, which is follower. > > Not that you would, but do not scold or hit your dog when you are working > with him though. You are correcting him, not punishing him. Also, don't at > any time praise or cuddle him when he's exhibiting bad behavior otherwise it > will all go to pot. If he's whiney also don't comfort him. Saying stuff like > "it's ok" etc when he's exhibiting bad behavior only enforces that he gets > positive attention when behaving badly. > > And make sure you don't lose your cool or get frustrated. Dogs are > phenomenal readers of body language (would make great poker players) and > react best when you are calm, firm and unwavering. > > This is how I've always trained my dogs and believe me that they are much > happier when they know who's in charge (which is never them), what their > boundries are and when they get regular excercise. > > Hope this helps. > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:281193 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
