i think my puppy has jealousy issues

@inu1711 (5285)

• Romania

25 Sep 11

Well, xmichelletarax, it seems you have a big dominance problem over there. You, all, spoiled Lugnut too much and by the age of 10 months he doesn't know for sure what is his position within your pack. He probably see your mother as the leader of the pack but after the other night "attack" it is clear that he sees you as a follower. I would never suggest you to take him to the pound or worse, to put him down. It is not his problem, it is yours. If you love him (and I am sure you do) you must start a training program to let him know he's not in charge. He probably knows many obedience commands but it is not enough if he executes them when your mother ask him to. Everybody in the house must be able to make him obey the obedience commands. For a dog with issues like Lugnut, you should start to show him the order of the pack. You probably heard about rules like "don't let him walk in front of you", "don't let him enter/exit a room before you", "don't feed him before you" and so on. This rules must be reinforced in his case, until he knows his place.

2 people like this

dominance issue

@inu1711 (5285)

• Romania

25 Sep 11

Oh, and another thing: I think it is OK if your mom likes to play rough with him (though many dog persons will blame me for this). You can play with him like that IF you like but the rule is "never accept to play with him when HE starts the game". You must be the one who initiates a play session and you play together in your terms, not his.

2 people like this

• United States

25 Sep 11

in all honesty he usually doesnt listen well to my mother (unrulygirl35). he usually obeys me and doesnt usually even really play attack me. he always listens to my boyfriend ryan. but with my mother he will listen only when he wants to. i would never even think of putting my dog down or bringing him to the pound which is why i said not to suggest it lol. we have been through training exercises numerous times, he has just never seemed to understand. like i said it took us at least 8 months to potty train him and he was probably 9 months before he learned a simple command like "sit" even when being worked with everyday. however if my boyfriend tells him something he listens to him right away, with me its like the 3rd or 4th time and with my mom it takes her saying it again and again.

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• United States

25 Sep 11

oh and thank you for your advice and comment :)

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carmelanirel

@carmelanirel (20942)

• United States

25 Sep 11

I saw the first reply, and saw it wasn't you lady, sorry.. To the original poster, what inu said is correct, though she forgot to mention pinning a dog down. This isn't abuse, it is what a mother dog does to her puppies when they misbehave. You just grab the back of their scruff and pin them to the floor. At first the dog may try to fight back, but he can't bite you and you need to keep him pinned until he is calm. You should also stay calm, if you can't then you need to have your boyfriend do this. If the dog gets aggressive with you, and your boyfriend pins him down, and firmly says, "no" until the dog is calm, then you can break this idea that he is in charge, because that is why he felt he could attack you like that..

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@urbandekay (18278)

•

25 Sep 11

The problem with having her bf present, assuming he is the dominant member of the pack, is that Lugnut may credit her only with referential dominance, that is dominance gained only because she is an ally of the dominant member. If that is the case, she must do more work continually reinforcing her dominance alone until Lugnut accepts it but at 10 months old dominance issues should have been settled a long time ago, at least as regards humans. all the best urban

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carmelanirel

@carmelanirel (20942)

• United States

25 Sep 11

That is why I did mention the boyfriend doing it first unless she felt comfortable. I know the size of a border collie, they are bigger than my girls, yet I had to pin down a German shepherd and truthfully I feel safer pinning down the bigger dogs, than the smaller ones, like Zori, my neighbor's papillion (sp?) she's small but scary.. . But you are right, if the dog doesn't see her as in charge, she shouldn't attempt it without the boyfriend there..

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@inu1711 (5285)

• Romania

25 Sep 11

Both mother and daughter have a long way ahead until they will be able to pin Lugnut down. Michelle said "usually pinning lugnut down just makes him more mad and aggressive." Probably he wouldn't do the same if her boyfriend pinned him down. I wouldn't suggest her to try to pin Lugnut down again alone, especially that he's a large dog and he can do much damage. You noticed how Dog Whisperer usually says: "don’t try these techniques without consulting a professional".

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@urbandekay (18278)

•

25 Sep 11

First of all, if Lugnut is jealous of the attention give Psycho then the normal canine response would be to attack him not you. Two possibilities occur to me and both indicate a dominance issue. 1. Lugnut views Psycho as of higher status than you and is jealous not of the attention that you give Psycho but rather of the attention he give you. 2. Lugnut is a young dog and naturally keen to find his place in the hierarchy of the pack, his attack of you indicates he does not view you as sufficiently higher status to himself. Now, conventional wisdom dictates you should never allow a dog to bite you, even in play, this advice I must admit I do not follow and often fight with my dogs and sometimes have been bitten but I know they will stop on command because my place as pack leader is firmly established. My dogs are full Border Collies, which as you may know have more of a wolves natural instinct than domestic dogs (The same may be true of Eskimo's, I know not) The older dog is extremely dominant (Even, unusually for a b!tch, to the point of dominating males) and when I first rescued her had extreme possession aggression, she would attack anyone coming near her food or even something on which she lay. For safety reasons I could not allow this to continue, though physically small, a Border Collie can inflict a serious injury. Having established my dominance by feeding her after me, making her walk behind me through doors, etc. I had to pin her down with my hands round her neck whilst she was eating, bare my teeth and growl at her till she submitted and take the food of her. She still has possession aggression but now it is mild, she will growl, bare her teeth but also roll over and submit! Also she will back off on command So, in conclusion, I think you need to reinforce your dominance over him. all the best urban

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@urbandekay (18278)

•

25 Sep 11

It just occurs to me you could try an experiment; get your mother to pet you, as if you were Psycho. If Lugnut views you as subordinate to you he again my display jealous behaviour. I would also point out that when you lie down to stop Lugnut attacking he views this as his winning; he has dominated you and you, by lying down, have submitted. Biting your face, consolidates his dominance. You really must get on top of this now or you may soon have a real problem dog, potentially, with the power of a Rotweiller and the aggression and intelligence of a Collie. all the best urban

@urbandekay (18278)

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25 Sep 11

Yes, pinning him down will make him mad, that is a sign he considers himself more important than you. Force him onto his and put both hands round his neck ans squeeze, bare your teeth and growl louder than him, he will back down and submit, though he will wriggle and struggle and maybe try to bite your hands but will not be able to if you hold on firmly, you are stronger and heavier than he. If he misbehaves a pinch to the ear reinforces discipline. You say, he listens to your fairly well, sorry a dog should obey instantly most every time. To obey when he feels like it confirms he does not view you as very important. all the best urban

• United States

25 Sep 11

those are both very possible. my older dog psycho had possession aggression as a puppy. but has came a long way and only growls a small amount when lugnut sticks his head in psychos food dish. i just found the "attack" weird because he usually does listen to me fairly well. ever since we got him i have worked and worked with him. but we never know if he is playing or if he is serious because his growl sounds the same both times (he has the growl of a full grown rott) usually pinning lugnut down just makes him more mad and aggressive. growling also has never worked with him. usually commanding something like "calm" will stop him but last night it didnt. we will definitely try the experiment. thank you for you comment and advice

Bad_Daddy55

@Bad_Daddy55 (497)

• Canada

27 Sep 11

You have 2 different types of dogs Lug is a working dog class eventhough mixed in the working dog. Psy is a sled dog, they will have a hard time getting along. You have to show Lug basic training, NO is the greatest word to use when he does anything u don't want him to do, show him you mean it, do not put up with that.. Have both dogs sitting beside u, one on each side, petting both at same time and talking to both. It won't happen overnight but it will change for the better

training and luv

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@inu1711 (5285)

• Romania

27 Sep 11

"NO is probably the most used word in my vocabulary when it comes to lug"

This remembered me of the movie "Look who's talking now". Because his family used to say "NO" too frequent, the dog came to the conclusion his name was "No".

You probably used "NO" too frequently, without a proper reinforcement of the command and Lugnut became immune to this word.

• United States

27 Sep 11

yeah that is true. they dont love eachother but they put up with each other. i will try this. and NO is probably the most used word in my vocabulary when it comes to lug lol. thanks :)

chiwasaki

@chiwasaki (4694)

• Philippines

25 Sep 11

My dog has jealousy issues as well. Every time that I will play my neighbor's dog, who happened to live just beside our house. My dog barks angrily. But when she see the dog, she really don't mind. She just barks angrily every time I'm playing with other dogs. My mom says that our dog is a bit jealous that's why.

• United States

25 Sep 11

my older dog psycho does the same thing when he sees me with other dogs. he doesnt get mean he just barks and tries to sound mean. and yeah i think that jealousy is the explanation for that