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Old June 28th, 2013, 04:41 AM
Kassie94 Kassie94 is offline
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Question Dog issues, very confused

I hope this is the right place for this. I have a mutt and I have no idea of his age or what's in him except Corgi and maybe Jack Russell? But he has German Shepard markings and he's too big to be a Corjack but too small to be a Corgi Shepard. Anyway, on to the problem. When we first got him he I had no idea he had a problem with dogs until he attacked someone's dog in my neighborhood, FORTUNETLY I caught him before anything could happen, But since we moved (3 years now) he's been VERY strange. He approaches dogs but he's still VERY aggressive except with this poodle in our neighborhood, He also marks EVERYTHING in his sight including feet, boxes, chairs, anything. He's very rude when people come over. He begs for food and he tries to steal it out of guests hands no matter what I do. He will not obey me but he knows I'm alpha but he's challenging me. It has gotten to the point where if he does not get his way he bites me, nips me, anything really. He's very rough if I don't pet him right away and its worrying me now because he's broken skin and when I've said to stop and get down he just gets worse. He gets plenty of attention and lots of love. I run him daily for a few hours, I feed him and give him fresh water everyday, I've trained him to sit, lay down, and stay. I've done the stare test where If he looks in my eyes to intensify my stare and he looks away but he always looks right back immediately after. I honestly don't know what to do. My dad cant help because he's busy but my dog has gotten so disobedient that when he gets out he goes and runs away. He also only listens to my dad, like if my dad says go lay down or go away while we're eating he obeys but when I do it he sits right there and keeps staring at my food. I've kicked him off my bed as I have found It is suppose to work but any additional help on fixing anything would be fantastic. He's neutered too so I have no idea why he marks everything. I'm just very confused and need help with someone who has experience because I love my dog more than anything and would never do anything to hurt him but I don't like having to scold him all the time for peeing, or eating food out of my friends hands, for peeing on a guests suit case or even their shoes, or worse, getting in trouble for attacking a dog. He's even scratched and bit my face. If I don't give him what I want when I'm sitting on the floor with him he jumps into my face. I have scars all over from him. Please any help would be VERY appreciated.
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Old June 28th, 2013, 05:56 AM
Loki Love's Avatar
Loki Love Loki Love is offline
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Have you done any kind of basic obedience classes with him? I would start there and also look into getting an actual behaviourist involved for some one on one sessions. I'd ask your local vet or rescue groups in your area for some good suggestions. I'd also highly recommend you go with a positive reinforcement training style.

Good luck.
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Old June 28th, 2013, 09:08 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Maybe you're giving your dog too much attention and not enough training and exercise . I would find a good dog behaviorist before your dog does cause some harm in biting a child. He may getting mix messages from you about what you want him to do. He could be just as confused as you're.
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Old June 28th, 2013, 09:10 PM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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Ditto on the obedience classes and perhaps a behaviourist to observe you.

I do see where you might indeed be confusing him. You push him off your bed yet you sit on the floor with him. First off, let's get the safety aspect straight. You say he has bitten your face. So DO NOT put your face where he can bite it, get up off the floor. Second off, elevating yourself (or lowering him off the bed) is a technique you can use to enhance your authority but you ruin it when you sit on the floor. I bet this does confuse him. I bet your Dad does not sit on the floor with him. Right?

Marking. Neutered dogs mark too. Maybe his former owner was one of those poor deluded souls that think neutering is a magic bullet and didn't stop him marking when he started. Once they learn to mark neutering might stop it but it might not. No guarantee. You have control on walks, simply decide when and where he can mark and make him walk properly the rest of the time. I do feel it's only fair to allow some time and place for dogs to check their peemail though.

His behaviour with guests is totally up to you; leash him. An obedience teacher can give you many tips on how to train him to be polite with guests, till he is, leash him.

The possible breed mixes you mention are all working dogs that benefit from exercise AND mental stimulation. Most dogs do, really. An obedience class can help there and you might find he has talents that would suggest a competitive venue, like agility or maybe just more obedience. You don't have to actually compete but many dogs enjoy the training.

The change in behaviour with other dogs is the most concerning, I think, and I would Vet him to see if something is off. Thyroid comes to mind as it can sometimes seem a dog is aggressive when it never was before. It might be stress from the move but it would be good to rule out a co-incidental medical problem.

Good luck.
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