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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Lynne has been training dogs since 1985. She has worked as head trainer for two facilities, a studio trainer (print ads, commercials and television) and as a continuing ed and certification rep for what was then the largest dog training company in the US. Lynne is a member of the IACP and keeps her training techniques current by attending various seminars and reading books. She currently competes in the sport of schutzhund, has a registered therapy dog, and has started her young Papillion in agility. Lynne owns and runs Blazing Trails K9 Academy in Santa Clarita/Antelope valley California.
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[Edit]
4/4/2006
I adopted a Blue Heeler/Australian Shepard mix from the Humane Society when he was about 3 mos. old. To me he looks entirely Blue Heeler, however. He is now about 5 mos. old and is mostly a very delightful, fun dog. He gets a lot of attention and when we
are gone enjoys playing with my male neutered husky in the yard. We have a large fenced yard and lots of toys. He does not chew up things other than his toys. Cosmo (the pup) was neutered when I adopted him.
The problem is on occasion when he gets mad, when he is reprimanded or even sometimes in play, he growls aggressively and on two occasions has bitten me. Today he bit me as hard as he could and drew blood. I reprimanded him severely and he did not give in for some time, still trying to attack me.
I have tried the different dominance activities. Lifting him off of his front legs from behind, making him sit and stay while eating, having him lay unmoving on his side, for severe offenses grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and giving him a shake, or on both sides of the neck, and also rolling him onto his back. I have growled at him, etc. He has also been given time out in the chain link dog pen in the back yard.
He sits, stays, comes, walks on a leash, runs with me on a leash, and is completely housebroken. He is extremely intelligent and I do not want to give him up, but I can not have a dog who will bite me aggressively. I also have two sons, ages 8 and 11 who play with him and he has
sometimes growled angrily at them. I accept his growling during play that is just play behavior, but the aggressive mean growling and biting is not acceptable. What more can I do? (menchetti, Missouri)
ed note. Any information on the pupforum website does not substitute for sound advice and recommendations from an experienced dog training professional who has evaluated your dog in person. Please read the rest of our disclaimer here
First off you for CERTAIN need competent professional
in home help with this dog. Turning to the internet
isn't always the best idea when dealing with a problem
of this magnitude because there are so many varying
opinions and no decent trainer would try to tell you
how to fix this without seeing the dog first, and
seeing how you actually interact with the dog.
A couple of thoughts I got from your email. First
off, this dog is a bit young to be displaying full on
aggression like this. There could be some underlying
genetic or medical components and the like, but more
then likely you've been putting him on the defensive.
I'd bite you too if every time I told you I didn't
like something you grabbed me by the neck and flung me
around and did all the things you're describing that
have been done to this puppy. This breed is a "tough"
breed and can be rather pushy if allowed to be, but at
this age, I'd say you're creating much of your own
problem.
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