My dog has no clue he's a dog...

    • Silver

    My dog has no clue he's a dog...

    I have a mastiff/ pitt mix who has no clue hes a dog. If i get a phone call he interupts and tries to talk to me. I really appreciate when he talks to go outside but it's like he cant stand to have me chat with anyone else. he gets  upset if I start to talk to one of my other dogs. He tries to talk to me during dinner. he really wants to be part of the conversation. All 3 of my dogs are up my butt all day when I am home . I have a home based business ... I have a very small bathroom and I can barely make it to the toilet with all of them in there. Can anyone tell me why they do this???

    I have tried to watch the dog whisperer but all 3 dogs will wake from a dead sleep and growl at the tv. Even the sweetest dog I have ever owned, Daisy did not like him & she would growl. Im beginning to think they just dont want me to learn to correct them differently.

    I am not the alpha in this house .... that much I know

    I forgot to mention.... Big Louie not only talks to me but If i dont pay attention ( only when I am wearing shorts) he pulles them off to my ankles!

    I appreciate all info... thanks

    • Gold Top Dog

    My best suggestion would be to get your dogs, one at a time, to a positive reinforcement trainer.  That person will teach YOU to teach your dogs.

    • Silver

    Hi:  I tried to tak Big Louie to obiedence school but he got kicked out before class started for growling at a pug. He has never growled at a dog before and he has not since. I tried clicker training... he ate the clicker!

    Thanks for your help

    • Gold Top Dog

     NILIF would help you to start with basic rules, boundaries and limitations

     http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm
     

    • Gold Top Dog

    NILF is an excellent suggestion. 

    I have never met a trainer who would eject a dog for growling so you must have picked a doozy in that one.  Make some calls and see if you can't find another trainer for group classes.  If not, you may have to have a trainer work one on one with your dog.

    • Gold Top Dog

    pickypup
    I have tried to watch the dog whisperer

     

    pickypup
    I am not the alpha in this house .... that much I know

     

    I think you know what the problem is and it sounds like you have a good idea of what to do about it. It's just a matter of making it a priority. If your dog is running all over you, you've got to take charge of the situation. Smile

    I agree with the NILIF suggestion and would also invite you to read this.  Who's in Charge Here.

    Good luck to you!
     

    • Gold Top Dog

    they sound like really normal dogs to me. A little spoiled perhaps, not sure of the best ways to get your attention. NILIF is really easy to implement and will probably solve all your problems without stress on either your or the dogs part. Also, if they are bugging you at home, more exercise usually solves that problem- walking on leash doesn't really count, dogs need to run and play. One test to see if your dogs get enough exercise is if you sit down to work in your home office or to watch TV, the dogs should happily fall asleep around your feet instead of bothering you.

    • Gold Top Dog

    pickypup

    Hi:  I tried to tak Big Louie to obiedence school but he got kicked out before class started for growling at a pug. He has never growled at a dog before and he has not since. I tried clicker training... he ate the clicker!

    Thanks for your help

     

     

    If he ate the clicker, it was not in your hand, where it should have been.  Try again.  www.clickerlessons.com has some free lessons you can try out before you decide if you want to go that route.  At least learn how it's really done (as in, dog does not get to eat the clicker).   I have clients with Pits/mixes that have done extraordinarily well with it.  These are working dogs, and very trainable.

    I cannot say why your trainer ejected your dog.  Perhaps he/she noticed some body language that suggested he was a threat to a smaller dog.  Perhaps just a trainer with too little experience (a lot of Pits "talk" when they play), or one that is not willing to give a Pit mix the benefit of the doubt.  Sometimes, that is justified with regard to liability and sometimes not, but I can't say, since I wasn't there - what I do know is that had your dog had any kind of negative physical interaction with the Pug, the Pug would lose, so your trainer might have just been taking no chances.  Did she talk to you about private lessons, or putting your dog into a class with similarly sized dogs?


     

    • Gold Top Dog

    Great post mudpuppy! Yes Good point about needing more than just on-leash exercise. I know I can't move nearly fast enough to tire my dog!

    And, I especially found this helpful:

    mudpuppy
    One test to see if your dogs get enough exercise is if you sit down to work in your home office or to watch TV, the dogs should happily fall asleep around your feet instead of bothering you.