Member

Posts: 29
From:
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-13-2004 08:36 AM         

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I've already received some good advice on this matter, but thought I'd see if anyone had any different ideas. We have a 2.5 yr old lab x rescue who was abused by her previous people. We have had her since she was one. We also have a 1 yr old lab x we've had since she was a pup. About a month after we got Serene(rescue) she started barking frantically with full hackles up anytime someone comes to our house. The doorbell is an instant trigger, but it's her initial reaction to having someone else in our house. She's scary. She makes people think she will rip their leg off, but in all reality, she's a big suck, and once she realizes they're not a threat, then she wants them to play ball! I'm always concerned that someone will approach her too quickly and she could bite. It's very bad with children to a point where she gets kenneled (in her fairly large room) when children are over. The few children who aren't now terrified of her, she'll curl up on the couch with or play ball. I've been working with nilif training and it seems to be helping alot. I'm very open to any other advice. Thanks

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Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-13-2004 10:18 AM         

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I have an Aussie X Lab and he is the same, hackles go up and he sounds like he will flatten anyone coming through the door. When I got a second dog I realized how much of a pain it was to hold off two dogs everytime someone came to the door and decided enough was enough. I decided to allow Dooley to "alert" bark, when I say "OK Thank you" that is his cue to stop, if he doesn't I quietly (no yelling or punishment) tell him to kennel up. He learned rather quickly, we practiced everyday on the mailman. If he barks past the "OK Thank you" he pretty much kennels himself up before I can say it..he knows he blew it. The reason I chose to do it this way is because it doesn't make barking a bad thing..if someone is at my door and I am nervous I want him there looking threatening, or if someone is breaking into my house etc...I still want the protection dog. But if I say OK Thank you he will stop, it is me saying I have this under control. It also re-enforces that I am leader in the house. This works for me, with my dog, doesn't mean it would work for all. The second dog I got, is 14 months old now and is different in that he goes to the door but he waits until he can see for himself who or what is there and then he decides if it is a threat or not. I have taught him to sit and wait behind me at the door, if someone will be coming into my house after the greeting at the door I take him by the collar and tell him "it's Fine", if he doesn't relax and take my word for it he goes into my bedroom until the person is settled and then I bring him back out. Different dogs react differently. I think fear biters are the hardest to handle because often it's quick and not so expected, especially if one is not paying attention or doesn't know what to look for(generally the guests).

I'm not sure I know what nilif training is, would you be willing to explain briefly?

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Member

Posts: 29
From:
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-13-2004 03:06 PM         

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Nilif stands for nothing in life is free. Little things like her nudging my hand, so I would pet her. if I pet her because she wants me to, it confuses her as to who is the alpha as the alpha gets what they want on demand. Now, when she nudges my hand, I put her in a brief sit and stay,so she gets the attention as a reward for sitting, not because she demanded it. It's just a gentle way to firmly establish who's the alpha. I just typed the initials into my search engine and a bunch of websites came up and I discovered alot of little things we were doing wrong. Alot of times we would throw her ball because she brought it to us, now she always has to do a sit and stay when she demands something. Apparently, with timid dogs, they can't handle the stress of being the alpha, so when we were doing what she wanted immediately, she was a much more high strung dog as she was confused.

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Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 02-13-2004 03:10 PM         

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I knew that! LOL, "puppy push ups" I knew it sounded familiar, another lady on another board uses it and calls it Puppy push-ups.

Another thing to consider is getting involved in a dog sport or activity, your dog can build confidence through doing these activities and it tends to leak into all phases of life.

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New Member

Posts: 6
From:Coral Springs, Florida, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-13-2004 04:36 PM         

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I have a year and a half old Yorkie and we all know that small dogs bark endlessly. I finally solved the problem the other day when I bought a remote trainer by Pet Safe at my local pet store. It has 2 buttons, a positive noise and a negative noise. Whenever my dog, Buddy, barks for no reason or becomes territorial over my new Yorkie, Max, I press the button and he stops the unwanted behavior immediately. I don't even need to use the negative noise, because the positive noise works just as well. It is truly the best thing I ever purchased. The noise is not harmful, just annoying to the dog. His behavior has improved 110% in just 2 days. You should try it for your barking dogs. I feel if it works for mine, it should work for anybody's dog! Good Luck.

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