 Am I a bully?
Ok, I know I'm opening myself up to criticism but here goes.....
We adopted Stanley 3 years ago when he was 8 months old. We were told he was a "fear biter". He's been great with us & has never actually bitten anyone. My husband, myself & my 24 year old son can do anything with/to him. Stanley charges & nips at strangers coming into my home. He also charges & nips at my 26 year old son every time he comes, goes, or walks anywhere in the house (he lives here). We can't understand why Stanley dislikes my son so much, since he's never hit, yelled, or otherwise hurt/scared him. Our only idea is that he has a deep voice.
My son has tried everything including ignoring Stan while dropping treats as he walks past, sitting on the floor with treats on his body etc. Nothing has worked.
We've worked with a private in home trainer on & off for the past 2 years & she has worked wonders with Stan. He is much more confident & happy. Our trainer uses positive training, and I have always agreed with her methods. She tells me that Stanley is a combination of fearful & dominant. The way she explained it is that Stanley is a brat, who is afraid of my son & wants to chase him out of "his" home.
The trainer has been recommending something that I was hesitant to try for a long time. We finally tried it and it worked like a charm. I'm just feeling guilty because it seems like we bullied Stan into behaving.
What we had my son do was turn & pick Stan up every time he barked & charged him. If Stan is quiet, my son totally ignores him, if he barks & charges, my son turns & picks him up. This has had an amazing result. Stanley now allows my son to walk through the house in peace! He sometimes even seeks pets from my son.
I'm LOVING the results, but still feeling guilty about the method. Thoughts?? Am I a bully? |