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Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  I'm so glad you are willing to help him! Thank you for your can-do attitude. Dogs usually only misbehave as you described, act out and bite if they are scared or think they don't have a gentle-but-strong leader. The dog you described, to my mind, needs a couple of weeks or more on the Nothing In Life Is Free program and an obedience training program 2 -3 times a day. You will be surprised how much control you can gain over a little wild nipper when he learns you intend to have him exert self-control and be able to control his impulses or he gets NOTHING he needs or wants from you. And you know what - dogs just LOVE to work for what they want, once they get the message. They are used to working for resources and learn many things from NILIF. It will be hard on you but it's fun for your dog and he'll really get into the program with a wagging tail and eagerness!
Paired with positive-reinforcement bonding upbeat, happy, obedience training with high-motivation treats and real praise, you can reshape that type of behavior IF you are more determined than your dog. If not, he will just get worse without more effort on your part to get him to want to obey you. It takes work and a gentle determination to reshape an out-of-control little sweetie but you can do it! Just never pass up a chance to show him you are in control and keep those obedience lessons coming, no matter how tired or down you are feeling - keep a smile on your face and find ways to engage him in the lessons and make him really want to do what you say. Keep those lessons short(no longer than 3 -5 minutes), frequent, fun and very rewarding for him - he'll come to love doing what you say. You two will develop a true bond and he'll want to obey you. It will make both of you happy.
During the next three months, or until you have control of him and he no longer tries to bite, I'd be careful to keep him away from things that tend to work him into a frenzy while you work with him and teach him about impulse control and to trust and respect you as his leader. The more a dog gets worked into a frenzy, the harder it can be to rehabilitate them from going into that state. |
I love Cody more than words can say, I cater to him and jump when he wants anything, why? Because this little boy was ripped away from an 11 y/o child that loved him to death, the little girl trained him all the basic commands, Cody loved this child and was taken away from her, how can anyone replace the love this child gave this dog? Now he is with me, an older person, no little girl to play with, to be carted around and held like he was a new born baby, that’s how this dog was treated. He came to me spoiled rotten which I love. He attached himself to me from day one, I think it was out of fear that he would be taken away again. I feel very sorry for him that he was ripped away, yes ripped away, just removed from his home and never saw the little girl again . That is why I jump for him and try to take him with me when ever I can. About a week having him he started acting like a 4 y/o with the “new baby sitter or new nanny” seeing how much can he get away with, how far can he go, How many buttons can he push, this is a very smart boy may I add, he learns really fast. So the nipping, hard playing began something I don’t think was allowed this with the little girl. So I showed him the other side of his new mamma. The nipping has stopped, when he wants to nip and hard play he’ll get one of his toys and kills it. At the training session last week with the border collies he got totally out of control when I reached down to touch him he tried to nip at me, but not like to bite his mamma he was out of control. I am not spending the time I should be in practicing what I have been taught with him, business issues popped up and that has taken my time up, I know what to do, just need the time to do it. It is MY FAULT he has not improved. I need to get around dogs to enforce the training. He may never be able to play in dog parks which would be sad, at 3 y/o he has never been close to another dog, he wouldn’t know how to play, again sad. But I will get that lunging under control, this is a safety issue. As I wrote in a answer to a post. I think the best place to practice this is in front of a Pet Supply shop where dogs come and go, not all at the same time. And I can do a 5 minute training. Can walk around the parking lot, see ppl, and go back again for another training session. It is hard to find places where dogs are sure to be, so a pet supply store is the only thing that I can think of where I am sure dogs will be and space to enforce commands with little distraction. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience, your time in this post has not been wasted, and will be put to use. It also helps other ppl that have the same issues I have.