Are you the pack leader?
 

Peanut is out of control with his “accidents” in the house, he knows where to go, and he knows what he is doing! Peanut is VERY spoiled, I’m pretty sure he thinks of himself as the pack leader.. I have read online if your dog pees in the house they think they are the pack leader and can do whatever they want.

Is this pack leader thing real? How do you become the pack leader?

Buster sometimes still has accidents in the house too. Usually just in the hall where he used to be confined when he was a baby. I have shampooed the rugs but I think there is still puppy pee smell lingering. When I had a behaviorist trainer for Buster I asked him about bonding and establishing alpha status as I wanted Buster to see me as the boss and not Jack. Buster is my dog and Jack has a way with animals so I wanted to make sure he was more bonded with me. I don't know if this applies to pack leader as well but he said to spit in Buster's food as the pack leader gets the food first so he is dependent upon you for food ie 2nd in line not alpha. I did this for a bit but I am not a big spitter so I did not keep it up. I don't know if this helps???
PS Buster is spoiled too LOL

Cesar Milan writes a lot about being pack leader. I don't agree with some of his stuff...he uses those collars with the pointy metal spikes on the inside for big dogs...but some of the stuff he says makes sense.

Lol spit in Buster's food??

Ya- I like Ceser, but like you I don't agree with everything.

Yeah spit I did but it was pretty small. But it did seem to work.

I got nothing D sorry lol Georgie is in charge and I ask myself often how a 4lb furball can have so much control lol

I was reading this, I agree with some of the numbers, but not all.. Is being the pack leader treating your dog like you are in the millitary?

Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss


I know we do a lot of things wrong ( small things) like when Dh eats dinner, Pnut is up with him with his 2 front paws on Dh's lap- Dh also lets him lick the coffed table- Lol I know, I know- I probably made Pnut who he is. Like I said Pnut is beyond spoiled!!

Lol really? How did that change him?

Lol-- they get us where they want us!!

I don't know about the pack leader and pottying in the house, but Pixie is the pack leader of my 3. She won't use the pee pads like Cali and Roxie, she goes outside or on a bath mat I put out for her. All 3 have "accidents" so I don't know why they all know where to go but will go on the carpet once in awhile. I had to get new carpeting in the bedrooms and put in hard wood floors elsewhere because of their accidents. Now they are confined to areas where the carpet is covered so they don't ruin it again.

Pnut is confined too- however his accidents are a couple times a day- sometimes right in front of me! He has even lifted his leg on my cabinets while looking me in the eye!! When I see pee in the kitchen, I say " Pnut did you potty in here.. Thats a bad boy"! And he will run outside in his doggy cage!! He knows its wrong, he knows where to go!

We have french doors in the living room- Dh took one door, the small one and cut the screen to make a doggy door- then he bought a big dog run chain link and put it against the doggy door- he also put chain link on top- so nothing can get him. Its his little outside area/ pee area. Its half grass half cement. Most the time he pees/ poo on the cement!

So your saying Georgie having his own seat at the dinner table is wrong? LOL

I am seriously interested in reading the replies. I know we created a monster!

Yeah, I don't think we can actually call them "accidents" here. They are purposeful flaunting of the rules...why? Because he can. I hate the "I'm looking you in the eye as I'm pissing on the refrigerator"... If I find a poo at the bottom of the stairs, I give him the benefit of the doubt...he was going to the basement but the door was closed. If I find a poo on the den rug, it is usually accompanied with a look of "I told you I needed out, but you wouldn't wake up" which is usually a lie, but how do you prove that a dog is lying? Manipulative little furball...:mad:

Here are some thoughts to consider, use what you like and ignore the rest. I'll just post the things I have done to help a marker who has a need to sort of dominate and run things. Dogs like that often just need a strong leader as they usually have in the wild and the insecure, dominant dog is happiest when he has a strong leader and doesn't have to try to achieve that status himself. Dogs love to work for a strong, positive, gentle, loving and caring leader. They will do anything to keep that leader happy as long as they are safe, can trust you never to hurt or scare or intimidate them and you make the learning and behavior-changing process a happy, positive, loving one. Dogs will amaze you at what they can achieve - even the worst of them!
But problem dogs need something to work at, someone to work happily for and a job in life - something to make life interesting. It will absolutely transform a dog.

I'm assuming he is neutered as that helps prevent marking a lot by getting the mating frustration out of the picture. If he is neutered, you can help him feel a whole lot less stress and frustration over needing a pack leader and trying to be one himself by starting over with him. A combination of the Nothing In Life Is Free program and a rigorous re-doing from scratch of his housebreaking program with extremely frequent trips on a schedule outside for the first month to imprint his brain with the idea marking outside for the other dogs to smell is far preferable and a good treat, lots of praise when he does "go" outside. Along with confinement absolutely every time you can't watch him for evidence he's about to hike his leg, a very interactive life for him should be started where he is busy learning to work at the job of learning to obey you and control his impulses. This intensive, frequent obedience and even agility training, which includes taking over leadership from him by teaching him to do what you say for praise, a big smile and a reward every time he achieves his objective should work together to get him into the working mode with his pack leader. This kind of intensive program to keep him getting lots of positive rewards in his mind, teach him to follow your direction, keep his mind and body busy doing something positive and reshape his behavior in the process. It will likely help undo his incessant need to mark as long as he is being watched like a hawk and concurrently re-housetrained during the obedience and agility training. You can find easy obedience training lessons to follow in the YT Library or on Google or lots of dog books. He'll have to be prevented from accessing the areas he repeatedly marks for a long, long time - until you have changed his behavior to that of a dog who controls himself and his impulses. The training and working with him will help him achieve that. Of course, the areas he marks will have to be rigorously cleaned with the special urine cleaner that takes out the protein/bacteria and then a thorough steam clean, to that he doesn't have a lot of scent to keep needing to re-mark. I would think a very involved and active program starting over with him to teach him who his pack leader is can take a lot of the stress he is feeling from him and remove some of his constant need to mark. A lot of marking is more like OCD, something done out of boredom and not knowing what else to do to solve problems and not just to re-mark his old scent. It is a hard habit to break but if you become a busy and happy dog's strong pack leader and give him a busy, interactive life, it can remake a dog's life and habits - especially the bad ones.

Well...out of 22 I do 2or3 right. :eek:

Pack leader? Ummm, no.

I used to try but I think I'm too high strung so they don't think I mean it. LOL

I just belong to them, pretty much. It is what it is..I quit trying to make it different because that just means making ME different and after 43 years on this earth...I am woman enough to admit that ain't happenin. lol

And you have 3 dogs now?

Easy.... he needs more attention from you. He's marking bc he feels his space is threatened by the others. Ignore his accidents (on purposeses) and make time just for him, to reassure the bond you have with him.:D

She only has 1 dog.

She hasn't updated the going from 1 to 3 thread, did she find homes for the other 2?

I am pack leader most of the time as long as they keep their beautiful brown eyes to themselves lolololol

I am not a big fan of the pack leader thing and don't much believe in it. When Callie would get real hyper and nippy and stuff as a puppy we tried the rolle her over thing and it didn't work for her and we tried a few other things when she was a pup and they never worked. I personally think yorkies are just to smart for it or something. I would start from the beginning with potty training and taking him out every hour or so and making him go pee then treat him for that and keep him confined when inside and if you see him do it tell him a firm no.

Yep... Only had the girls for a couple of days.

It's only 2 of us in the house. My daughter and I. Troy makes us a Trio. I think because I'm firm with my daughter and firm with him, he knows I'm the alpha. If I say something to him and my daughter says the exact same thing, he'll listen to me over her.

When it comes to potty accidents , Troy has them and goes in the same spot. In my daughter's room, under the bed. He does it when he can't get out to potty and doesn't want anyone to know. So it was up to both me and my daughter to be on our game and ensure we had him on a schedule and take advantage of crate training.

I really think the pack leader thing can be over done. While dogs, like kids, need an authority figure they don't need to be dominated.

You might want to try taking Peanut on more walks. Exercise can help them to really empty out their system. I have also had success with tethering a pup (or dog.) You just tether the dog to you so he goes with you where ever you are in the house. I'll bet he won't pee inside while he is with you. A week or so of him being at your side all the time may help break the habit of peeing inside.

Has a UTI been ruled out?

A lot of people think Cesar Millan rather than momma dog when they think pack leader. But real pack leaders are usually the ones with the most confidence and attitude of authority and in the wild realize they need each member of that pack to do their part and maintain stability so they lead and reprimand without attempts to injure. Pack leaders recognize without a leader the pack becomes unstable. The are not mean or vicious. I don't guess I have ever seen with my own eyes out observing feral dogs, wild dog packs, any kind of film footage on TV or read any book or article about an observer seeing, a four-footed pack leader alpha rolling another member of the pack or attacking one. I've never talked to a dog expert who has ever seen one dog alpha rolling another as humans do dogs. Alpha rolling is done voluntarily by a subservient dog wanting to curry favor. Mostly the alpha pack leaders use eyes, pure self-confidence, body attitude, teeth and low growls to correct misbehavior. Fights usually only ever occur when another pack member out and out challenges the authority of the pack leader and won't back down. But in the wild, the pack leader is just that - the leader, the one who teaches and shows the way and directs the others. From my experience and observation, the pack leader of animals in the wild isn't meant to be a dictator, more like a mom. Domesticated dogs seem to live healthier and happier lives and not venture into a lot of neuroses or misbehavior when they have some boundaries and a strong but loving human leader who fairly closely mimics the techniques of the pack leader in the wild. And pack leaders let their pack get away with things all the time! They have senses of humor, play silly games with the others, show great tolerance and give. They show their bellies! But the leader is so strong that when he does step in and indicate that certain behavior must end now, the others know when to stop and stop they do.

LOL Well to me no, I think that is our problem!!

LOL OMG you are funny- It seems our furballs have us exactly where they want us! I believe your furrbutt and my furbutt took a class on “How to be Manipulative” I’m pretty sure both have Aced that class with honors!

Thanks Jeanie !! He is neutered- I will take everything you said and put it to work! He does have some issues with noises- I know he has some insecurity issues.. that I have been trying to work with him on, he was deathly scared of extensions cords- I think because of the noise they make on the floor- I have worked with him on that and he no longer fears them. He has a handful of other things he is scared of- to the point of him running away and hiding in his man cave. ( his crate in the closet). I just recently figured out his peeing all over the house was something more than him not knowing where to go- I have a lot of work to do with my little furrbutt!

Question for you- isn’t the pack leader usually the one who cares for that dog? I was talking to DH last night about this and he was saying he is the pack leader- I told him it is usually the one that cares for the dog.. baths them, feeds them, walks them, etc..