2 dog related questions
sunshine336
member
So I am having a couple different issues with my dogs- 1 more serious than the other.
First, any tips to get my dogs to stop peeing on Maya's outdoor stuff, like her water table and plastic chair? If I'm out there with them they won't do it, but I'm not always out there the whole time they're outside. I rinse the stuff off with the hose, but I'd rather they didn't do it in the first place.
Second, I'm having some weird aggression issues with Dingo, our little Boston/ rat terrier mix who is 2 years old. He never growled at me before unless I tried to clip his nails. But since Maya got mobile he seems to be on high alert. If I pet him when he's not in the mood, he growls (especially if I put my face close to his). If Maya gets too close when he's sleepy, he growls. But when he's in a playful mood, he will be all in my face and I can pet him all I want. When he's in good spirits, he will even let Maya pet him, or at least just runs away from her instead of growling.
I thought part of the problem was that he felt neglected, so I've been trying to give him lots of love when he asks for it but he is still growling- mostly at night or when he's sleeping.
Is that just his personality- grumpy, or is it something that a lot of little dogs do (like a Napoleon complex)? Or should I be worried that he may escalate to biting at some point? I don't understand b/c all I do is love on my dogs. They get walked several times a week, and we have a fenced in yard so they get plenty of exercise. I've never had a dog I couldn't 100% trust but Dingo makes me nervous when he gets like this.
Re: 2 dog related questions
First off with the peeing, that is a battle you just might not win because it is considered "owner absent" behavior. You could counter train something though where you teach them some correct places to pee and heavily reward them when they choose to go there instead of on her stuff. If possible put her stuff away or in a shed or out of reach too and that might help (make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.)
As for the more serious growling issues, you need to work with a behaviorist on that. Yes, it could, and most likely will escelate if nothing changes. It is far to complex for anyone to be able to tell you a solution after just reading your description, you need an experienced set of eyes and hands in person to help you. I will say this, never EVER punish him for growling. That is one of the few ways dogs communicate with us and if you take that away by reprimanding him and one day he gets pushed too far he will bite 'without warning.'
The dog bites in the news that "came out of no where" really didnt. 99.9% of the time the dog showed warning signs ahead of time but was corrected or "trained" that it was not okay to communicate their discomfort. Dogs will show many signs of discomfort, its our jobs as dog owners to know what they are and respond to our dogs when they show them. I can get you a youtube link to some helpful stuff when I am on my computer. (Or just youtube 'calming signals'.)
As for a trainer I cannot stress enough how important it is to find a positive reinforcement trainer when dealing with issues that include kids. If you want to let me know where you live i can try to find you a trainer that could help through my behaviorist and training message boards. There is also a fantastic course called the dog & baby connection (search family paws on the internet) and see if there are any presenters near you.