Dog Training

[Sharni]

Ok...i know there are some dog trainers around on here...

I have a problem....my dog is a food thief...he wont do it while we are around....but if left alone for a second hes got it and gone!!

If someone forgets to put him out at night he will go through the rubbish...dragging it from one end of the house to the other...

He is well fed....is there anything i can do to put a stop to it!

He is an inside/outside dog....keeping him locked outside is not an option....he would not be happy as he is very much a person dog

[Steph]

My friend just left with his pit bull puppy! We're socializing and I just spent a while googling the breed.

How old the dog is and the breed are always the first avenues of research.

My old Lab is a frigging pig and I know I cannot change his behaviour. Dude remembers a french fry he found in a snow drift six months ago (I know you don't know snow drifts so I'll digress :D).

I spent $2,000 on his stomach surgery a few years ago. The solution was to feed him a couple of cups per serving three times a day. I can't allow him to be unsupervised outdoors because he will eat the garbage.

AFAIK, no training will deter a dog with an iron stomach. You have to keep the food/garbage away from them. They cannot resist temptation. Make sure your garbage is out of reach, the same way people bear proof their camping food by putting it in a tree.

If he likes the inside and outside, the only solution I can see is a larged fenced property if you allow him to run outside by himself.

[Sharni]

He has a large yard to run in....and this problem has only arisen in the last 4-5 mnths....

He is nearly 3 years old now...Bull Mastiff X Rotweiller....and huge....and getting him to spit something out is not a nice thing...specially when he's growling at me (but i got it *LOL* and so would've he if he'd of layed a tooth on me i can tell ya)

He is being very naughty....long lead training maybe an option

[Catch22]

Who does the dog see as the master? You or hubby? That is a fighting/hunting breed mix. Would need a few toys to chew up.

[Steph]

Bulls are stubborn SOBs. LOL

Why in the hell is he misbehaving now? He was good before?

Here's one site that deals with bullmastiffs and garbage:

http://www.bullmastiff.zooclub.ru/8_10e.htm


It seems you have a rather determined breed there. My ex-husband's cousin bred bulls and they're gigantic, stubborn bastards but sweet as pie (as I'm sure you already know :D).

[Sharni]

Both me and hubby are master......i spend the most time with him...and train him

He is also entire....but not for much longer...i do not wish to breed from him...so the undercarriage can go...

He has plenty of goodies in the yard to play with....much prefers to be at my side though

He has just decided to try it on i think....but i'm still the boss and the sooner he learns it the better

[Catch22]

Getting him done should help then I would think.

[Sharni]

That is an excellent article Steph....thanx

[LixyChick]

Dunno what could deter the behavioral problem Shar...but just had to add a note here...

ALL dogs are "pack animals", in that no dog should be left alone for long periods of time (I'm talking days on end). I actually know people who own such large property and have the gall to place a dog down in the north fourty and only go and see it to feed it. Dogs (unlike some cats) love to socialize and actually need it. How anyone can own such a social creature and leave it to fend for itself is soooooo beyond me! My heart aches for dogs I see penned up or leashed for days on end with no other animal or their owner ever in sight!

Sorry...but it's a big pet peeve (no pun intended) with me!

Good luck with your dog hun!

[having_fun]

As for the garbage attacks, a friend of mine had the same problem several years ago. He was told by a trainer to put some cleaning amonia in a spray bottle, and spray the inside of the trash every day. The smell deters the dog from digging in the trash, and after a little while he will learn not to go back to the trash because of the smell.

[Sharni]

Ooooo thanx will try that for sure!!

[Sarriah]

One thing that I have learned over some time, is that if you feed your dog at the same time as you are eating dinner, he becomes the 2nd leader, as you are the first. He will feel that he is 'one' with you and will do what ever he wants. If you are the one to scold im when he does worng, then he sees that as a form of attention and will continue to do what he feels you like.

So Dont feed him while you are eating dinner, it will take some time but he will realize that YOU are boss and that he comes second.

The amonia thing works real well in the trash can, but doesnt help when there is people food around that he can steal. If you feed him people food on a regular basis he will only want it and take it more. (im going through this right now with my grandfather's dog) lol
once you take that away from him and only 'treat' him with people food, then that should help too.

Getting 'fixed' will only help the territorial feeling that he has, with you being the boss he is going to make sure that YOU are his.

Make sure that you are not the only one scolding him, and make sure that you are not the only one that feeds him and treats him, and trains him. That will fix that territorial feeling.

And dont laugh when he growls at you and make sure he knows that thats not a good thing, 'dont bite the hand that feeds you' is what I always say. rolled up news paper is always a good 'scare' for dogs, spank them once with it and the next time you reach for it they know its bad.

<----- works with animals on a daily basis at a shelter, I can help with almost anything.

[Lion]

Electric Fence!!

[Sharni]

Originally posted by Sarriah
So Dont feed him while you are eating dinner, it will take some time but he will realize that YOU are boss and that he comes second.[b]
He is never feed when we are eating....that is a big no no in this house....begging dogs piss me off...he knows if he so much as looks at us while were eating he gets sent outside

[b]Make sure that you are not the only one scolding him, and make sure that you are not the only one that feeds him and treats him, and trains him. That will fix that territorial feeling.
Mostly i do it because i'm the one thats home most....but when the rest are home he also has to do what they say...though with the kids he can be a turd....he thinks of them as siblings....their fault not his...that is something we are retraing both the kids and the dog about

And dont laugh when he growls at you and make sure he knows that thats not a good thing, 'dont bite the hand that feeds you' is what I always say. rolled up news paper is always a good 'scare' for dogs, spank them once with it and the next time you reach for it they know its bad.
Believe me i was NOT laughing....at the time i was trying to not be scared to lose a hand....i refuse to back down when he 'challenges' me....and he also got a whallop for his effort...and i got what i wanted...he did not

He is a large dog...and to allow him to win a 'challenge' would be a very very big mistake

He has always been a tough dog to train....his start in life was not so good from what we can gather..

When we got him he was a terrified fear biter....so he has come a long way from then