Please help with problem dog.

slookie

Hi all, I have a 2 and half year old boxer/sheepdog cross, who has been giving problems which have become progressively worse. These problems include:
1. Being agressive towards other dogs. I have an 8 month old samoyed bitch too, and he can be agressive towards her especially when it comes to food. When they are feeding, he gobbles his down, and then makes a go for her food. He gets vicious and sometimes when I hold him back by the collar, he attempts to bite me. I feed them separately when I can, but doesn't always work out that way.
2. Anytime someone calls to the house, he barks constantly, and jumps up on the visitors, mostly in a playful manner. My wife had a baby last week, so we have had constant visitors this week which has been a nightmare. people were afraid of him and I found it embarrassing, and ended up putting him into his run.
3. When people walk or cycle past my house, he runs around to the front and barks aggressively. I have a pet containment collar which works brilliantly, so he can't get at the passers by. We had to get this as he used run after an elderly neighbour on a motorbike.
4. He constantly jumps up on the front and back doors to open them, resulting us in keeping them locked. Pain in the ass when people call, and am afraid that he will open back door and wander into the kitchen one day, and who knows how he would react to the newborn.

He is neutered over a year ago, which didn't make any difference. Alot of his bad behaviour is down to me I guess, but all the other pups from the same litter have the same problems, so Ive found out. The little samoyed is lovely, well mannered and a great temperament, just wish the other fella was the same. So what do I do? Things can't go on like this so something has to be done. I wouldn't have the stomach to have him put down, as I'm mad about him deep down.
So it is either try to get him re-homed, but to be honest, who would take him? Other option I guess, is to go to training classes, which I would hope might help. I'm in south Tipperary, and a quick search for training classes doesn't return many results. Ideally I'd love for a dog trainer to come to the house and witness the problems, and then train us to train him into a good dog.
PLEASE ANYONE HELP, am at my wits end here as I don't know what to do.:(:(

Dirk Gently

http://apdt.ie/index.php/find-a-trainer/

looks like Offaly, Limerick and kilkenny are their closest trainers. Ring around, most of them do home visits and charge a mileage allowance depending how far they travel outside a certain radius. You might be covered in the basic call out charge by a trainer in a bordering county.

Boxers are head bangers (in the nicest possible way) generally they need lots of attention and stimulation. Leaving him out back and hoping he'll chill out isn't really an option I'm afraid.

smoggy11

Okay, from the off I'm gonna say that I picked up most of these tips from It's Me or The Dog, but my dog had some similar problems and it sorted her perfectly. Admittedly she is a small terrier type, but still!

With the eating problems, if you put the male on a lead and feed the bitch first. Make sure that he sees her eating her whole dinner before he gets his. It effectively places her higher up the pack than him and eventually, he'll get the idea

With the visitors it's a bit more awkward as you're gonna need them to be forewarned. If they knock the door and he starts barking, don't open the door until he is quiet. When they come in and he jumps up, have them cross their arms and turn their backs on him. It will take a while, but it does work!

With the barking at passers-by, I think the only thing you can really do is socialise him as much as you can. Expose him to as many sights and sounds as possible. If you can, get people to walk past the house and work with him when they do, get him to sit and make sure to treat him for good behaviour. Our dog used to be like that as well.

Can I ask, how often do you walk the dog?

The thing is, training out the behaviour is really time consuming, it needs 100% dedication at all times. It does work though.

Best of luck

slookie

Thanks for the replies. They are both actually outdoor dogs. They have a fine big run, with a big insulated heated dog kennel. Today they both got a 2 mile walk, plus a 3 mile run...me cycling and them on the leads with me. I like your idea with the food thing. Am gonna try that.

gud4u

Hi,
I PMd you as I'm not sure you can give trainer details on the forum.

DogLover123

You should engage with a dog behaviouralist. Be careful with so called "dog trainers".

<MOD SNIP>

Go and speak to a dog behaviouralist and get their advice. Your local vet should be able to advise you on this.

Good Luck.

star-pants

DogLover123 - I'm afraid you cannot just sign up an account to post about your displeasure at a place that has not even been mentioned in this thread. Boards is subject to libel and if you have an ongoing investigation, you should not be discussing it openly anyway. Please take the time to read our forum charter at the top of the forum. Do not reply to this post, thank you.