Charging the Door

[HVYWTCHAMPION]

MY ROTTIE (EVANDER, 1YR OLD) HAS THIS BEHAVIOR OF CHARGING THE DOOR AND HITTING IT WITH HIS BODY TO GET AT WHO IS WHOEVER IS KNOCKING. THIS IS BECOMING A REAL PROBLEM. AS EVERYONE IS AFRAID BECAUSE IT IS VERY AGGRESSIVE.IT ALSO BOTHERS MY FAMILY. ONCE THE INDIVIDUALS ARE IN THE HOUSE, HE DOES NOT LET THEM WALK ALTHOUGH HE IS NOT THREATHING THEM. IS THERE A METHOD THAT YOU KNOW OF THAT WOULD CURB THIS BEHAVIOR? ALSO, WHILE ON WALKS WHEN HE SEES OTHER DOGS HE NO LONGER LISTENS, HE IS FIXATED ON GETTING TO THEM, VERY AGGRESSIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE HIM TO DOG SHOWS, NOT TO COMPETE BUT TO BE OUT AND ABOUT. HOWEVER, WITH THIS BEHAVIOR I AM AFRAID. CAN YOU SUGGEST WAYS OF COMBATING THIS BEHAVIOR?

JEFF/GAYLE SALLEE
JSEVANDER@AOL.COM

[This message has been edited by HVYWTCHAMPION (edited November 19, 1999).]

[CarolineS]

The only way to curb this behavior is with obedience training. If your dog knows, and is reliable, about "sit, stay" or "down, stay", you won't have any problems at the door. My dog charges to the door when someone comes too, but she is told to sit and stay before I even open the door. If the person doesn't come in, I release the dog and give her a treat. If they come in, she stays sitting until I've ascertained if they are okay with big dogs, then she is released and rewarded for her behavior.

If your dog has been to obedience class, I'd say it is time for a refresher course. If you haven't been, get there as fast as you can. This behaviour will only get worse.

It also sounds like your dog probably wasn't socialized enough as a puppy. A dog shouldn't object to people that the owner invites into the home.

Taking your dog to a dog show to get him out and about is not a good idea. People at shows are there to do a job and someone hanging around with their pet usually just gets in the way. I don't say this to be nasty...I've attended lots of dog shows (without my dog) and this is how most exhibitors feel. An aggressive dog would be thrown out immediately. If a fight occurred and your dog damaged a top conformation dog, a lawsuit could ensue.

If you try a group obedience class and your dog is too aggressive to listen, I would certainly recommend that you hire a reputable private trainer. Your dog is maturing and sounds like he's getting out of hand.

If you have no plans to show this dog in conformation, I would certainly get him neutered. Done at this age, it would help curb his aggression towards other dogs before this becomes an imprinted behavior.

I may sound a tad harsh and I don't do this to insult you, I'm just concerned that your dog could be an accident waiting to happen if not taken in hand immediately.

[HVYWTCHAMPION]

THANK YOU FOR INSIGHT! EVANDER HAS BEEN TO OBIENCE SCHOOL AT AGE 6 MOS AND JUST RECENTLY AGAIN, WITH A BREEDER. WE LEFT HIM FOR SEVEN DAYS. THE TRAINING WENT GREAT, AND WE ARE STILL CONTINUING TO DO THE THINGS THAT WAS TAUGHT. HE DOES SIT/LAYDOWN/STAY PREETY GOOD (HE HAS HIS MOMENTS), BUT WE STAY ON HIM. HE HAS BEEN NEUTERED ALREADY. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC ON NOT LETTING GUESTS WALK ONCE THEY ENTER THE HOUSE. HE WANTS THEM TO PET HIM FIRST. YOUR SUGGESTION I BELIEVE WILL HELP IN CURBING THIS ALONG WITH CHARGING. NO ONE NEEDS A LAW SUIT, SO THAT PLAN IS OUT (THANKS, FOR THE HEADS UP). WHEN WE ARE OUT FOR A WALK, I WALK THE SAME PATH, AS THERE ARE TWO DOGS THAT ARE CHAINED UP. AS WE WALK I CONTINUE TO WALK AND ENFORCE HEELING. EVANDER WILL TURN HIS WHOLE BODY TO KEEP THESE DOGS IN HIS SIGHT. I CONTINUE THE COMMAND, REENFORCING WITH A TUG ON HIS CHOKER. THIS DOES NOT BOTHER HIM AT ALL. ONCE WE ARE AWAY FROM THE DOGS HE GOES BACK HEELING WONDERFULLY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ARE TRULY APPRECIATED. THANKS AGAIN! P.S. WILL LOOK INTO GROUP TRAINING.

[CarolineS]

Sounds like you are approaching this problem correctly. It's hard to get everything from a post, so sorry that my assumptions were wrong.

If your dog won't leave people alone that come in, you just need to insist he keep the "stay" until you release him. Ask the person, if you don't know them well, if they would pat the dog. If it's okay, then when you release him, he gets patted right away and that's his reward.

If he continues to bug, another thing I've taught my dog is the command "go lie down", accompanied by an arm pointing in the direction of her bed. I guess the tone of voice lets her know I'm not too happy with her behavior. I can't honestly say I "taught" it to her , she figured this one out on her own. If I say this, she just slinks off. Another thing you could do if the dog continues to be a pest, and it's going to be a long visit, is just remove the dog after he's been allowed to say hello. Some people don't mind a dog bugging them, but a lot do.

If your dog is just trying to get at the chained dogs, and not every dog he sees, that is pretty normal. Dogs that are chained tend to get very aggressive because they realize that, if threatened, they couldn't get away. Their mentality is to be the first to threaten anything that looks like it might be trouble. You can't blame your dog for wanting to retaliate.

What you need to do is to get your dog's attention on you. Teach him the command, "Look at me" or "look", the words don't matter. When you say this, have a treat that you bring up close to your face. The dog will follow the treat and once he puts his attention on your face, give him the treat. Start this at home, with no distractions, to begin with. Once he's got it down pat there, then introduce smaller distractions and work your way up to the other dogs. This will come in handy any time your dog wants to look at something else that could cause problems.

Some people prefer to use a "Halti" or "Gentle Leader" to control their dogs in this situation. It is like a horse's halter and you can easily turn the dog's head away from things that distract him.

It's up to you which you want to use, but I'd try the command "look" first, because you always have that with you, unlike the halti which you might not happen to have on your dog the day he needs it!

[Trish]

Sounds to me like your dog rules the roost.
Purely by the fact that you said in your post that he expects to be petted, tells me that he thinks people come to see him. It all goes back to obedience training. A dog that licks everyone or jumps on everyone that comes over is no fun for anyone. Also you said that he does not listen when he sees another dog, same thing there. You have a dominant male on your hands. I cant stress obedience enough. The training also has to take place with distractions, only when he responds to commands all the time everytime under a mulititude of distractions (meaning another dog, cat, person, cars the list goes on) only then is the dog truly trained. I also agree with Angelbunny, about sending the dog to the trainer, that is all fine, but direct hands on with YOu and the dog works best under most instances. You may very well have to start back with the basics.
Test him out, give him individual commands, sit (dont let him get out of what you want him to do) if he does not sit, give him a correction and make him sit. Then go on to down, stay and so forth.
As far as company coming over, always make him stay away from the door, pick a place in the house that can be his place, my dogs place is infront of the fireplace. I make her down/stay there when someone comes to the door. Only until I say so is she allowed to break that stay. Sometimes depending on who comes by, she has to stay there the entire time. Try to work your dog on his obedience everyday, even if its only 10 mins. Its a long process but the rewards are Great!

Good Luck and keep us posted.

Trish

[AngelBunny]

HVYWTCHAMPION:

Did you say you left Evander with a trainer for a week? I'm not in favor of this type of arrangement. The purpose of going to class with your dog is to teach you how to train your dog, and class also serves the valuable purpose of helping you bond with your dog.

I'm concerned about the possibility of shortcuts being taken when the dog is left anywhere for taining--shortcuts that aren't in the dog's best interest.

CarolineS gave you solid advice on what to do. Evander's behavior isn't something you should tolerate.

[HVYWTCHAMPION]

YES WE DID LEAVE EVANDER WITH A TRAINER. IT WAS SEVEN DAYS. MY WIFE AND I WENT TO SEE HIM ON THE THIRD DAY. THE TRAINER SHOWED US WHAT THEY WORKED ON AND WE WORKED WITH EVANDER FOR 1 1/2 HOURS WITH HER INSTRUCTING. WE THEN RETURNED ON THE SEVENTH DAY TO GET HIM AND WORKED FOR ABOUT ANOTHER 1 1/2 HOUR UNDER HER INSTRUCTION. HE HAS BEEN DOING OK LIKE STATED EALIER HE DOES HAVE HIS MOMENTS, BUT WE STAY ON HIM. (TRISH) I CAN NOT AGREE WITH YOU MORE ON HAVING A DOMINANT MALE. THIS IS OUR SECOND ROTTIE, THE FIRST WAS A FEMALE. WE HAD TO PUT HER DOWN (12/22/98), BECAUSE SHE DEVELOPED CANCER AND IT SPREADED VERY RAPIDLY AND WE DID NOT WANT HER TO SUFFER. (TRISH) I WILL PUT YOUR SUGGESTION TO WORK IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL ADVICE. WILL KEEP YOU POSTED!