Catahoula coonhound mix may have anxiety agression issues...

fawkese1

thank you for the update, i'm really glad to hear that your training session went well and that you are seeing a change in her behavior so quickly...

Criosphynx

this is sooo key. Now that you know this, you will be much more able to help/read her. Keep us updated

Aussies4life

I rescued a Catahoula x from the shelter, he was 8 months old and an unaltered male. Beautiful dog. Catahoulas are natural guard dogs and protectors so you need to keep that in mind. They are also very, very smart and demand to be with you 24/7 (as all cattle dogs do). Seperation anxiety will be something you will have to deal with. Make sure you keep her socialized with both people and dogs as much as possible. She will get over the anxiety of new places I promise, it does take time but she will get over it with some work. The Catahoulas tend to be dominant, they arent a breed for someone who hasnt trained a dog before or doesnt understand dominance. Make sure you research on how to go about keeping her in check that you are her pack leader, not the other way around (you go through doors first, you eat first etc). They need to be constantly stimualted or some tend to rip there own hair out, chew everything, and other not wanted bahaviour.
In the dog I had case, he would shove his whole back foot up to his hock in his mouth and chew it if he didnt have enough toys! He was in and out of that spca 3 times because the people couldnt handle his energy and jumping up on people etc. I went through it all with that dog however all said and done, he turned out to be the best dog I could have ever owned. (I placed him with a family once he was ready).

Before you take her in for training, take her for a run so shes not all pent up and is more ready to learn. Concentrate on your own energy. Walk into Petsmart with a positive attitude, relax your leash and walk in there with a purpose. Dogs (as well as other animals) feed very much off our energy. So try to stay positive!

catahoulaowner

wow...you sound EXACTLY like the trainer that has been helping us! You are exactly right about making sure that I am in control and calm. I was not doing this when i first took her to training. But now I am working on feeding her the right energy when we are in these situations, as well as I am trying to take her to as many public places as I can. She is soooo smart and great to work with. She has a great personality and is really funny. But she is showing dominance issues as well. She will push against me whenever she can so I push back to show her this is not ok. And she is being a little "bossy" with my other dog that I have had for about 8 years. But she is slowly learning she cant get away with these things and is "mellowing". Thank you for telling me about the issues that you saw and I will definitely keep an eye on these things. ( i never heard about the hair thing before)

Criosphynx

I can't resist


Debunking the Dominance Myth - Dog Public

Mikey

If I can add: http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonli...0statement.pdf

American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior-official stance on dominance.

Brittany

Crio,

I know this isn't a dominance thing but Kimber does it to me all the time....Why do dogs do this?

Criosphynx

Well, if you push back, its a game. They like games, so they repeat the behavior to keep you engaged. So it depends...are you pushing back?

It seems to be either play initiation or affection most of the time, basically a plea for attention(I loooove you! Lookatmelookatme!). They often do it if they are bored or if you are ignoring them (or trying!) Kiwi is a nortorious "pusher". In fact the other day, there was a dog behind a fence (she LOVES dogs) and she pushed against the fence (like a cat) trying to push on the dog.

Gone2Dogs

>>>Dominance is defined as a relationship between
individual animals that is established by
force/aggression and submission, to determine
who has priority access to multiple resources
such as food, preferred resting spots, and mates

(Bernstein 1981; Drews 1993)<<<

This is their definition of dominance in the article Mikey posted. Now using a reference from more than twenty five years ago seems a bit shameful in and of itself. That and then they make it sound like any trainer using this idea is brutal and aggressive to the animals. Dominance and social hierarchy is way more subtle than that most of the time.

Like so many things in this world....just because you don't want to believe in it does not make it not exist. OR we can go with Patricia McConnell and call it the behavior formally called dominance......she DOES believe it is a real situation. She (and many other trainers and behaviorists) believes that dogs are social creatures and as such interact socially. Ever see a social group without a hierarchy? That is dominance.

Either way...the second post from Crio is one dog trainer's article. And while it makes some fine points it also continues the brutal humans using dominance to alpha roll puppies and make it seem like anyone who says their dog is dominant is evil.

I dare say if you did a total search you would find as many for as against. It is a heated topic and constantly being written about by anyone with a blog.

I find it difficult to take anyone seriously that has no real evidence to back their claims.....the Yin articles that state that some of the statistics for dog bites MAY have been from people using dominance based training techniques. So, weak anecdotal evidence.

I suggest that is because there are dogs that certain techniques work for and dogs that they don't. Until you have worked with hundreds of different breeds and dogs you can't say...this works, this doesn't. (how many of you have worked with a Catahoula? they are a true piece of work and have a very limited idea of what their 'pack' is, anyone outside that are not to be trusted and hey, they hunt wild boar...so they are not shy to use their teeth)

As for the leaning and pushing. It really depends on when and why they are pushing. And I would NOT push back, as it does tend to make it a contest. But I would not give them the space either. I would send them away from me and let them sort it out. There is some validity to Cesar and his 'space' and energy.

Some dogs push just to be in contact with their person...walking by braille....danes and mastiffs do it a lot especially. Laying a head in your lap or on your feet...that is a comfort thing and just to be in touch with their people.
But some dogs push to bully you out of the space they want. It is a social behaviour...formerly known as ....what again?. Dogs that are bed hogs, doorway bargers....in my house they are all asked to go away...usually to their crates, but at least out of MY space. There is no brutality....just asking them (and having trained them to respond to this) to leave the area. Crio...you are saying they are bored and just want attention and for you to not ignore them...okay, now take a really pushy dog that does this constantly.....how do you not see this as a means to manipulate your interaction with them in the social hierarchy? When that really pushy dog doesn't get what they want and starts nipping for a pet, or growling or just getting dangerously frustrated because you are now changing their expectations.....exactly at what point is it not so innocent and (here we are again) dominant? When do you think it is time to use some more NILIF...all of which is social behaviour based on that dominance issue you don't like.
Either you have had some softer dogs and not encountered this or you have dealt with it and acknowledged it but just don't call it dominance.

Mikey

Dominance in dogs


We have.


Fine one social group of domesticated dogs in the wild with a hierarchy please-I've not seen any examples of studies showing that dogs form packs and have only been presented with studies showing that they do not form packs.