My girlfriend's dog exhibits some annoying behavior, which I think is due to dominance issues due to a lack of significant training throughout her life, she is 5 years old and here are some of the things I want to talk about -
This really annoys me because I love dogs and I really want this pup to trust me and feel comfortable around me. Every time I walk over to my GF the dog runs between her legs and starts barking and growling at me, all while wagging her tail (which really confuses me!). I've been seeing this dog for a month now, and the first day we met she bit me and instinctively I gave her a 2 finger tap on the nose, so I'm wondering if that damaged our relationship or something? My GF said her dog has NEVER been punished in any way before besides yelling "NO" and then hugging and petting her (sighh). I haven't done that since because I know it will only make things worse, and you can't treat aggression with aggression.
As for what this dog's training was like growing up, it was pretty much non-existant... She was pretty much SMOTHERED with affection, even after biting people and barking its head off for hours (my gf's family would just call her over and hug her/cuddle her whenever she did something wrong, not knowing any better.) She's also been sleeping in my GF's bed since the first day they got her. She doesn't know what "backing off" is and just chilling alone, if there are other people in the room, she makes sure she's in between that person and my girlfriend. It seems like the only person Miley (the dog) respects is my girlfriend, she's "her person". But it's gotten to the point where Miley thinks she runs the house/family and she can do whatever she wants and get whatever she wants without consequence. This has been reinforced for her entire life.
IDK how ya'll feel about the whole dominance issue thing, but with this dog it seems to be evident and very serious. The dog literally won't even stay in the room with me if my girlfriend leaves, and it doesn't even seem like fear is the reason. My girlfriend gets up to go to the kitchen, and Miley jumps off the bed while I'm petting her and runs in between my GF's legs, following her wherever she goes.
GRRR this makes me soo angry lollll. I just want this dog to like me, and at the same time realize that it is NOT in charge of the situation, especially when she comes to my house and acts that way.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm just looking for some help/guidance as to what to do, and what to suggest for my girlfriend to do, because apparently Miley is like this with every other stranger too, even her brother! I think I'm just gonna get my own pup and train her right! LOL
- Runs ahead of you and pulls you while walking on the leash
- If she's sitting in my GF's lap and I go to pet her/touch my GF, she growls/raises teeth/snaps and bites me (good thing she's small otherwise there would've been serious injury)
- When me and her are alone she pretty much acts like I don't exist and won't listen to a "sit" command. Only time she'll give me attention is when I sit/lay on the ground, and then she proceeds to climb up on top of my lap or chest.
- She has the most intense separtation anxiety I've ever seen in a dog. If I take her for a walk and my GF stays in the house, the dog will constantly be trying to turn around and pull me back to the house and to my gf. I'm lucky if she even does her business! Another instance is when she bit me pretty bad one time, my girlfriend decided to punish her by locking her in the basement for a while. She barked and barked for an hour straight, we tried to bear it, but eventually we caved.
- WHENEVER me and my girlfriend are laying on the bed together, she'll jump up and try to work her way in between us, licking and acting nice on the way in, but once she's in between us, she's back into that over protective "i'm gonna kill you if you pet me/touch your girlfriend" mode.
This really annoys me because I love dogs and I really want this pup to trust me and feel comfortable around me. Every time I walk over to my GF the dog runs between her legs and starts barking and growling at me, all while wagging her tail (which really confuses me!). I've been seeing this dog for a month now, and the first day we met she bit me and instinctively I gave her a 2 finger tap on the nose, so I'm wondering if that damaged our relationship or something? My GF said her dog has NEVER been punished in any way before besides yelling "NO" and then hugging and petting her (sighh). I haven't done that since because I know it will only make things worse, and you can't treat aggression with aggression.
As for what this dog's training was like growing up, it was pretty much non-existant... She was pretty much SMOTHERED with affection, even after biting people and barking its head off for hours (my gf's family would just call her over and hug her/cuddle her whenever she did something wrong, not knowing any better.) She's also been sleeping in my GF's bed since the first day they got her. She doesn't know what "backing off" is and just chilling alone, if there are other people in the room, she makes sure she's in between that person and my girlfriend. It seems like the only person Miley (the dog) respects is my girlfriend, she's "her person". But it's gotten to the point where Miley thinks she runs the house/family and she can do whatever she wants and get whatever she wants without consequence. This has been reinforced for her entire life.
IDK how ya'll feel about the whole dominance issue thing, but with this dog it seems to be evident and very serious. The dog literally won't even stay in the room with me if my girlfriend leaves, and it doesn't even seem like fear is the reason. My girlfriend gets up to go to the kitchen, and Miley jumps off the bed while I'm petting her and runs in between my GF's legs, following her wherever she goes.
GRRR this makes me soo angry lollll. I just want this dog to like me, and at the same time realize that it is NOT in charge of the situation, especially when she comes to my house and acts that way.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm just looking for some help/guidance as to what to do, and what to suggest for my girlfriend to do, because apparently Miley is like this with every other stranger too, even her brother! I think I'm just gonna get my own pup and train her right! LOL