Before I give the details, I want to mention that I've read from other sources but would like direct advice based on the specific factors I will outline below. I would also thank you in advance if you're willing to read through this post all the way. I know it's a lot of text but I'm attempting to be as detailed and specific as possible because there are many reasons for dog aggression and I want you to know as much info as possible to determine the cause and to diagnose what steps I can take to correct this behavior.
Dog Description:
-Male
-Neutered
-5 years old
-Weighs 20 lbs
-Part ****zhu, part Lhasa Apso, part Pug and part Husky (weird mix, I know).
-He looks like this.
Situations:
In his life, he has nipped 4 humans. First two times, he was a puppy (8-10 months old). Both times it was in the dog park, both people had been correcting their own dog's behavior and my dog happened to be playing with their dogs. Apparently, my dog did not like these people expressing dominance over his play friend. Of course, I was displeased and embarrassed by my dog's behavior. I corrected the behavior immediately by completely submitting my dog. No physical touch was needed, I told him "no" and then "down". He submitted to my command, went completely flat on his side, head touching the ground, ears relaxed, body relaxed, no eye contact. He waited for me to say, "ok" and then continued playing with other dogs with no more issue. Submitting my dog in this way is something I've practiced with him since I began training. As I said, this was when he was a puppy and he has not nipped again until recently.
Background information:
I got my dog at 7 months. He was the last dog in his litter to be sold. When I got him, he was almost like an abused rescue dog in his behavior. I think before I got him he had some sort of traumatic experience involving humans. He was extremely scared of everyone and every thing, except other dogs. Anything unfamiliar like city sounds, a broom, a cardboard box, they would all scare him. I won his trust and affection quickly though and began training. He has NEVER shown any form of aggression towards me, only other humans. He has overcome most of his "emotional issues" except one.. He's still very standoffish with any human he hasn't met several times before. Generally, he does one of two things when approached by an unfamiliar human. He will avoid them by moving himself away. Or he will bark at them and try to take away their personal space. It looks almost like prey drive kicks in, as if he's trying to push them into a corner. This is sure to happen if the human freezes when barked at, but it can also happen if the human tries to display dominance.. things like strong eye contact, saying no, or stepping towards my dog. They will all be most likely met with barking. I still can't tell if it's fear he's showing or prey drive, but one thing's for sure, he seems to get off on it. He'll even go out of his way to run up to a person to bark at them, even if they haven't payed him any mind. This also seems to be random, some people he will ignore, others he will make a specific point of harassing.
My correction is always the same. I say "no", then "down" and he completely submits, head on the ground, ears relaxed, no eye contact. And he waits for me to say "ok" which releases him from the punishment. Unfortunately, my consistency in attempting to correct his behavior hasn't yielded any results in the long term. Sure, it stops him from barking in that moment but it doesn't prevent future outbreaks. The only way to prevent an outbreak is for me to notice the person before he does and I need to vehemently say "no" several times until I see my dog's body relax. After that, he will be okay and be able to run around and not pay that person any attention whatsoever. Another note, he will, under no circumstances, be friends with a stranger. I've even given strangers "high value" food items for them to feed him with and he will not so much as sniff it. Strangely, after a few times of meeting someone, he will be ecstatic to see them and will play with them.
Recent Nips:
One was over the holidays when my family had a Christmas party. There were 20 people in our house, all friends and relatives. My dog ignored most everyone he didn't know, occasionally he would bark at a new comer and would be corrected in the usual way I described above. Once the people were "admitted" into the house, he would ignore them. Then later, he started barking at a neighbor who just arrived, she sort of waved her hand at him as if to shoo him away and he nipped her before I could reign him in. (Not good to wave one's hands at an agitated dog, I know, but not her fault either as not everyone will know dog etiquette.) So in my usual way, I submitted my dog.
Finally, 2 weeks later, I was in the park and my dog did it again. Unknown human approaches, my dog barks, I'm moving to get close to my dog and correct him, human shook his hand at the dog as if to shoo it away, and my dog nipped. I submitted my dog for an unusually long amount of time. He did not protest, he knew he had done wrong.
I don't think my form of correction is working. I need help. I need a better way to react. Please let me know what you think. This CANNOT happen again. Even though it "just a nip" and he's a little dog, there is absolutely no excuse for his behavior and I can't tolerate it. I love my dog dearly and I want him to be happy and well adjusted.
What should I do?
Dog Description:
-Male
-Neutered
-5 years old
-Weighs 20 lbs
-Part ****zhu, part Lhasa Apso, part Pug and part Husky (weird mix, I know).
-He looks like this.
Situations:
In his life, he has nipped 4 humans. First two times, he was a puppy (8-10 months old). Both times it was in the dog park, both people had been correcting their own dog's behavior and my dog happened to be playing with their dogs. Apparently, my dog did not like these people expressing dominance over his play friend. Of course, I was displeased and embarrassed by my dog's behavior. I corrected the behavior immediately by completely submitting my dog. No physical touch was needed, I told him "no" and then "down". He submitted to my command, went completely flat on his side, head touching the ground, ears relaxed, body relaxed, no eye contact. He waited for me to say, "ok" and then continued playing with other dogs with no more issue. Submitting my dog in this way is something I've practiced with him since I began training. As I said, this was when he was a puppy and he has not nipped again until recently.
Background information:
I got my dog at 7 months. He was the last dog in his litter to be sold. When I got him, he was almost like an abused rescue dog in his behavior. I think before I got him he had some sort of traumatic experience involving humans. He was extremely scared of everyone and every thing, except other dogs. Anything unfamiliar like city sounds, a broom, a cardboard box, they would all scare him. I won his trust and affection quickly though and began training. He has NEVER shown any form of aggression towards me, only other humans. He has overcome most of his "emotional issues" except one.. He's still very standoffish with any human he hasn't met several times before. Generally, he does one of two things when approached by an unfamiliar human. He will avoid them by moving himself away. Or he will bark at them and try to take away their personal space. It looks almost like prey drive kicks in, as if he's trying to push them into a corner. This is sure to happen if the human freezes when barked at, but it can also happen if the human tries to display dominance.. things like strong eye contact, saying no, or stepping towards my dog. They will all be most likely met with barking. I still can't tell if it's fear he's showing or prey drive, but one thing's for sure, he seems to get off on it. He'll even go out of his way to run up to a person to bark at them, even if they haven't payed him any mind. This also seems to be random, some people he will ignore, others he will make a specific point of harassing.
My correction is always the same. I say "no", then "down" and he completely submits, head on the ground, ears relaxed, no eye contact. And he waits for me to say "ok" which releases him from the punishment. Unfortunately, my consistency in attempting to correct his behavior hasn't yielded any results in the long term. Sure, it stops him from barking in that moment but it doesn't prevent future outbreaks. The only way to prevent an outbreak is for me to notice the person before he does and I need to vehemently say "no" several times until I see my dog's body relax. After that, he will be okay and be able to run around and not pay that person any attention whatsoever. Another note, he will, under no circumstances, be friends with a stranger. I've even given strangers "high value" food items for them to feed him with and he will not so much as sniff it. Strangely, after a few times of meeting someone, he will be ecstatic to see them and will play with them.
Recent Nips:
One was over the holidays when my family had a Christmas party. There were 20 people in our house, all friends and relatives. My dog ignored most everyone he didn't know, occasionally he would bark at a new comer and would be corrected in the usual way I described above. Once the people were "admitted" into the house, he would ignore them. Then later, he started barking at a neighbor who just arrived, she sort of waved her hand at him as if to shoo him away and he nipped her before I could reign him in. (Not good to wave one's hands at an agitated dog, I know, but not her fault either as not everyone will know dog etiquette.) So in my usual way, I submitted my dog.
Finally, 2 weeks later, I was in the park and my dog did it again. Unknown human approaches, my dog barks, I'm moving to get close to my dog and correct him, human shook his hand at the dog as if to shoo it away, and my dog nipped. I submitted my dog for an unusually long amount of time. He did not protest, he knew he had done wrong.
I don't think my form of correction is working. I need help. I need a better way to react. Please let me know what you think. This CANNOT happen again. Even though it "just a nip" and he's a little dog, there is absolutely no excuse for his behavior and I can't tolerate it. I love my dog dearly and I want him to be happy and well adjusted.
What should I do?
