Do you hate it when you dog goes ballistic when a stranger comes to the door? I have hated to go somewhere that the dog was aggressive. I never knew if I was going to get jumped on or bitten. I love dogs, and I didn’t want my dog to make people feel uncomfortable when they came to my home. Of course, if you have a dog, it may be happy to see someone new and want to greet that person, or it may feel it has to protect and bark at you like you are an intruder. I am an avid watcher of the show Dog Whisperer, and I’ve learned a lot from watching the show. I’ve put some of the techniques into practice in my own home, with my own dog.
My Chihuahua, Ivan, is a naturally bouncy energetic little dog. For a long time he ran the house, and everyone in it. He was the pack leader. It he wanted to be petted he jumped up on me and demanded that I pay attention to him. He wasn’t mean or aggressive in a threatening way to me at all; however he wouldn’t let me do what I needed to do. When I was trying to write an article, or at the computer for another purpose, he was demanding I pick him up and sit him in my lap while I write. It wouldn’t be so bad, if that was all he did; however, once in my lap, he nudges at my hands with his nose, so that I cannot even type on the keyboard.
If you have a dog that is exhibiting annoying behavior, such as what I just mentioned above, the best thing you can do to break the dog from demanding attention from you when you are busy, is to take your place back as pack leader. When my little Ivan tapped my leg with his paw, signaling to me he wanted up into my lap, I ignored him. I didn’t even look his way. When he tapped me a little harder and gave me a little vocal yip, I continued to type. When he didn’t get the message, and became more insistent that I take him, I made a harsh noise, like “Annnnnt” and pushed him down. I saw him in the corner of my eye just sitting there. His feelings weren’t hurt at all. He then moved to lay down between my feet while I continued to work without anymore interruptions from him.
My pup has the heart of a lion, but in actuality he is a scare-di-cat. When someone he didn’t know came to the door he acted like he was going to eat them up. He wouldn’t go near them, but he barked and barked. If you have ever heard the shrill scream of a Chihuahua, you will know that it can be ear piercing. I wanted to break him of that. Again, I wanted to let him know that I am the pack leader. I got a little help from a friend one day, and asked her to visit and to knock at my door. I put a leash on Ivan so I could control him easier. When her car drove up, Ivan heard it and started to go crazy. I gave him my vocal “Annnnnt!” and a tug on his leash. That alone redirected him to stop barking. He was still a little agitated, and making some growling noises, but he wasn’t barking. I gave him a vocal “Shhhhh!” with a slight tug on the leash, and he stopped.
My friend, Lisa, approached my door and knocked. Again Ivan went wild. Again I gave him the vocal “Annnnnt!” and a tug on the leash. He sat down, but was still concerned enough to sass me a bit with his undertones in his throat. I gave him a vocal “Shhhh”, but not so forceful and he was quiet. I opened the door and allowed Lisa to enter my home. Ivan again starts to bark, as if to say “Intruder!” but I took control and gave him a vocal, “Pssssst” and a tug at the collar and he sat down.
That day Ivan, Lisa and I went through this one exercise of Lisa knocking at the door until Ivan no longer reacted with agitation. Now when I need Ivan to stop what he is doing I don’t have to have a leash on him to tug him. I can just give him a vocal to stop his behavior and he redirects automatically. I believe with patience, love, and perseverance you can retrain your dog into taking its place in your pack. Remember, even though you think of your dog as family, you are the leader of the pack.
Source:
The Dog Whisperer
National Geographic Channel
