Gitdog bullying my mum.

orlao

My late, great Rottie had 'thug' tendencies - if he thought somebody was nervous/unsure of him he would try and move them around (he was horribly successful in doing so if not checked) and things like trying to sit on them which sounds a bit like git dog! He was especially bad with the people (usually men it has to be said) who would try and hide their fear by bossing him around - he seemed to pick up on their lack of conviction IYSWIM.

Most of time it was managed by just keeping him away from those you weren't keen on him but with the few people that, for various reasons it wasn't an option I found that 'training' both him and them together was fairly successful.

First things first, I've always used a 'go away' command. Mainly because I've got horses so there are times that dogs underfoot are a pain and dangerous...that command came in useful for people who didn't want a pushy dog in their face so the next part was teaching them to say it like they mean it

Basically they need to learn how to lower their tone and lose the squeak that tends to creep in when you're under stress. After that I used to get them to work with the dog while I was on the sidelines to back them up so the dog learnt that obedience wasn't optional. However, when he did as asked, high, high value rewards were on offer. Then I encouraged them to always tell the dog to do SOMETHING (anything really, NILIF stylee) before they interacted with him - sit, down, paw or even go away - so that they retained the confidence that they could control him and he learnt that they weren't a soft touch :rotfl: so he went back to the happy pup that he was. In saying that, I was never worried about him being aggressive, just a horrible, in yer face PITA.

I hope that makes sense but as others have said, you're really training the person so getting the dog to respect their space. IIRC gitdog is a EBT? If he's typical of the breed they tend to a bit boneheaded and stubborn so your mum may have to be a bit more stubborn then he is in insisting on the manners but he's probably more sensitive to being ignored so a 'go away' might just be effective?

Good Luck.

elsien

I typed a long reply then lost it, in a rush so I'll be back tomorrow to update properly. All comments noted, thanks.
( not a go away as such, but he is starting to learn !!!!!! off.)

orlao

elsien wrote: »

( not a go away as such, but he is starting to learn !!!!!! off.)

I started with that version but a lot of small children around so...:eek:

ali-t

What about a dap diffuser at your mums house to bring a bit of calm for him and to go with the training you are going to give your mum.

My rottie hates the dog deterrent sprays and just needs to be told 'you will get sprayed' to reign in his behaviour but in general i don't believe in scaring dogs into submission.

elsien

OK, first off, mum absolutely comes first. We fostered Gitdog for nearly 3 months and had long conversations about whether it was fair on her and whether we should take him on before saying yes. It was always mum's choice to help me out, and the minute she says enough, that's it, no arguments from me. She has promised to be honest with me about what she wants and at the moment she wants to try to sort things out safely as "no 4 legged lump is going to get the better of me."
No I don't subscribe to the alpha theory, and "tantrum" may be a tad anthropomorphic, but when you tell him to stop doing something and he barks and mouths, to me that is a dog chucking his weight around, whether it's due to frustration, learned behaviour from a previous life or whatever. And this is not so much a new behaviour as an escalation of an existing one that we thought we were getting to grips with.
Right, now that's out of the way, onto the interim plan. No recent changes other than 3 weeks in kennels, after which he actually seemed comparatively calm. However kennels did teach him to bark more which mum finds difficult, so her reaction to it might be one of the triggers. There are also triggers around food so from here on in he's crated while she eats. We're looking at distractions she can try to break the silliness cycle before it gets going and more mental exercise to tire him out. Next door has just got a dog which might be winding him up so she can also bring him back to mine and leave him in his crate in the afternoon if she wants a break, so she's got him for only half the time that she does now.
I'd love to find a dog sitter/day care that can cater for day, evenings and weekends and are happy to change the days and times every week, but practically speaking it doesn't work like that - at least not in this part of the world. But we might consider one day a week whether I'm working or not to help with his socialisation. If the dog trainer thinks that's a good idea, that is. I'm also happy to pay for some one to one sessions.
Well, that's the temporary plan while the dog trainer gets some more ideas together. Thanks for all the suggestions and wish us luck.

meritaten

your mum sounds brill elsien! if she is willing then go for it. you do NOT need to be physically stronger than the dog to make it obey you.
yes, you are right about 'triggers'. if he is trying to 'rob' your mums food then its a good idea to crate him or shut him out.
can I suggest your mum tries to teach him 'tricks'? purely for fun ones?
such as 'find the treat'? where you get three plastic cups and play a version of 'find the lady'? I taught my dogs that and its really easy for them - the difficult part is getting them to indicate the cup with the treat underneath with a paw, rather than just knocking the cup over and gobbling up the treat.
or to teach gitdog to 'crawl'? this involves getting the dog to 'lie' then placing a treat just out of reach of his nose but not worth getting up and walking. and so on and so on..............fairly easy 'tricks' for both the dog and its carer. and they are fun to do. your mum may well enjoy doing this and having special tricks with gitdog that he only does with her.
but, it will reinforce in gitdogs mind that she is the 'boss'.

minimad1970

Could GD have a filled frozen Kong to have whilst your Mum's eating?

bertiewhite

elsien wrote: »

No I don't subscribe to the alpha theory

Can you elaborate?