Pros and Cons on getting my dog done. (long one) ..

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GypsyGirl

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Helloo, relating this post to my other one I have on here, I just want to know the pros and cons of getting him done.

Basicly, since having lost my dog. Bears mum, Bear has become so protective of me .. if hes sitting on my lap and people come over he will growl at them. Or if children get too close to him he will growl at them aswell.. He wouldnt go for them, but thats something im not willing to risk. I do push him off and tell him off aswell when he does this.

When were out on a walk (3-4times a day) he doesnt have a muzzle on because he doesnt go for other dogs and isnt agresive out to anyone out!

He wasnt as bad before his mum died, but he did growl at the children, its horrible because hes ALWAYS been around the same children .. hes been bought up with them and they used to handle him when he was young aswell. I dont know whats got into him? Its not like there the type of children pulling his hair etc chasing him etc.

What shall I do? I live with my parents and they dont want a strange person coming into the house trying to train him, because its not that hes not trained .. its just this one thing where he wont stop growling.

Ive been told to have him done as it calms them down .. but ive been told it just makes them fat and lazy. Its such a hard thing to explain lol. I want to get another dog aswell, a bitch so I would get him done anyways because I dont want them breeding or him getting tumours in his man parts!

What does everyone else think? I dont have my own transport either lol .. whenever I take him out we always walk everywhere or were at the horses so hes always out. What shall I do?

xx
 
I have just had my dog done.I had too because of a retained testicle.But i was worried about putting on weight afterwards and the vet told me ..only fat and lazy owners get fat and lazy dogs.

I would have him done,,it stops them roaming off to find a bitch,marking the territory and can calm down aggression.
 
Sorry, skim read your post, replying properly now.
What breed is he? Age? Growling at other people, especially children, is not acceptable and as well as having him neutered I would suggest some additional training as well.
My dog was neutered last summer at 20 months, he is still like a rake and very, very active.
He still had dog aggression issues (the older the are, the less effect neutering has on aggression - defensive or otherwise) but I trained and trained and trained him and while he still doesn't like other dogs up in his personal space uninvited, he is tonnes better.

I would hazard a guess that your body language and nerves are filtering through to him, as that is what was happening with me - you will automatically become worried as to his reaction to other people and he will pick this up as plain fear and try to defend you.
It is not his job to defend you, you are in charge and you decide and that is something that he will need to learn, whether he has his balls or not.
 
Hes 3, yeah hes escaped my old house 4 times looking for a bitch! He still likes to try and find new places to escape from but ive managed to get them all! This sounds silly but what additional training should I do to get him to stop growling? Because at the moment he is just being told off for it and obv that doesnt mean much to him at all. What would you suggest? Thankyou all so much!! xx
 
Some thoughts, not necessarily in order! OK well my dog was out and about and he reacted to dogs, not people. I reprimanded my dog with a lead check when he zoned out (became fixated on another dog, and check at the first 'mean look' - not once he was busy grizzling, it is too late, you need to act before the aggression to nip it in the bud)
And then when his attention returned to me he was rewarded.
'Fixating' on other dogs got him a pop on the neck, and everything good came from looking at me, listening to me and acting calmly.

What are you doing when you are telling him off? I mean, are you using voice etc?
If you tell him off at the wrong time he can develop negative associations and can come to identify children with getting a telling off and like I say may also be picking up vibes from yourself.
When you say 'no' or 'enough' you must mean it - listen to your 'telling off' voice...would it make you think twice about doing something naughty? If not, the dog certainly won't respect your tone.

To be honest, if he was displaying this sort of behaviour, the minute he started to get edgy at all - before the growl, I mean 'looky', tense, ears up, I would quickly, quietly and firmly remove him from the room - he must not be allowed to think it is OK to behave in that manner, you must be firm.
So out, five minutes max, back in. The more he ignores children, the more he gives you attention, the more you praise and the less time he has to spend out of the room.

Is there a sensible child who could be allowed to give him a food treat so that he identifies children with good things happening?
 
My telling off is "No" push him down/off if hes sitting on me. I would never hit him if thats what people are thinking lol, just so he knows hes got to get off and if he keeps growling then he goes out of the room. I get all the children to make him sit and then they can give him a treat and hes really gentle. But its if they get too close to him, like if hes sitting underneath the table, and they drop a toy onto the floor and they go to pick it up then he will growl at them as if to say "this is my space go away kinda thing" Sometimes he will let them stroke him. But he will be really tense like he doesnt trust them what so ever.

He knows what hes done is bad, as he goes and hides and just sulks, staring straight at me with his puppy dog eyes! But then he still goes back and growls at them again! Its like hes never learning! But when were out walking, if the children are walking in front, he will be really protective over them and will always make sure hes walking infront of them, and if anyone goes to close to them he will bark at them as if to say "go away". Its like hes never learning, he knows what hes doing is bad, but he just wont stop its hard lol.

Thankyou soo much for this advice is great
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x
 
No, wouldn't suggest or condone hitting, you don't need to hit dogs, it does nothing for them at all, it is a human reaction which serves no purpose IMO.
Instead of pushing him off, like I say he would be straight out of the room with me, time out, then back in again, but being very careful with the timing.

Would you say it is defensive aggression? Or territorial/dominance? Or fear based?
Do you think he sees the house as his, and is defending it, or you, or do you think he is defending his personal space?
When he growls, do the kids back off? How do they react?
What breed is he?
Does he have a crate or a safe place to go?


It might be work looking up a good behaviourist in your area.
 
Get him done! It'll stop the running off - it only gets worse. We had one knocked down cos he escpaed out of the house after a bitch on heat. Our current dogs spenst ages howling and whining and also escaped at one point and was gone all night - we found him the other side of the main road outside the owners of the bitch's house!

My other tip would be get him OFF your lap! Sorry, it is a bug bear of mine but yet everytime i see these dog behaviour type programmes there is a common theme. Practically ALL the 'problem' dogs are sat on owners' laps, allowed on the sofas and on the owners beds. In my mind a dog's place is on the floor - you are the boss not the dog.

Sounds like since this dog's mother has gone - I assume she was the dominant one over him - he has taken the dominant role and as far as he's concerned is above you in the order of things. I would watch some of the "It's me or the dog" - i think she has some good tips in dealing with this exact behaviour.

At 3 years old it should certainly be reversible.
 
Thankyou all so much! Yes deffo no more sitting on my lap or any human furniture! Yeah he has his own dog bed which is in his own personal space so he doesnt need to be on any of my furniture. Yes he is trying to become the dominant one as she was. I am now going to do more training! If I can see him getting tense our any signs of him about to growl thats it - time out!
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Its time for me to be the ruler! Haha - Yeah Im going to watch some of them programmes, they are very good. Thank you all for your brillant advice
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I will keep you updated! xxx
 
[ QUOTE ]
Without a doubt get him done.

Not only will it calm him down but in my opinion its irresponsible to have a dog that you are not going to breed still intact.

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Disagree with this totally. However, I am not against having dogs neutered, and I think it sounds like a good option for the OP in terms of dealing with agression.

It is a sweeping statement to say that people are irresponsible for not having their dogs neutered. mine is entire and non-agressive. He is well behaved, calm and lovely. I am a responsible owner and I have thought very carefully about the pros and cons of castration and done alot of research. In the future I may or may not get any other dogs I own castrated - depending on the idividual situation.

I don't think people should make sweeping generalisations about anything in life
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But this is off the point. back to the OP - I 100% agree with cave - get some help with training/ behaviour and get your dog castrated
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