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 Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:39 am
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Allow me to state I was expecting my Pomeranian to be extremely hyperactive. And he is to a degree. But I'm not worried about how hyperactive he is so much as how overly into "playing" he gets. Mostly around my two year old.
Dog: Pomeranian (possibly mixed breed, not sure exactly).
Age: 1 year
Weight: 12 lbs.
Indoor dog
My issues:
He nips. And bites. Sometimes for play and sometimes out of what seems like aggression. There seems to be a battle for dominance between the dog and my husband.
Let me explain a little bit. When I got my dog last year he was but a nine week old puppy infested with fleas and worms. Lovely Mother's Day gift. Shortly after he got better I got very sick with strep throat and hand, foot and mouth disease due to a weakened immune system. Because of what I had and that my son was healthy at this point I had to stay in my room in bed. Unfortunately for all of us that meant that my husband could not watch our one year old and a small puppy. I was able to house break him for the most part. He ended up being paper trained and for the most part that works. But I was not strong enough at the time to deal with the nipping. And as any dog owner knows... if you don't n** it in the bud from the get go it just gets harder to stop.
I've tried the high pitched squeal. Bopping on the nose. Ignoring. Leaving the room. Holding onto his bottom jaw. Spraying with water. Rubbing hot sauce on my hands. I'm out of ideas. He nips and gnaws on our hands and will grab our pant legs if he's really hyper. This is something I need to stop because he's doing it to the kid and he could easily take a good chunk out of a finger or foot.
Barking:
Small dogs bark. Yep, I knew that. And Poms are not so much guard dogs as they are an alert dog. But he literally barks every time my Mother in law or Father in law come into our bedroom. Is it because he does not feel secure or because he knows they don't care for him? When my husband's step sister and her husband came over he didn't even whimper. But my husband's two best friends? He freaks out at first. Eventually he calms down if they are here long enough but then he constantly seeks attention and his friend "A" isn't a dog person.
Over-protectiveness:
Of me. Yeah, it was cute at first so I stupidly allowed it without thinking. Now I regret the hell out of it. If I'm asleep and someone comes into the room he stands over my head and barks (unless it's my husband). If my son comes over and smacks my leg or arm he growls, barks or nips at him. We tested this once. My husband play hit me, dog growled at him. I play hit my husband, dog growls at him. My Mother in law play hits me, he tries to bite her hand. But even if I didn't allow it, I've no idea what to do to stop or prevent this from happening.
Those are my main three issues. I'm praying he's gonna mellow out with age but these problems aren't gonna go away. I've had dogs before but they weren't this stubborn. My basset stopped nipping after me yelping once. This dog stops for one second and then resumes. He's quite the challenge and I'm willing to keep at it. I love this dog and when he's in a sweet mood he is my best companion.
Please share with me your experiences and ideas. Most of the things I try... it ends up being only me doing it. My husband and his family are old fashioned. Dog bites? Hit him. That kinda thing. I don't allow it and won't do it. |
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 4:07 pm
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Sounds like your dog is the alpha male in the family. You are clearly in the subordinate role to this dog. I'm not a dog expert, but if it were me, my next step would be to enroll him in an obedience class or try to do obedience yourself. Basic commands, like sit, stay, down, off, etc. By you being in control, the dog will see you less as his subordinate, and more of his alpha.
This is the problem I see based on your post. When he nips, you've done all these things, but then what? He stops nipping at you, and then what happens? If it's nothing, he's going to n** again just to get your attention. You need to follow it up with something if you're not already. When he nips, give him a firm, loud, confident, low-voiced "NO." When he stops, give him praise or a reward such as a small treat. It will take some time and some patience. But I assure you that even though this behavior is several months in the making, it is close to if not just as easily trained out of him now as it would be when he was a puppy.
I'm sure other members would have some excellent or better advice. This is only what I would attempt next. Good luck, I do hope you keep us updated with what happens whenever you decide what to do!
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 5:42 pm
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Ailinea Sounds like your dog is the alpha male in the family. You are clearly in the subordinate role to this dog. I'm not a dog expert, but if it were me, my next step would be to enroll him in an obedience class or try to do obedience yourself. Basic commands, like sit, stay, down, off, etc. By you being in control, the dog will see you less as his subordinate, and more of his alpha. This is the problem I see based on your post. When he nips, you've done all these things, but then what? He stops nipping at you, and then what happens? If it's nothing, he's going to n** again just to get your attention. You need to follow it up with something if you're not already. When he nips, give him a firm, loud, confident, low-voiced "NO." When he stops, give him praise or a reward such as a small treat. It will take some time and some patience. But I assure you that even though this behavior is several months in the making, it is close to if not just as easily trained out of him now as it would be when he was a puppy. I'm sure other members would have some excellent or better advice. This is only what I would attempt next. Good luck, I do hope you keep us updated with what happens whenever you decide what to do!
I hadn't thought of praising him when he stops biting and nipping! He's definitely confused about his position in our "pack". Sometimes he is quite submissive to us and others he thinks he can take us on. This usually happens when we start playing with him or when we're ignoring. For example, I was playing DDR the other day and he thought it was an invitation to play with me since I was hopping about. I expected this and I kindly but firmly said "No, I'm not playing." and shooed him off the mat. He left me alone for a bit but eventually began attacking my feet and growling. After repeated "No's" he finally bit me to where it really hurt. I was furious with him and to restrain from acting out to him in anger I placed him in his kennel for a little bit.
We did go through puppy class when he was younger and I had intended to go to the next step but I got sick :< I might just enter him in it and go anyways though, he really seemed to benefit from the first round of it.
Thank you for your advice! I'm going to try praising him when he stops biting. I'm absolutely determined to keep my baby puppy pooch <3 |
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