my pup is 3 months n iv had her a week the first few days she was very calm now she has got her confidence im starting to worry she snaps for her treats which she didnt so initially.i want to be in control especially as she will grow to be very large.many thanks
Answers:
My Akita used to snap for treats too, and a few fingers got bitten along the way.
What I did was very similar to what TC has suggested, the only diffrence was that I kept treat enclosed completely in a closed hand, would say "gentle" as kato approached my hand and as soon as his nose touched, the treat was slipped into his mouth then praised for a "good gentle". he got the hang of it really quickly, and now you can give him a treat with not a tooth touching finger.
What I noticed one day, after having Kato for a few weeks is that he growled at my daughter for walking past whilst he was eating..I was not prepared to accept this behaviour, and let it continue putting taylah in danger of him hurting her over his food, so we started training food refusal.
We would make Kato sit, and then put food bowl down and tell him to "wait" if he did not the bowl was taken away, then replaced and we would try again, until he understod that he was not to begin eating until he was given the "OK" to do so. We started off with short waits and extended it longer and longer over the following weeks. We would handle and pat him at the same time as eating to, so he learned that we will continue allowing him to eat if he was well mannered about it, if he growled the food was taken away again.
Once we got thru all this (and it only took around a week to really see some good difference) we started letting him eat, would then tell him to "leave it" and take food away mid meal, if he behaved and sat and waited it would be replaced with an extra little treat inside. Every member of the house hold took turns in doing all of this, including our daughter.
In doing this, any human can now remove safely from his mouth food, treats and toys which i considered an important thing to be able to do with an Akita given that they can be food and toy possesive, and given we had a child in the home. (i will admit however, that he is very intolerant of other dogs trying to take food and toys, but we dont have any other dogs of our own, and if friends dogs are around we make sure all toys and bones etc are taken out of the yard before arrival)
The other thing that we spent time teaching Kato, was that humans first thru door ways. He would at first barge past most people particuarly Taylah. What we have done in the past and still do from time to time just to remind who is leader, we got and extra long lead that we would tie around one family memebers waist and Kato of course clipped to the other end, and would spend several days attached to each other, Kato would have to go wherever the controlling human wanted to go, and was forced to follow the leader. The advantage of doing this too, was that because we were always close at hand and Kato was on lead we were able to correct quickly and easily, we would make him sit before going thru a door told to "wait" human then walks thru and then Kato was given the "alright" command for him to enter the next room too. Once again, now that he is older, he will sit at a door way and allow any of us to pass thru before he does, this includes when him and taylah are running around the house and playing, he will stop and let her thruough the door first which is kind of cute when you see it.
These are just a few little things we have done to try and prevent dangerous altercations when it came to child and an Akita with its food and dominant tendancies, and have found it to work quite well so far (kato now 13mths old and fits into family very well) We go through all of these process every now and again to remind him of our expectations, and to keep reminding him that he needs to rely on us as a family and as his pack, for his well being and happiness.
Good luck with it all, I promise you that if you persist, be firm but fair, and make it clear to the dog what you expect, by providing consistency accross the board that you will find her over the coming months to be an absolutely delightful pup to have around your home.
You need to teach her basic discipline. She needs to know that you are in control, that you are her master. And you do that through teaching her simple commands such as sit, come, stay, drop it, etc. This will show her that you demand respect and overall her behavior will improve.
On the flip side, she needs her own space and privacy as well...away from your son. Set up a crate with blankets and a few chew toys so she has a place to retreat to when she needs a break. Make sure your son knows not to disturb her while she is sleeping or resting.
Also make sure your son knows to leave her alone while she is eating or chewing on a treat. That is her food and she shouldn't feel threatened that someone will take it away from her.
Good luck with your new pup!
Temperament is genetic - that is to say that all dogs are born with it as passed down from their parents and ancestors. You cannot teach a dog temperament.
As far as obedience is concerned ... start regular training exercises with your dog - for the life of your dog. Only then will you have a well behaved dog in your home.
Good luck.
You should call your breeder.. They generally have good information for their puppy buyers when it comes to teaching a puppy what they need to know.. How to keep them in line so you end up with a nice well rounded dog.. Your breeder should be your best resource for information.. Their breed, their dogs, and they should be able to help you best.
probably not the best breed choice and would have been better if your son was slightly older - pups and toddlers are not an easy mix.
100% take her to puppy socialization (Obedience) classes as soon as you can (when she is fully vaccinated)
Along with the other good advice, I'd suggest not playing any rough games, such as tug, with your akita. You also shouldn't play teasing games... such as offering her a toy and then snatching it away just as she tries to take it. Those types of games encourage more aggressive play and snapping at things to get it.
As some of the others mentioned, you should teach your dog some basic commands. There are a couple commands I rely on daily with my akita %26 shiba: sit, wait, leave it. Another god-send command is the release word. I know when I put my dogs in a stationary position, they won't move until I give them permission, and that includes feeding time. They sit quietly by their bowl until I say "OK." I can drop food on the floor or leave it on a coffee table and my dogs won't touch it without my permission.
As to snapping for her treats... something I've done with my shiba (who has a tendency to snap at food) is to offer him a treat, but I grip 95% of the treat in my fingers, so all he can get is a tiny taste if he uses his front teeth. It took a couple times of him trying for the whole thing (and getting my fingers in his mouth and me loudly yelping as if in pain) for him to understand that if he wants it, he has to take it more gently.
Good luck!
Obedience training, is a must, and lots of firm, but gentle dominance training, which in part is what obedience training is about. Nattiej1976 has some great tips, especially about the food. That's one of the most effective ways to enforce the idea that you're the top dog, since the top dogs always control the food in a pack. Our male had a long period of not being able to eat until he was told to "take it". He had to sit and wait until we let him eat. It was just one of many dominance exercises we had to do with him.
Your dog needs to learn that everyone in the house outranks her. Various exercises to enforce your dominance are the way to go with this, but they have to be positive, and not punitive. For example, I don't recommend you try the "alpha roll" where you force the dog onto its back, into a submissive position. Rather, you have to convince her that belly rubs are good, and that being submissive is worth it.
Read all you can find about dominance in dogs - this is a very dominant breed, and if you're not the top dog, she will be, and that's usually trouble.
And did I mention obedience training?
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