Hi. My 10 week old Shiba Inu Pup is beginning to think he is boss. Generally it is just a mouthing problem which i am currently dealing with but during his 'mad half hours' he is barking at growling at family members and the more he is told of the more he barks. i have had advice frrom the breeder and i had researched the breed before i decided on him but unfortunately i have yet to find a method which has proved to be effective. if anyone has any ideas then please do let me know! Thanks!
Answers:
Rush out now and buy the Jan Fennell books or DVD. Basically you have to not shout as to the pup that is communication. The pup can't tell the difference between being shouted at and you being nice to it. Do not, at any time, give eye to eye contact as that is communication as well. Ignore the bad behaviour and praise the good. Stick and carrot metaphorically.
Jan Fennell's method is based on the fact that inside every dog from a Chihuahua to a Great Dane, is a wolf. She watched the behaviour of wolf packs and came up with her system. The Alpha Wolf ignores his pack until it suits him, he eats first (let him see you have a biscuit or something before he is fed), go through doorways first, ignore him for the first 5 minutes when you come in. Eventually the penny will drop. I highly recommend Jan Fennell's methods though.
pick him up briefly by the back of the neck and say NO! this is what his mother would do.
when you play a game of ,never let it win-then it will know whos boss. also theres a chance the dog is a bit frightened of something
When he acts up, ignore him completely. He thinks you are barking back when you tell him off and thats a lot of fun for him.
Ignore him until he calms down and then give him attention when he is being better behaved.
10 weeks is very young. He is more interested in playing at this age than in being boss of the house. You need to shape his behaviour so that he knows that quiet nice behaviour gets him attention and boistrous barking gets nowhere.
He will be a bundle of hyper energy until he is a year old but if you persevere you will end up with a lovely dog.
Treat him as you would a rowdy child, tell him no firmly and if he persists remove him from the area that the person he is barking at is in and say no again a bit more firmly.
Don't get people to move from him because that will give him the sense that he is in control.
Shibas are generally independent and intelligent dogs and some owners struggle with obedience training, but like many dogs, socialisation at a young age can greatly affect temperament.
Get in touch with your vet or breeder and see if they do or can recommend a puppy socialising class, they are great for settling the pups down and helping them realise they are dogs!!
My puppy went through this, as i think most do, and I was told to put some small stones in a plastic bottle and shake it at him once each time he does it. It worked!
Our puppy was a barker and we finally had to stop talking to him like he was a human. Now we get his attention by holding him firmly by the back of his collar and giving him a loud, "Shhhh"sound. It takes a while but they get the message as to who is boss. Good Luck
Try using a can of compressed air (Used to clean computer key pads) every time he starts to get aggressive or dominant set of a blast in his general direction. The noise is unpleasant and he will quickly learn no to continue with his behaviour.
Feed him after you have eaten yourself.
When he does it, put yourself between him and the person or thing he's barking at and 'walk' him away from it into his bed. Do it calmly and do not shout back at him. An ideal thing to use is a tennis racket, put it between your feet and walk towards him, look at him firmly and just keep walking with it, putting it in front of his face so that he needs to pull back to try to get around it. But the main thing is to confront him quietly and calmly and get him to back down.
I'm not saying you would, but never ever hit your dog
(EDIT) I agree with Ladyfromdrum above, you have to let him know he isn't the boss by doing things first, thats very good.
dogs love attention... they would do anything to get one...
read this tips ...not related to the question. but very helpful to train dogs
http://living.oneindia.in/home-n-garden/...
http://living.oneindia.in/home-n-garden/...
http://living.oneindia.in/home-n-garden/...
shibas in general have a dominance issue and they like to be in control. i would suggest enrolling it into obedience classes. when he becomes aggressive show him the behavior is unwanted and give him a time out-this can be alone in a room or make him roll over on his back for a few seconds. a dog forced to submit on his back must accept that he is not the dominant dog
the trouble with large breeds is they dont know thier own strength, if he is getting too rough let him know, cry out in pain, pretend to cry, that should stop him in his tracks, he is barking more when you reprimand him cos he thinks it is a game, you need to seperate him from the situation, do you cage him? if not just take a firm hold of him, dont shout, speak firmly but calmly 'no naughty' and either put him in another room or outside for a few mins for him to calm down, once he realizes you are not going to put up with it and he gets seperated from you when he is naughty he should begin to calm down, if you are not going to breed you should look into having him nuetered as that may help to calm him too,
Start to impose the basic rules. 1. When you are preparing his food. Pretend to eat first. even have a biscuit while you make him wait. The principle of this is I get the Best...You get the rest.
2 Always go through doors first but don't let him herd you. Make him wait until you tell him to come through.
3 There should be no place in your own home that you cannot go so occasionally move him out of his bed with your foot and stand in his bed for a few minutes.
4 Keep him off the furniture!
5 Keep him downstairs. With a gate if necessary.
6 Only play competitive games like tug o' war if you are prepared to win them
7 Don't let the dog demand attention. It gets fuss and attention on your terms only so that it earns it's privileges.
8 If the dog is in your way HE moves! No 'excuse me' or anything like that. If he is laying in front of a cupboard that you want to get to...Then OPEN the cupboard. By imposing these rules he will get to know the pecking order of the household. It should be you at the top. Then each member of the family. The dog should even be below the family cat if there is one.
nobody has mentioned a puppy kindergarden or basic obedience class. When he's sitting or downing at your command, he will have trouble maintaing his self image as master of the universe and many of those behaviors will decrease. Ans he %26 you will have learned to comunicate so you have a "handle" to let him know this is not acceptable.
Always feed him AFTER you have had your food. The pack leader (you) eats first, when there are scraps left, then the underdog (your dog) can have something.
Never let your dog get onto your bed. The pack leader always sleeps in the most elevated area, the underdog sleeps further down and away from the leader.
When he does something that you do not like, take your hand and "nip" him in the neck and say no. The pack leader will also bite in the neck as a warning. When the underdog does not obey the pack leader, the next time he would be killed. So you have to let your dog understand, that, when you say no, you mean no.
Every day the dog will test you to see if he can be the pack leader. Every day you will have to remind him that YOU are the pack leader. Its a war of wills, and the human must win each time. Dogs understand this kind of language,and accept it. It is the humans that think they are being cruel to their dogs, but it is just plain dog language.
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