# Over-Dominating Dog - 1 Year Old



## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

Any help guys? Diesel is overstepping his boundaries with me big time. Its become very obvious in our household that Diesel thinks of me as a playmate, and Keith as an Alpha. Keith thought it was funny until last night. Diesel was playing too rough with Kerosene and I told him to stop. We were outside playing in the snow. He grabbed her by her collar and ran away from me. I was scared so I caught him by his scruf (if this is the skin on the back of his neck?) and we went in the house. He tried to grab her again and I ordered him to his crate (I know you shouldnt use a crate for punishment but I just needed them to seperate for a minute) but he refused to go, he just ran the other way. BUT the minute Keith stepped in the same room with him he went straight to his crate and sat down, like an angel. We tested him out a little bit after that. I put him in the same room with me, and Keith came in with us. Diesel was perfectly behaved. Then, Keith walked in the other room and Diesel would literally look around the corner to see if he was gone and then he would get up and refuse to follow any of my commands. Keith would come back and he would sit again, perfectly behaved. Whats the deal, what am I doing wrong, and why does he suddenley hate me?


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## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

****bumping****


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## Joanne & Asia (Jul 23, 2007)

He loves you...just as an equal it sounds like. Maybe you need to do some obSee if he will go into a down command for you and do obedience with him one on one to show him you are also alpha with him. The trainer we worked with says this is crucial to curb any dominant behaviour and it has really helped us with Asia. She doesn't dominate us any more but still will with the occassional dog Good luck!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Nobody hatess you. Just time for you to start doing 10 - 15 minutes of obedience training every day. Heel, sit, down, stay and leave it all will help show that you are the Alpha also. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Merlins mom (Jun 20, 2007)

Diesel doesn't hate you! 

I don't have near the experience others do on this forum, but it sounds like you need to start working him on basic obedience. If you're not able to attend a class, there are some good training books out there! Work with him every day, maybe twice a day for 30 minutes or so.

I don't know how often you walk him, but everyday would help and it would also be a good time for you to work with him.

You can leave his collar and leash on in the house for better control when he's acting up. Also, I would get a breakaway collar for your new pup asap! 

www.*break**away**collar*.com

I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice!!


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## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

Oaklys Dad said:


> Nobody hatess you. Just time for you to start doing 10 - 15 minutes of obedience training every day. Heel, sit, down, stay and leave it all will help show that you are the Alpha also. Good luck and keep us posted.


Im having a lot of trouble finding a trainer around here  And Im finding I have a lot to learn about it where to start. I started a thread yesterday on advice in training your dog by yourself. Diesel has his days, and yesterday was NOT one of them. I just couldnt believe what I was seeing, hes sooo smart. As soon as Keith walked around the corner, off he went. I was like, whoa.. this has to stop. I just couldnt believe it.


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## Nicole&Zack (Feb 27, 2007)

I agree that Diesel doesnt hate you. He just doesnt see you in a higher position. I kinda had to laugh as i pictured in my head that Diesel would look around the corner to see if kieth was gone...;-)

There are tons of information online on how to train your dog by yourself.
There is also good info on *NILF*, Nothing In Life is Free. Just google that.

Dont let him run all over you. Start now before it gets out of hand.


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## Jellybean's mom (Jul 6, 2007)

Hey there-

Here's a couple of suggestions from my trainer.

1. Leash him to you whenever he is near you or Kero. Where you go, he goes. He'll learn quickly that you control the movement, not him.

2. Start some version of NILIF...nothing in life is free. He must work (obey) for EVERYTHING. And YOU not Keith has to be the controller of the resources. Examples, he has to sit or down to get his meal. He can't eat it until you release him. My release word is "All done". If he goes for the food before being released he's put back in the sit over and over again until he waits.

You walk out of the doors first. If he barges ahead of you, you pull him back and start again. 
If he wants a toy or a chew you ask him to sit or down and then he gets the toy. It's very time consuming for you, but it teaches him in no uncertain teerms that to get what he wants he must do what YOU want.

3. I also do use "banishment". It's a training concept that is basically taking away ALL things the dog wants for misbehavior. This only works when the dog KNOWS how to do what you are asking, but refuses. So an example...Bean KNOWS that "off" means get off the table. So if I say "Off" and she looks at me instead of sitting. I immediately and calmly take her and put her in her crate and walk away. No yelling, no drama, she just loses all privileges. After a minute I let her out and tell her sit or down and she complies. Hopefully she is learning that disobeying makes her lose everything.

I can also scan and email you some hand outs from my trainer. They walk you through step by step how to train certain behaviors. Once you understand how a dog learns, it's easy to apply the process to anything you want to train.

Hope that helps.


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## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

Jellybean's mom said:


> Hey there-
> 
> Here's a couple of suggestions from my trainer.
> 
> ...


THAT WOULD BE GREAT!! Thank you for all of the advice, that sounds exactly like what I need to do... my email is [email protected] (7:00 am - 5:00 pm) [email protected] (all the time) .. I really appreciate all of the advice and training tips.


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## Celeigh (Nov 29, 2007)

Psst, Jami, you probably don't want your email addresses on here. Spammers routinely look for those things. Edit them out and PM them instead.


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

Have you considered picking up a DVD from the Monks of New Skete (http://dogsbestfriend.com) or from Ed Frawley (www.leerburg.com) for training?

You may want to consider establishing some pack structure by doing what Ed Frawley calls groundwork (http://www.leerburg.com/dominantdogs.htm or http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm)

If you are having difficulty finding a trainer, A training DVD is probably the next best choice since you have the audiovisual component.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Its important to make sure he does what you tell him to. For instance regarding the crate, you should have leashed him and taken him there...not let your husband command him. That was key for me. Lucky listened to Tim but not me. Tim let me deal with it with a twinkle in his eye.

Also if he treated me like a play mate (which he did) and would not listen, I'd leash him and briskly walk around the house with him at my side...me controlling the "walk". It was a method of stoping his behavior and sending a message. 

He was about 5 months old and not the big dog he is now, so don't know if these options are viable for you.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Jami, you've gotten lots of good suggestions, including training tapes. If you do nothing else, google NILF and implement the basic structures right away. Tethering him to you will enable you to do NILF. From his perspective, if you can't catch him, you can't make him listen to you. It isn't cruel to set up boundaries for your pup's behavior, and it certainly isn't too late.


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## Emmysourgolden (Oct 10, 2007)

Oh, Jami, I have to say I've never met Diesel but I love him. He sounds like a riot. I've never had two dogs before but try to remember that 1 year old isn't very old especially for a male. Plus he's sooo excited to have a little sister now! So, I know if I were in your shoes I'd be mad, so it's easy to say this but try to laugh at Diesel (only when he's not looking of course!!).

I understand what you mean about him listening to your boyfriend more than he does you. Emmy's the same way. She follows my hubby's commands to the T but she'll push my limits. He can take her out without a leash and she stays as though she has one on... she would run from me so fast it isn't funny. Most nights when I get to bed, she's already there and I'll beg her and push on her to move for me to get in and sometimes it takes my hubby saying 'Emmy, come' for her to move over so I can get in bed. ((Sometimes we fight like sisters...))

I'll stop rambling now....this is all new for Diesel, too, and I would guess it's much like children. You bring a new baby in the house and some little ones will do whatever it takes to steal the show!!


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## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

Emmysourgolden said:


> Oh, Jami, I have to say I've never met Diesel but I love him. He sounds like a riot. I've never had two dogs before but try to remember that 1 year old isn't very old especially for a male. Plus he's sooo excited to have a little sister now! So, I know if I were in your shoes I'd be mad, so it's easy to say this but try to laugh at Diesel (only when he's not looking of course!!).
> 
> I understand what you mean about him listening to your boyfriend more than he does you. Emmy's the same way. She follows my hubby's commands to the T but she'll push my limits. He can take her out without a leash and she stays as though she has one on... she would run from me so fast it isn't funny. Most nights when I get to bed, she's already there and I'll beg her and push on her to move for me to get in and sometimes it takes my hubby saying 'Emmy, come' for her to move over so I can get in bed. ((Sometimes we fight like sisters...))
> 
> I'll stop rambling now....this is all new for Diesel, too, and I would guess it's much like children. You bring a new baby in the house and some little ones will do whatever it takes to steal the show!!


Well he is doing much better now after adjusting to her. They even will lay down together which was unheard of the first week! Thanks for everyones GREAT advice!! It was def. a big help!


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