Pepper bit my girlfriend

[thunderbird8588]

Nemo, this is what i understand. Basenjis dont like hands on so it's better not to touch them and get them to move verbaly if possible. The most i could get away with , when Benji got into my place was nudge him gently with my body untill i was in the desired space.

[NerdyDogOwner]

I have said this before in another topic, but never punish a growl (or a bark). The puppy class I went to, the teacher couldn't emphasize this enough. A growl is a form of warning. "Look out, I will bite/attack if this continues." If you punish, you are telling the dog "Don't warn me!".
A dog's warning method is ears pull back/growl/bark/attack. So you then remove the growl, you are removing one of his signs used to inform when feeling threatened/uncomfortable.

The teacher then showed us a collection of dog attack videos, and we saw that 99% of them just "without warning" attacked. And you read this a lot in news articles of people saying "He was such a nice dog, but this attack came without warning"….etc etc. This is a classic situation of dogs who have been told not to bark/growl. And the sad part is, it's the dogs that get punished for obeying this behavior and just attacking... Pretty sad really.

The best way to move, is try to lure him with a treat so he moves willingly. And just don't allow the dog back to the sofa/spot you wanted him to move from.

[thunderbird8588]

I have never heard the advice about never punishing a growl but it makes sense.

[Janneke]

I wouldn't move a growling dog with your hands, no.. When Tillo growls I say: "well.. that was your bedtime for today".. and of he goes.. looking guilty.. When I tell Lycia to get off she does all her tricks first.. Sit.. down.. high five..? Hmm.. Ooh.. you want me to get of the bed…...! :rolleyes: (then she gets off.. walks around.. and jumps up on the other side.. ggg.. funny girl ;))

In Pepper's case I would try to avoid the growling by calling her of the couch/bed before you go and sit on the couch..

[Nemo]

@Janneke:

I wouldn't move a growling dog with your hands, no.. When Tillo growls I say: "well.. that was your bedtime for today".. and of he goes.. looking guilty.. When I tell Lycia to get off she does all her tricks first.. Sit.. down.. high five..? Hmm.. Ooh.. you want me to get of the bed…...! :rolleyes: (then she gets off.. walks around.. and jumps up on the other side.. ggg.. funny girl ;))

In Pepper's case I would try to avoid the growling by calling her of the couch/bed before you go and sit on the couch..

But say they growl at someone else but not you in the same situation. Should you physically move them then? I would say that down the road it could turn into a problem. Seems like asking would be the way to go in almost all situations. Or even if your dog has never shown any signs of issues like this, if you consistently move them versus ask them to move, I wonder if you are setting yourself up to creat this type of negative behavior in the future (dependent on the dog of course) as they get tired of you moving them around.

[agilebasenji]

Nemo-

If you re-read my post on page one, you'll notice I suggested putting a drag line (leash) attached to Pepper's non corrective collar. This would make it easy to move the dog without touching her. And by asking the dog to get off the sofa, it's like changing the topic of conversation. When the dog complies (and it will, even if you have to give her a gentle tug on the leash), praise and reward. Then you can show the dog to her place, or play the on-sofa/off-sofa game, or just sit on the sofa with/without the dog. Games with food rewards generally cheer basenjis up and happy basenjis aren't growly basenjis.

[Nemo]

@agilebasenji:

Nemo-

If you re-read my post on page one, you'll notice I suggested putting a drag line (leash) attached to Pepper's non corrective collar. This would make it easy to move the dog without touching her. And by asking the dog to get off the sofa, it's like changing the topic of conversation. When the dog complies (and it will, even if you have to give her a gentle tug on the leash), praise and reward. Then you can show the dog to her place, or play the on-sofa/off-sofa game, or just sit on the sofa with/without the dog. Games with food rewards generally cheer basenjis up and happy basenjis aren't growly basenjis.

Thanks, I wasn't thinking of your post particularly, I liked the drag line idea. But I think the key is that is used following asking the dog to move and the drag line should not be used independently for getting the dog to move. Right?

[AJs Human]

AJ tries the one-eye open "if I just ignore you I won't have to move" on me when I try to go to bed. He knows I want him out of the middle of the bed, but won't move a muscle. It's cute now because I will physically move him and he knows it. He tried the growl thing with me and found out it wouldn't work. He still got moved.

He has snapped at me exactly once. It was over food. Again, he found out I wouldn't tolerate resource guarding. He found this out by understanding the resources are mine and I allow him access to them. I have never struck him and his trust has continued to improve. He was struck at his previous home. It is through my own experience that I subscribe to strong, calm leadership rather than bribes and allowing resource guarding.

Now all I usually have to do is tell him to move and he does. He is still every bit Basenji AJ as he always has been, but he has ceeded the leadership/ownership position to me. Since we have come this far, now all I have to do is keep from setting him up…like leaving really tempting trash around for him to get into. He is, after all, just a dog and will do what dogs do.

[agilebasenji]

@Nemo:

Thanks, I wasn't thinking of your post particularly, I liked the drag line idea. But I think the key is that is used following asking the dog to move and the drag line should not be used independently for getting the dog to move. Right?

That's how I would do it. The leash is there as a safety tool. You try not to use it.

[Janneke]

@Nemo:

But say they growl at someone else but not you in the same situation. Should you physically move them then? I would say that down the road it could turn into a problem. Seems like asking would be the way to go in almost all situations. Or even if your dog has never shown any signs of issues like this, if you consistently move them versus ask them to move, I wonder if you are setting yourself up to creat this type of negative behavior in the future (dependent on the dog of course) as they get tired of you moving them around.

If Tillo would growl to a person, I wouldn't physically move him either.. But I'm lucky that he already knows that when I say he has to go, he really has to go.. and he listens to that very well.. I never made it 'normal' for him to use my couch and bed.. It's not his, so he doesn't need to protect it either. If he thinks I'm sitting too close, he goes to his own bed on the ground.. He's laying there know as well.. Lycia is laying next to me..

I wouldn't just move a dog around.. I think a dog will get tired of it.. I do pet the dogs when they are sleeping or I lay next to them.. But Tillo likes cuddles when he sleeps.. so I'm lucky with that too

It's not all that 'perfect'.. Tillo did growl to my mom when she tried to get him out of the garbage…...... Of course she couldn't call him away and she couldn't let him eat the garbage either... I told her to throw water over him if it would ever happen again.. Of course she also made sure Tillo can't get into the garbage