Skip to content

Dominant Male against humans

Behavioral Issues
  • I am concerned. We have two basenjis. The female, Stella, was a pet store dog who just turned 1 in late November. The male, Buster, we rescued through BRAT back in October. Buster has always had some separation issues, wherein he would try to grab our leg or arm (what ever was closest) to either keep us from leaving or from leaving him behind. We understood why, and have been working with him on that and he has made some improvement. Recently, he was sleeping in our bed (which is normal) and I went to push him over to make room (which has never been a problem), and he growled and bit me (pretty hard I might say). Luckily enough I had a sweatshirt on and he did not break the skin, but he left a large bruise on my arm. I don't want to return him to BRAT, he is usually such a sweetheart! Any suggestions with what to do about this?

  • I read somewhere that the first thing to do when dealing w/ dominance issues is to make the dog sleep on the floor - not on the bed. When I first got Tayda she was having some territorial issues and made her sleep on the ground. It took a few days becuase everytime I'd push her off she'd jump right back on, but after about the 5000th time, she gave up and slept on the floor….

    where in ct are you? I just moved to Wethersfield about 6 months ago!

  • Thank you. We've tried the pushing off the bed too. And you're right, he just keeps coming back up. For a while, he would wait till we were asleep, and then come up (we would find him on the bed in the morning ).

    We're in Branford.

  • Well, I would start by not pushing him right now. He has shown you that he WILL bite to protect his space. I agree with the above post, he needs to sleep somewhere other than the bed, until he can earn bed privledges back. But you will need to do some ground work training so that you can ask him to get off the bed/couch/ whatever and reward him when he cooperates. And set it up so he can just go get on the bed whenever he wishes.

    Finding a good behaviorist, or positive reinforcement trainer who has worked with independant minded dogs would be a great idea.

  • I think he might benefit from "Nothing In Life Is Free". Start making him work for his priviledges. Does he know basic commands like sit and down? If so, ask him to sit before getting things like his dinner, going out the door, or even being given permission to get on the couch or bed. If he doesn't know basic commands, look into a good positive reinforcement obedience class.

    http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/leader.html
    http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

  • Yep, a little time learning that the bed is a priviledge might help. Also you may want to have a full thyroid panel done just to help rule out medical reasons for bad behavior.

    There are some dogs that just don't do well when woken up quickly too. Make sure you talk to him before you go to move him to let him know you're planning on doing something. And you could use it as a positive training opportunity. Ask him to move and give him a cookie when he does. If he thinks he might get a cookie, there's more incentive to having to move over.

  • In addition to the above (especially the part about bringing in a trainer/behaviorist!) you may want to attach a 4 foot leash to a noncorrective collar while he is in the house. This way if you need to move him, you can do so without getting bit.

  • Thank you so much for your help! I was talking to my husband about Buster. He and I are working on some of the things that you all have suggested (i.e. not letting him on the bed, making him sit before doing anything). What is nice is that prior to this event, I always talked to Buster before doing anything, so we aren't changing everything in his routine.

Suggested Topics

  • 0 Votes
    14 Posts
    3k Views
    auryA
    @zande thanks I will send you all the info 😊
  • 0 Votes
    9 Posts
    9k Views
    CrazySenjiC
    Most of my friends who end up getting a second dog from my breeder go for the opposite gender. Well, pretty much everyone! Since you are flexible about the gender that might be the way to go! I knew I wanted two boys (and maybe a third some day!) and the breeder had no problem letting me have two because A) he was my third dog from him and B) he knew I could handle it. I can't wait to see pictures when you get that new baby!
  • Annoying… humans

    Behavioral Issues
    12
    0 Votes
    12 Posts
    4k Views
    ThanaT
    !!! thanks everyone !!!! :)
  • Aggressive 13 Year Old Male

    Behavioral Issues
    39
    0 Votes
    39 Posts
    15k Views
    W
    Thanks for the advice. It may be worth a try.
  • 3rd,,,Male or Female???

    Behavioral Issues
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    L
    We had the exact same situation. Our female was mostly Alpha, but since they were siblings, our male exhibits some Alpha traits at times and they are kind back and forth. We ended up getting another girl which I think will end up being the Alpha, but I am not sure if it matters that much in the end since everything will be out of whack until they get the order settled themselves.
  • Males behaving badly

    Behavioral Issues
    2
    0 Votes
    2 Posts
    2k Views
    QuercusQ
    Getting Smitty neutered should help some. Remember now is the crankiest time of year for basenjis…everyone is in reproduce mode! I agree with separating them at feeding time. At least until you everyone gets used to each other and sorts out their place in the pack. To some extent, I think it is important to let Smitty and Ramsey work it out...but not to the point of drawing blood. Ramsey probably feels threatened by a new guy in the picture. I wouldn't be quick to reprimand one or the other for growling either. It is hard to know exactly what is going on during an interaction, and you wouldn't want to reprimand at the wrong time...kwim? If you step in and reprimand right as Smitty was about to submit, you could keep delaying (or escalating) the situation. If you think things are about to get out of control, separate and crate them both for a few minutes. Often that is enough for them to forget what they were angry about. I also do 'cooperative feeds' with mine when I am having an issue. Both dogs have to sit politely and I take turns feeding out treats to the offenders. But, beware...they need to be trained to do this first before you would want to try it with two animals that might fight over treats. It helps if you have another person to train and treat each dog when you first start. Another technique that sometimes works is to simply get up, and step in between the dogs before things get out of hand. Usually, a stern 'knock it off' will help, if you can deliver it BEFORE they actually start fighting. Good luck, I hope everything settles down soon.