puppy alpha behavior?

[bella_bc_husky]

Hello…

 

I am new on this forum and am pulling my hair out trying to search for answers to my BC’s behaviors. I’m sure this question is seen quite frequently, and I have tried several approaches to correction, but I don’t seem to be making progress…

 

A little background: my husband and I adopted our border collie / husky mix at the end of December 2008 as a 2 month old puppy. We got through potty training and basic commands ok, and now she is about 9 months old. We have noticed that she has been EXTREMELY stubborn (the husky in her) with the things she doesn’t wish to do – whether it’s coming in from outside, listening the first time, etc. Basically, if it’s not in her best interest, she puts up a fight.

 

Not only does she give my husband a hard time once in a while, she WILL NOT listen to me whatsoever. She thinks she is the boss over me and will go against what I tell her to do. She came in this morning from outside after I called her for 15 minutes. She will take something after she is told “no”. She shows food and toy aggression to me even though I have hand-fed her for a while, given her treats in her bowl, etc. I am afraid of what she is capable of doing, especially because I have younger kids here once in a while – I don’t want them to accidentally cross the line and have her snap at them.

 

We have recently had experience with another husky / collie mix… we lost ours to a hit-and-run before we got Bella. Being mostly husky, she was stubborn, but nothing like I have ever seen with Bella, who is mostly BC and part husky. I have heard that obedience training is beneficial, but I have had someone come to the house to work on training with Bella and she stuck her nose up at the trainer too. I don’t want to spend a fortune on training and not get anywhere with it. She can’t focus on one thing for longer than a few seconds at a time and goes from one thing to the next as she pleases.

 

My question is, without actually taking her to an obedience class (I am currently out of work for the summer and money is tight), what more could I be doing to show my dominance over her? Is this typical behavior for a BC? How can I show her that she is not the boss of the house? Will this diminish once she gets closer to adulthood?

 

Thank you in advance!!

[Sue R]

I am sure some folks will post to give you some specifics to help you with Bella. The little I can offer includes remembering that Bella is right in the middle of dog adolescence - that alone should tell you that this may be a very trying time but shortly she will be more mature and much easier to live with - if you are able to be fair, firm, understandable, and consistent with your training now (and let's face it, you have been training her for seven months already - some of your problems may be deep-seated bad habits at this point, and will need training and management to overcome).

 

In addition, I don't like hearing the word "dominance" to describe what your goal should be (IMO). I think the goal for any animal owner should be "mutual respect" but realizing that you are the one in charge and not the animal. Maybe it's semantics, but I think it speaks volumes when we use a word that might connote something other than what we really want to accomplish.

 

You have to be willing to be smarter than and more persistent than Bella, and manage her so that she is not able to disrespect you or ignore your commands. If she won't come in when you call, then she doesn't go out without being on a leash or a long line. If she ignores your command (and only say it once - repeating it over and over just teaches her to ignore it, like a nagging parent who says something over and over but never does anything about it), then reel her in or walk her down (try the search function on the top of the page for discussions on both "long line" and "walking down"). Remember to use gloves if she's prone to run from you and you have the line in your hand, or put knots in it at intervals and you can "catch it" with your foot and avoid a rope burn if she's running.

 

If she takes things when you have said "no", make sure she understands your command. A "leave it" command is helpful and there are discussions that have included information on techniques for that. In addition, if there is something she should not have, then it is your responsibility to make sure she can't get it - put it up (way up), put it away, use her crate if you can't be supervising her, and so on. The old saying is something along the lines of once is a mistake, twice is shame on me - or something like that. Management is a key part of taking control of the situation, not "dominance".

 

There is also a training philosophy called "nothing in life is free" (also NILIF) and you can find that easily with the search function or a Google search. It may be helpful in this case.

 

In terms of aggression, I know people can give you an opinion over the internet, but nothing takes the place of hands-on assistance from a capable and qualified animal behaviorist. Some folks on this board can make recommendations if they have an idea of where you are located, and some behaviorists will do some "long range" consulting with the help of videos, interviews, and so on.

 

We can make generalities about breeds but within each breed, each animal is still an individual. It's hard to lose a loved dog and find another "similar" animal, only to discover that the new animal is really not terribly much like the first, or only shares certain characteristics.

 

I noticed your RIP for Denali - when I was helping with puppy and family dog classes in Morgantown WV, a wonderful young couple had a Border Collie/Husky mix female named Denali. She was lovely and I certainly hope you are not that young couple and that sweet and loving dog. Either way, you have my heartfelt condolences.

[Shetlander]

Great post, Sue. I also wouldn't be looking at these behaviors in terms of dominance, but rather in terms of needing to provide leadership, training, management, and activities/exercise which are all part of building a strong bond with our dogs. Do not let her practice the behaviors you don't want such ignoring a recall or resource guarding. You can train without going to class and there are lots of fun, motivational ways to train a dog to have good manners and understand commands like no, leave it, drop it, give, come, sit, down, stay. Nothing In Life Is Free is a great approach for a strong minded, smart girl like yours. Do some searches on these boards and also Google for these topics. Sorry to hear you are out of work this summer but at least that gives you some extra time to work on training Bella to be the kind of dog and companion you and others love to have around.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I agree with Sue. Sounds like she's right smack dab in the middle of adolescence. I would highly recommend finding a positive trainer and taking obedience classes, but if cash is tight, there are things you can do in the mean time. Jean Donaldson has some wonderful books, that aren't overly expensive...if you can swing for at least one of them, I would suggest "Mine". That might give you a little more insight into the resource guarding she's showing with you. If it takes you 15 minutes to get her to come, I would suggest changing your recall word. It obviously does not work and it's been "soiled" so to speak. Like Sue said, do a search and you'll find tons of recent threads on the recall topic. LOTS of great advice in a couple of the most recent ones. NILIF is a great resource for a hard headed pup. You should continue hand feeding her for every meal, every day and you might want to consider tethering her to you for an hour or so every day. It's not the end all be all, but I've definitely see good things happen with these two actions. She will become more in tune with you and your actions and you'll notice her paying more attention to you. What kind of training methods have you tried that aren't working?

good luck

julie

[PSmitty]

I agree totally with Sue. Can't stress enough to stop thinking of your puppy's willfulness as her trying to be "alpha" or "dominant". She is young and testing her boundaries at that age. Please Google NILIF and put her on a program like that. It just means that she must work for or earn freedom, treats, playtime, etc. You must take time daily, several times a day and work on training. Sits, downs, and recalls. Make this fun and positive, using rewards that she finds valuable, whether it's food or toys. Once she knows the command, then you incorporate it into everything she does. If you're going to let her out the door, she must sit for you first. If you're going to feed her, make her lie down before you give her the bowl. The idea is that YOU control all the resources and everything is on YOUR terms. If she brings you a ball to throw, make her sit, then play with her.

 

There is no way you should have stood outside and called her for 15 minutes. You're only teaching her to ignore you until she's ready to come in! You need to work on teaching her a good recall. Make it fun and positive, so that coming to you means good things. Once she knows and understands what "come" or "here" means, then when you call her and she ignores you, you must go get her. Have a leash in your hand, and when you get to her, leash her up and walk in. Don't give her the opportunity to blow your command off. This is all assuming she knows the command, of course. You can do a search on this board on "walking down a dog". It's a method of dealing with dogs who ignore a recall. Usually after being walked down a few times, they start to respond better to a recall. As I'm sure you're aware, a recall is the single most important thing you can ever teach your dog.

 

In your other thread you mention her being destructive when left alone outside. She should never be left alone long enough to be destructive. You are just creating a monster that way...if you can't supervise a puppy, then she should be crated or in a dog proof place with a bone or Kong to keep her occupied. Puppies need structure, routine and training along with bonding and affection with you.

 

I don't know if she's really got husky in her, shelters are often just guessing at breed mixes. I know huskies have a reputation for being headstrong. But don't accept her breed as a reason for her behavior, you CAN end up with a well behaved, well adjusted puppy, I promise! It just takes work and commitment, and I'm sure you're up for the challenge. Good luck!

 

 

ETA some stuff about recall.

[bella_bc_husky]

Wow, what a great range of replies!

 

I do admit, "dominance" wasn't really the word I was looking for... it was more just a word I chose for a lack of the correct one that I was looking for at the time. It seems that she has calmed down even a bit since I have written the post - she is definitely going through her adolescent phase. We're trying to be as consistent with her training as possible, and unfortunately when she was a younger puppy, we had a roommate who went against everything that we were teaching her. I think that was what started us off on the wrong foot and confused her the most, and now we're just trying to get her back on track.

 

She has been much better on her commands, although sometimes she hesitates. When she does that, I put my foot down and cross my arms and she follows through most of the time. I've started saying the command only once (thanks for the tip) and if she doesn't respond right away, I go to that. (Does that sound like a good response from my end?)

 

She does know a handful of commands - "leave it", "no", etc. works well - she is getting great at knowing her boundaries. I was just noting today that I had my lunch on the coffee table and she walked by, sniffed once and I said "no" and she went on her way. Another huge landmark is the other week when she was outside playing. I called her in and noticed she was playing with a bee (in her mouth!). I said "leave it!" once, and she took one last look at it and walked away. Hooray! We also do a lot of NILIF already - sitting before she gets something such as a door open or waiting for her dinner (done that since she was REALLY young - one of the best things we've taught her!) - but I'm sure there is even more that we could do on top of what we already do.

 

I just wanted to update you all (and sorry that this has been so long!) on how progress is going... the first post I wrote was a lot out of frustration and we both needed to take a step back to see where we stood with each other. I do think she has some depression from when she was young - she was in a kill shelter out west somewhere - every once in a while she just looks sad and mopey.But now she is starting to learn how her daily routine goes and what is expected of her, and has come such a long way even from that post. She definitely does have Husky in her though, and the mix of breeds is a giant challenge. Your tips have been wonderful and I would have never known some of this information about this challenge, and we continue to work with her to make her a very obedient adult!

[bella_bc_husky]

I noticed your RIP for Denali - when I was helping with puppy and family dog classes in Morgantown WV, a wonderful young couple had a Border Collie/Husky mix female named Denali. She was lovely and I certainly hope you are not that young couple and that sweet and loving dog. Either way, you have my heartfelt condolences.

 

 

Sue,

 

Our Denali was just a Collie/Husky mix... although that's really strange how coincidental that is. She really was a sweet and loving dog, and we miss her so much... we lost her less than a month after moving into our new house when she finally had a fenced in back yard to some idiot speeding down the street in a hit and run. She was just over 3 1/2 years old and we got to spend 2 wonderful (but short) years with her. It's amazing how attached you become to your pets; it felt as though we had lost a member of our family. Thank you so much for your condolences.