My dog has come a long way, but still growls when told to get off the couch, etc. What do you Suggest?

Question

Hello,

    Just wanted to say thanks....

    I sent you an email many months ago on some behavioral problems my 2 year old jack russell had, I purchased your basic dog obedience and training a competition heeling dog DVDs and they worked like magic...he obeys each and every command and I have a lot more control over him when dealt with distractions (especially a jack russell).

    The only thing that kind of remained from the behavioral issue was at times he would sneak and sit/lie down on our sofa, but when I would turn and look at him or come in to the room and notice him he would let out a growl and snarl, but when I would give the command OFF! he always obeys and comes off and automatically sits on the floor (but still lightly growling in the process). He knows he can't sit on the sofa because we would say no anytime he was ready to hop on it and off when he was already on it. The same happens when he gets caught jumping on the kitchen chair to investigate what is left on the table... but always obeys the command OFF!

    Also when he is in the crate and you come near him he growls but always obeys the command COME!! but still with a light growl as he is coming out. Although his head and ears are always down with his tail slightly wagging as he is lightly growling. Same thing kind of happens when we check him for fleas, a growl starts but when we say NO! he stops. Just wanted to get your opinion on this or suggestion of another DVD etc. This is 98% better than where it used to be. He wouldn't stop growling/snarling..stand his ground almost as if wanting to challenge me and never listen to any commands. I reinforced everything with your DVDs and he listens to every command but just a little stuck with the above.

    I want to ask you if the harnesses you sell are good for my jack russell and if so which one do you recommend. I would be interested in purchasing.

    Also which other DVDs/products you have, would you suggest...(for a jack russell) your personal protection or tracking DVDs..look very interesting. Do you think a jack russell would be decent at personal protection? I know they're small but they never seem to back away from anything.

    Any info would be greatly appreciated!!

    Thank you,
 Evan

Accepted Answer

Maybe you can try some marker training with him to make things like obeying commands a bit less stressful. I think he’s growling because he’s feeling a bit uncomfortable. It sounds like you have done a good job re-establishing yourself as his leader but he’s a little bit uneasy with the new structure.

Read the article titled Training With Markers. I would use markers and reinforce things like grooming and anything you can think of. Try to catch him being GOOD and then mark and reward with a favorite treat, something really special. If he starts to growl I would use a quiet NO, not too harsh and then if he stops and is quiet I would say YES and give him a reward. Believe it or not I have a horse that always has her ears back and she always looks ticked off. She doesn’t get aggressive with me, but she’s kind of pissy (for lack of a better term) I decided to start using marker training with her and would reward every time she looked “happy” with ears forward and a nice expression. I didn’t know if it would help or work, but I thought I had nothing to lose. Several sessions later and she is always making eye contact with me and has ears forward and a happy face. I don’t know if animals are like people in this way, but I know it’s hard to feel bad when I am smiling. :-)

As far as harnesses, I would suggest one of our adjustable nylon harnesses or the Sensation harness (if you want the harness for walking with him).

Here are the DVDs I recommend for tracking and personal protection. I think JRT would be great for personal protection, a friend of mine had a great little dog (he just passed away last year) that thought he was a big dog when it came to protection work. She actually showed him in Schutzhund competitions. :-)

I hope this helps!

Cindy

I hope this helps! Cindy