Hello everyone. We have a 9 month old scent hound (part foxhound). I’ve done some basic obedience with him using markers. He pulled when we walked so I got a prong collar when he turned 7 months old.

He loves to play with other dogs, and we recently met a female Golden who’s about 1-2 months older than him. They have a lot of fun playing together, chasing one another, swimming, etc. We get together maybe once a week.

A couple of days ago we met and as soon as my dog spotted her he started behaving like a maniac. He didn’t have a prong (flat), but he was heeling fine before we met. As soon as they met, no more heeling, pulling like crazy and out of control.

They played for about an hour. It was one hour of pure intense play. Running, swimming, you name it. I thought he would be exhausted. After all, the main reason I take him to play with that dog is because I feel he gets way more exercise compared to a 40 minute walk with me.

When we left, my dog got out of control once again. He started howling, pulling, and wanted to be close to the female. When my friend stopped so her dog could drink some water, I put my dog in a sit/stay and even though he sat, he was howling and barking like crazy and kind of moving backwards while he remained seated.

I kept saying no, but he wasn’t really paying attention to me. My friend, who knows a little about training, told me that he was over exited, but that at least he was paying ‘some’ attention to me. For example, he was putting everything in his mouth on our way out, and when I said leave it he dropped the object, but then put it right back in his mouth.

This is not the first time this has happened. It also happened one time he saw a cat while we were on a walk. I had a prong on him when this occurred, and he corrected himself, yelped when the prong did its job, but then kept lunging forward.

Should I correct him this young? I’ll be honest, I felt like I needed help with this dog, and my friend agreed when I mentioned it to her. He’s a very dominant dog even though I’ve tried to do everything to become his pack leader.

I’m sure some will want more details, so if there’s anything I didn’t make clear I’ll be glad to fill you in.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hate to bump my own thread, but I'm not sure why I haven't got an answer yet. Did I post this in the wrong forum? Does a dog have to be aggressive in order to be dominant?

Would love some guidance. Thanks.

Well, it sounds like you might need more groundwork.

http://www.google.com/custom?domains=leerburg.com&q=groundwork&sa=Google+Search&sitesearch=leerburg.com&client=pub-9352112989043417&forid=1&channel=8149920423&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&flav=0000&sig=XaJqMPqToCkex0QJ&cof=GALT%3A%23333366%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23999999%3BVLC%3A336633%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFF9900%3BALC%3A333366%3BLC%3A333366%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A666666%3BGIMP%3A666666%3BLH%3A86%3BLW%3A100%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.leerburg.com%2FPhotos%2Fheadlogo.jpg%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.leerburg.com%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1&hl=en


Also, please don't "keep saying no." What happens is that you teach the dog that "no" is just background noise and means nothing to him personally. An unheeded "no," IMO, has to be followed with a correction.

I think that you are on the right track when you give a command (sit or down)..... I find it much more effective to give a command to do something we want than to keep giving commands NOT to do something we don't want.

Connie:

So you're saying he should get a correction for this behavior? Not sure I made myself clear, but on that specific day I didn't correct him because he didn't have his prong.

If I understand correctly, next time this happens I'll ask him to sit, and after he does, either if he breaks the sit command or if he starts behaving like a maniac, I should say no, followed by a correction with the prong collar.

If this is the case, how strong should the correction be? Hard enough so that he stops this behavior would be my guess?

By the way, I've read Mr. Frawley's articles, ebooks, watched The Dog Whisperer and I always try to do what they advise. He's crated, doesn't have free access to the whole house, is asked to sit before exiting doors, and all those things.

Edited by Bud Black (10/04/2007 02:34 PM)
Edit reason: Added last paragraph

 Quote: Bud Black

Connie:

So you're saying he should get a correction for this behavior? Not sure I made myself clear, but on that specific day I didn't correct him because he didn't have his prong.

If I understand correctly, next time this happens I'll ask him to sit, and after he does, either if he breaks the sit command or if he starts behaving like a maniac, I should say no, followed by a correction with the prong collar.

If this is the case, how strong should the correction be? Hard enough so that he stops this behavior would be my guess?

Well, I can only tell you how I see it:

I teach with markers; I do a thorough distraction phase (which was what you were facing in the situation described: a huge distraction); and THEN I correct for non-compliance. Not before. If I am 100% certain that the dog understands the command, and that he understands it everywhere and not just, say, in our backyard, then the dog is corrected for not complying.

http://www.leerburg.com/corrections.htm

This dog doesn't sound so much dominant as excited.

Also.....welcome to the world of Hounds.

Hounds, from my experience (I currently have two, one at 100# and one at 70# and growing) are pretty vocal and boisterous when they are excited.

When my pup gets this way, I remove him from the situation a ways and we work on basic obedience stuff. I move closer and closer to what was originally making him excited.

It does not sound like your pup is dominant, just eager. Which is a good thing.

Working on groundwork is an excellent way to help teach the dog that it is okay to be eager, but that you are in control of his eagerness.
Connie is correct in the advice of not saying "NO" all the time, and when you do allow him to go and "be a dog", be sure to give him a release command to teach him that this command means he can go do what he would like to do. I use "free dog" now. I used to use "okay" but if you think about how many times you say "okay" in a general conversation with someone, you may accidentally release your dog when you don't mean to.



I would have offered some advice sooner, but I missed this thread for some reason.

 Quote: carol boche

....
be sure to give him a release command to teach him that this command means he can go do what he would like to do. I use "free dog" now. I used to use "okay" but if you think about how many times you say "okay" in a general conversation with someone, you may accidentally release your dog when you don't mean to....

Dang, but that's good advice.

I do use "okay," and I have used it by mistake.

YEAH...retraining the command is the toughest part though......

All but the hounds got it fairly quick, but them dang hounds is stubborn....

Thanks you two for your advice.

I will try what you both said next time. I do use a release command (I use ok as well).

And yes, hounds are very loud, which is cute and funny once in a while.

Other times you wish they were mute, lol.

Just a question. Is this the first time he has acted like this with the other dog? Maybe she is coming into heat?

I wonder if removing him as someone suggested, would help. It's sort of what I do with my dogs. If they act like idiots when i go to let them outside, I don't open the door until they are calm. They learn QUICK not to jump all over each other if they want to get outside.

So if your dog starts acting like an idiot, be like, "if you can't act civil, we're going home". And then turn around and go home, or make him sit until he is calm, release, and repeat as often as necessary. Kind of like you would do with a child. "If you don't behave, you can't have any ice cream".