Mike:
I understand you're on a budget. I don't think you're a bad man cause you smacked the dog, it may be inefficient, but, in a pack dogs do worse to each other. You must, must, absolutely must realize the dog cannot relate to you like a person. Yes, your dog thinks you and your family are part of it's pack, but he sees you in terms his doggy brain is wired to understand. Think of it like this:
Tonight I kidnap you and take you to an army base, we all speak Krasnovian and expect you to understand. I've been speaking Krasnovian since I was a child, all of us here have been doing it as well, why the hell can't you figure it out when I speak slow and loud? You get yelled at and smacked for using the officer's latrine, which looks exactly like the enlisted latrine except for the sign that you can't read. Next time you use the women's latrine and really get smacked/yelled at. The next time you relieve yourself on a tree (you've been shown that latrines get you smacked) and are smacked for not using the latrine, except you don't know that, because I'm screaming at you in Krasnovian. Now you're afraid to go to the bathroom. Next time you relieve yourself in barrel of smelly chemicals (that's actually for weapons cleaning, except you can't read the sign, in Krasnovian). You see who you've decided is the leader, you don't know why, but you're pretty sure he and the people with him are coming to punish you. They OTOH all agree you look guilty, you look like you know what you did is wrong. Welcome to your dog's world.
A wise man would work quickly to learn about dog psychology, pack behavior, and Pavlov's dog. You must learn to communicate with your dog in terms his brain can deal with. He's got a little brain. Body language, inflection, and eye contact are huge in his world. He lives in the here and now, anything he did two minutes ago is forgotten. He lacks the ability to comprehend something that will happen two minutes from now. His brain is easily (sometimes too easily) programmed a la' Pavlov's dog. Conditioned response he remembers. OK, he doesn't remember, he reacts predictably to specific stimuli.
Leadership, your dog will always look for ways to become the pack leader. You need to be the pack leader. Everything he does; he does because it suits you. He doesn't get on the furniture, that for pack leaders. He eats after you, because food, and the feeding order is given at the pack leader's command. You need to be the alpha male, your wife the alpha female, your kids are beta, gamma and delta. The pooch is omega.
I suspect you've confused the dog to no end. He's allowed to bite you (the sleeve) and now he's not allowed to bite you. The dog needs a well regulated life and simple rules. It gives him a sense of security and comfort. Yes. he will push his boundaries trying to become pack leader, but he is also comforted in knowing that alpha male is in control.
The trainer you mentioned is training the dogs to perform rudimentary tasks in the shortest amount of time possible, it's not smart dog training, it's how many dogs can I force to sit, come, lay down and get me paid in the shortest amount of time possible.
1. Read about Pavlov and his dog as soon as you finish this.
2. Read up on crate training, your dog will thank you if he could.
3. Read lots about dog psychology and pack behavior/social structure.
4. You can smack your dog as much as you want, but, if he doesn't understand why he's being smacked, he'll become conditioned to lash out and hurt you before you can hurt him. I mean, wouldn't you take a swing at me or some other Krasnovian next time you've gotta pee?
Red Thomas
Mesa, AZ
Re: Some advice please
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