Quote: carol boche

You need to start telling yourself "I AM a pack leader".

i second this. i'm not sure if i was as tentative around teagan as you are w/sen, but when i adopted her i'd gotten used to luc, who's a complete suck and totally submissive. when she bit me in her....second week i think - i was taken aback, and hesitant to challenge her b/c i wasn't sure if i could do it and what would happen. but she's most definitely a dog that can't be allowed to walk all over you. so i started telling myself i was in charge, and i visualized, visualized, and visualized some more....and it made a huge difference, it sounds dumb, but b/c i had successfully and confidently done things in my head, i could successfully and confidently do them in real life. it made a HUGE difference....you can change how you think. i wasn't quite prepared for a dog like teagan, but you know what - i really enjoy her, even when she's challenging (mostly) b/c i feel confident now. it totally changed our relationship - it took time (3.5 months later, it's a process that sees improvement every day), but it really did work.

think of yourself as a pack leader, visualize, and you can do it

Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement!! I'm going to take a vacation day so I can watch the whole pack leader video at one sitting. I anticipate it will be very difficult for us. We are so PATHETICLY wrapped around our dogs' paws....we had a problem with two of our males trying to fight when someone came to the door and we always had our dogs sleep with us in our bed (5 large dogs and one small). So, when this problem came about, we didn't have the heart to not let one of them sleep with us so for three months my husband slept upstairs with one of the males and I slept downstairs with the other!!! I'm actually embarrassed to tell you that!!

 Quote: colleen safarowicz

I anticipate it will be very difficult for us.

Nah, you cannot think like that. It is not a gradual thing for you and your other humans, it is making the statement "I AM the pack leader and things WILL change" and then following through.

 Quote: colleen safarowicz

We are so PATHETICLY wrapped around our dogs' paws....we had a problem with two of our males trying to fight when someone came to the door and we always had our dogs sleep with us in our bed (5 large dogs and one small).

No more sleeping on the bed, for anyone. It is going to take some time but with a positive attitude and following through, your dogs should get it in no time.

 Quote: colleen safarowicz

So, when this problem came about, we didn't have the heart to not let one of them sleep with us so for three months my husband slept upstairs with one of the males and I slept downstairs with the other!!! I'm actually embarrassed to tell you that!!

Don't be embarrassed, it is okay. You are here and wanting to fix it and that is the most important part.
I have lots to work on with two of my dogs, but that is the great thing about this forum. We all have an issue at one time or another and everyone is great about helping out.

Support and encouragement about dogs is a wonderful thing when it comes from other dog people who have "been there" at one time or another.

PM sent to Coleen

Hello. I have another question relating to Sen's behavior. When I put him in his crate in the morning before I go to work, he is fine. Once I leave the room and come back, if I look at him or talk to him, he jumps at the crate barking. He is being nasty, I would NEVER put my hand in there when he is acting that way. When I come home from work he is in the crate and he barks in a completely different way until I come to his crate. Then he jumps up and sticks his head out (he has a giant crate and at the one end there is a small opening at the top )waiting for me to come and pet him and let him out of the crate. I can pet him, kiss him and all is fine. In the morning when he does that I ignore him and walk away and he stops. I can't figure out why he is acting that way and am I doing the wrong thing by ignoring him? Also, he does not sleep in his crate, he sleeps in the kitchen on a huge dog bed.

 Quote: Colleen Safarowicz

Hello. I have another question relating to Sen's behavior. When I put him in his crate in the morning before I go to work, he is fine. Once I leave the room and come back, if I look at him or talk to him, he jumps at the crate barking. .... I can't figure out why he is acting that way and am I doing the wrong thing by ignoring him?

No, you are doing the right thing by giving NO reward (including attention) to bad crate behavior. You can turn your back, in fact, on bad behavior, and then mark and praise/reward for the wanted behavior when it happens.

Timing is very important when you mark the wanted behavior.

Any idea why he would be doing this? Once I stuck my sleeve in there to see if he really would bite.....good thing it was just my sleeve. Out of that crate he is a baby, especially with me.

Because he thinks you will open the door, would be my guess.

And since you posted earlier that you have given in when he has done this in the past, his perception now is that it can work.... so keep upping the behavior until it does.

With many unwanted behaviors that the owner has rewarded in the past, it gets worse before it is extinguished.