alpha dog

[lovemyshiba]

My 11 month old Shiba Inu has unfortunately become our alpha. We are working with him to try to change that, and it's extremely frustrating. Does anyone have any suggestions other than going through doors ahead of him, feeding ourselves first, or dominating him by putting him in the "alpha roll"?
He's not a problem, and we love him, but it's hard when we have company or go out anywhere with him.

[KYS]

Not shure exactly what kind of training tips you want,
because excluding the alpa roll, the suggestions you made are good ones. I suggest you give him a command to do first
before you do things for him.

If he is not neutured,
that would be the first thing I would do.
As for training an alpha dog, unfortunately
that is an on-going process.
Remember that dogs are pack animals and look
for you for guidance if you are their alpha.
If you are lax about it, than you are sending mix signals.
If you possibly could give us an example, maybe we could come up with some good suggestions for you.

[G-Diddy]

My dog had some pretty bad dominance behavior when we first got her. In addition to what you mentioned our dog...
#1 Gets no human food whatsoever
#2 Is not allowed on any furniture
#3. Is not allowed on our bed (or in our bedroom for that matter, but that was a personal preference)
#4 Is never allowed to lay at a higher elevation (she used to run up the stairs, lay down and watch us. Apparently this is the doggie-equivalent of "lording over you."
#5 Commands are given once, and one time only, before she is expected to comply

We also got the book Leader of the Pack . I can't remember the authors but you can do a title search on Amazon.com and find it. It is basically a short, easy-read book on becoming the alpha. We found it helpful.

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks for the replies!!
We don't let him on any furniture--except the bed--we already made that mistake:rolleyes:
He doesn't get any human food--USUALLY--when my mother in law is here, or when we are at my parents' they feed him stuff--I will have to reinforce to them that it is very important not to do so!!

Thanks for the tips:)

[KYS]

Not sure who posted this web sight.
Even though it states for aggressive dogs, maybe
you will still find some helpfull ideas.


http://www.doggiedoor.com/doghouse/aggressq.shtml

[Dixieland Dancer]

All of the suggestions made are great. I would only add two things.

1. It is not too late to get your dog to sleep on the floor. Until the dog recognizes that you are alpha then it should not be on the bed. Put a dog bed or pillow on the floor and MAKE pup sleep there. This does not have to be permanent is you want pup to sleep with you. Only until it understands you are the boss. Even then you should always be the first in the bed and then INVITE the dog up. It should never be the one to get in bed first.

2. I find hand feeding the dog the most valuable tool in teaching the pup it is not the Alpha over me. I am the giver of all good things in pups life and if they don't respect that then they get nothing as a reward (including their kibble). I know this sounds harsh but it only takes a couple of skipped feedings (which do not kill the dog) to realize I better listen if I want food. Even the most stubborn dog complies with this method.

In hand feeding you have to work obedience into your routine. Take the amount of kibble the dog normally gets and put it in their bowl. Take a few pieces and give the dog an obedience command such as sit, down, come, etc. Something the dog already knows. I strongly recommend you go to obedience classes to teach these command to your pup.

IMMEDIATELY when pup does what you command give a verbal praise of YES or whatever word you want (make the word you choose consistent so the dog comes to realize it did what you wanted) and then give the kibble. Work the dog for about 10 minutes at each feeding and then place the bowl down so the dog can get the remainder. After a few short weeks you will see a very different dog who will get excited to work for you and appreciate you more for being the giver of all great things.

I also make the dog work before getting to play with it's balls or chewies or woobies. Once they understand they must listen to me then they are free to eat when they want (with an occassional refresher lesson) and play with whatever they want as long as the release it to me when I tell them to.

Good luck!

[Dixieland Dancer]

Ok... I forgot to mention one more thing. STOP THE ALPHA ROLL!!! More times than not when a dog shows alpha characteristics you do more damage doing this technique than in helping. Especially if you are are inexperienced in dog training.

You want to only use positive reinforcement such as the hand feeding and rewarding for desired behavior and ignoring undesired behavior instead of using the negative implications associated with the ALPHA ROLL. You will find that most experienced dog trainers who use positive training methods stay very far away from Alpha rolls.

[manda99]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer


1. It is not too late to get your dog to sleep on the floor. Until the dog recognizes that you are alpha then it should not be on the bed. Put a dog bed or pillow on the floor and MAKE pup sleep there. This does not have to be permanent is you want pup to sleep with you. Only until it understands you are the boss. Even then you should always be the first in the bed and then INVITE the dog up. It should never be the one to get in bed first.




How do I MAKE him sleep there? He will try to come up - do I just keep putting his paws on the ground and say NO?
He has his own special pillow now and I thought maybe he'd sleep on the ground w/ it but no, he still wanted in the bed. I put the pillow in the bed and he is at least using that to rest on instead of me... most of the time. Can I just do this for a bit and then move the pillow to the floor? Or should I do it now? Or forget the pillow? I just always feel bad and get frustrated and end up letting him sleep in the bed. And he will sleep on the floor if there's 2 of us in the bed but if it's me alone he's all over me. Which I don't mind but like you said, I want to invite him to do that. We've conquered the trash digging problem (so it seems) and this is the next thing I'd like to work on.
Any further suggestion or a link or something that might help?

Thanks so much.

-Amanda

[lovemyshiba]

Thanks for all of your advice concerning my dog. He is not too bad, and we are working with him. I always make him sit before feeding, and take away his toys until he "earns" something to play with or chew on. I do not do the alpha roll--that is why I was looking for other suggestions--it did not sound like anything I wanted to do with my dog, therefore I haven't and just was curious of other options. I believe some of the advice I have given here will work, and I am looking into obedience classes for him right now--it's tough to find someone here, the biggest place for training here I have heard that they guy is not nice to the dogs, and I don't want to go to him, so I am exploring some other options right now!!
Thanks again everyone:D

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by manda99



How do I MAKE him sleep there? He will try to come up - do I just keep putting his paws on the ground and say NO?


It will take time to readjust him to sleeping on the floor. You may do one of two things.

1. Keep putting him on the floor and gently petting him for a few minutes giving him a stay command. If he is ok with that then give him a verbal praise and a few pieces of tasty kibble for doing what was requested. When he goes to get in the bed, you give a firm NO and put him back on the pillow and then repeat the praise when he listens to the stay command. This will require patience and persistence but you should see results in a short period if you follow through and don't back down.

2. Move a crate into the room and put the dog in the crate. You may experience some whining at first but again patience and persistence are the key.

After the dog has learned you are master then if you want to invite him into the bed with you that is fine. It must always be at your descretion though and never the pups. Alpha dogs need to learn you are the boss in ALL situations!

[manda99]

OK we will start this tonight.
Thanks


Early bed time so I can spare the extra 2 hours trying to keep him settled on his pillow. :p

[mruffruff]

If you can't crate, maybe tie a leash to the leg of the bed. Just be sure the leash isn't long enough for the dog to jump on the bed anyway. Or tie it to a dresser nearby. In a couple of days the dog should get the idea.

Mary

[Debra]

Hi,
If I'm not mistaken Shiba Inus do tend to be a dominant breed. So I'm sure it's going to be a challenge establishing your alpha role, but I'm sure it can be done. You may want to try some obedience classes with a trainer who is experienced in training dogs with dominant traits. I think if you are consistant and firm and use the excellent advice on the previous posts you'll be successful.
Good luck! :)

[SamS]

I have a Golden Retriever who's an alpha dog too. He's 11 months old now and starting to settle down. He was neutered at 7 months old because he was starting to get too aggressive - not typical for a Golden. I've found that he really seems to boss my wife mostly, but that's because she gives into his demands. When he's too demanding, he thinks our attempts to control him is a game and barks at us. Things we've done are basic training - sit on command and down. Try keeping a leash on your dog in the house. It's easier to get control of them.

[weaselmouse]

I almost got a shiba inu...they are so beautiful, but boy are they wild! I think they are supposed to be Chinese guard dogs or something...? They do tend to be aggressive and adopt the alpha role. The puppy I was looking to adopt was adorable, but the minute I stuck my arm down in its pen it started attacking me and baring its teeth at me. That one obviously had an attitude problem, but it completely destroyed my interest in the breed. Good luck, and please share your results! That bed idea is wonderful. Kennel training also works extremely well!

[Debra]

WoW! Weaselmouse, it sounds like you made the right decision in passing on that Shiba Inu puppy. That's awfully aggressive for a young dog! Or maybe it was playing roughly? Did you get a chance to see the parents? I would be interested to know what type of personalities they had. If they tended to be overly aggressive then breeding them would be irresponsible. That's the type of traits you don't want to continue in offspring.