Screamer

Our dog "Peanut" is a Pomeranian, Schipperke mix. He screams so loud at people and other dogs. My wife and I have been unsuccessful in trying to control him. We can not take him anywhere without embarrassing ourselves, and offending other people, and pet owners. Please help us also. :confused:

Have you done a basic obedience class with him? How old is he?

Yes, he has gone through the basic training and did so-so. He is 12 now. Thanks so much for the reply.

How long has he been screaming? Describe two examples of what triggers the screaming? Also describe your dog's non-verbal communication during the screaming episodes? What have you tried to stop the screaming? If the behavior is new, what started the behavior? In order to help, you must be very detailed and willing to type in a long post.

If this is a new problem, what prompted it, do you know? What triggers it? Have you tried reinforcing that you are the "alpha dog," so after he alerts you, his job is done? How do you react when he "screams" now? If you just scream back, that's gonna reinforce it as desirable behavior.

And if this has been going on for 12 years, it's gonna talk some serious work to curb it now!

I had a similar issues with my chihuahua. He would cry and scream everytime i left the room. So I bought a cd thats made for sleep you can get them at wallmart or anywhere that sells cds. Anyway I would put him in his playpen before i left and turned the sleep cd on right before i left. he would cry for about 5 minutes then stop and settle right down. Maybe turning on a tv or radio so there is some nosie in the room. And lastly if you have someone else that is there have them hold her/him while you leave and talk in a soothing voice letting the dog know its ok and that you will be back soon.
Thats all I got hope it helps. If all of that fails i know that they sell plug in diffusers that can clam a pets nerves. Heres a link of what i'm talking about hope it all helps thats all i got
chi hugs---
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...&N=2026138&Ne=2

Maybe he is trying to drive other people and dogs away because he thinks they are to blame for any punishment he recieves as a result of his screaming.

The problem arises where a dog is being walked on a lead and another person or dog passes by and maybe your dog pulls towards them out of curiosity or other reason. Pups often go through a fear stage where they run up and bark at other people and dogs but don't actually go right up and attack. They usually turn and run away again with tails between their legs and they eventually grow out of it...provided the owner doesn't start reacting and teach the dog to get worse.

If you did anything unpleasant to the dog, no matter how slight, such as tightening the lead and maybe tugging on it a little or telling the dog off for pulling towards them, becoming anxious yourself etc...he will come to believe that he gets punished whenever other people or dogs pass by and this will make him want to drive them away quick when he sees them to try and avoid being punished again.
He doesn't realise he is being punished for his behaviour towards them, he thinks their presence alone is the reason.
If you start getting anxious when you see another person or dog approach, he will feel it and think you are being anxious about them and not about his behaviour and this will just reinforce his belief that they really are bad news.
If you tell him off, again, this does the same thing, he thinks you are joining in trying to drive the other person or dog away. In this case, you would actually be teaching him to become more aggressive rather than teaching him to stop being aggressive.

At his age, it might be very hard to change his view on these things but you need to start making the act of passing others a more pleasant experience for him. He needs to view the appearance of other dogs and people as a prelude to something good such as a treat or game with his fave toy. If he has a toy he loves, try to destract him from other dogs and people with that. If he does still have a go, keep calm and quiet but just hold firmly onto his lead but don't yank it or pull him about and keep walking at your usual pace.

Thanks for you reply.
We have tried everything for years, from the ole pennies in a can, to spray bttles, to shock collars. {I am ashamed to confess}

Not sure of his demeanor while screaming. Seems like just excitment from seeing someone, wanting attention perhaps. However, if it is a larger dog, he has been known to bust loose and begin fighting, even though he is only about 12-14lbs. Does not show any signs of fear.

Any situation where there is new people, other dogs, is when this always happens.

Ahaaa, I can bet the shock collar did the exact opposite to what you were hoping for. Thats what makes them so dangerous. The dog blamed the pain he experienced on the other people and dogs. No wonder he hates them so much.

No doubt he is trying to drive the other people and dogs away for the reasons I described above. If it was sheer excitement, he wouldn't attack other dogs when he managed to get loose. A dogs size has no bearing on whether they are afraid or not. I've had a tiny yorkshire terrier try attacking our Jess, a border collie...it regretted it. She didn't hurt it but she pinned it to the ground. It thought twice after that.

Yep. The shock collar was a very, vary bad idea. You have ingrained the behavior on the dog. You will need an animal behaviorist to help you here. To over come this will take patience and much work. I suspect we are dealing with a fear aggression, even though you don't see signs of fear. Many dogs don't exhibit what humans would detect as signs of fear. They show their fear in other ways that a trained professional would pick up on. You have used exactly the worst method to solve this problem. I don't mean to make you feel bad, but anyone who reads this needs to know for themselves for the future. Never, ever use a shock collar for outbursts such as this.

In fact, all of the things you've mentioned are horrible for this behavior. Pennies in a can, water bottle - all are punishments. This behavior needed exactly the opposite. You needed to do what is called "Classical Conditioning." Well, actually you did Condition, but instead of conditioning your dog to a positive response, you've conditioned your dog to a negative response. YIKES!

But, this can be helped to some degree, even at the dogs advanced age. What you will need to do is get an animal behaviorist to come and show you the steps. I wouldn't seek help over the internet or in books. (I think you've already done that, and this is the result). You need in person, one-on-one help by an "all positive" trainer or behaviorst. "All positive" is very important.

Good luck.

Thank you so very, very much. Sound advice, and admonishment. Changes to come.

Thank you all for your responses to my husband's question about Peanut. We appreciate your insights. A little more background:
We adopted him from an animal shelter when he was about 2 yrs old - he's half pom and half schipperke - He had been hit by a car and had a fractured hip. We were told that a highway patrol officer had found him injured and brought him in. The shelter vet gave him a temporary fix and neutered him at the same time. We fell in love immediately. He was very shy, limping, and extremely skittish. We fixed him up and found out on a walk that we had a screamer. It's a high-pitched cry; he lunges at the other dog. When we let both dogs close, he tries to put his paws on their back. He also is very aggressive with his hinny-sniffing which always irritates even the mildest of dogs. There are 2 times we can remember in 10 years that he played easily with another dog.
He did well at a couple dog training classes. There was one class in particular that I thought was too focused on choking him. When we tried the shock many years ago, we did it only once. I cringed, felt horrible and got rid of it immediately.
Our other 2 dogs, Tippie (Pomeranian) and Dixie (Schipperke) arrived 2 years before Peanut. They bossed him but he seemed happy knowing his place in the pack. We lost our little Schipp, Dixie this year and many other changes have occurred including moving. He gets along with our Pom, 13 yrs old and 3.5 lbs. She's always been the Alpha of all 3.
Peanut has now started screaming when he sees people. It scares them, but if they approach, he greets them with glee. He loves people at the door. I've been watching the Dog Whisperer and noticed that Caesar uses a slip collar high up behind the head. I tried this and because it holds Peanut's head up and forward I was able to walk normally past a boxer that was following us. This doesn't stop his agitation and he never fully recovered from his skittishness. We have always had to be careful not to touch him suddenly - he flinches every time. He also lately has been slipping, crawling onto my lap when fearful. This makes it difficult to see the keyboard on the laptop, which he is doing right now! If you still think there's nothing we can do ourselves, we will definately try a doggie shrink. I just want him to be happy.