Hi there to Frenchgirl and hubbie - Dixieland Dancer emailed me and I have read your posts on your problem. I haven't read anyone else's replies so if I repeat or totally go against someone else please understand that I have not read the other posts - also England are two nil up against Denmark in the World Cup (soccer) at the moment and it is VERY exciting so I may lose track now and then.........


OK - Your dog sounds like a love. His main problem is a confidence issue - both his and yours! He wants you to take care of him and tell him what he needs to do and yet he feels that you are not up to the job of being his leader so he is unable to follow instructions wholeheartedly.

I think you may be over compensating for his sad past and this is making his insecurity worse.....by making allowances and being too sympathetic you are making him feel that things are not alright (if you are making that much fuss then there MUST be something wrong!).

Why do you use a crate/cage/kennel? Your main problem goes away if the dog doesn't have to go in it.

How ever sweet this dog is you MUST be aware that it has the potential to bite and it is giving you the warning signals that say -"Back off or I am going to bite!" For this reason I advise you to leave a short lead on the dog while you are at home and especially in the evenings.

What the dog needs from you both is some VERY VERY strong leadership. The best way to give your dog what it needs is to act like strong Alpha wolf yourselves.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THREE ------NIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOHOOOOOOOO!
It's not even half time yet!!!!!

This is not as easy as you would think and goes against what you really WANT to do for the dog -

When the dog asks for affection and cuddles you want to make a huge fuss of him - I want you to not look at the dog, not talk to him, cross your arms and look at each other - talk directly to each other as though the dog was not there (it helps to have picked out a "Dog" subject that you can talk about). If the dog actually jumps on to you then one of you must take the lead and walk to the dog's bed (not crate!), leave the dog there and return to your seat BUT you must not talk to or look at the dog the whole time - carry on your conversation with each other.

The dog will intensify it's efforts to be noticed - you will have to continue to pretend the dog is not there for this to work. If you get up for a beer or a cup of tea walk in a straight line without looking at the dog - push the dog out of your way with your legs if you have to but do not look at it and do not go around it.
When you get to the point where the dog has stayed away from you for ten minutes and has been relaxed (lying down) then call the dog quietly to you - tell it to sit....if the dog sits give it a little treat if you like and a gentle fuss before telling it quielty to go to bed (not crate!)......if the dog does not sit DO NOT repeat yourself! Just turn away from the dog and ignore it again.

Never give the dog any attention at all when the dog asks for it - the dog is testing your leadership to see how safe it is trusting you as the pack leader. So far you are not doing so well..... this leaves the dog with no option but to take on the role of pack leader itself. The dog knows that it is no good at this job and is desperate for you to take the responsibility of leadership off its shoulders but feels very insecure as you do not lead strongly. Hence the conflict in the dog.

An alpha wolf has complete control of the pack and a really good Alpha just does not acknowledge most of what goes on in the ranks but chooses to reward with recognition those that really please him.

This theory can be carried through to every part of life but the most important times are feeding times, every time you enter a room the dog is in and , for your dog, the evenings.

I have rambled on for far too long so maybe someone can give a link to where I explain the feeding method? If not, let me know and I will explain again.

Anything you are unsure of please ask - I will check back a couple of times here but feel free to email me at [email protected]
if there is anything else I can help with.

I would be really interested to know why you are using a crate/cage/kennel and what your thoughts about it are - do you feel it is necessary or are you using it because it was the advice you were given?
Good luck.

Thank you Candy! Lots of love to you!