Does anyone train dogs?

[chibichibi01]

I need some advice. I have a Pomeranian who is food aggressive towards people, but only when you touch /him/ not the food. He also shows no remorse when caught doing something bad. It's not "Oh no, the people are mad at me." It's "Oh shit, i got caught."

Does anyone have any tips on how to curb the aggression? I've been dumping him on his back and growling, but all that's gotten me is bitten and bleeding fingers.

[Julie]

Well, if the dog whisperer is to be believed, it has to do with your energy and body-language towards the dog (at least in part). If you expect or anticipate certain reactions, it's likely that your body tenses up a little in preparation for those reactions...which incites the aggressive behavior. I know that this kind of thing has gotten me in trouble with cats (I'm twitchy as hell around cats after living with Satan's cat for a few years...now I get them in attack-mode without even trying).

I've also heard that pulling away when a dog bites makes it more likely that they will go after the body part they bit. It apparently triggers the "chase prey" instinct. It seems to be true with our little 3 month old beagle. We're trying to train her not to bite or chew on people (since she's teething), and if you pull away, she will "chase" the hand or foot and try to bite it again.

I'm not a professional trainer or anything though. I'm just learning how to train my little one, and these are some of the things that I learned that seem to help. Not sure if any of this really applies to your situation though. Also, I don't know what to say about the "no remorse" part of your problem.

[foilgirl82]

Hi,

So sorry you have to deal with this. Aggressive dogs are no fun, for sure.

I've trained my own dogs for the past 10 years, including a dog-aggressive St. Bernard. I also worked at a municipal animal shelter for 3 years & as a vet tech for another 2 years. Dog training is a favorite hobby of mine, but I'm not a pro.

My first advice would be to get hands-on help. A dog who's drawing blood is beyond internet advice, IMO. I think you need someone there who can see everything that's going on.

I think Dog Whisperer techniques are fine for Cesar Milan, but they tend to translate poorly to people who aren't... well, Cesar Milan. In my experience, putting an aggressive dog on its back just escalates the aggression. I've heard of it working once, but mostly I just hear about people getting bitten or the dog becoming more aggressive.

You should check out www.mysmartpuppy.com. It's a great website run by an experienced trainer, as well as folks from pro trainers, to people who compete in dog sports, to total newbie owners. Everyone is really nice and helpful. They can at least help with some basic advice, and maybe refer you to a good trainer in your area.

Also, check out some books by Patricia McConnell. She's an experienced trainer w/ a PhD in applied animal behavior. She used to do a radio show, & she teaches some classes at the UW Madison vet school. I like "The Other End of the Leash". Jean Donaldson's "Mine!" is also good, and probably the best book for your situation. That one is all about resource guarding.

Kudos to you for trying to solve the problem. I hope this helps.