# my puppy is trying to dominate me



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)

hi my american bulldog has been trying to dominate me. She has got a lot better over the few weeks but now and again she will try her luck. She is fine with my boyfriend but as soon as he used to leaves the room she'd bark at me and go for me. 
Any good tips on how to stop this? 
Iv been watching a lot of the dog whisper and do that certain noise what he uses, it works quite well. I just want to get it sorted now, other than her been fully grown and trying her luck!


----------



## Jugsmalone (Apr 11, 2011)

leanne562 said:


> hi my american bulldog has been trying to dominate me. She has got a lot better over the few weeks but now and again she will try her luck. She is fine with my boyfriend but as soon as he used to leaves the room she'd bark at me and go for me.
> Any good tips on how to stop this?
> Iv been watching a lot of the dog whisper and do that certain noise what he uses, it works quite well. I just want to get it sorted now, other than her been fully grown and trying her luck!


Please Leanne ditch the dog whisperer. Your dog is not trying to dominate you.

How old is she? I can't remember from your other thread.


----------



## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Firstly your dog is not trying to dominate you.

Despite what the "dog whisperer" claims, dominance theory has been long-since disproven. Please understand that Cesar Milan is unqualified, and most of what he says about dog behaviour is totally at odds with the scientific community of qualified behaviourists and trainers. (His methods are also inhumane and potentially dangerous!)

If you tell us a bit more about what the problem is we can try to help you...

What exactly is the dog doing that you don't like? When, how, etc. the more detail the better.

If she is hitting the dreaded "kevin" stage (ie becoming a teenager) then she may well be getting more confident and bolshy, testing her boundaries. This has nothing to do with dominance, just normal adolescent behaviour, and patience and consistency are the key to getting through it.


----------



## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

I would recommend to anyone The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey - you can get it from Amazon. 

More likely trying to ask you "where's he gone then"


----------



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)

Shes 12 weeks on sunday. 
Now and again she will bite at my legs, hands, feet and bark at me as though she wants to attack me. She will do it about twice a day. Normally when my bf has walked out of the room or if im sat eating etc. She also does it with my 4 year old son when hes eating. As soon as i stand up she normally stops. 
My other half said she is trying to dominate me and my son as she doesnt do this with him.
Generally she is such a good dog, she loves nothing more than snuggling up with us. I just want to get her out of this 'attack' mode as we want a loving, non aggresive dog.


----------



## Jugsmalone (Apr 11, 2011)

leanne562 said:


> Shes 12 weeks on sunday.
> Now and again she will bite at my legs, hands, feet and bark at me as though she wants to attack me. She will do it about twice a day. Normally when my bf has walked out of the room or if im sat eating etc. She also does it with my 4 year old son when hes eating. As soon as i stand up she normally stops.
> My other half said she is trying to dominate me and my son as she doesnt do this with him.
> Generally she is such a good dog, she loves nothing more than snuggling up with us. I just want to get her out of this 'attack' mode as we want a loving, non aggresive dog.


You need to train your dog in bite inhibition. Have a look at the following link that deals with training your dog bite inhibition.

Bite Inhibition for Puppies - Puppy Training Bite Inhibition

Your dog is not trying to dominate you. He is just a normal pup that needs some training.

HTH and if you need any further help, just ask


----------



## toryb (Jul 11, 2011)

Our pup is 5 months old and we get a fair bit of mouthing/napping/jumping up etc etc and we also have young children (5, almost 3 and just turned 1)...when she nips/mouths we use a firm 'NO' and turn our backs on her...the two older children do the same and I just have to watch her with the baby like a hawk!! When she nips/mouths we dont make a fuss but the firm 'NO' and give her one of her soft toys and then turn away.


----------



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)

thankyou very much i will have a good look at that link! 
its weird when she does it its not like her normal nipping, puppy behaviour, its like shes trying to push her boundaries or something. I dont mind it when she does nip as all puppies do it and she does listen when told no firmly! And if she hurts by nipping and i say ow firmly she knows straight away she has hurt us and looks all sorry looking.


----------



## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

leanne562 said:


> Shes 12 weeks on sunday.
> Now and again she will bite at my legs, hands, feet and bark at me as though she wants to attack me. She will do it about twice a day. Normally when my bf has walked out of the room or if im sat eating etc. She also does it with my 4 year old son when hes eating. As soon as i stand up she normally stops.
> My other half said she is trying to dominate me and my son as she doesnt do this with him.
> Generally she is such a good dog, she loves nothing more than snuggling up with us. I just want to get her out of this 'attack' mode as we want a loving, non aggresive dog.


She has spent 3/4 of her life with playmates who thought it was perfectly acceptable to bark at each other and bite each other. This is what puppies do, nothing to do with dominance or aggression


----------



## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

leanne562 said:


> Shes 12 weeks on sunday.
> Now and again she will bite at my legs, hands, feet and bark at me as though she wants to attack me. She will do it about twice a day. Normally when my bf has walked out of the room or if im sat eating etc. She also does it with my 4 year old son when hes eating. As soon as i stand up she normally stops.
> My other half said she is trying to dominate me and my son as she doesnt do this with him.
> Generally she is such a good dog, she loves nothing more than snuggling up with us. I just want to get her out of this 'attack' mode as we want a loving, non aggresive dog.


Shes not trying to dominate you, likely it is attention seeking. They do it usually when they are bored and want attention or you have something usually food that they want. Pups in the litter bark, bite, chase and mount each other in play and to instigate play so that is likely why she is going it.

Any form of attention will reward the behaviour, looking at her and saying no is a form of attention. The best way round it is to give her nothing for behaviour you dont want and make behaviour you do want rewarding. In a dog whats rewarded is repeated.

Start going some training with her, getting her to sit and wait for things is a good start, and then add other things like down and stay. You only need to so 2 or 3 10/15 minute sessions a day. Also make her sit and wait before she gets anything in general her toy, her food etc.

When she does bark at you or nip, fold your arms turn your back and as you are turning say OFF, stay turned until she has stopped and stayed calm for a minute or two. Then get her to sit and reward with a treat. You can even just walk away once you have turned away and leave her to calm down, then call her too you ask her to sit and treat. You may need to repeat it, but eventually with repetition she should get it.

If she is too bad anytime and wont stop, pop her in another room, leave her to calm down, then let her out, but ignore a little longer, if she stays calm then call he get her to sit and reward with a treat. if it starts up again then, pop her back out.

Can she go out Yet? If so make sure you exercise her, an exercised dog who has got rid of excess energy will be more likely settle. Same with the training sessions it mentally and physically tires them so they are more likely to rest.
Does she sleep at all in the day? Fast growing pups should have periods of rest they need it. Ones that get over tired get grouchy and more likely to exhibit bad behaviour like a human toddler. Does she have access to you all the time you are in? if so again she need to start learning self amusement and to rest on her own.

In between the training and short walks, leave her alone with her bed and wind down acitivities, like Kongs, Treat Balls or toys, puppy safe chews. She
will likely amuse herself with the toy and them have much needed rest periods.

Try to avoid your son playing roughouse games especially on the floor at her level. This can encourage wild rough play and biting even more, swop instead for more structured games with toys. Getting her to sit maybe before throwing a ball for example. This should wear her out and get rid of excess energy too.


----------



## ballybee (Aug 25, 2010)

lol your boyfriends talking ****, as is CM 

Your puppy is a baby!!! Puppies nip and bark, it's upto you to TRAIN them not to do it. Here's a few things you can do to help her grow out of it 

1) Keep a light leash on your puppy, when she gets hyped up and starts nipping remove her from the room for a minute or 2, repeat until she gets the message.

2) When she starts nipping, set her on the ground, stand up and completely ignore her or try and redirect the biting to a toy.

3) smear some honey/peanut butter on your hand, let puppy lick it off with lots of praise and encouragement, link it to a word like "kisses" or "be nice". Your puppy will learn that hands are for licking, not biting.

How much exercise(mental and physical) does your puppy get a day? What is your puppy fed?

Toys like kongs, kong wobblers, buster cubes etc can be filled with food and played with so puppy gets lots of mental stimulation. Obviously puppies can't have tons of walking so the easiest way to tire them out is mental stimulation. Small training sessions throughout the day, scattering food in a room, food dispensing toys etc etc are all ways to tire out a young puppy 

Please keep in mind that your puppy is a baby, at 12 weeks all i'd expect from it was a slight understanding of it's name, maybe a sit and coming along well in toilet training, puppies will have stages of nipping and biting right up until they hit 1 year, as babies they just need to be taught no, then they start teething, then the teeth need to set in place...all you can do is keep up the training


----------



## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

leanne562 said:


> thankyou very much i will have a good look at that link!
> its weird when she does it its not like her normal nipping, puppy behaviour, its like shes trying to push her boundaries or something. I dont mind it when she does nip as all puppies do it and she does listen when told no firmly! And if she hurts by nipping and i say ow firmly she knows straight away she has hurt us and looks all sorry looking.


It sounds like she has learnt bite inhibition then. If you do a high pitched yelp when she bites too hard and stops, then she must have.

Pups learn bite inhibition in the litter with mum and littermates. Some dont learn it well and then the Oww or high pitched yelp doesnt work. Some it can even make worse. If she stops then looks like she has learnt it.

You can actually play with them with a toy, like a ragger, when they start to get too over the top and start to bite hard, then cease the game, or you can use the oww even, with her I would have thought and cease the game, Again if skin is touched you can use the oww and cease the game. When she is calm again then you can commence the game again. In this way its another way to teach that biting too hard or gettting too overexciteable and rough isnt acceptable. You need to always instigate the game, and also decide when to end it too.


----------



## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

leanne562 said:


> Shes 12 weeks on sunday.
> Now and again she will bite at my legs, hands, feet and bark at me as though she wants to attack me. She will do it about twice a day. Normally when my bf has walked out of the room or if im sat eating etc. She also does it with my 4 year old son when hes eating. As soon as i stand up she normally stops.
> My other half said she is trying to dominate me and my son as she doesnt do this with him.
> Generally she is such a good dog, she loves nothing more than snuggling up with us. I just want to get her out of this 'attack' mode as we want a loving, non aggresive dog.


From a 12 week old pup, this is not attack mode, it is play mode. You are doing something else, like eating, and not playing with her. Is she trying to steal your food? If not, the best thing you can do is to ignore her and tell your child to do the same. After a while she will come to realise that eating time is your time and you get all boring then.

Please, please, please do not try any of CM's methods on a pup this age, and of this breed. All you will achieve is to make her nervous and that can lead to fear based aggression.



leanne562 said:


> thankyou very much i will have a good look at that link!
> its weird when she does it its not like her normal nipping, puppy behaviour, its like shes trying to push her boundaries or something. I dont mind it when she does nip as all puppies do it and she does listen when told no firmly! And if she hurts by nipping and i say ow firmly she knows straight away she has hurt us and looks all sorry looking.


Does that sound like a dog who is trying to dominate you? or does it sound like a dog who did not mean to hurt?


----------



## doggiepal (Oct 30, 2011)

This is really important puppy behaviour. Not only is it not dominance - it is a crucial stage of development for your dog.

If you don't teach your dog how to have a 'soft mouth' before you teach him to keep his mouth off your skin altogether, you are risking problems later. A dog that hasn't learnt to use a soft mouth on humans may bite hard if trapped or scared later in life, whereas a dog trained to use a soft mouth is less likely to cause damage.


----------



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)

she is having her last injection tuesay so not long until we can walk her and let her meet my mum and dads dogs. I think shes maybe frustrated as shes stuck inside the house. She loves to play and is really good at playing with my 4 year old son. Iv been training her with treats and repeating her name so she knows her name. I have started training her with sitting and she is brilliant at this  my son is slowly getting to grips wit the oww approach which is helping! 

The honey on the hand is a great idea and i will do this today with my son as i think it will help them both greatly! thankyou for the idea 
Yes she does bark when were eating but we have been ignoring her and its worked a treat  were slowly getting there, im loving all this training and watching her learn its so rewarding. 
thanks everyone


----------



## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Glad things are getting easier for you, puppies can be a nightmare at times bu they do get better... can you post some pics please? I love the AmBulls


----------



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)




----------



## leanne562 (Feb 16, 2012)

these were took yesterday. shes a beaut!  just cant wait to take her for walks and run around with her. I hate keeping her stuck in the house but its for the best...iv heard cat wee,poo can kill puppies who havent had both their jabs


----------



## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Aw, she's so pretty :001_wub:


----------

