Dog behavior issues

[blue98ls1]

I acquired a dog about a month ago, showed up on my doorstep without tags, and havent been able to find his owner. My guess at this point is, someone dropped him off and left him. If he is to stay here for the long term however, which it looks like he will, there are a couple things that need to be worked out.

 

First off, I believe he is a fairly young dog. And the local dog warden thought him to be a pit mix. I have 2 other dogs and they seem to get along well. He loves to play with them both. He will be an outdoor dog (allergies )and I believe he was before also as he definately knew what a doghouse was for.

 

The issues we are having is, he drops to the ground when he sees any men or people he does not know. He does not run away, just drops to the ground and watches you. I have never seen a dog do this before and while its not a big problem, I just dont know what he is thinking to make him do this. I have a young child so this behavior concerns me even though he seems to like kids.

 

Second issue is, he constantly wants to jump on people, while I know he is just over joyed you are there with him, no body likes getting paw prints all over them. Also if you are with him for a while and start to walk away he will jump up and down and bark at you.

 

Anyone have any suggestions for training methods?

[TheHaze]

2 things:

 

1. When he drops down, is his head perked up and look very attentive? My guess is he is taking a defensive position or feels threatened. He may just not feel comfortable and/or isn't confident. You need to begin major socialization with other dogs and people.

 

2. The reason he jumps and acts excited is he doesn't stay active enough. Pits like exercise and need to stay active. When you come home does he jump on you and act excited? It's because he's getting his energy out that he has worked up. My dog used to be so excited towards me when i got home and would run and jump all over the place until I began bringing him out to play every day. Now when I come home he will walk to the door to greet me and just wag his tail a few times and he'll lay down to relax. You also need to stay firm and repetiive in telling him to stay down.

[blue98ls1]

2 things:

 

1. When he drops down, is his head perked up and look very attentive? My guess is he is taking a defensive position or feels threatened. He may just not feel comfortable and/or isn't confident. You need to begin major socialization with other dogs and people.

 

2. The reason he jumps and acts excited is he doesn't stay active enough. Pits like exercise and need to stay active. When you come home does he jump on you and act excited? It's because he's getting his energy out that he has worked up. My dog used to be so excited towards me when i got home and would run and jump all over the place until I began bringing him out to play every day. Now when I come home he will walk to the door to greet me and just wag his tail a few times and he'll lay down to relax. You also need to stay firm and repetiive in telling him to stay down.

 

 

 

His head is flat on the ground when he does this. Almost like he is trying to hide from you. But he is very watchful. Reminds me of a cat watching a mouse.

 

He gets a ton of socialization with the 2 dogs I have. One is a Husky mix and is about a year and a half, also a very playful dog. They have quite a bit of fun. I have a fenced in yard and close the gate so he can run around the yard and play.

 

And I spend quite a bit of time with him, we go for quite a few walks. He doesnt seem to know fetch yet but we're trying. He doesnt seem to know any commands at all actually. I dont think he was played with or socialized with people much.

[TheHaze]

He may just be very young and hyper, then. Keep up the walks and let him explore and get comfortable and have fun, always keeping a watchful eye. The only definite advice I have is to socialize with people every chance you get. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much and just pay attention and keep an eye on him.

 

By the way, is he neutered?

[ImUrOBGYN]

The position the dog is using is simply a submissive one. He's probably just not a dominant dog and still may not know his position 'in the pack', so to speak. I can tell you now, a heavy hand and/or discipline will not work on your dog but with time, proper management, and some good training will change him. No two dogs are alike. If you'd seen the behaviour of my gf's dog when I met her and then saw her now, you'd swear she wasn't the same dog. For the jumping, don't acknoledge the dog when it behaves that way. Couple things you can do is ignore it until you've pet the other dogs (start with your most dominant dog first, this should go for everything that involves your dogs) and wait for him to calm down. If he interupts, sternly tell him no, and push him away or just block him out with your body. Honesly, it's really hard to give great advice without spending a bit of time around the dog. Be wary of people who "give golden advice" without even meeting the dog. You wouldn't expect someone to give good advice on how to handle you if they hadn't even met you.

 

And Mike, if you tell him his dog has to be neutered, I will kick you squa in the balls.

[thorne]

The position the dog is using is simply a submissive one. He's probably just not a dominant dog and still may not know his position 'in the pack', so to speak. I can tell you now, a heavy hand and/or discipline will not work on your dog but with time, proper management, and some good training will change him. No two dogs are alike. If you'd seen the behaviour of my gf's dog when I met her and then saw her now, you'd swear she wasn't the same dog. For the jumping, don't acknoledge the dog when it behaves that way. Couple things you can do is ignore it until you've pet the other dogs (start with your most dominant dog first, this should go for everything that involves your dogs) and wait for him to calm down. If he interupts, sternly tell him no, and push him away or just block him out with your body. Honesly, it's really hard to give great advice without spending a bit of time around the dog. Be wary of people who "give golden advice" without even meeting the dog. You wouldn't expect someone to give good advice on how to handle you if they hadn't even met you.

 

And Mike, if you tell him his dog has to be neutered, I will kick you squa in the balls.

 

 

If the dog is not to be a breeding dog then I feel it should be neutered because dogs to get a agressive nature towards other dogs who are not neuitered. Thats a fact of nature, Hard to fight off a instict like mating.

 

Like Titan is a good mating stock, He's been bred a few times if I rember you telling me. But you can't tell me that he would not go after a dog with balls quicker then a dog without.

 

If stompy was fixed I bet they would get along. But yeah I could see them going at it. Specially after seeing that pit come after joe. That pit was not fixed ether, He had his on issues above that though.

[verse]

The laying down thing can either be a submissive or dominance act, it's something I'd have to see the dog do to actually make a conclusion. I can't tell you why the dog does that, it may have something to do with his past owners, but something that could help him would be everytime you have a male guest, let him give the dog a special treat (something he doesn't normally get ie; hot dog, bologna, chicken) and pet him so he associates male figures with something good. You keep at it for a period of time and it should get rid of this behaviour.

 

 

When you come in the house and the dog start to jump on you, turn your back and ignore him until he calms down and sits in front of you. Then praise and give him a small training treat to let him know that's how you want him to act. This can take a while or can be rather quick for him to learn, just stick with it and let all your guests that come in the house to do the same. He'll get the hang of it. Also like Mike said when you get home take him outside to play so he gets some energy then let him back in the house and do the same until he sits next to you. Then reward him for his good behaviour.

 

But I agree, if the dog is not being used to for breeding, (you said it's a mix so it shouldn't be) then it should be spayed/neutered no matter what the dog is. I have three unspayed breeding Corgi's and they can be a handful.

[thorne]

The laying down thing can either be a submissive or dominance act, it's something I'd have to see the dog do to actually make a conclusion. I can't tell you why the dog does that, it may have something to do with his past owners, but something that could help him would be everytime you have a male guest, let him give the dog a special treat (something he doesn't normally get ie; hot dog, bologna, chicken) and pet him so he associates male figures with something good. You keep at it for a period of time and it should get rid of this behaviour.

 

 

When you come in the house and the dog start to jump on you, turn your back and ignore him until he calms down and sits in front of you. Then praise and give him a small training treat to let him know that's how you want him to act. This can take a while or can be rather quick for him to learn, just stick with it and let all your guests that come in the house to do the same. He'll get the hang of it. Also like Mike said when you get home take him outside to play so he gets some energy then let him back in the house and do the same until he sits next to you. Then reward him for his good behaviour.

 

But I agree, if the dog is not being used to for breeding, (you said it's a mix so it shouldn't be) then it should be spayed/neutered no matter what the dog is. I have three unspayed breeding Corgi's and they can be a handful.

 

My boy is most likely being fixed here soon, I think he's done my aunts just to sick to keep doing this.

[blue98ls1]

He is not neutered. And I have not had him fixed because I was hoping to find his owner. And I guess I have not fully given up on that. But this is something I would consider having done in the future though.

 

His owner had his tail docked, and his nails trimmed so I know someone must have taken care of this dog, which makes me surprised no one has claimed him.

 

And I think he is a mixed breed, I personally do not know much about this breed, I have had mostly Siberian Huskys and beagles. Or other small dogs. I only know the dog warden said he was a pit mix. I would assume however the dog warden should know this, but i'll post up some pictures of him a few.

 

I am going to try for a picture of him when he lays down like this so you can see the pose he goes into.

[blue98ls1]

First 2 are of the laying down behavior I was talking about. Last one is him being normal.

 

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/3.jpg

 

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/2.jpg

 

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/4.jpg

[TheHaze]

The position the dog is using is simply a submissive one. He's probably just not a dominant dog and still may not know his position 'in the pack', so to speak. I can tell you now, a heavy hand and/or discipline will not work on your dog but with time, proper management, and some good training will change him. No two dogs are alike. If you'd seen the behaviour of my gf's dog when I met her and then saw her now, you'd swear she wasn't the same dog. For the jumping, don't acknoledge the dog when it behaves that way. Couple things you can do is ignore it until you've pet the other dogs (start with your most dominant dog first, this should go for everything that involves your dogs) and wait for him to calm down. If he interupts, sternly tell him no, and push him away or just block him out with your body. Honesly, it's really hard to give great advice without spending a bit of time around the dog. Be wary of people who "give golden advice" without even meeting the dog. You wouldn't expect someone to give good advice on how to handle you if they hadn't even met you.

 

And Mike, if you tell him his dog has to be neutered, I will kick you squa in the balls.

If a dog is aggressive, I always suggest getting them neutered.

 

My dog's not neutered.

[TheHaze]

First 2 are of the laying down behavior I was talking about. Last one is him being normal.

 

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/3.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/2.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x123/wannarace928/dog/4.jpg

Those pics are far from what I pictured. He looks very calm, in my opinion. I think he's just observing.

[blue98ls1]

The laying down part is not aggressive behavior at all, just weird behavior. It makes people uneasy around him. Every time I see him do it it reminds me of a cat crouching down hiding in the grass.

His front paws are tucked under his body when he does this, instead of a typical "lay down".

The jumping up and down barking part is the only aggressive behavior i have seen him display.

[Guest Wunna Dig Race]

thats a very good looking dog. He looks like maybe he has been taught not to go around people he dont know. I keep my Pit away from people that he shouldnt know and when strangers come he barks till I come out and then he goes and lays down and watches them

[mrs.cos]

FIRST off, that is not a pit bull mix....

 

Face is completely wrong.. shoulders i can possibly see, but not probable..

 

Second off Jumping is hard behavior to break.. it takes a LOT of patience.. One popular method is to turn your back to the dog and keep it to the dog till it calms down and then give him some good attention once he has settled down.