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In need of immediate help with training my dog

789 Views 11 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Kensi
I don’t want to get rid of my dog, but cannot take it anymore. I adopted her from a shelter about 2 years ago, and have since had such a hard time training her. I have had many dogs in the past and successfully trained them. However, I knew there would be complications with her as she was an abused dog they found tied to a fence. She was doing well for a long time, but after my husband and I went on our honeymoon, we came back to a completely different dog. She was resentful. She is very territorial of my husband, and often times has even snapped at me for being near him/around him. We have tried multiple things, even letting him step back and me being the primary care taker, me taking her to the bathroom, me putting her food/water down - none of it works. As funny as it sounds, she looks at me as competition or like I am her bitch. Things seemed to get better for awhile there, but then things have recently went so downhill, it’s causing severe strains on my day to day life, to the point where I cannot even go to bed at night time because of her behavior. I can’t leave her alone, she destroys things, tools, couch cushions, her own bed, her blankets. Recently, she had started humping me and clawing at my legs, trying to bite me, snapping at me. And has now also turned her sights to my husband, and she now sits on our bed at night time, or any time we are in bed, and barks and barks and barks until she gets in our faces and tries to snap at us. She humps the side of our bed, she doesn’t listen. We have tried EVERYTHING. We have tried being stern with her, she is cage trained so we put her in the cage when she acts like this, we have given her a bed she sleeps with us sometimes, she’s well fed and well cared for. But now will not even let us sleep.. She has also bitten a stranger once before after letting the man get close enough to pet her. She is not fixed, but I am working on it. I am at my wits end and do not want to give her away or put her up for adoption, but do not have much of a choice left when nothing is working. I cannot afford a doggy boot camp or professional training for her, as money is tight right now, but she is totally out of control. I don’t know if medicating her will help, I have tried calming treats, I have tried literally everything at this point. She does not listen. Please, if someone out there has any other solutions I am desperate.
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I think a good place to start is stepping back and trying to remove some of the labels you've put on her. This sounds like a very anxious, insecure dog who's overwhelmed and doesn't understand what's expected of her, not resentful or spiteful or jealous. It can be helpful to realize that she's not acting this way because she's trying to be difficult, but because she's just freaked out and doesn't know what else to do.

Have you worked on helping her feel like her crate is a safe, calm space rather than a punishment? Knowing she can stay in her safe crate and be comfortable and happy and unable to destroy anything could help a lot here. The frantic pawing and humping screams 'overwhelmed, stressed dog' to me, so using the crate as a cool-down space where you offer relaxing enrichment instead of a prison cell where she's being punished might be more effective. Start freezing all of her meals in Kong-style fillable chew toys, so that she spends a lot more time daily chewing and licking. Chewing is naturally calming behavior for dogs, which she could definitely benefit from. If you have several a day, you can give her one in the crate when she gets worked up like this to help her learn that she can manage her stress though an appropriate outlet like chewing her Kongs or other chew toys/edible chews.

I'd also commit to doing some low-pressure, fun training with her every day. I'm talking easy behaviors and cute tricks. Stuff that you can keep short, reward-based, and positive for both of you, so you can hopefully start building a bond and better understanding of how to communicate with each other. Touch a target with her nose or paw, spin in a circle, give her paw, that kind of thing.

This may be a dog who will benefit from anti-anxiety medication. Ideally you'd have a behaviorist or veterinary behaviorist evaluate her and help you make that call, but your regular vet may be able to help you as well, or even do a phone consult with a veterinary behaviorist on your behalf for less money than an in-person appointment would be. It'd be worth calling your vet practice and asking about the options with that. Be up front about the money issues - most vets understand that their clients don't have unlimited funds and appreciate that you're trying to find solutions that won't bankrupt you.

Similarly, you can check organizations like the Certification Council for Pet Dog Trainers (Certification for professional dog trainers and behavior consultants) or International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants), which both have a 'find a certified behaviorist near you' function, and price out what a single remote consult would cost. Prices vary a lot by region, but many trainers and behaviorists are doing way more work through online video services these days due to the pandemic, so you may be able to find someone within your budget who will talk to you for 40 minutes-1 hour and set up a basic plan. You'll have to be committed to enacting that plan on your own, but a single consult like that is more affordable than paying for regular hands-on guidance for multiple weeks or months.
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I'm so glad to hear you're talking with your vet and trying anxiety medication! We get so many people here that we never hear a followup from, and it's really heartening to get a report of so much improvement. As an anxious person myself, I absolutely get it, and I'm so happy for you that you've got direction now and are figuring out what works for her and your household.

I'd also look into resource guarding resources - the jealousy you're describing is likely related to that, as many dogs do see humans as a resource to guard. This can also come from a place of fear - a fear of losing access to the resource or not feeling in control of their environment - so it's not surprising that an anxious dog has some of these behaviors. Mine! by Jean Donaldson is a good primer on basic resource guarding issues and techniques for working with them, if you want some more insight. Sometimes the best thing to do is just not let the dog practice the behavior - ie sleep on the bed - so I absolutely think that's a great choice. Hopefully you'll see these behaviors lessen over time as she becomes less anxious and stressed overall.
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