[havoc]

We seem to be having some issue with Philo and we could really use some suggetions.
Philo has never been food aggressive toward humans, she lets us put our hands in her bowl
and pick it up no problem. She does have food aggression with other dogs though. We don't have other
animals so that is not an everyday problem. The problem is this....on occasion because she eats socks,
underwear and other items she will vomit days after the incident. From the first time she has ever
vomited she has been and is VERY aggressive toward the vomit and wants to eat it.....yuck...sorry.
Usually when she is sick we have put her in her kennel just to confine the vomit and leave her be.
When we know she has eaten something that will come up later we put on her leash and just pull her away
as soon as she pukes. Any ideas how to stop this behavior?

Second problem is this.....today I went to call her inside and she is digging up a plant in the back yard...
big no no. I could not get her attention by calling her and when we approached her or tried to grab she
growls, snarls and lunged at us much like the puking problem. Our trainer told us to completely ingnore
Philo for 2 days (put her in her kennel and provide the basics food and water) let her out to pee on
a leash, don't talk to her and then on the 2nd day intergrate her back into the family only using commands.

Clearly she thinks these items are hers and hers alone and this is a dominance issue. Any suggestions on
how to handle this? Currently we are doing the kennel thing.

 

[BRQZ33]

i have a suggestion

i never had a problem with that situation but if it was me i true believer of spanking your dog u can use a water bottle or soda bottle with nothing in it and when he does that pop with that the noise will scare him more than anything and tell your dog no also u can try the spray bottle affect but your dogs needs to know that your family is the boss and you should never have to fear your dog attacking you but afterwards put philo back in the kennel and everytime you seem him for about 20minutes tell him bad dog and make sure you look him in the eye

 

[msvette2u]

Please do not hit your dog. I can't even believe anyone would suggest that!!! That's going to only make the situation worse!!
Your trainer is right on, you need to be doing an NILIF program!!! Do a search for NILIF on this forum and you'll find a ton of suggestions, or google NILIF!!

 

[Cookies Mom]

Ok this is what you need to do, you need to control everything. If you have a crate it will make this alot easier. when you feed your dog do it by hand, not becouse of food aggresion but becouse you must be God to you dog, everything comes from you. Do not play with her when she wants, only when you want. Everytime she doesn't listen, put her away. every time she doesn't listen put her away. you contol toys food walks everything. everytime you call her give her a treat, everytime. you go out doors first, you eat first. you need to be the pack leader period! otherwise it will get worse. don't feel bad about putting her in her place, thats what she needs.

 

[Miakoda]

First off, dogs eat their own vomit. It's gross, it's nasty, it makes me wanna hurl myslef, but it's just the way it is. Hell, I'll even have another dog come along & lick up the vomit from a different dog.

Second, that redirection towards you has got to be stopped! That dog thinks he's the alpha & was putting you in your place. He didn't come when you called because he could care less & doesn't feel he has to listen to anything you tell him. Of course he'll listen sometimes.....when he wants to.

My suggestion is find a REPUTABLE trainer who believes in working the dog & also negative & positive corrections (I hate the "oh, if your dog is digging in the trash, just pull him away & give him a bone or one of his toys to chew on. ummm, either way he's getting rewarded for that bad behavior as now he learns that digging in the trash means you give him a bone/chewtoy/etc.......this is where negative corrections come in). You want your dog to NOT want to do that ever again & well as WANT to listen to you. Find a good trainer before someone ends up with stitches.

 

[msvette2u]

But negative corrections does not mean hitting them with things or your own hands!
THIS program could eliminate all the negative behavior and quickly if followed 100% of the time:
http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

http://www.goof.com/~pmurphy/NILIF.html

NILIF
Avoid circumstances that elicit the aggression -- at least temporarily. Later you'll be able to work on desensitization, but only after you've gotten the dog's cooperation, not resistance.
Maintain an aloof attitude toward the dog. This is accomplished quite easily by crating the dog (or isolating it from the family in a small area with a babygate). This crating will be 90% or more of the time for a few weeks. This seemed to make Gypsy much more willing to do ANYTHING I wanted her to when she was out -- she was so thrilled to have ANY attention that she was beside herself.
Two-three times a day for 3-5 minutes maximum practice QUICK sits and downs for food. (If you don't know how to train this, go to a class.) You are working for speed and attitude here -- so reward correct behavior generously with praise and food. If your dog has fear problems, ignore or minimize the need for corrections. Don't make these training sessions a chore -- they should be fast and fun, not a battle. When the dog is IMMEDIATELY and CONSISTENTLY and with ANTICIPATION obeying the commands, she is ready for the meat of the NILIF program. Gypsy does the most lightning fast downs I've ever seen -- as fast as a border collie crouches when herding sheep.
At first, priveleges are still restricted, but you'll gradually be able to add priveleges. Don't rush things -- if you have a bad day, just go back to the prior level where things were successful and start over. Don't go from confinement/isolation to full house priveleges in a day -- keep doors shut, start with limited amount of "free time". (This step is my modification to the program, but it worked for me, so I recommend it.) Gypsy got 20 minutes her first day -- twice.
NILIF -- Nothing in life is free. This means the dog must PERFORM to get anything it wants. For Gypsy, because we were trying to reduce dominance that was already present, I chose to use the "down" command because it requires her to throw herself into the most submissive posture available. I have since started peppering "sits" into the program, just to keep her paying attention -- but the dominance problem is long gone, so I'm less concerned with how submissive she is. "Wanna cookie?" -- nothing in life is free, so the dog must "down" on command for the cookie. (BTW -- when you start introducing NILIF, carry food AT ALL TIMES -- you're still rewarding the dog for submitting - this is NONCONFRONTATIONAL. Reward for a LONG time, then wean off food sporadically, but still praise the behavior.) "Wanna go outside?" - dog must "down". "Wanna drink of water?" -- that's right. You're catching on. The dog gets NO freebies. She must *earn* everything -- food (you should see her slam her body on the floor for dinner!), play, petting, water, going out, going for a r-i-d-e, getting T-R-E-A-T-S, coming inside. Gypsy even has to "earn" the right to work on the agility equipment ... partly because I think it helps her attitude ("Ohboyohboyohboy, Alpha-mom made me down, I must be about to do something Good"), and partly because she's so excited to be there that she needs the extra control.

 

[havoc]

Not to worry I would never hit Philo. It doesn't solve any problems and that is not how I want my animal
to be trained.
Thanks for the NILIF info. It sounds very similar to what the trainer was describing. I will do more
research. Philo definitely needs to be taken down a few pegs and undestand where she fits in in our
family. We love this animal to death!! Therefore, we want her to be well mannered and compliant...thanks again!!

 

[msvette2u]

Not to worry I would never hit Philo. It doesn't solve any problems and that is not how I want my animal
to be trained.
Thanks for the NILIF info. It sounds very similar to what the trainer was describing. I will do more
research. Philo definitely needs to be taken down a few pegs and undestand where she fits in in our
family. We love this animal to death!! Therefore, we want her to be well mannered and compliant...thanks again!!

You are SO on the right track and so is your trainer. Good job, just keep it up!