Lhasa Apsos?Question:My dog, Lily, has a tendency to be snippy. My vet tells me that this is because she is a Lhasa mix. Is it true that Lhasas tend to be a nippy breed? I've recently heard something about dogs who weren't raised by their mothers and how they have more of a chance of behavioral problems. This is why some humane societies put newborn puppies, surrendered w/out their moms, down. Lily's mom died giving birth to Lily and her 4 siblings (all of which survived) and she was raised by a cat and people so I'm thinking that that may have something to do with it??? What are your guys' opinions. Answer: Well...I personally don't believe that any breed comes with aggressive tendencies- I think they may be pretective or even a little hesitant and poorly taught by either human or dog pack- but aggression is typically enforced through lack of boundaries or misunderstanding in communication. I wouldn't blame her breed at all! I would say that the lack of mother could have aided to it as it is an important part of their socializing, but have also known numerous pups in the same situation that have done very well. You would need to explain what type of aggression this is to really get some answers. For example: 1)Fear aggression 2)Dominant Aggressive 3)Protective 4)Possessive 5)Touch Sensitive 6)Not enough socializing- could be reacting to ethnic ppl, men, children or even dogs There are more but these are more common. Can you describe the behaviors and give us some scenarios? Answer: All of the above except for fear. She was socialized, my mom worked at a kindegarden library and would bring her in as a puppy and let all the kids play with her. She was also trained. The first time she growled was when she was 5 weeks old. She was barely walking at that time. :confused: Sophie, we got when she was young and socialized her and trained her the same way and she is so much calmer. Lily is just stuburn, and I don't really know why she is that way. She does submit to me sometimes but other times, I go to pet her and she snaps at me. It's not fear based at all it's just that when she doesn't feel like being pet she bites. This has been getting worse over previous years but it may be due to her starting to get cataracts. She's being treated to help prevent them but I can still see them getting worse and she's still young too (well not young but not old). Answer: This sounds to me like an issue of training. The fact that she did not spend time with her mother, and litter mates learning basic manners, may play a part, but just as likely not. It looks like a dominance issue that was never nipped in the bud. Even little bitty puppies need to be corrected. And when she snaps at you, her dominance is escalating, and she is asserting herself, and her position over you more and more. She thinks she has control over you, and that she doesn't have to be petted if she doesn't want to be petted- this should not be true! When the puppy first growled at you/another human being, what was the correction? How did you react? When she snaps/growls, do you withdraw your hand? (This is a sign of weakness- she is winning) Who goes through doors first? Dog or human? Is the dog allowed on beds? Who eats dinner first? Dog or human? How often do you practise obedience commands? Does she always obey? What type of physical stimulation does the dog get? On walks, does the dog heel, or walk ahead? All of these things and more play apart in determining the household hierarchy, and it does not sound like the setting of humans over dogs has been established. And Lhasa Apsos do tend to be very stubborn dogs, in my experience... A few I've met have been a real handful... need a strong, firm handler. Answer: Like I said I was only 8 so I probabally let her push me around early on. I think I laughed when she growled when she was a puppy because she was so cute. I'm really trying to get her to be more respectful to me but she's not responding because she was used to pushing me around before. She does listen/respect my dad most of the time because, as you said, he was a stronger handler. -No she wasn't really corrected. -Yes, I'm afraid of the bite so I automatically pull my hand away and then say "NO!". And usually send her to her kennel -This is something we do right, we were taught to always make the dogs sit and stay and I go out first when going on walks. -Yes, she is alowed on beds because she will bark all night if she's not. -Well, we usually feed them right away in the morning and before bed.But not in the kitchen. They also don't get people food so they don't beg or anything. - Maybe a couple times a week. Yes, she almost always obeys ecspecially if I have a treat or her favorite toy. -We go on walks 4 times a week. And yes she heals. But if Sophie is good i let her walk ahead so Lily doesn't feel so dominant over her, Lily gets really mad at Sophie, and Sophie always is submitting to her, so I want Sophie to feel good. I'm at my mom's on weekends and I volunteer at a parrot rescue after school (ends at 3) from 5-9 on Wednesdays and am busy cleaning my birds, doing chores, doing homework, and eating dinner, if I have time. Birds are deffinantly my priority right now. So that's why I don't do it everyday. Answer: Lhasas do have a tendency towards "nippiness" if they aren't trained properly early on. I am a dog groomer and one thing we notice is that shih tzus bite when they are scared -- but lhasas bite when they are p*ssed off. I'd do alot of NILIF (nothing in life is free) training. Make her do something before she gets anything. Give her commands before she eats, before you let her outside, before her leash goes on, before she is allowed to do anything or get anything. I also wouldn't let her on the bed. If she barks, get her a citronella spray collar -- they work well on dogs with short muzzles. She needs to be pushed to the bottom of the pack, pronto. I know most people don't agree with physically harming a dog, but if my dog bit me, I'd bite it back -- be it with my teeth or my hand. Anything that can eventually get my dog killed (aggressive behaviour included!) is grounds for a smack on the butt in my opinion. Dogs in the wild nip and bite eachother all the time for reprimands -- as such, they understand it. Biting a human is unnacceptable. Answer: I do this already. I make her sit before meals, going outside, and walks. So at least I'm doing that right. :p I recently started the biting technique with my hand on her neck, from Caesar Mulan's show. It does work, but when I pull away she nips at me again so I just have to keep doing it. Answer: Okay, it just seems like training is pointless right now, or I don't know how to go around it. I was trying to brush Lily today, which she always has problems with (biting me and the brush) and she nipped at me so I tried to roll her over and she just kept biting me and made me bleed a little. But then I yelled at her and said "No" in a firm voice and she submitted to me (rolling on her back) and went straight to her kennel when I told her to and is not barking at all. Is this a step in the right direction? I don't know if she bit me because she was scared/upset about me brushing her or if she was deffending her alpha posistion because she submited right away after biting me. :confused: Answer: I think your dog has developed a scam. I know, mine has tried the same thing. She thinks she can mouth off, and so whatever she wants with you as long as she rolls on her back and goes to her kennel. Dogs aren't dumb, they know how to manipute you. My dog does this, I call it the RMB (Rub my belly) Scam. Do not go easy just because she rolls over, and just because she rolls over doesn't necessarily mean she is submitting to you- rather, in some cases, they are further controlling your actions. Instead of sending her to her kennel when she growls (it seems like this is what she wants, instead of being petted, she growls, gets sent to her kennel, is therefore being left alone, she wings), I would do a three-minute spot sit-stay. For what it's worth sit-stays are far more demanding than down-stays. I would muzzle when brushing if this is an ongoing problem. Thread moved to training. |
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