I have a boston terrier that is one year old and some people have the wrong idea about treating a dog like a queen. She is not smothered. She has been fine until lately. She does not have a bed except for the floor or the sofa. She eats out of a dog dish and is taught to mind. I have tried the stern voice and leading her to the pen on a leash and she turns and gets agressive. She is not spoiled just taken care of as needed. Please help.
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Boston Terrier That Has Started Biting and Needs to Stop?
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
for one thing you should never use its pen as a form of punishment because they consider it a safe place. i also have a boston terrier and love him to death. he is very stubborn. which is common for the breed. you can’t just force them into doing something they will not do it. if you need to put her into her pen use a treat or or just use a calm voice. they do not respond very well to a harsh voice.
Take your dog to PetSmart, they have training classes there that are very good and would definitely help your dog to behave better. Hope this helps.
SPANK HER PAW AND PUT HER IN TIME OUT!!
I reccomend making the area where your dog chews/bites by wiping bengay or something that has a sharp, minty or vix type smell. My little dog has a chewing habit and all I do is rub a small amout of vix or bengay and she stops chewing.
The smell won’t last long so it won’t make your stuff smell weird. My dog hasn’t been chewing on anything ever since I started putting that stuff on to places where she likes to chew.
It could be pent up energy. Do you take her on walks or runs? We had the same problem with ours and once we started excersing him more he was a lot better. I dont think you should be using your crate (if thats what u mean by pen) that is the place theyre supposed to go to feel comforted
It could be a call for more attention. I learned dogs have certain ways of seeking greater attention from their masters as I learned from personal experience my dog River whimpers when I leave the room or go away for certain period of time. I do not know how much time you give your dog, but I give advice based on personal experience.
When she bites you grab her bottom jaw which disables them from biting and look into her eyes and say “NO!”. This does not hurt them but it sends a message leaving the dog to be thinking *Oh! I need to stop! I am hurting my leader!*. Dogs, as animals that have the instinct to live in packs, naturally will want to please their leader and not to hurt them. By doing this you will become the pack leader and knock her into her place and she will them start trying to please you as the pack leader. Also while walking her you need to keep her behind or next to you. If you are walking and she is in front of you them she is the pack leader again and she will keep the aggressive behavior going. Even though she is small, she can still badly injure you. So when she bites you should grab her bottom jaw look into her eyes and say “NO!” and also while walking you need to keep her behind or next to you and you should correct her if she pulls or goes ahead of you by giving a tug on the leash and saying “Heal” or looking at her and stopping and making her sit down.
~Hope This Helps! Good Luck!
EDIT: I forgot to add that the WORST possible thing you can do when she is an aggresive state of mind is pet her or say “It’s ok” or anything related to that! That makes them leader and it shows that this behavior can be accepted all the time and them whenever she wants to she will be able to use it and will always get away with it. What you need to do if the bottom jaw tactic doesn’t work is put her on her side and spread your hand our like it would be another dogs mouth and them you put you fingers on her shoulder or something just close to her head and stare her down, she will be taken out of the lead possition right then and there as for laying on their side, cowaring down, or even laying on their back is a submissive position as used all the time in Cesar Millan’s pack and all his dogs get along.
biting is natural and a normal beahvior,,
training your dog not to bite during play is much less likely to bite for any other reason.
some don’t like it to be leashed.. but with proper training everything will be fine…
try this site for more inputs:
http://dogtime.com/biting-and-mouthing.html
http://dogtime.com/leash-training.html
If it’s play biting: The next time your puppy bites you, scream “OW!” in a high-pitched voice. Exaggerate a little. Then refuse to play with him or pay attention to him for a few minutes. If he doesn’t get the message
You must never permit him to growl or snap. If he does, a severe scruff shake is necessary, followed by no attention from you for 10 to 15 minutes.
The “alpha” in the pack gets the best place to lie down. If he is challenging your authority, he should not be sharing your sitting space. He should have a dog bed on the floor. It can be the comfiest dog bed you can find, but it should be on the floor and he should be expected to use it.
biting is a normal behavior. It could be treated and be prevented. For more details about biting, check out this link:
http://dogtime.com/biting-and-mouthing.html
Hope she would improve as soon as possible
I hate people like you.
When she bites just effin give her a light hit and yell stop it.
its NOT animal abuse.
well i had a terrier and it didnt work it started biting and snaping.well to start to get the dog to not bite is that you flick them on the nose and say no biting but you have to yell. ok and if the dog won’t stop pick dog up but in pen and if it barks and crys pretend you don’t care you need to give a the dog a lesson. ok so dont freak. and if dont work get a dog trainer book. ok well sorry it was long.
-kristie
this is the age when the dog is feeling out his independence and dominance. you need to stay in charge
Well, one training technique I use when a dog is mouthing is to squeal like you’re in pain. Use a really high tone and once your dog stops to look at you, turn around and put your back to her. It could be that she doesn’t have bite inhibition. She doesn’t know how hard to bite.
Another technique I use is to make sure she earns her food. She has to watch you “eat” before she can eat. So, you can either eat real food out of her bowl, or pretend to eat. I’d recommend doing that, and then feeding her by hand. So she knows food comes from you. Make her sit for her food, and when you feed her in her bowl, make sure you pick her food up from her. It’s not mean, it’s just asserting your position as pack leader.
You should never put your dog in her crate as punishment. But you can remove her from the situation and leave her in a room for her to calm down. Every time she goes to jump up at you, or starts to bite, just remove her, put her in another room and wait for her to calm down.
She’ll soon learn that biting and jumping up doesn’t get her any attention.
Try all three of these techniques. I’m sure they will help. So, to recap. every time she bites, regardless of whether there is pressure on you, squeal really loudly, turn your back and immediately put her in a different room. When feeding time comes, make sure she watches you eat first and make her sit before she can eat. she can only go to the bowl when you give her the command.
Good luck!
try out a product in petco called green apple, spray it on any object you don’t want her to bite and once she bites it, it will have a sour taste and she will not want it any more. don’t worry she can lick it and it will not harm her it will just have an unpleasant taste and smell
In reference to the pen problem: What you need to do is take her off the leash and just let her roam around while leaving the pen open. She’s bound to check it out on her own, put like a toy or two in there so she has something to entertain herself with.
If worse comes to worse, throw a treat in to lure her to the pen and then lock her in, last thing you want to do is get bit too severely if she’s already starting to nip at you.
I have a boston Terrier and I know what your goin thou. We are goin thou with lokada.. Best way to teach your dog is tell them no make sure u go by it…. and get some god bones and toys she or he can bit if she or he starts biting other thing tap her or him on the nose tell him or her no make sure u keep doin the dog will learn from it dont lock ur dog in the bin its not good for the dog
Be strict but loving pop her on the nose when she is being aggressive/mean and when she is just innocent and whatever just you know treat her as a pet
Firstly, you should never ever use the pen as a punishment for bad behavior. It will only make things worse.
Your dog might be aggressive for any reason, it’s really hard to know since I don’t know you or your dog, but it could be that:
-your dog is too bored
-your dog has not been trained properly. I have a feeling that this has something to do with it from what you said about taking her to the pen.
-it’s a dominance thing. she’s acting aggressive because she wants to be dominant over you. if so, you need to watch your own behavior as well as your dog’s and make sure she knows who the alpha is. things like who gets to walk through doors first, eat first, etc. if you tell her to sit or lie down or come, you need to make sure she does it because if she doesn’t listen to you and you let her get away with it she’s not going to see you as the boss. also, if she’s barking at somethign you need to take control as the leader and take care of whatever she’s barking at, even if it’s nothing and you have to pretend to be looking around for whatever’s hiding in the backyard.
If she’s only turning aggressive when you’re taking her to the pen, it’s because you’re taking her to the pen as a punishment. I’m guessing you leave her there by herself or lock her up. Isolation should NEVER be used as punishment no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you’re kicking her out to the garage or locking her in a kennel, if you’re doing that to punish her you need to stop. Dogs are social animals and keeping your dog locked away from the rest of the pack will cause MORE uwnanted behaviors.
WHEN does your dog bite? Is it when you try to take away toy or food bowl, or just pet her, etc?
Anothering thing- if your dog bites you, for wahtever reason, YELP like a wounded puppy (‘ouch’ won’t do. you must yelp. it might feel stupid but don’t hold back). yelp, turn away from your dog, pretend to lick where she bit you. For the rest of the day, do not look at her, play with her, make eye contact with her, or talk to her, or acknowledge her presence in anyway even if she’s trying to get your attention (other than to put food in her bowl)
I missed something here. Why is the dog being put in a pen? Why do you use a stern voice? Anyway, if you want her to like going into the pen, why not feed her in it? She could have her meals in the pen. She could be played with in the pen. She could have her favorite toys in the pen. She could be fed tiny but very tasty treats in the pen. In short, make the pen a more fun and interesting place and soon she’ll go right in. You wouldn’t put her in a pen for punishment, would you? That would be a silly punishment that your dog would not understand.
Dogs aren’t robots, and neither are you. they are social animals and awesome human companions. (PS Your ideas about how to treat a dog are what’s wrong with the equation, not, some people.”) You’d be happier and your dog wouldn’t be so aggressive if you’d dismiss the antiquated ideas about not pampering or spoiling your dog. That’s what they are for. Spoil them! Love them! Show them attention. Don’t be mechanical in your care for them. Yes, sure they need disci[pline and structure in their training, but they will respond better to kindness and treats for a job well done, than to punishment & confinement. If you can’t come to terms with that, and enjoy your pets more, then you really don’t need one. You don’t have a pet-owner’s demeanor and heart.
….leading her to the pen [with a leash?] and she turns and
gets aggressive …!???
As Victoria Stillwell indicates in her Animal Channel shows…
if one has a pet, one has to try and figure out how an animal
thinks + sees OUR actions, and how she interprets them.
I don’t understand the 1st sentence either… has someone
remarked that you might be treating her like a queen?
I love my dog and treat him well. I don’t spoil him.
I realize that he has emotional needs, beyond just the
regular feedings, etc.
I can not understand though, why people have dogs that
are supposed to share their house with them and then
don’t allow them to share it, instead expect them to stay f
or hours in a small prison-like enclosure “alone” that is
totally against a dogs nature, and that is what your dog
is trying to tell you, when she nips you.
She sees that cage [a pen..intentiary] as a punishment.
She does not like the prison effect. She may not like the
bedding in it.
It may have the smell of something she dislikes.
A “den”, however,is a dog-size comfy place & has an
open door.
You might try to choose a room to restrain her from
“whatever”, & set it up so she can’t do much damage in it,
for short periods of restraint as punishment, or a
behaviour-change environment.
My dog has the run of the house,
but dogs and cats need a homebase in the house also..
They need their own rug, bed, comfy chair, small enough to
resemble a dog’s den as if he or she were totally in the wild.
I sewed my dog his own, thick, fluffy bed about 30×30″.
The minute I put it on the floor, he claimed it, and still uses it.
He also claimed the smallest overstuffed chair, in the Living
room where the TV is off mostly, when he wants to sleep.
He has claimed a small throwrug from which he watches
me work in the kitchen. Those choices were his, not mine.
A sofa is too big, does not make a small dog feel secure.
Most likely that sofa is a stop over for her,
or there was no other choice in her mind.
It’s too wide open, except for a sheepdog size dog.
BITING: When I got my dog from the pound 2 yrs ago,
I touched his food while he was eating.
He growled & snapped at me.
My INSTANT, unplanned, reaction was to slap his nose,
take the food away, and chide him verbally in a lower voice.
I have always used my voice that way.
My higher tones are for praising and loving.
Dogs go by tone of voice more than words.
That one time slap was all that was needed for me to
establish who is boss and stop his reaction.
Then I slowly got him used to accept my touch of food
items even after they had reached his mouth.
Translate this to your dog’s situation: You can’t allow
her to bite::
Instantly slap her mouth and chide, and lead her to a
time-out place.
You should only have to do that once, to stop the biting.
The CAGE…? Hide it in the Garage while you WASH it
& change it’s smell and appearance.
Figure out a loving, snuggly, much better solution !
Maybe you can change locations.
Imagine the noise of a thunderstorm.
Most dogs, including mine, are scared of that.
Imagine a thunderstorm when she is home ALONE.
She will want to crawl into the safest place she knows.
That should be her comfy bed, not a lock-up cage,
UNLESS you can transform that cage, totally line it with
soft furry material, and a soft floor, do other trial locations,
wash it to change the smell, rub a piece of bacon or other
favorite food in the back corner of it, introduce her lovingly
to the new version, put her favorite toy in in.
leave the door open, ALWAYS, until she gets to the point
where she enters it by herself, when you put all her favorit
toys in it and use the “pen” to store her “stuff in it.
The floor pad should be washable,
soft, and solid enough, so it does not roll up in a lump.
A dog needs to like that “house’, arranged to make them
feel safe and loved and warm.
Pets have emotional needs and feelings that we sometimes
interpret as not-existing, or interpret as misbehaviour,
rather than their inherent nature,
They need LOVING attention, not spoiling, rarely a slap on the
nose, and will forgive other stuff as long as we mostly love them!
That’s what people need too.
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