Trouble Brewing

[MyPemCharlie]

The "ignore the bad dog" training is working very, very well so far. I believe that Charlie is now finding it pretty boring to do an extended Sit, Wait on leash by the fence compared to running and playing soccer or toss the toys. It also seems this exercise is communicating to Charlie that I am the Alpha over ALL dogs, not just him. He is hopefully feeling less pressure to sort out the pack order, as I am doing for him (and bad dog).

I've tripled the daily repetitions of attention work inside and outside on having Charlie focus on me (i.e. when I say "Charlie!" he needs to make eye contact with me to see what I want him to do next). That also seems to be helping positively refocus him.

Also I decided to increase my response to the Pit Bull when I'm alone in the yard and he charges the fence at me. I've never backed down from him, but instead of ignoring him (like my last wonderful dog did), I say "No!" and stare back at him until he breaks eye contact first and backs off. He will make several attempts to jump into the fence, growl at me and stare me down, but I quietly stare at him until he backs down. (I won't be doing this with Charlie with me...only by myself.) The dog will finally end up whimpering softly and turn his back on me. I say, "Good dog" for his submission. I'm going to go out without Charlie a few times a day now to walk MY fenceline...because I AM ALPHA. For those of you who fear my fence is not strong enough, trust me, I wouldn't challenge this dog for Alpha if I thought he'd break through! We've been doing this exercise for the 5 years he's lived next door...not daily in the past, just when I mow, trim or garden. I think a daily one-on-one alpha ritual is in order to establish my side of the fence as my territory.

[fogebotom]

Couple of other ideas-have you contacted your insurance company where you have your home policy and commenting that there is "damage" done to your property by the neighbor's dog? Not wanting to blame the dog but the owner who is irresponsible, this might get his attention when it becomes a financial issue. Depending on your city animal control, you could also mention a dog at large that comes through your yard a certain time of the day and poops in your yard. Did that with one of my neighbors and they caught them letting the dog out the front door and it would wander in three or four yards doing his business. They got a nice fine out of it.

How about getting on of those sprinkler's that uses motion detection to scare away birds? Set it up so that it hits the spot in the fence where the dog normal is an issue and when he comes to hit the fence, sets off the sprinkler and gets a cold shot in the face? When living in town, the neighbors put up their dog kennel attached to our privacy fence. They like to leave the dogs in the backyard behind the garage a lot and they would start digging. We put in rr ties, rock, buried fence, you name it. So one day I sat in my lawn chair and waited for the first paw or nose to start going under the fence into my yard. Quick zap with cold hard water and they would jump back. Only took a few times and they stopped digging ;0) A squirt bottle with water and a drop or two of lemon juice or vinegar that you can squirt at the dog when it lunges might do the trick too along with a loud leave it command.

You are doing you're best to train your dog but something needs to be done about the dog who is really causing the problem. Regardless if it's in it's own yard, it is a danger and at some point will hurt someone. Unless you can put up a solid fence or avoid that area of the yard complete, you are might have to take matters into your own hands.

Cindy and the crew at Foggy Bottom

[Michael Romanos]

Shoot him often when he is noisy, nosey and nasty with a water gun at ten paces.

[fogebotom]

All of my guys know what a squirt/spray bottle is-I have awesome aim at 20 paces with it. A loud 'enough' or 'quiet' accompanies the squirt aimed at a nose. All I have to do now is pick up the bottle and set it on the counter and they know that it's time to quit what ever it is that they were doing. It does nothing more then allow me to give a correction from a distance, keep my hands off them and all the water does is break their concentration on the bad habit.

Only issue I have with the sprinkler suggestion I offered, is that Farmer Fred eats sprinklers. Especially if they are not turned on--he loves water, loves to rearrange the hoses and move the sprinklers. He can redo the settings on them so they spray in just one spot creating a lovely muddy mess and hole in the ground.

Cindy and the crew at Foggy Bottom

[MyPemCharlie]

Charlie is afraid of the sprinkler...it would probably scare him more than the neighbor's dog. We are still making progress daily...I can now get Charlie away from the fence without a lead to come play with me instead of barking at the Pit Bull. Still absolutely cannot leave him outside alone, even for a minute to fix his breakfast.

Thanksgiving day will be interesting. I'm taking Charlie on a road trip to my parents' house. Their neighbors have two Bedlington Terriers who are very fence protective and bark a lot at the fence. The fence is chain link so the dogs will have more visibility than my privacy wood fence. I'm interested to see if these dogs will make friends or if I'll have yet a different opportunity to teach Charlie to "ignore the barking dog(s)".

Hmmm....I see turkey treats in Charlie's future.

[ColColt]

In my back yard on one side is an old Basset hound names Maggie. The other side there is a JRT/Chihuahua mix and two hounds of some variety. They are all friendly but, Bubba just ignores them all. The poor Basset doesn't see or smell very well as when I go to give here treats through the fence, she usually drops it and can't find in right under her nose. The hounds will come up to the fence and bark a few times but, it's not at Bubba-it's for me to slip them a treat also!! I'm fortunate to have friendly dogs close to me. All fences are the chain link variety. I've never seen Bubba bark back at another dog whether in play or if another acts aggressive like a Boxer did one day at the pet store...he just turns around and walks off or will sit down at turn his back to them. He's a sweet little guy and refuses to fuss!!

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by ColColt

I've never seen Bubba bark back at another dog whether in play or if another acts aggressive like a Boxer did one day at the pet store...he just turns around and walks off or will sit down at turn his back to them. He's a sweet little guy and refuses to fuss!!

My rottweiler was the same way, so it surprised me to see Charlie fussing/barking back at a dog who would clearly endanger his life, if allowed. Yesterday I went grocery shopping for about an hour and left Charlie inside in his kennel. Can't take the chance. I'm sure he'd prefer to be outside in his own yard sniffing (not fighting) at the neighbor dogs and rolling/snoozing in the grass.

The training continues to go well. I can't now get Charlie's attention from a distance, off leash, to leave the fence and come to me. In one way this has been a blessing in disguise. The dog next door is providing a significant "training" distraction for Charlie and I to work on reliable recalls, as well as "ignore it". It doesn't look like I'll ever be able to leave Charlie alone in the yard without them fence fighting (wouldn't trust it)...but he might surprise me and learn to ignore the pit bull without me there to call him away. Time will tell.

[ColColt]

My rottweiler was the same way, so it surprised me to see Charlie fussing/barking back at a dog who would clearly endanger his life, if allowed.

As you may know, they think they're a big dog in a little dog's body or so it's been said. I've seen much smaller dogs than Corgis go up against vastly larger dogs like GSD's and Dobermans just because they thought they could intimidate or were just as big in their eyes.

I've read and see where in a situation like this, the two dogs in question were walked together and taught to relinquish their aggressive tendencies toward each other but, I've never tried that or had the need to. I wouldn't try it personally without the aid of someone who knew what they were doing as things could get nasty real quick. It's my belief that the eye contact is the key element in aggression. Avoiding that and not allowing it to escalate and continue is a step forward in lessening these tendencies..no eye contact, no aggression. If Bubba were in this situation, I wouldn't allow that and just give a brisk jerk to his leash to call his attention away from the one wanting to pick a fight and break the fixation on that behavior. What would be ideal is to have the owner of the Pit to do likewise.

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by ColColt

What would be ideal is to have the owner of the Pit to do likewise.

Unfortunately the dog's owner will be no help. I've never seen him walk his dogs or even throw a ball with them in the yard.

Since I've been looking at the dogs next door more closely, I've started to really feel sorry for them. The pit bull is a female and the boxer is an intact male. A couple weeks ago I noticed she had "teets", so they are apparently breeding them. Looks like she probably had a litter early this year. Both dogs have extremely bloodshot eyes (which may be normal for older dogs of their breeds...I don't know). The pit bull has a tumor sticking out her side about half the size of a ping pong ball, and the boxer has a noticeable limp.

These guys next door simply are not the "type" of people who will help me with obedience training in socializing their pets. It's a real shame.

[Chip's Mom]

That is so sad for any dog to be in that type of shape and not be taken care of. That is what gives petowners a bad name. If it gets worse, you may want to call the humane society in your area for them neglecting their dogs.

[MyPemCharlie]

The only reason I haven't called the SPCA, after looking at the condition of theri dogs, is fear of revenge. If SPCA came out to force veterinarian care for their dogs, the neighbors would know that either I, or their neighbor on the other side, reported them. They would likely feel that I (or other neighbor) "wronged" them, and might try to do something to my property or to Charlie. I don't want to start a war with irresponsible neighbors...you never know how they might react.

[Chip's Mom]

That is so true - it sounds like you are caught between a rock and a hard place. Good luck with your situation. Hopefully, if they are renters, they will move.