How to deal with the restless spirit in aggressive dogs?

[ILuvMyHounds]

So, if you've been over in the obedience section, you've probably come across the postings about my aggressive dachshund. He has been under a great deal of stress; a new home, a new diet, recovering from illness, a new family, new rules. I know that he has a restless spirit, but since he is still pretty scary with a toy and he gets too hyped in a hurry if you let him get into play drive, how do you decide what will be given to him so he can release all that pent up energy?

He is developing a good bond with our youngest dachshund and they sometimes engage in a game of chase around the house but when the excitement fills the air and the growling gets started, I redirect with a treat or something so it doesn't escalate out of hand.

He wants to kill the toys and I read in one of the posts that you should never let them pin the toy to the ground. Hmm... perhaps the vertically impaired canines such as mine were not taken into consideration! I mean, how hard is it to pin your prey when your front legs are less than 6 inches off the ground already?? It's not really hard at all, Trust Me!

I have tried to play outside with him but once he gets to racing around the yard he wants to loop back and jump up for my hands. This is a twofold problem as I happen to need my hands and it is never good for a dachshund to jump! Chew bones, kongs and the like are also heavily guarded, thus not an option at this time.

He tries to amuse himself in his puppy bed but the darn thing just bucks him right out on the floor when he gets too rowdy with it!

Any ideas to help with my special boy's restless spirit?

Thanks!

[Mike D'Abruzzo]

When it comes to toys and restless spirit. You want to make sure you teach your dog two things in particular.

1. The toys and rules of the game our yours

2. Toys and the game are actually more fun when played by your rules

When doing this always be prepared for success. Safety first. This means either having the dog on a leash/long line, wearing safety clothing (such as leather jacket/gloves), or have a second handler help out by controlling the leash.

The easiest trick in the book is to always start out by having clones of all toys. If you have two balls you can always throw the one the dog doesn't have. If you have two tugs you can make the second one more lively when the dog has control of the first. You must teach the dog that toys are more fun when you are involved.

Watch this video of Chris at the shelter with a dog that is very possessive of toys (almost impossible to get from him without a plan). He is using two tugs and maintains the dog on a leash.



The leash on the dog helps with two things. One, if you misjudge the dog and dog comes in to "correct" you, it is easier to fend the dog off. Second, when the dog has possession of the ball, tug, toy, etc.. you can keep the dog moving so he cant go to the ground with it and have total possession/destroy/etc..

We start the game, both win and lose within the game, and then end the game. Just like playing tic-tac-toe, except you are the one that initially draws the game, controls the pencil, and then takes away the paper at the end. During the game we are all having fun.

Do not take the toy out of your dogs mouth at this point. Drag the dog away with the leash when he goes to the floor with it and then give treats. (or trade for a treat when the dog "outs" if he will).

You are not looking for total control at this point, only to teach the dog those two points mentioned at the beginning of the post.

Here is another dog at the shelter that Chris worked down to one toy over time. The dog started off tacting like it was some kind of big competition between the two of them and then eventually lightened up and seemed to enjoy the game. Note that Chris always makes the dog do an obedience command before giving the toy back, even if the dog slips off of it. This discourages the jumping behavior when the dog is frustrated and encourages manners when wanting something BAD. Neither of these dogs are easy and are still at the shelter needing homes.

[ILuvMyHounds]

These are good videos, Mike. I have enjoyed the instructional videos on Obedience in a nice controlled environment, with people and their pets who have been working hard behind the scenes prior to the taping of such videos and I really love the dog suit and your method to teach us in a manner that is fun (helps with boredom and becoming disinterested) but I mostly appreciate the real world videos where we can see professionals rehabilitating dogs with behavioral problems using your techniques. Providing your subscribers (clients) who have come here to deal with aggression problems with more videos that can be watched in order to learn the proper (person's) response/handling and being able to see the dog (and his body language), is an invaluable tool. Things that one cannot pick up in text, no matter how many times it is re-read. I've seen a few videos of yours on y*utube addressing problems, but do you have any plans to upload any more of these specific types of videos (rehab work) to this site or y*utube anytime in the near future? Hope so!!

And I do have pairs of toys and do already use your methods described and seen in one of the videos above. I use treats to get my dog to release the fuzzy toy on the pole and do my best not to let him drive it into the ground, but due to him being sooo low already, sometimes I am not as quick as he is, so I will have to use the treat to get him to release. I notice you use the word "out" as opposed to "leave it", which I think I will discuss over in the obedience section in another post. Thanks again for your wisdom and the videos! More please!