I like you, I dont like you, I like you, I dont like....

[gilazno]

Help!!! Biggie has become a split personality little doggie!!! I just read Fran's post What would I do differently...and I think Biggie is going through something similar to what Dari did..and he is just over 2 years old!!!.A few months ago biggs started freaking out when he saw the dog across the street. (big white dog) hackles would go up and he would start barking and running round the house..time passed and we told him no, didnt work, tried calming him by telling him its ok didnt work..distraction with treats, nope didnt work..when he sees this dog down the street he will plant his little feet and not move an inch!! i have had to pick him up to move him from the line of sight!! we have since neutered biggie and things seem to have gotten worse. it is now not only the white dog but other dogs too..there seems to be no ryme or reason that i can see..he seems fine with all dogs smaller then him or any dog that he played with as a puppy (he plays really well with my folks old english sheepdog, her name is maximum..nough said?) he has started this behavior when we are walking now with more then just the one dog as i said..but they range, 1puppy lab mix, 1 golden, 1 bassetmix..we recently got a harness which seems to help a little but I think the problem is his major attitude and that mommy and daddy spoiled him a wee bit too much:-) If obedience training is the answer can anyone suggest some things we can work on at home?? any help/advice is appreciated..

[franp]

Deja vu.....
Oh boy, I feel your pain..And this is what I would do (and did)Find a really good trainer.Do obiedience.Do NILIF. And do it ....Do the obiedience three or four times a day for a couple of minutes ..EVERY day..

do NILIF every day..and where is Roosje.??

for those of you with pups;Frenchies attain thier REAL personalities at about 2.Thier dominant ,full of themselves , I am the bigshot; personalities..

Obiedience training is a MUST.. done with a firm , loving hand.NOT with force.but your dog MUST know who is the alpha..

Roosje is the real expert here. And I know she will post today or tomorrow..Do NOT be decieved by your cute puppy.They do grow up and into thier adult personalities..Read Charlottes article.Do not blame the owner; these are STRONG willed dogs..

[gilazno]

thx fran, just printed the nilif and looking for the other article...my sweet sweet baby boy has an evil side, its nice to know someone understands :-)

[franp]

Charlotte's article is under adoption. Read about how our dogs can take an instant dislike to a dog ...

[gilazno]

thanks again fran, that's a good one!! just printed and emailed to the hubby :)

[frenchiesmom]

ok, I find all this very interesting..Think I will sit up and pay attention..Thanks, Fran and whoever else helps with this. I have a lot to learn about frenchies..

frenchiesmom

[franp]

I work with Dari EVERY day.She must sit in the elevator;ask for a cookie; wait to go in the house or out.NILIF is a very big part of our life..

Give a Frenchie an inch and they take a MILE.

I demand that Dari do what she hates; she must do a down .All the way, with her belly on the ground.Then she gets a cookie. I am the boss.All with love; no harsh voice.

If you do not let your dog know from day one who is the pack leader;your dog will assume that role.The problem with our dogs is that they are so cute, we forget the STRONG ,DOMINANT personality that is part of them.The end result is what has happened to me and Gilazano.It can be corrected; with much hard work.
It is easier to avoid it from the beginning.

And do not kid yourself; there are dogs that yours will just NOT like.Frenchies hold a grudge.Once they have a bad feelin g(IMO) for a dog, they never will forgive ...

People keep reading Charlottes article and think "oh how could that happen?" These are people who really do not understand the nature of a French Bulldog. these are STRONG WILLED DOGS that need owners who understand what kind of dogs they have brought into the home.This does not mean the dog is aggressive or mean. This means this is a dog that will walk all over you ,given the chance..

[frenchiesmom]

I understand well what the article is saying. Due to the fact that I used to have a pitbull terrier. Now she was a great dog, and lived to be 17. BUT she is also one which I let know from the beginning who was boss. I never let her get the upper hand or even think she could. As it turned she was my best friend and quardian. But like you and Dari, I worked with her every day. They harp on pitbulls today, but a pitbull with a good alpha human cannot be beat. The only time she ever showed signs of aggression was if she thought I or my kids were in danger, and even then they they were always times in which I could have been in danger had it not been for her, like some stranger lurking around the house when I lived in the country and me and my kids were alone. Those types of situations. Needless to say at those times i was very happy to have her. But anyway, I know from raising her, exactly what the article is saying. Guess I will just have to think of my frenchies as pitbulls..lol

Thanks all of you for all the info

frenchiesmom

[gilazno]

thanks for all the replies and advice:
Roosje: I should have specified Biggie is always on a leash we live in a townhouse community so he is always seeing babies and doggies in the neighborhood and can never be off leash..he goes to my folks to run like a madman..they have a fenced yard:-)

make him sit before he sees the dog:
when we did obedience i think the one thing biggs learned was the sit command. he has always sat before getting a treat or before getting dinner and has learned to sit (but he has difficulty staying seated) and bark less (he now kind of whimpers) when we see the white dog. however, he goes into a frenzy when he is inside and the white dog is outside playing...biggs sees him through glass doors we have..
how do i let him know this behavior is bad w/out correcting him or telling him no?

thanks everyone

[gilazno]

i will bring treats on the walk tonight...weather is nice here and i am leaving work early so will let you know how they work out....thanks again everyone

[franp]

When Dari does something that I do not approve of, I put her in a down, that is a submissive position. She understands, I think, that it is not acceptable behavior.

I make her go into a down and do not release her until she does it.This only happens when the action is a negative one.

This, I think is how they know what they have done is not what we want..

[gilazno]

When Dari does something that I do not approve of, I put her in a down, that is a submissive position. She understands, I think, that it is not acceptable behavior.
biggie was never able to learn down in obedience.. will sit acheive the same thing ya think?

[franp]

I don't know. Doing something that they do NOT want to is what makes them recognize you are alpha.

Teaching Dari to down was a misery.. It took a lot of work.And I rarely use it. But she HAD to learn it.

It sounds like he still does not see you as the alpha. Once you get him to do what YOU want , not what he wants, you will be the leader.

It takes time and patience.. Allot of patience..

[Martina]

I know that I sound like a broken record, but Jan Ferrell's The Dog Listener deals with Biggie's specific behaviour with regard to her technique called Amechien Bonding. It's pretty much identical to NIFIL, and gives lots of detailed reasons and ways to put stuff into practice. It's really easy to read and understand. I love this book.

I worry about G & L getting too big for their britches. We had a brief period of them not listening to me recently (waaaay more minor that what you're describing) and I tried to correct, use treats, distract, ignore, etc. What turned the situation around was OVER-the-top, excessive, sickly-sweet praise when they did the right thing. And I've always been one of those gushy "who's my goodest, bestest, wittle girlie-wirlies?! snookie, snookie, snookie." Honestly, people must think I'm dog-addled crazy now, but at least they've started behaving the way I want them to again!

[Carolyn]

Fran is right...there are some dogs that our dogs just hate. Abby hates the malamute mix that belongs to our neighbor. This is a really sweet dog....but the owners have no control over him when they take him for a walk. They will walk along our fence and allow him to go crazy on the leash which drives Abby nuts. She sees this as aggression. A few months ago they watched in amusement as their dog drove Abby crazy and made no attempt to control the dog. Well...the dog put his face into the chain link fense and Abby bit his tongue. They contacted my husband to make sure our dogs were current on vaccines and Jim advised them that maybe they should control their dog.
They STILL walk along the fence with no control...but make sure he doesn't put his face thru the fence. This is very frustrating for me. I don't feel that this is a situation that I can correct with training. So now...when I see them about to walk the dog...I just bring Abby into the house. Grrrr......

Carolyn

[frenchiesmom]

Good Morning All...Are there any specific links for NIFIL.? I would love to learn more about this for my frenchies.

frenchiesmom

[gmacleod]

Sure :)

Try these: http://www.sspca.org/Dogs_TANSTAAFL.html
http://members.aol.com/ukaim/frame.htm?b_leader.htm
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/dance4p.html
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/mindgames4p.html

And for other specific behaviours or training issues, there are some excellent articles at http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm

[frenchiesmom]

ok, Thanks a lot guys I will check these out..

frenchiesmom

[gilazno]

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

i believe that is the link. well here's the biggie report:
last night's walk was great. we passed several dogs in the neighborhood and one that biggie has had issue with before, we were walking with his 2 best frenchie buds and no problems..even with the dog he has had issue with previously..he was such a good boy and played very nicely with the basset mix (i mentioned in an earlier post he was not too thrilled w/this dog). I am beginning to think that maybe it is just certain dogs, and maybe he feels threatened by them like you guys said...
Martina, I have used the crazy praise as well with good success, when biggie looks like he is about to chase one of our 2cats and this has worked with him very nicely...will have to try it with the barking through the window!!

treats do not do it for biggs..to divert his attention but i have found that a squeaky toy or clapping while talking to him in the baby voice does work...i imagine i look like a crazywoman :)

I have read Jan Ferrell's book and recommend it highly, we used many of these techniques when biggie was young and they just sort of ceased as biggie got older...looks like its back to Amechien bonding for us!!!

Roosje:
What happens when you join him and observe together the playing dog telling him that it is o.k and maybe use the calming signals of Turid Rugaas http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1 like the yawning and than try to lure him away from the door to play a game together or to go the kitchen to give him for example a morsel of cheese as a treat.
I will have to try this.

thanks for the advice everyone