you are free to disagree, i will tell you these are the techniques used buy both my uncle (who has been breeding bull dogs, pugs and doberman pinchers for over 30 years) and my sister (who has been breeding mastuffs for 10 years)

and no you dont want the dog to be "your friend" they MUST be your subordanate the dog owner/dog relationship needs to be master/servant. dogs dont understand friendship they only know dominance and submisiveness thats how dogs have related to each other and their enviroment for thousands of years.
making sure you have dominance over your dog will ensure it will never bite you because it clearly knows its place, treating you dog as an equal or "friend" is what will get you or someone else bit. the dog will always try to "find his place" and unless that place is clearly defined as the bottom he may show some aggressiveness towards you or someone in your family in an attempt to establish where he fits in

 

Mine never had a problem being my friend. They lived and breathed for the moments that we spent together. And trust me......all of my dogs were my friend. And I was theirs.

What about the countless situations where a police dog has saved his/her officer's life when the officer was injured or downed by a criminal? Most (if not all) acted on their own without any instruction or guidance by the downed officer. There are dozens of times that this has happened. I have personally met some of the officers and their dogs. Anyone could see the compassion and love that they had for one another. Did they put their own life on the line because they were taught to be submissive? Or could it possibly have been an act of loyalty and friendship?

Or the dog that pulled the drowning child from the pool? Or ran next door when their master had become immobile from an accident? Or pulled the elderly lady out of their burning home? Obedience doesn't cause these selfless acts. Friendship and loyalty does.

Not trying to continue or start an ongoing debate on this, but I'd much rather have an animal in my home that is dedicated to myself and the wife and kids because they are a part of our family, rather than because they know that I am the boss.

 

When my dog was a pup, she play-bit as well. I never used the "asserting dominance" methods of holding her down, or anything like that. The only time I held a pup down on its back was to determine if it was a more dominant or submissive type, when choosing a pup.

Anyways, what I did with mine is similar to how they learn in normal puppy pack behaviour. Puppies normally play-bite, as mentioned before, puppies explore things with their mouths as they have no hands. When my pup was playing and got a little too rough, all it took was to let out a sharp yipe, just like a littermate would. She would immediately stop and release, and since she is a sucky pup, she would lick and kiss it all better. The times that a yelp did not suffice, a sharp pop on the nose and a "NO BITE" usually brought a stop to the behaviour. If that fails, then she got a time out by herself.

She is a 9 yr old Rottweiler now, and anyone can put their hand into her mouth (she hates it). She will try to get your hand out of her mouth with her tongue, because she knows that doggy teeth should not touch human hands.

I am a vet assistant, and it's kind of disappointing to see how many dog owners let their dogs "walk" all over them. When we try to restrain them for a procedure and they act up, you should see the look on the dogs' faces when they actually get reprimanded with a pop on the nose and a stern NO. It's like it's happening for the first time.

 

I can understand what WillDog is saying, but I do believe there must be a balance. Most of the dogs you encounter that have bad behavior are like that because their owners are too soft on them. You can't be afraid to discipline your dog. And because your dog is an animal and not a person, you have to correct its behavior in a way that an animal would understand. An important part of dog obedience is that the dog knows you are the boss, and when you say something, like "no bite!", you mean it and you are not just playing around. This doesn't mean you have to assert yourself as a big bad bully that your dog should not mess with at all, but it is important to assert the dominance required to get the respect you need as a dog owner.

 

Well said, Lady B. My point exactly. A firm hand is better than a WWF bodyslam.

 

i dont see where anyone said to "body slam" your dog? i in fact made it a point to say "...you dont hurt the dog but you make it very clear who is in charge"

 

wlihunter:

Just looked in your photo album. Nice DPMS! I'm going to take a wild guess here.............by looking at your screen name, would that be the same thing as a "Wily" hunter? (as in the cartoons?) My son and I do that here in Tennessee. Just a guess????? Sorry if I mis-interpreted it.

 

thx ...close on the name "walleye hunter" i used to fish in tournements...then the kids came along, i hope to get back into it some day.