Fierce And Adamant Dog

Hi.. I have a dog of one year old, but he became fierce and is no allowing any one to touch him or even to enter our house for the past two months. i asked my vet regarding this and he said it's a breed that like to be a one master dog, but if you do the birth control operation you can be able to reduce his fierceness.. can someone tell me how to correct his behaviour and tame him like other dogs. He particularly does not allow anyone to enter the house except us and he is very alert to sounds and even his smell sense is too good. pls duggest some ideas to help me improve him behaviour.....

What breed do you have? In my opinion, no breed is ferocious or aggressive by birth and become so due to poor handling and lack of training and attention. Please dont get me wrong but I cant think of any other reason. All dogs would become the pack leaders if given a chance and as their parents its up to us to assume that role. Again, all dogs love to have someone in their family be the pack leader and would be wonderful companions if they're led by someone.
There are tons of articles available on the internet and you can find some very good tips on Cesar Milan's website. There are many folks on this forum as well who can provide a lot of good tips. Go through the threads on this forum and you will find some very valuable tips and advise.
Questions:

- Do you keep your dog tied up or restricted a lot?
- Does your dog get enough exercise and play time? Do you have a regular exercise schedule?
- Have you tried to enforce yourself as a pack leader in a positive way?
- Did you get the dog to socialize when he was young? (He is still young enough I guess for this to start)
- Do you feed him regularly and on time?
- Is there anyone in your family who the dog is friendly with?

Most dogs become aggressive when they have excessive energy built up and they do not get opportunities to release the energy. Again, lack of socialization is a strong factor in a dog's aggression. If the dog is friendly with the family members then probably what you need to do is get him on a regular exercise schedule and some off leash play time (gradually) and in the process slowly introduce him to other dogs/people as a part of the exercise/play. Be stern yet positive in your approach. Since he is only 1year old, he is still a puppy and can be trained to be a wonderful pet. Good luck.

PS: If your vet says that your dog's breed makes him a master, I think you should consider changing your vet.

Agree with you Gaurav. Which is why my first question was about the breed and what breed it is so that we can be a little more specific with out tips...

Thanks for the posts Gautam and Gaurav. Yes, i know i lack somewhere in training my dog. Thats why i'm here to know where i lack and how to improve my relationship with my dog. Actually i took him home when he was around 5 months, from the street. He had severe injury on his leg so i took him to the vet clinic and medicated and vaccinated did all the things and came home. At first, he was not socialized with us even with our family members and it was difficult to tie him on the rope and take him for a walk, or bath, etc,. But now he is listening to my words, comes for the walk and even takes his bath quitely. But i still want him to be friendly with others. But i dont know how to do that thats why i need your opinions on this.

Now here's my answers to your questions, Gautam:

Breed-Its a cross breed of rajapalayam (my vet said)
- Do you keep your dog tied up or restricted a lot?
Yes, but we untie him at night time till 5.00A.M

- Does your dog get enough exercise and play time? Do you have a regular exercise schedule?
Yes. I'll take him for a walk for haalf an hour morning and night, and a 10 mins walk during the noon. And we use to play With the ball (throw and fetch).
- Have you tried to enforce yourself as a pack leader in a positive way?
I'm really sorry, but i don't know what "pack leader" means. Do you mean if he listens to my command. if so, yes he listens. But he is not listening to my commands when he sees others entering our home or touches our stuffs (Eg Chair, sofa, even plants no one is allowed to touch these things)I really want to change this habit of him.
- Did you get the dog to socialize when he was young? (He is still young enough I guess for this to start)
No. This is what i want to learn "how will i make my Regan to socialize with others". He already bite two persons, thats the reasons we tied during the day time.
- Do you feed him regularly and on time?
Yes.
- Is there anyone in your family who the dog is friendly with?
He allows my mom and dad to feed him, they tried to untie him and even for the walk but he doesn't cooperate. He even growls when they do this so they are not doing these things now. So walking, playing, bathing, taking to the vet, everything is done by me. When i'm at home everything is normal, but i want the same thing when i'm not at home.

Now tell me friends, where and how i can to improve to train Regan to be friendly with others.
And what is this "one master" dog. Even my vet said this, does this mean he only listens to one person and not allow others near him?

Mona, that explain a lot. Rajapalayams are usually one man dogs and are excellent guard dogs. They are reserved with strangers and listen to one person only who they believe is their "leader". You can find some more information here: Rajapalayam (dog) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your dog's behavior is probably towards the other extreme of the breed standards but these dogs were bred to hunt and were known to be excellent guard dogs. They need a lot of free space and freedom to spend their energy failing which they will become aggressive. You need to continue to enforce yourself as the pack leader and introduce the other members of your family as folks higher than the dog in the pack. This will be a gradual process and you wont see any results overnight. Also remember that guarding is his natural instinct and you do not want to counter that but at the same time you want him to be a guard dog and not an attacker. So its up to you to tell him his limits and where to stop. I understand its a little difficult but with time, patience and the right kind of training, you will achieve the desired results.

You need to exercise him enough so that he does not have any built up energy which will result in aggression. Also tying up a dog makes him a little aggressive so as much as possible, keep him open. If he bites, I would recommend a soft muzzle which will restrict him but again, the use of a muzzle should be limited.

Whenever you observe him doing the right thing, do not forget to praise and reward him. Do some research online and you will find plenty of videos on obedience training. I would strongly recommend you taking time out to train your dog. As you mentioned he is still young, you will find that its easier than you think. The idea is a lot of positive reinforcement and patience.

Regarding being a pack leader, visit Dog Training DVDs, Books, Dog Supplies. Articles & Video Tutorials. | Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan and you will find a lot of information on being a pack leader and also tips on how to handle aggressive dogs.

Ok, so these are the real nature of these breeds. Thanks Gautam, sure i'll spend more time with him and train him. I have another doubt too, my vet said by doing ABC(Animal Birth Control) we can reduce the aggressive nature to some extent. Is it really true?

There are usually mixed opinions about that. Some people say that by neutering/spaying a dog, you make him/her more aggressive and some people say the exact opposite. My opinion is that basic obedience and behavior of a dog has got nothing to do with this. Plus he is only one year old so its not like he is sexually matured and needs to be mated so that is not the cause of his aggression anyways.

ok i get it now. So i have to train him in a way by giving him an exposure to other people. I think it'll take a long time to do this and sure i'll try it. Thanks a lot for the posts and the the links that you have attached, Gautam. It helped me to know a lot about my dog. Thanks again.

You're welcome Mona. It takes a big heart to adopt a puppy and then be willing to spend time with him to make him your companion. I'm sure soon you'll have an excellent dog and you will look back be proud of what you have achieved with him. Good luck..

rather doing the ABC why dont u train ur dog by a professinal trainer........thet can help u a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my opinion, since we are dealing with a dog who believes in having one master only, getting a professional trainer will still not solve the problem. If the trainer assumes the role of the leader in the dog's mind, he will listen to the trainer, but not to Mona or her family members. I have personally seen this happen with a boxer who belonged to my neighbour. They spent thousands to get the dog professionally trained and the dog was trained in perfect obedience but listened only to the trainer and no one in the family.

i used to have a mixed breed dog called Tommy which was like Regan. excessive guarding and barking issues even my neighbors used to complain but he didnt bite anyone. back then i found that doing obedience training daily with him, going on long walks of about 1-2 hrs twice daily, playing fetch etc and asking my cousins and parents to take turns to do training and playing really helped. After many months Tommy was more friendly towards others though not all his behavior was corrected. His temperament was like that. Tommy would only listen to me and never obey others, i used to be very proud of that i was a kid myself back then.

i agree with everything Gautam has said. Also I dont think a professional trainer will be of any help.

Mona, its gonna take a lot of training and time but it will surely be good in the end. please get some dog training books and start working with Regan to correct his behavior. in 2-4 months you will see some difference. i have done the same long ago with Tommy and it worked. i am really happy that you have adopted Regan and are willing to train him and correct him.

Neutering a dog has different view points. But its true that in some cases the aggressive nature goes away. a talk with the vet to decide whats best is good. i think ABC is good since most of us dont have plans to breed our dogs.

PS: two ebooks i would suggest you buy and read from amazon.com (kindle for pc).
Be the Pack Leader: Cesar Millan: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
Dog Training Academy: Obedience Training For Dogs: Jack Stenson: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

Yes Yuki, Regan has almost the same behavior as of Tommy. Even my neighbors complained and some some stopped coming to our house and thay want me to him somewhere, but i strictly said to my parents and others that i took him home so i'll keep Regan till the end at whatever cost. Yes, i can understand it'll take a lot of time to correct his behavior but i think the sooner i start the training the better the results are. I'll consult with my vet about ABC again, Yuki.

i think, it is not a big deal to adopt a puppy. But providing him a good family and an healthy environment is what it makes the difference. I am glad that i have my parents support in this as they also like pets a lot. Thanks for the posts friends.