Had to fight my dog

[shaolin]

Last 2 months I have taught my dog basic obedience and I am introducing new distractions into my training.
Last week I have made him do obedience right before feeding (put down the food and then start training). He is always distracted by the food and tries to run for it when he can. He will come when called but face the food and not me...and so on. Today I did the same thing but when I called him he came to me and jumped. So I said no and repeated the command and when he didn't do it I reached for his collar. Thats when he crossed the line imo and mouthed me (put his mouth on my hand but didn't bite). I didn't have a leash on him and it looked like he was getting more excited. So I wrestled him down (mouthed me a couple times in the process) and held him down, hand on his neck, yelled at him. When he calmed down (30 sec) I made him sit and took away the food. Decided not to feed him until the evening.
Now I am wondering if I handled it badly. Did I overreact? Just to clarify I didn't hit him just put him down and held him. I know I should have had a leash on him but sometime you don't and the dog has to listen anyways.

[PitBull_30]

How old is he? How exactly did he "mouth" your hand? (BTW, I do know what you mean by "mouth". I just mean exactly how did he do it?)

[miakoda]

I personally would not have done things that way. Remember that you need to stay calm & in control at all times. It sounds like you lost it there.

And I don't understand taking away the food. Was that to punish him? Because canines cannot think & reason like humans so I can guarantee that he didn't have a clue as to why you made him sit there then took his food away.

[Michele]

Have you tried NILIF

[Phebes]

Last 2 months I have taught my dog basic obedience and I am introducing new distractions into my training.
Last week I have made him do obedience right before feeding (put down the food and then start training). He is always distracted by the food and tries to run for it when he can. He will come when called but face the food and not me...and so on. Today I did the same thing but when I called him he came to me and jumped. So I said no and repeated the command and when he didn't do it I reached for his collar. Thats when he crossed the line imo and mouthed me (put his mouth on my hand but didn't bite). I didn't have a leash on him and it looked like he was getting more excited. So I wrestled him down (mouthed me a couple times in the process) and held him down, hand on his neck, yelled at him. When he calmed down (30 sec) I made him sit and took away the food. Decided not to feed him until the evening.
Now I am wondering if I handled it badly. Did I overreact? Just to clarify I didn't hit him just put him down and held him. I know I should have had a leash on him but sometime you don't and the dog has to listen anyways.
I don't know but seems like you are asking a lot. My dogs know not to touch their food until I tell them they can. They also know never to touch the cat's food. I can see training when hungry with treats but to put down the meal and not let the dog eat it until you training session is over just seems to me a lot to ask. Specially if still a young dog. Then to take away the food and make him go without eating I would think may create a food aggression issue where none before existed or at least make him very anxious about his food.
IMHO

[Attila]

Never yell. You can submit the dog but just use a firm no, even roll him over onto his back and make him submit. Not harshly though just let him know your alfa. No yelling that tends to either make them more excited or scare them. Neither is going to be a positive result. Use a toy for now and try treat methods again later.

[pennsooner]

IMO, you are going about your training is way too adversarial. Try to be more of your dogs "friend". Look at it this way. People train large, dangerous wild animals and are able to get specific, fairly complex behaviors out of animals that have NO desire to please humans. Your average dog on the other hand loves to please humans. You control every good thing in your dogs life. So, by the simple use of well timed rewards you can get you dog to do most anything. I'm not saying to NEVER correct your dog by any means. Its just don't turn training into a test of wills every time. If you can make it more fun you'll get a lot farther with your dog.


Try treats or play as a reward for positive behavoirs you wish to reinforce. As much as possable, ignore it when the dog messes up.

[ChiaPit]

Maybe if you call your dog towards you...facing You...and then after a couple of commands (sit, lay, etc) put down the food...with the stay command..and then let the dog eat, it will put the focus back on YOU and not the food/mealtime excitement.

I know I get excited when its time to eat!!;)



Edit: I just reread and saw you were trying to distract him...maybe he's just not ready yet, maybe try again in a few weeks and see his reaction.

[ericschevy]

Last 2 months I have taught my dog basic obedience and I am introducing new distractions into my training.
Last week I have made him do obedience right before feeding (put down the food and then start training). He is always distracted by the food and tries to run for it when he can. He will come when called but face the food and not me...and so on. Today I did the same thing but when I called him he came to me and jumped. So I said no and repeated the command and when he didn't do it I reached for his collar. Thats when he crossed the line imo and mouthed me (put his mouth on my hand but didn't bite). I didn't have a leash on him and it looked like he was getting more excited. So I wrestled him down (mouthed me a couple times in the process) and held him down, hand on his neck, yelled at him. When he calmed down (30 sec) I made him sit and took away the food. Decided not to feed him until the evening.
Now I am wondering if I handled it badly. Did I overreact? Just to clarify I didn't hit him just put him down and held him. I know I should have had a leash on him but sometime you don't and the dog has to listen anyways.

Was there pressure behind the bite or did he just put his mouth on you???

[shaolin]

My dog is around 2 now so he is still young. I only do this for a couple minutes so the food is a reward for doing a few commands. My experience with this dog is that he gets mouthy when he doesn't want to listen. When I first got him, he would get mouthy and try to run after a minute of obediendce. Now he doesn't do that anymore when on a leash. I also didn't want him to start mouthing me and think it was ok. If I had a leash on him I would have corrected him with a firm tug and NO. What would you guys have done to correct him, no leash and dog just mouthed you.

There is no preasure behind the mouth but I can see it getting worse if I just let it go. I think he just isn't ready for this yet. I tried obedience while I had the food and it was flawless. On the same note what do you guys use as treats when training. I have been use a toy (Kong, tennis ball) but I want to use some food treats as reward when on a walk.

[ChiaPit]

My dogs are so silly, I can grab a handful of their dog food and give it out one kibble at a time and they act like its something special. I buy snap biscuits for a special treat.

[Rocky H. Balboa]

Hello Shaolin!
It seems you are asking a question on how to train your dog and if "mouthing" is ok. In regards to the latter, it is not ok for him to put any part of your body in his mouth as a response to your discipline. Everytime he does this, smack him with finger tips on top of muzzle with a NO command. If you ever see him going for it again and then stopping (self-correcting), praise him with a short "good boy" and a rub on head. An Alpha role should not be one of Warlord Ruler. It should be one of a Gentle King...lol

[mydawgs]

My dog is around 2 now so he is still young. I only do this for a couple minutes so the food is a reward for doing a few commands. My experience with this dog is that he gets mouthy when he doesn't want to listen. When I first got him, he would get mouthy and try to run after a minute of obediendce. Now he doesn't do that anymore when on a leash. I also didn't want him to start mouthing me and think it was ok. If I had a leash on him I would have corrected him with a firm tug and NO. What would you guys have done to correct him, no leash and dog just mouthed you.

There is no preasure behind the mouth but I can see it getting worse if I just let it go. I think he just isn't ready for this yet. I tried obedience while I had the food and it was flawless. On the same note what do you guys use as treats when training. I have been use a toy (Kong, tennis ball) but I want to use some food treats as reward when on a walk.
The tools you use to train your dog will be a function of the dogs drive. Sounds like he has a strong food drive. My point is you may or may not be able to switch to another tool, like a tennis ball. My APBT will stand on his head for food, and absolutely nothing for a tennis ball. My Am Staff will sell her soal for a tennis ball and absolutely nothing for food.

I have been taught when you are training you can NEVER let the dog disobey w/o a correction. You may ALWAYS give the dog the choice to make the right decision but if the dog chooses wrong a quick and effective correction must be made or the dog is training you. I used a 22 foot lead on mine when I was training in the house. They were never out of their crate w/o this lead so I could ALWAYS give a timely correction.

As for alpha rolls....don't care for them personally, I prefer the down and stay command. If your dog mouthed me, he would get a correction, then I would put him in a down and stay, he would not be free to move until I gave the command. Of course this means you have to stay right there with them...sheesh. Message you did something I did not like now I will be in complete control and you will be made to submit until I SAY you may go. The down stay is also good for being outside and if you quickly want to immobolize your dog. The other day I had my Am Staff out chasing a ball in a very secluded field that I go to be away from people, a woman came from behind us and put her young daughter down (5 yrs old maybe) and the kid b-lined for my dog. She is fine with kids but I am always afraid she will get excited and knock one over, I commanded her to a down and stay until I could get to her and monitor the child/dog interaction since the childs mother did not seem to be interested.

Any way good luck....and kudos for training your pup, so many folks don't!!!!!!

[shaolin]

I feel the same way as mydawgs. The only reason I wrestle him down is because I didn't have a leash on him and he ws getting very excited. I didn't want him to get away with it. Last few days I have had him on a leash all the time when I am home. Also the training going much better now that I hold on to the food but he sometimes stops listening after a minute then comes back ubder control when I say NO. This is a big improvement, even goes back to where I told him to sit. :)

[NCPatchwork]

As a trainer..I agree with what you did..you should only give food once they have done what you want them too do...this shows you have the upper hand and they do not run your home...I think you did good.