How do I stop this behavior?

My 6 month old pup has started acting really strange. If you "sneak" up on him (not trying to scare him just happening to walk where he cant see) or if you walk around into the backyard when he is tied up, he barks. I dont mind that part, the part I do mind is that he doesnt stop. Like, he knows damn well Im his boss and Ill smack his ass if he misbehaves, and 99% of the time he is good, but he doesnt seem to "recognize" who I am, and if I reach for him (he always does it in the doghouse) he bares his teeth and snaps. The only way to get him out is to pull on the cable, and everytime he does it, I smack him and tell him no. If someone happens to walk onto my property and decides to walk up to the pretty doggie, they are going to get bit. Hw do I stop this behavior??

 

Anyone who comes onto your property and touches your dog without you being there or without asking needs to be bit IMO

I have no advise on the snarling at you though, whats he like off the chain as some dogs are totally diffrent on and off the chain, still no excuse to snap and snarl at the hand that feeds him.

 

I wish it would work that way, my dad gets sued to hell if anyone gets bit.

After I take him out of the doghouse and smack him, he is perfectly fine like nothing ever happened.... I want to just take the house away, but then he has no shelter.... This is the only time I have a problem with him, he NEVER does this any other time except when he is in it...

 

Maybe he doesn't want to get out yet lol. Does he growl and you smack him alot, he may relate coming out of the kennal to getting a wack? IDK

 

next time he growls at you "smack" the shit outta him. obviously the baby taps you've been doing no longer have any real effect...make him realize if he growls he gets punished.

 

Or that LOL
I wasn't sure what approach the OP was wanting to take.

 

I don't think you should be hitting the dog period .. Hitting him is not going to make him do anything but fear you and the situation even more. You don't have to hit a dog to get his attention or to correct bad behavior. You can put your hands around his muzzle firmly and say NO with a firm tone but don't smack him. Have you ever had him checked to make sure there is no health issues going on? Ears, eyes ect?

 

missapbt - No I dont smack him alot, just one time but its not a baby tap, nor is it a slam... Just in between.
Sampson - I cant do anymore than I already am as far as hitting him, I have neighbors that would love to call the AC to have the "pitbull" disappear because I am "beating" him, and he has this habit of making things sound so much worse than they are (yelping when I havent even touched him yet) when he is in this situation.
Sadie - Iv tried putting my hands around his mouth, has absolutely no effect. He is healthy, no problems with that.

I just need to find a reasonable way to stop it, because if he bites someone, I am going to " get rid" of him. I cannot have a HA dog.

 

Sounds like fear aggression to me. He needs more confidence, and being physical with him will just make him worse.

 

Amen to that! I agree 100% You need to try and sort out the behavior by other means don't hit the dog your making it worse. Sounds exactly like fear aggression if their are no underlying medical conditions. Here is a good read that may help.. You might need the help of a behavior specialist if you can't identify the route of the fear.

What is Dog Fear Aggression? And How to Deal with it

 

if you want the behavior to stop then the only solution is socialization.

 

The dog maybe partially blind. If he barks until yours certain feet away everytime and it's a windy day, he may not be able to see you kr smell you from that distance. there have been plenty of blind apbts

 

Sadie and Ultimatek9, Why does he only do it when he is in his stupid house? If he is in his cage or tied up but not in the dog house I have not a single problem with him.
DP, he is socialized, he sees and meets new people everyday on our walks, gets to see and interact with the cats, other dogs, etc. What more can I do to socialize him (besides spend a ridiculous amount of money on a trainer)
Purepit, he isn't blind, not at all, and can smell too. He continues to bark and growl until I pull him all the way out of the house. He is protecting the stupid thing.

 

Or could he protecting SOMETHING IN THE HOUSE like a toy? food? bones? :confused:

 

That pretty unstable if he is protecting something in his house from his 'master'
If my dogs growled at me over food (or anything) i would show them what is what.

 

Because he obviously has some sort of fear of of being taken from his dog house. I would muzzle him and and work on leading him out of his dog house and giving him a treat for coming out without showing fear or aggression. It's obviously going to be a process but you can do it without smacking the crap out of him. Do you call him from his house? Or do you reach in and grab him out? Your going to have to get him comfortable with coming out of his house by being called or lead out. Get a muzzle and work on it with him everyday until he get's used to it without showing any fear. Keep walking him back into his house and then call him back out when he comes out on his own without any trouble praise him with your voice and treat him. When he comes out and snarls or growls take your hands tightly around his muzzle and firmly say NO and lead him right back into his house and start again. I would personally still have his sight checked with a vet to make 100% sure that he is not blind or partially blind in both or one of his eyes. Your going to have to be repetitive and use praise getting him used to coming in and out of his house and overcoming whatever fear he has to the situation.

 

There is nothing in the house besides a rug. He is not allowed to have food or toys unsupervised. Yes I call him out, I tell him to shut up too (barking at me). He doesnt do it all the time, only when he doesnt see the person coming.

 

Iv already said that type of punishment has NO effect on him.

 

There is nothing in the house besides a rug. He is not allowed to have food or toys unsupervised. Yes I call him out, I tell him to shut up too (barking at me). He doesnt do it all the time, only when he doesnt see the person coming. EDIT** When he doesnt see the person coming out of our home**

 

Well there you go he is startled and he's protecting his territory don't startle him give him some notice that your on your way out by calling him first so he knows who's coming. I mean this is really very simple he should know your voice and recognize his master at 6 months old unless of course he is blind or deaf even partially. Don't just run up on him like that if you know he gets startled by it. Dogs are funny they get spooked by all all sorts of stuff.