ok my friend is having probs with his dog
alpha male thing any advice on how to help him please he has a baby on the way due in 3 months, thanks

ps the dog is now 5 yrs old they have had him since being a pup

I know someone who has just used the sheffield barkbuster person, and was having problems with the dog. The lady has sorted the problem and was really happy with them.

I know BB are expensive though but its long term value

do you think if he got him snipped it might help as hes not been done i said it would help not to have unwanted puppies

Who has told him that it's an dominance problem? I'm somewhat sceptical about the amount of problems that really are caused through dominance (although many are) and treating it as you would treat dominance aggression, when it's not can have terrible effects.

what exactly are the problems he's experiencing?

neutering can and does help but in many situations doesn't. It depends whether the problem is hormonal or not.

the dog has selective hearing started running of
wont do as hes told ive given tips on starting back to basics with training
and giving the dog treats for doing as hes told,
i said maybe its just he needs retraining more than anything else
wheres the best place to get him snipped ??? hes in westfield area

It doesn't really sound like a dominance thing... more just like things haven't been trained fully and although he knows and will do it, he hasn't been conditioned to do it whenever he's told to.

You have to be careful with treats, they need to be used in moderation and intercepted with other rewards so that the dog isn't just doing it soley for food.

Having him done may help with the running off, but he should be done anyway if he's not going to be shown or bred from - but you know all this already don't you ;) It's just your friend who needs convincing!

thanks lotti its along time since i had a dog so i could only give basic advice on what to do, :)

If this dog is a staffie or rottie or a cross of either breed, contact RainRescue for free neutering vouchers anyway

dogs can view their humans as their pack, and I know of at least two dogs who have gone 'off the rails' with a baby on the way. If you view all family members and the dog from a pack perspective, you often find that the dog is fulfilling the role of one of the lower members in the pack - seeing off 'intruders' (even when out of the home), warning of potential 'invasion', protecting the new baby or pregnant 'pack queen'

People foget how important scent is to dogs, and hormones don't go unnoticed by them. It sounds like this dog needs reassurance and confirmation of what kind of behaviour is acceptable

I'd strongly recommend having a chat with a behaviourist such as Kim Hunt who can help put the dog in a different pack role and settle things back down for your friend :thumbsup:

Strix (et al) I went to see the dog yesterday and he is so lovely!! His owners really are worrying about something very small.
In general he's very happy fulfilling a subordinate role but gets defensive when told off.

The owners are going to focus on positive reward based training rather than highlighting the negative things he does and are going to invest in a house line (£1.99 from pets at home, or tie a piece of string to his collar!) so that they don't need to grab his collar when he's getting into mischief. The movement towards the back of his neck to grab his collar is what sets him off due to it being a threat in dog language.

Huggybabe - I was really surprised what a lovely dog it was that I went to see yesterday and have told your friends this - but please reitterate for me, they've done incredibly well so far and with the tips I gave them about reward based training and clicker training, I'm sure they'll manage to get on top of this problem :)

awww thanks lotti thats great, i know hes a great dog my son loves him,
im so glad its going to be fairly easy, my friend is calling tonight so i guess i will hear lots i said about clicker training, but as i said its a few years since i had a dog, i just have guinea pigs now, id love a dog.
thanks everyone for the replys :d

Ahhh, I hadn't guessed this was the dog you told me you were going to meet Lotti ;)