Donna asks…

Dog owner rights in apartment complexes?

Is okay for an apartment complex that advertises itself as being “animal friendly” to require dog owners to have their dogs locked in a kennel inside the apartment whenever they are left alone. This is required not only for regular dogs but service dogs as well. It does not matter how house trained the dog is. Also, if they can legally evict you because your dog barks when you are not home, but only when strangers cross into their “territory” such as knocking on the front door. As in, the apartment manager checking to make sure the dog is locked up so he/she knocks on the door, then enters the apartment, which makes the dog bark because there are strangers in her house. A friend of mine is having problems at his complex and any help would be great! Thanks!

admin answers:

Check the lease for the rules regarding pets. If these are the rules…then the person who signed the contract must abide by them, face eviction or move.

Paul asks…

barking dog, reasonable complaint from neighbour, can’t afford dog training….HELP!?

I have a VERY nervous dog.Not thro ill treatment just by nature. Hates being left alone(not that she ever is!).Barks incesently when there’s anyone on the street.She has a calm companion dog but hasn’t helped.She is 5yrs old and I can’t go anywhere!She’s a sweetie really but I can’t relax her!Tried pheremone spray, diazapam,ignoring it,distraction,affection,aggression, really don’t know how to help her.Please help us to help her
x!
is german shepard x if this helps! her companion is a lab. mij (GCX) is already spayed
she is a ‘house dog‘ a family pet,much loved!However she is not ‘spoiled’ she has her bounderies, she does not get on the furniture, or recieve tit bits, or sleep in our bed!!!

admin answers:

An anti bark collar is definately the way to go.

I had complaints from neighbours at my previous house about one of my dogs barking. I bought an anti bark collar and everyone was happy!

The one i used sprays a squirt of air scented with citronella upwards towards the dogs face when it barks. It only took minutes for the dog to realise that if she stopped barking she would no longer get sprayed. Once the spray ran out I didn’t refill the collar for a while – just putting the collar on was enough to stop her barking.

You can get them at Pets at Home or online – the one i used was called Aboistop or something similar.

Good luck!

Ruth asks…

How do I get the hubby to understand he needs to train the dogs too?

We have one Mini Eskimo, (My dog) and a Llasa Apso (His Dog) The eski is timid and shy but learns quickly and is pretty obediant. If I am trying to give the Llasa a comand, the Eski acts like I am talking to her and starts to shake and freak out when I am repetting the command to the Llasa and she isnt doing it. The Llasa is very stubborn and refuses to obey me. She just ignores me or goes over to him and he lets her lay there and do nothing all day. On walks the Llasa pulls really hard and has injured my shoulder and neck from pulling her back, and trying to teach her not to pull. The Llasa snaps at and bullys the other dog, and snaps at the hubby, kids and strangers. She has never snapped at me tho. She also eats everything in site and wants more. She is fat and has food allergies so she needs to limit how much and what she eats. The Hubby sees no need to train the dogs or disapline his dog. He keeps saying he wants to just get rid of her just to spite me when we fight about it. I dont want to give up on her, I want to train her. When she is left alone while I am trying to train the other dog she sweats, barks incessantly, and deficates in the cage. She would be put down if we gave her to the Humaine society. We are planning to have kids and he cant see why its so important to train his dog before she bites our kids. I also dont want to be 8 months pregnant and have a dog pulling me down the stairs every time I potty them.

admin answers:

I would hazard a guess that if he’s this bad/lazy with his dog, he will be worse with kids who are so much more work and require way more time and effort. I wouldn’t even consider having children at this point if I were you, never mind the danger to the children of having a dog in the house who is aggressive.

The Lasa Apso sounds bored, under-exercised, and spoiled. Dogs have needs that have to be met. If their needs are left unattended, you end up with an animal who is destructive, engages in obsessive behaviour, and often overweight. In addition, if a dog has no boundaries and guidelines, they have no idea what they can and can’t do. If a dog doesn’t have a boss, then they will assume that role.

Both dogs need to attend an obedience course. It will give the Eskimo confidence as well as socialize her. The Llasa will learn that she’s not the boss. Your husband will be trained to be a better owner and given the skills he needs to educate his dog.

Dogs aren’t born with manners or the skills/behaviours that you want them to have. It’s the owner’s responsibility to teach this.

Enroll the dogs in obedience. If your husband won’t attend, you take both dogs. They will become more loyal to you as a result of you taking the alpha role and setting boundaries.

Mary asks…

alaskan malamute training?

my alaskan malamute is 18mnths old , boy, i have had him for 4 mnths now,i am a first time dog owner, and took the dog not knowing much about him, i have since read lots about the breed and have learned alot, however there are still many issues i need to put right, i have 3 children between 4 and 10.
1.growling at my kids. they can be quite roudy, and he will growl at them,hardly aggresive ,but a certain growl. he seems to be protective of them but doesent like them near him at times, it seems, allthough in the park/garden or beach,he seems playfull and carefull with them,i am cautious of him around the kids.can i train him better?
2 . dog jumps up to bite my arm during play.can be quite frightening,he has never bitten hard,but it is worrying,
3. occasional scent marking in the house,he might be fine for days, but patches appear now and then, usually in more than one place. we clean up but he seems to use the same spots???? and he sprays the rubbish bags.
4. rumaging in rubbish bags,can be quite aggresive,if he manages to get is head in a bag,it can be a bit of a struggle to get him out?
5. he has managed to break through the fence with his head and bite there labrador, they have 3 barking dogs and they bark at the fence,almost an invitation to fight, left alone barking dogs dont seem to bother him, but scratching at the fence,sets him off,now he s in the bad books with the naighbours????
6.digging! he is now trying to dig holes under the fence to next door. yes where there are 3 snapping dogs????
we do not have much money and was given the dog for a small amount of money, and told he was fine,he just took time away from there only child,which seemed a reasonable-reason ,we have a large garden,and all the family love him lots,he has snapped at my daughter,as she tried to wipe his nose as he was eating,even though she knows she is not supposed to be near him when eating,since then me and my partner are feeding him from hand or holding his bowl and periodically taking it off of him or distracting him, which is working well,should i let my children feed him like this?… he is being fed a salmon/potatoe dry food,hypoallergenic, 1 good bowl after our evening meal, he will usually sit/give paw /lay down/ stay down. allthough can completly ignore at times,
he gets a walk/run in a morning, for around 30 mins, my partner might walk him during the day whilst i am at work,allthough just as often not,but i will play in the garden ,and an hours walk,quite often more in the evenings, usually hill climbing or through forest, however once a week randomly,i will keep him in,and also i do not feed him once a week.
i am worried i am doing somthing wrong,and somthing bad will happen, i aim to get him pulling a cart, but money is tight and we have not much spare money for harness and things at the moment,so any opinions/advice/help will be really appreciated, i love my boy,he is amazing

admin answers:

First of all he needs to be fixed to control some of his behavior. If not he is going to give you lots of trouble and marking his territory is one of them.
When he is fixed so will his attitude towards your children and that is a must around children before he bites and hurts them.
Now when he eats, you need to leave him alone and that means the children..you never go near a dog when he is eating unless the dog knows who is in control and he doesn’t know this yet.
When he eats, he needs to be fed at the same place each day and he needs to wait for his food. That in itself is a command. Waiting and giving paw teaches him he must work for his food, not get it freely.
When he listens and does the command that is where you children can start feeding him so your dog understands that the children are above him.
There needs to be someone over the dog as if not the dog will take over and that is what is called dominance.
If the dog takes over that is where he will bite, and you need to stop him right away.
Now training him to obey is done with treats and commands and you need him to understand you are in control
When he goes for walks, you need to be the first one out the door he waits, this shows him again who is in control
Once you are out, allow him to come out, wait for you and then walk. Stop if he walks ahead of you. Do not move as this will make the walk stop altogether.
When he stops, turn around and walk the other way, that way he is behind you. This teaches him you are in control of the walks.
Keep treats handy and while walking, you stop and have him stop too. When he does, say Good Boy and praise him and give him a treat making him sit.
This again is showing him what you want him to do.
This is not easy to do but in order to control him, you must be in control He needs to understand where his pecking order is and that he is under you.
Now if you let him run, that is fine as dogs need to exercises at some point but when he comes at your calling that is where he gets a treat for coming back to you when you call him,.
Again that shows him what he is to do.( Treats are what teaches him good behavior)
Play with him with a toy outside like a ball or Frisbee and teach him to drop the toy. This keeps him interested in a game. Have your children play with him too and correct him if he bites or growls by saying out loud STOP or NO and look in his eyes as that is a threat to him and he will obey.
Eye contact works too as that gets him to understand you mean what you say.

So keep an eye on him and make sure at some point he is neutered to control his aggressiveness and he will calm down after that.
Try and find an SPCA or Humane society in your area that may do the neutering for a cheap price as some will to help the community with animals at large like cats, etc.

Ken asks…

Young aggressive / lonely dog?

My friend, Mel, owns a young dog for a few months.

Mel & her family work everyday and most of the time, reach home around evening, that means, the dog is left all alone at home by itself. With no companion, perhaps not much toys either.

Recently, the dog has been acting very strange. Probably due to the lack of interacting with humans & other dogs, it turns even more aggressive.

According to Mel, the dog barks, whines and scratch objects around it. Even the vet couldn’t handle the dog. He’s too defensive & rather fierce as well despite the small size.

Is there any ways Mel can improve her dog‘s behavior?
& to let it gain more trust from humans & people around him?

I don’t think Fudgie (the dog) is trained since the family are way too busy with their career.

Fudgie is also a timid dog. It moves away when someone get close to him.

Thanks! Your opinions & advices are welcomed!
I don’t think she would want to give up on Fudgie since she tried really hard to persuade her parents to let her brother & her to own a dog.

Of course, she’ll do anything to improve Fudgie’s behavior. Not to worry :)
PS: Oh, how can she train Fudgie herself? If possible, maybe come up with list: :)

admin answers:

I think that Mel’s dog is simply too lonely. Often dogs and puppies who are left alone a lot become either extremely aggressive or extremely shy. However, it could be because of some experience the dog had while Mel was away. If you want my advice, make sure all windows and doors are locked before leaving. You never know what can happen.

As for Mel’s case, probably the best solutions would be to

a) Give the dog to another family who can care for the dog and give him enough attention. Also they need a lot of patient.

B) Find some way to spend time with the dog.

C) Find a doggie day care center to leave the dog at.

D) Make some plan with a neighbor so that the dog can stay there while Mel is away.

E) Talk to an animal psychiatrist.

Probably the two worst possible solutions are to either give the poor dog to the pound or neutralize him. Don’t do this unless you really have no choice. I’m serious, unless you want bad karma for the rest of your life.

I hope this helps. Thanks for reading, anyway.

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