# Dog Training And Dog Aggression



## Basiltheplant (Jan 2, 2017)

This has nothing to do with rats and it still p*sses me off.
I live with my Aunt and Uncle. I have a cat and my rats. They have two dogs. The dogs aren't trained. 
Well let me rephrase that, Murphy is trained and will listen to his commands. Cara will only listen to the commands if she can see that there is a treat for her and even then, she will only sometimes listen.
Cara is alpha out of the two and so when commands are given and Murphy sees that Cara is not doing them, he will then not do them.
Any redirection I give either of the two when in front of my Aunt and Uncle is immediateit met by them getting angry at me.
Cara will jump up so that her front paws are on the table and then start sniffing around trying to steal food. My uncle doesnt like this behavior. I don't like this behavior. My aunt encourages the behavior because she thinks it's 'cute'. 
These are not small dogs. Cara is 50 pounds and Murphy is 80. 
They do not listen to commands and engage in inappropriate behaviors with absolutely no redirection. 
Also Murphy is a very anxious and territorial dog. He doesn't like new people in the house or in his yard. When I first moved in he barked at me for 5 days with almost no break whenever he saw me.
He is scared of everything including his biggest fear, the ceiling fan. 
My Aunt and Uncle say that he is a big weenie dog and that he would never hurt anyone and has never hurt anyone and then they say that they think that Cara would be more likely to bite someone and only if they broke into the house "to protect her people." 
They tell everyone that Murphy is harmless and sweet and has never hurt a soul.
Murphy has bitten 5 people in the past 9 months.
He bit me
He bit my dad
He bit my friend
He bit our neighbor
He bit our neighbors 16 year old daughter.

He made me bruise and bleed
He made my dad bruise and bleed
He made my friend bruise
He made our neighbor bruise and bleed
He made our neighbors daughter bruise and bleed.

There are 5 instances where he has caused bodily harm to people that have either entered the house, or in the case of our neighbor, jumped partially over the fence to bite her while she was about a foot into her own yard. And was merely standing still talking to my Aunt.

And here's the thing IF my Aunt and uncle Would JUST TRAIN THEIR F*CKING DOGS WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUES!
If they f*cking taught them simple commands like; sit and stat there would be no issues
And the fact that they both continue to tell anyone that cones into the house that the 80 pound Rottweiler mix has never hurt anyone and never would hurt anyone when there is evidence of 5 times that he has hurt people is just opening up for a lawsuit


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Ugh, I can sympathize. While my family doesn't own any dogs, my neighborhood is full of them! And the majority of these dogs are either kept behind fences all the time (leading I neurotic barking and jumping whenever anything walks by), or in the case that they're actually walked they often army socialized or trained in any manner. And the worst thing is that the majority of these neighbors seem to think that their dogs are "well behaved, just stubborn". I can tel you that isn't the case at all! One of the worst cases here has to be an belgian malamute in my neighborhood called Cookie. This dog is absolutely out of control, and the owners just refuse to accept it! For example, they play with her OFF LEASH in their front yard, even though they KNOW that she's highly territorial and not socialized at all! On numerous occasions, I have walked by their house and had her abandoned whatever game they're playing to CHARGE at me. She growls and barks and will give chase and lunge if you don't hold your ground. I really shudder to think what will happen if a little kid or someone who's so afraid that they try and flee gets confronted. I can easily see it culminating in a nasty bite, especially since even the owners are fearful of approaching her while she's growling. 

I think one of the largest issues is that people seem to see their dogs as eternal little kids. And while in some regards this can be true, this usually leads to them not fulfilling the dogs needs and simply trying to raise them with love and affection. I can understand why a dog locked behind a fence all day every day gets nerotic, and I can understand why an untrained/under socialized dog is going to go crazy on you. What I don't understand is the owners reluctance to work with their dog. Seriously, my rats are friendlier, more socialized, and more obedient than the majority of neighborhood dogs, which is sad considering that they rarely leave my house!


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## DanielM (Nov 20, 2017)

I believe society's view on dog ownership is a truly unfair thing for dogs in general. They're imagined as this low-effort pet when they are, in fact, one of the most time consuming and costy domestic animals around.

They require a lot of training, which implies time and money (if you seek professional help), and it is a MUST if you don't want the dog to live an unhappy, stressful life. These animals also require a lot of exercise, the bigger they are, the more exercise they need, otherwise they will release pent up energy through stress and anger. A couple past their 50s would not be able to manage a large dog's exercise requirements unless they're physically fit, and past 70? No way. Yet I still see very old people walking around with German Shepherds and Mastiffs. It's a sight for sore eyes, as they can barely manage to even keep up with the animal's pace.

Some dogs are unusually submissive and will not take up an alpha role, needing less time and money spent to keep him well-behaved. These will be more loveable, sometimes lazier, and usually get along well with other pups. A lot of people see these types of dogs as the norm, which they aren't. Moreso than rats, dogs have very distinct personalities, and picking out a dog based on its looks is asking for trouble. Species must be taken into account and the dog's own behaviour must also be observed, and STILL you could not be 100% sure if the dog will be a submissive type.

Overall, it's usually society's view on the poor animals as "Man's eternal, unfailing companion as soon as it's born." It's not. It needs proper training, care, and affection in order to become a loyal companion, otherwise it becomes a stressed, violent, and dominant animal.


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## Lunchy (Aug 28, 2017)

It makes me sad to think that even with trained dogs, people think that their dog (or any pet) is incapable of harming any other dog, person, animal or whatever. No matter how well trained there is always a chance that a dog can lash out given the correct trigger. A few years ago my mum rescued a German shepherd cross, and he had been on the streets before going to the cat and dog home, and he always had shown signs of basic training, but he started off as a complete riot, the first day we were taking our plates to the dining room to eat, and he was jumping on us trying to knock our plates out of our hands. He was also incredibly bitey, wanting to play but by basically taking your whole arm in his mouth (which for me was terrifying), he was not good around other dogs or cats, but seemed okay around kids, couldn't recall properly...the list goes on. 

My mum and step dad spent so much time giving him love and training him - he now walks to heel, is good with dogs and kids, is happy leaving your food, doesn't try to play so rough, his recall is near enough perfect - apart from last week my mum was struggling to get him back and he was out of sight, she eventually ran round to find him, and he was with a stranded seal on the beach, waiting for my mum to appear to show her what she found (the seal was alive and unharmed and calls were made to get it help) but that was a very unusual exception! He still hates cats but he's spent enough time staking his claim on the gardens that none dare to go in there anymore 

Despite all of this, my mum and step dad take precautions with unknown people coming to the house, when coming across dogs on their walks etc, and still have the occasional appointment with a trainer, because they know that ANY dog, no matter of size, breed, temperament, age, whatever can hurt others - just like any other animal is capable. I love them for being like this, Nelson is a much loved dog and it's amazing how he is compared to the first day we met him. 

I agree with DanielM, that people think they are low-maintenance but they definitely are not, and this complacency is what leads to dogs attacking other dogs and people. I think there needs to be more education for people planning on getting dogs because it's very much assumed that they are easy and take care of themselves. Absolutely not, but given good exercise, love and training they are amazing pets.


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