Lulu, who has turned into a very good dog that is actually lovie and usually well behaved, can NOT be broken of a very bad action...attacking Rigby when we get ready to leave the house.
Like most dogs, they get excited to "go." They're hyped up at the door and can't wait to go with us somewhere. Once we open the door, however, Lulu's excitement turns ugly and she starts lunging at Rigby, biting his ears, pulling him down the front stairs by his collar, jumping all over him, barking, growling, chasing him down and making it, basically, look like we're running Michael Vick dog fights in our front yard.
We yell. We chase her down. We push her to the ground and growl back at her to show our dog-like dominance. We've spanked her. We take her by the collar and lead her to the car so she's not free to make her way there herself. We've used the shock collar, something we rarely pull out, but have resorted to because none of the other actions are working. The shock collar wakes her up and gets her out of the attack trance she seems to go in to.
Once she's in the car **SNAP** she's out of attack mode and perfectly respectable again.
WHAT is the deal??
On Sunday, her attacking got bloody. I had taken the dogs to the lake to swim and go for a walk. On our way back to the car she for some reason got into attack mode. Once we've left the house it never happens again on the trip, but this time she turned on the antics.
I heard Rigby yip, was able to break it up and everyone trotted to the car. After I put them in I patted Rigby's head and noticed my hand had some blood on it.
Great. Where is it coming from?
After inspecting them both I found a gash on the tip of Rigby's ear - from Lulu's teeth - that was bleeding pretty good. I wiped it down with a towl and thought it was drying up so we got on the road.
When we got home and I went to let them out of the car, I noticed blood whipped down the side of the car where he had been hanging his head. It was dripped on the seatbelt, and sprayed on the back of the front passenger head rest. It looked like I had committed a crime.
AND when he got inside it of course dripped on our dining room rug and the floors. I grabbed the closest thing - a box of Band-Aids from under the sink - and sealed his ear up then tackled cleaning the car and floors.
And the problem with Lulu still goes on. She's toned it down some since Sunday, but still WON'T leave him alone out the door.
Thoughts on how to break this anyone?
(Don't mind the painter's tape on the floor. We still have to paint the dining room baseboards.)
Oh, jeez. I have NO IDEA. Poor Rigby! I lucked out with Buster and Belle - they just sort of came out of the box as good pups.
ReplyDeleteI am so nervous when we do get another dog (not ready yet, sniff) that I will be incapable of training it. Gah. I do hope you guys find a solution.
Hmm... well, my first suggestion is to talk to the vet. They'll know what to do.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you think that this is coming from? Do you think that she just gets too excited or worries that if you take Rigby that you won't take her? How does she know that you guys are getting ready to leave?
Is it possible to put her in a bathroom or something and then put Rigby in the car and then return to get her in a moment... or the other way around? Once in the car she's fine, so there must be something about the excitement of knowing it's time to go that pushes her over the edge.
It sounds like she's trainable in most ways and you guys are sending her a very clear message about her behavior being unacceptable, which makes me wonder if she's just unable to control it.
Sorry to hear about the issues with lulu & rigby. I have a couple questions & suggestions. Have you tried having the dogs calm & seated at the door before exiting? They should always be calm before exiting. Once the door is open they should have to be seated & calm before proceeding outside. You should always exit before them. They should follow you. You are the pack leader. During all the corrections please try to stay calm. Ive reach points of almost lossing it before but if you get angry & start lossing it lulu will feed off that energy & head down the same path. If you have tried this already you could try taking each dog to the vehicle individually. Rigby should be first because he does not try to be the alpha as lulu does. Use the exiting style i shared above. Sitting & being calm. Once rigby is in the vehicle do the same steps with lulu. Once you start these styles of corrections please follow threw. Once you allow lulu the opportunity to win she will know what to do to win & do what she wants. Remember dog need rules & boundaries. If these techniques do not work feel free to email me at Sashahernandez82@gmail.com i can suggest some other techniques i used & have had great success with. Best wish.
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