Adopted 3yo Peke with an Attitude

[Mamie]

In a nutshell: Grown intact male peke with aggression issues. Owner never had to actually train a dog on the basics. What do I do?????

The long version:

This past week, I adopted a 3 or 4 yo male peke from a shelter. I know there is a settling-in adjustment period, but we are not doing so well.

I am his 4th owner, poor little guy. He was purchased to be a stud dog and is still intact (which will be remedied ASAP), and went with the wife in a divorce and moved 500 miles. The wife asked her daughter to find him a home eventually, but it didn't work out, and the daughter took him back. She convinced her dad to take the dog and he moved back the same 500 miles. Recently, he turned aggressive with grandchildren, and he was promptly taken to the shelter, where I found him barely even checked in.

It's blatantly obvious no one ever did any sort of training with this little boy past walking on a leash, and that was not done properly. He walks me, instead of the other way around.

I have vet records from both states, but care was sketchy, so I don't have much. I took him to the previous vet yesterday for shots, and was not happy with his attitude, so I'm vet hunting as of tomorrow.

In the meantime, he's alternately affectionate and aggressive with me, wanting his ears rubbed and to be petted, yet a moment later, he will arch his head back, growl and sneeze all over me, and start snapping. If I continue petting him, the aggression escalates, and he bites.

I am going to get him into another vet as soon as I find one I'm comfortable with for neutering, and I'm going to enroll him in some type of obedience training right after the New Year, but in the meantime, how do I alleviate the aggression as much as possible? Just getting his attention and trying to get him to get on the sofa will set him growling. I know I can just ignore him completely, but that's not solving the underlying problem.

If I pick him up, he goes postal, but if I put on my shoes and get the leash, he's jumping around with joy and extremely playful. He follows me around the house, and will at time seek me out for attention, which is wonderful, but if it's not on his terms, he starts the growling/snapping/barking.

In the past, I lived in the country on much more land, and our dogs were indoor-outdoor with doggie doors. They had access whenever they wanted it, and roaming a bit into neighbors' yards was not an issue. I didn't spend much time walking them on a leash unless I took them somewhere. Now I live in town and can't install a doggie door to the back yard due to the style of house it is. Suddenly in my 40s, even though I've had dogs all my life, I now have to learn how to train a dog on the basics.

[Nettle]

Basics - there is plenty of good advice on here

Picking up - don't. Dogs hate being picked up: some come to like it, but I'll bet my old sea boots that the "aggression" with children was actually a frightened dog being picked up and pulled about.


When you find your good vet, get Pekie checked from head to toes for any damage from being dropped or hauled around. There may be considerable pain. This would maybe explain why he asks to interact and then panics and warns.

Best of luck with the little chap - he is fortunate to have found you. You CAN teach old dogs new tricks, and Pekes IME are smart little things that love to learn.

[Mattie]

This past week, I adopted a 3 or 4 yo male peke from a shelter. I know there is a settling-in adjustment period, but we are not doing so well.

Put some Rescue Remedy into his water, it should help him.

It's blatantly obvious no one ever did any sort of training with this little boy past walking on a leash, and that was not done properly. He walks me, instead of the other way around.

There is a thread in Methods on getting a dog to walk on a loose lease which may help.

In the meantime, he's alternately affectionate and aggressive with me, wanting his ears rubbed and to be petted, yet a moment later, he will arch his head back, growl and sneeze all over me, and start snapping. If I continue petting him, the aggression escalates, and he bites.

Don't pet him, we have a lot of success with dogs like him by ignoring them and allow them to come to us. We watch their body language and as soon as they show signs of not being happy we stop. Whatever you do, don't continue to pet him, the more the aggression escalates the more it will and the biting will become more as well. If you take away the need for him to do this it will stop as he gains confidence and trust in you.

I am going to get him into another vet as soon as I find one I'm comfortable with for neutering, and I'm going to enroll him in some type of obedience training right after the New Year, but in the meantime, how do I alleviate the aggression as much as possible? Just getting his attention and trying to get him to get on the sofa will set him growling. I know I can just ignore him completely, but that's not solving the underlying problem.

Ignoring him is giving him the time he needs to work things out for himself, we have just successfully rehomed a grumpy old JRT who was going to be pts because of aggression, he was turned round by ignoring him and he is now happy in his new home.

Many dogs need space, especially when they first move to a new home, we have dogs back because they are not given this space and are ignored. The dogs become more and more stressed and bite. If you ignore the dog you are not giving them a reason to bite but are giving them the time and space to work out and learn to trust you.

If I pick him up, he goes postal, but if I put on my shoes and get the leash, he's jumping around with joy and extremely playful. He follows me around the house, and will at time seek me out for attention, which is wonderful, but if it's not on his terms, he starts the growling/snapping/barking.

DO NOT PICK HIM UP, under any circumstances, that will make the problem worse. Many small dogs don't feel safe when picked up and if he hasn't learnt to trust you yet he won't if you keep picking him up. He is a dog and should have all 4 feet on the floor. Having got a dog that would bite when picked up when she first came here, I turned this round by not picking her up unless I had to, ie in the vets. Now this little madam waits at the bottom of the stairs for me to carry her up.

In the past, I lived in the country on much more land, and our dogs were indoor-outdoor with doggie doors. They had access whenever they wanted it, and roaming a bit into neighbors' yards was not an issue. I didn't spend much time walking them on a leash unless I took them somewhere. Now I live in town and can't install a doggie door to the back yard due to the style of house it is. Suddenly in my 40s, even though I've had dogs all my life, I now have to learn how to train a dog on the basics.

Dogs like him often take well to clicker training because it has no association with their past life, it gives them confidence in themselves and they learn to trust you. There is a good thread in Methods on clicker training, it certainly gave one of my dogs a lot more confidence and he leart to trust me, he had been beaten in the name of training.

Good luck with him and stay with us because there will be more problems until he is completely turned round and is the wonderful dog he should be. It will take time as you know, but well worth the effort.

[Mamie]

Thanks for all the suggestions. He's doing much better already.

I did discover one thing that should have been obvious, but wasn't. One major trigger is a taller, larger person bending down sticking out a hand to his face to pet him. I laid down on the floor next to him, and he let me pet him for maybe 10 minutes before he just got up and walked away, no barking or snarling at all. I've done it a couple more times, and he's calmed down to the point that about 60% of the time I can now bend down and pet him without a panic.

I've started ignoring the outbursts too, and that helps. Calms him down quickly, if not immediately. Bedcovers is one thing that sets him off, and if he's on the bed when this happens, he's slower to calm down than if we're in a chair and I stand up and turn my back. I think he's been mistreated by having bedcovers thrown over his head for whatever reason.

There have been more bites and bruises, but overall, he's much improved since I posted and got suggestions. He's even started to play with his stuffed squeaky toy I bought him the first night and lets me throw it for him. We're working on his giving it back for another throw now. I'm distracting him with a 2nd toy to get it back from him for now.

[Dibbythedog]

What heart warming thread this is!
This little dog has been through so much upheavel and trauma and he is so lucky to have been adopted by you. It's good to hear of his progress.
I adopted a japanese chin dog in April. She is a sweetheart but she has obviously been mishandled when she was groomed and bathed and was very fearful to the point of panic. She only has three teeth so it didn't hurt when she bit but her gums are hard! She loves titbits so rewarding her with chicken pieces and not pushing her so that she feels the need to nip has done wonders for her though we still have a little way to go yet .
Ali

[Dibbythedog]

What heart warming thread this is!
This little dog has been through so much upheavel and trauma and he is so lucky to have been adopted by you. It's good to hear of his progress.
I adopted a japanese chin dog in April. She is a sweetheart but she has obviously been mishandled when she was groomed and bathed and was very fearful to the point of panic. She only has three teeth so it didn't hurt when she bit but her gums are hard! She loves titbits so rewarding her with chicken pieces and not pushing her so that she feels the need to nip has done wonders for her though we still have a little way to go yet .
Ali

[Horace's Mum]

Well done for taking him on, and for the progress you have made so far. Stick with it, even when it feels like you are getting nowhere, as another who took on a fear-aggressive rescue dog, I can promise you will get there in the end but you simply cannot rush it. Two things I have learnt - 1) never react to his aggression with your aggression, just stand still, make your body neutral and non-threatening, and talk to the dog in a sing-song way, as if you didn't have a care in the world. Saying "what a silly dog, what do you think you are doing being a silly little man, you don't need to have a grumble at me" that kind of thing, helps you to relax and lets the dog realise you are not about to beat it. (even worked with my deaf dog, so should work really well with a hearing dog!) 2) you might find it useful to attach a very light line to his collar to wear in the house, about 2 metres long. Must be light enough not to bother the dog, but it mean if he finds himself in a situation where you don't want him to be (ie on furniture or beds) you can gently pick up the end of the lead without getting too close and threatening him, and gently lead him out of the situation. Again, I found this immensely useful when my dog was jumping on furniture or kitchen surfaces and I couldn't approach without being attacked.
Everything must be done positively, think about every situation and make it possible for him to do it right, even if that means you don't go near him in certain situations. My dog was aggressive under almost every circumstance you can think of, but most of all food, and without doing any specific training for this, over the year he has got to the point where I can approach him and touch his bones, even play with him with them, because I simply gave him space whenever he had food, so now he trusts that I won't take it away. I can take food out of his mouth on walks without a problem.
Good luck, and do stick around, many of us have been in similar situations, and sometimes when it all gets too much you just need a friendly word of reassurance to get back on track. But you will have a cracking dog at the end of it

[Mamie]

Thanks, both of you. He is adorable, and I'm already in love with him. I got home the other day and could not find him. I was panicking and yelling for him when he very calmly walked in from the garage and looked at me like I was nuts. I leave the door cracked for the cats, and he had not previously gone out there. I was so relieved to find him that it surprised me at how much I'd become attached so quickly.

He's definitely food aggressive, and we are working on that. Not making a lot of progress, but we'll keep chipping away at it.

*chuckle* We are also working on my willingness to walk him in a morning ice storm! I will definitely get a much longer lead for him very soon. He bounded out into the yard this morning, and I was the one who wanted to stay on the patio out of the freezing rain!