minpin chasing and nipping strangers
 

I've been having a lot of difficulty with my male minpin's(neutered) behavioural issues. Every now and then, someone leaves the backyard door open and he runs around the neighbourhood chasing passerbys and nipping at their heels and NONSTOP BARKING. There are a lot of young families in my area, and I'm worried a child may get hurt or my dog will get run over by a car or kicked by someone. The barking in the backyard and when he's running loose offleash has worsened my relationship with neighbours.
He also has territorial issues inside the house , like guarding the room he's in, guarding the person holding him.

We've taken puppy classes and seen a dog trainer. I admit that I was not consistent at all with the training but Im determined now. Sooner or later, someone or my dogwill get hurt. At the moment, I think re-doing basic obedience training will help.

Im searching for an animal behaviourist. Do you guys have any recommendations?
Also, if anyone has had similar issues with their dogs, how did you solve them?

I'd really appreciate any advice!!
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You really need to start training your dog. If you dont train your dog well he can end up being aggressive to everyone.

My very first dog wasn't trained. As he grew older we tried to train him here and there. We ended up not training him very well and I regret it very much. Now the dog kinda has a mind of its own and will come to you when he wants and does what he wants.. Even though he is almost 13yrs old, we still try to teach him new things and hes starting to get it but takes longer than a puppy would.

Typically if you get a puppy they recommend about 2 weeks straight of training. I would recommend some weekly classes till your dog starts to understand whos the boss and whats right and wrong.

All dogs can be trained, they just all require their own finesse.

While you are looking for a trainer here's some things to start working on his behaviour.
One big one, if he's being held and goes to nip someone he immediately gets put on the floor. Alot of little dogs will start to do this and being continued to be held will reinstate the behaviour.
For outside, give the dog a job. Teach the dog to push a ball around or run around with a chew toy. If your smart dog is bored they will find a job for themselves, hence the barking.
The dog should not be going out on it's own ( I know you know this), he needs to be taught to respect open doors and not go through them until told that he is allowed.
If you want tips on how to teach this you can email me TotorosBowl@gmail.com

I would suggest TNT Training in Abbottsford. They have a toy dog training classes and will be able to help address the issues you are having.

you need as much training as the dog

I also have a min pin (female), and have had similar issues in the past.

I basically followed cesar milan's philosophy on dog training, no bullshit. It may not be worded exactly on how they worded it on the television, but what i picked up and learnt from the show is:

1) Positive reinforcement: Treats or praises for good behaviour and a good ol smack/flick for bad behaviours. There are times where the dog is way too heated and thats when i put the dog on its stomach, holding him firmly, laying down until he calms down. Keep in mind the force that your using cause its meant to snap the dog out of its aggressive state, not to hurt him

2) Regular walks: Allows the dog to meet other dogs, other people. I find that after i walk my dog, she seems much more civilized. She seems happier and much more civilized to people coming into our home. I don't walk her as often as I like to, but if I kept it up, I could only assume better results.

3) Consistency: How you train the dog has to be consistent. Dogs don't speak our language. They tend to hear the sound of what your saying than to actually understanding the meaning of it. In order for the dog to understand it, you have to use positive reinforcement to connect the two together so that the dog will learn to understand. If the dog does something wrong, don't get frustrated, just picture some asian lady in Yaohan yelling at you in chinese. If you don't understand it, then you just don't, no matter how you loud or repetitive you speak it.

Anyways, consistency is key. It made it really hard for me to train my dog considering that there are other family members in the house that my dog listens to. Makes it very hard to train her if no one is abiding the same reinforcements.




One other thing...I think as an owner of a min pin, you should remember that these dogs will take every chance of escaping at every opportunity. YOU should be the one taking precautions of shutting the backdoor everyday so that the dog doesn't run out. Even I forget to do so once in a while, and i could expect her in the back alley exploring. But still, you really wanna reduce the chances of someone else or even the dog getting hurt. That's partly why a lot of people say that it's usually the owner's fault, not the dog.

Anyways, PM me if you have any questions. I'm not saying im the dog whisperer, but i definitely had quite the experience raising my min pin.

Train your humans to lock the gate...

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Kinda off topic but when you started this thread, I was just teaching my dog on how to close doors. Now he closes all doors, fridges, cabinets and drawers with the point of a finger. Just goes to show that dogs will do anything if you put the effort in them.

care to share how you taught your dog how to close the door?

Started off with having a treat in my hand close to the top of door to make him jump up and put his 2 feet up on the door. I dont give him a treat until he fully closes the door and hears the click.. Did this for about 1 week and now I dont need any treats.. Just point the finger and command. Time and Patience is all a dog needs.

Training is about persistence, you just have to break the dog down. Mentally and Physically, at this point, he probably thinks he's the Alpha that's why he's in that mental state. Break him down, correct him, slap him, or hit him (obviously don't destroy the dog), but enough to let him know that you're not going to tolerate that behavior.

Aside from Cesar's way, just look at how Wolves behave with each other in packs, there's a definite pecking order or they get a bit to the face.

Great idea. My min pin loves snooping so he uses his paw to scratch partially closed doors open.

I trained my old min pin(age 7+, don't know his real age) to sit and lie down so it goes to show that you can teach an old dog new tricks with enough patience.