Comments on: Help! My Dog Hates One Family Member!

By: Megan Marrs

Megan Marrs — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:40:41 +0000

In reply to Wendy Kirsner. Wendy, obviously we disagree quite a bit on this! Your approach doesn't seem to take into account the dog's feelings and emotional state. Adding fear and stress to an already disturbed dog will only bring more issues, along with an increased risk of aggression. To use your point about a child hitting a classmate -- if you were to yell at the child and punish them, what are you really accomplishing? Have you figured out why the child felt the need to hit their classmate? Why was violence their first choice? A much smarter approach would be to talk to the child and try to understand their perspective -- what is their home life like? How are they feeling about school in general? Are they having social issues with their classmates? What felt so frustrating and upsetting to them that they felt the need to hit their classmate? Refusing to acknowledge the underlying feelings and emotions of both humans and animals is lazy, selfish, and dangerous. If you want to learn more, we have a full guide to positive reinforcement based training that I'd recommend.

By: Wendy Kirsner

Wendy Kirsner — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:54:06 +0000

This article tells it all except that positive reinforcement does not correct bad behavior, it rewards it. Redirect your dog with treats and he doesnt learn to stop the behavior. Follow this advice and you will have a lifetime of bad behavior or end up trying to rehome the dog after he bites someone. Let me put it in human terms – your kid walks up to a classmate and slaps him in the face, do you give him a cookie? No? Then what do you do? You can talk to your kid and you can ground your kid – HELLO! Thats called punishment. Seek out a Balanced Dog Trainer and run run run from pure positive trainers.

By: Ben Team

Ben Team — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:07:08 +0000

In reply to Claudia.

Hey there, Claudia.
Well, first of all, don’t panic — it takes dogs a while to warm up to new people sometimes. You may find that she and your husband become best pals over time.
Just try some of the tips from the article (particularly the “good cop” tips), take things slowly (especially with the kiddos), and use your judgement.

If she remains defensive after a few days, you may want to reach back out to the shelter or rescue and see if they have any advice.

Best of luck!!!

By: Claudia

Claudia — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 10:48:41 +0000

Hi – I just adopted a dog today who seemed to get along with my family quite well – until my husband came home. The dog was great with my infant and toddler, other dog even my mom. The dog follows me everywhere. My husband came home from a late shift and then she started growling at him. It took about an hour for her to stop growling at him and allow him to lightly pet her. I’m freaked out that I made the wrong decision in adopting her because what if she turns on the babies? What if she shows more fear towards my husband? What do I do?

By: Ben Team

Ben Team — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 11:20:52 +0000

In reply to iza. Hey there, Iza. We're so sorry to hear about the struggles with your pooch -- it sounds like you've done just about everything you can. At this point, you may just need to adopt some management strategies, rather than focusing on training solutions. For example, you may just need to crate him when your dad is around or move him to the backyard. Sorry we can't provide more help, but we wish you and your pooch the best.