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This is Morgan, May 2009's addition to my pack.
Tootsy is a 10 month old rat terrier, rescued in October of last year. She is very smart, but seems to have a ’short circuit’ in her brain, and it seems like she is obsessive compulsive. She is not food motivated at all, and efforts to get her to perform basic obedience training commands have failed. Her family is not even concerned with teaching her any commands, other than SIT and STAY. They are only concerned about commands that are essential to her safety. Socially, she is underdeveloped, especially with people other than her family in their home, no matter how many times they have been to the home before. She will bark at them and back away, but she does not seem to be aggressive. She is not like any other dog her family has experienced with her behavior. She is sweet and very loving to them, and they have all experienced seizures, being dangerously underweight, mitral valve problems, and more. They just want her to respond to the commands that will help to keep her safe. She does recognize her name, and she COMES when called.
This puppy has had a very rough start in life, but that does not excuse her inappropriate behavior. Many puppy parents complain that they cannot get their dog to perform a certain desired action. When Mom and I hear this, the first question we ask is, “What is your control device?” If you are a new visitor, this is also known as a leash, a six-foot, non-retractable leash. When you are training your dog, put one on her. Allow her to pull the leash around behind her. When the leash is in attached to her collar, YOU can control her behavior. Without the leash, you are at her mercy! Remember, you cannot train what you cannot control.
Since the efforts made at home have not been successful, you should enroll yourself and your dog in a group obedience training class as soon as possible. This class will help teach you and your dog the basic obedience commands you desire her to learn, as well as help to develop her lack of social skills.
When you have people come to your house, your dog barks. This is not new. Barking is how we communicate, both to you and to each other. My sister, Molly the Beagle,barks when people visit us. Mom lets her bark for a while, but when she has “gotten the message,” she tells Molly to be QUIET! Now, a simple QUIET command works, but when Molly first joined my pack, she would just keep barking. Once visitors were seated or otherwise attempting to engage Mom in conversation, she would spray Molly with water from a squirt bottle. If Molly did not stop barking, Mom would cover her crate with a blanket, as if she were a bird. If she continued to bark while covered up, Mom would take a pot and a metal spoon and create several loud banging sounds with them right outside her crate. She would not even have to say anything, and Mom only had to do that twice that I recall.
Your dog is barking to either welcome visitors or to scare them off. The reason behind the barking does not matter, because it is not her place to welcome or scare people off. This decision belongs to you.
As far as Tootsy is concerned, my advice is to sign up for a basic obedience training class. When working on the training “homework,” put a leash on her, so that YOU are in control of her behavior. I certainly want to thank you for rescuing and keeping a dog with so many health issues.
Tags: Aggressive, barking, coming when called, inappropriate behavior, Leash, obessive compulsive, rat terrier, rescue, Sit, Stay, TRAINING