Tomahawk the Enforcer
Over the past several weeks I have noticed a need in Tomahawk to enforce any corrections I give out to our other pets.
I tend to make a "CHHHT" sound to let our animals know when they are doing something wrong, but when I do, Tomahawk is right there beside me giving his most authoritative bark, or runs around our cat or pitbull and tries to nip them.
I am wondering if anyone else has a corgi who loves to enforce the house rules, and if so, should I worry about it progressing to more aggressive behavior?
What can I do to make him understand that his help is not needed?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Beth, behaviors often overlap. A dog who is in tune and bonded with you can react in any number of ways (depending on the individual dog's unique combination of his breed and his personality) to your moods, whether you're scared, upset, sad, angry etc and even to your illness. When multiple dogs are involved, more aspects come to play. The same applies to the topic I responded to. You can get a mix of the various behaviors, past experience, etc, so dissecting individual cases become somewhat of an art, rather than applying some behavioral formula.
As for Jack, some dogs are very opinionated with regards to how life should be and let you know when things are not in line with, for example, the world according to Jack. ( I know some people like that too :-D ) These dogs are usually dominant, smart, observing and not very flexible. My Miniature Dachshund is that type of dog, and she applies it to the outside world, rather than the home environment. It is useful to me because I have limited eye-sight and it allows me to assess what she is alerting to and decide what to do about it. Through training, we've worked out how and when she can express this trait. All good training is really about how best to utilize the natural inclinations of an animal, while mitigating the downside.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Well, I would definitely describe Jack as dominant, smart, observing and not very flexible. :-) My point to Melissa above (which for some reason is not displaying for me now) is that herding breeds tend to be selected for that combination of traits. Beagles, on the other hand (expected to run in packs of sometimes strange dogs and work for people other than their owner) are selected NOT to have those traits. So it's not just a herding dog thing, but it's much more common in herding dogs.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Sonya. I would also move the cats food to a place the dogs can not get to
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Permalink Reply by Tomahawk and Fences on
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I have tried talking to my boyfriend about moving the food and how just letting them free eat isn't a good idea anyway, but he won't budge on it. He says the dogs must know boundaries and his cats shouldn't have to suffer from their bad behavior.
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Permalink Reply by Bobbi O'Hara on
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Hi Sonya,
Just an observation from someone who used to feel the way your boyfriend does. I too have felt this way in the past. We have two cats and before dogs, their food typically got left down on the floor. After we added dogs to the family, I tried to limit their feeding the same way I limit the dogs', as opposed to a free feed. Fair's fair, right? But, they don't usually eat at the same time as the dogs, so that wasn't working. We returned to the free feed and SOME of the time their food was left alone by the dogs. However, I found the cats suffered more from staring at the empty bowls on the floor, than having to jump up onto a counter or bench to eat. And because they are not allowed on the furniture (which translates to "I can be on the couch when you're not around" in cat language), they LIKE that they get to perch on a bench away from slobbery dogs and eat in peace. They don't appear to be suffering from it at all.
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That is what I told my boyfriend. It won't harm them in anyway to place their food on a counter or our dresser. I think it would even be a fun challenge to get up and get their food. Any physical work would be great, especially for the older cat 'cause she is a fatty. Oh well, i will continue trying to talk to him about it.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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Kirby is very much a "only mind when my human is watching" type dog and would do things when he knows I can't enforce the rules so I got him a remote control collar. I can't tell you how amazingly this worked. Perhaps it would be an idea for your corgi? If he has the training collar on in the house you can use a vibrate or low shock function to break his attention and get it back on you. Just from your description it sounds like he does not respect you as a leader and even a basic obedience class will probably help, a behaviorist may not even be necessary at this point.
In my opinion your pitbull has every right to react the way she does when your corgi is being bossy and obnoxious. Unfortunately due to the size difference and the possibility of serious injury you can't just let them work it out. With Franklin and Kirby, I let (and even encourage) Franklin to physically correct Kirby when Kirby becomes a little snot because Kirby knows no boundaries and really does need to be taught manners. If Franklin was a bigger dog however, I would not allow this due to the fact that Kirby could be seriously injured. I think possibly a training collar may help. We had an obedience trainer at my old work who used to use a short thin chain and essentially throw it at/by the dog to break its focus. I don't really like this idea and would rather use a can of pennies or squirt bottle to re-direct and break the focus but honestly you may have to up the ante with a dog as focused and independent as your guy sounds. Corgis are so tough becuase they are SO SMART so they figure stuff out quite quickly, this can be both a blessing and a curse when trying to teach a young dog the rules of the house.
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When she has attacked, it has always been a quick bite and a backing off, but Tomahawk will continue to go after her after the first initial bite on her part. I have to actively pry him away from her because he will not stop the fighting. It's super crazy. It has happened several times and I wish their wasn't that size difference because I have always felt that having dogs correct each other really helps them understand what is acceptable and what isn't. I have never thought about using a control collar and will read up on it and see if it is something I really need to look into. Also, I do plan having Tom do more obedience classes and was going to sign him up earlier this month, but I am moving to Houston next month and figured it will be better to start a class there.
I have NEVER had a dog so headstrong and stubborn like Tomahawk is, but a part of me loves it because I'm in awe on how independent and smart he is. Every day he amazes me, I just need to work on letting him know I am DA BOSS. It's kind of funny that I can control a 50 pound pitbull by raising my voice just a tad, but can't boss around a little 24 pound corgi.
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you have to remember too though that pitbulls are born and bred to obey humans, think of the fighting dogs, they DIE to please their humans. Pitbulls used to be known as America's best family dogs before we humans destroyed their reputation Corgis however must think independently and be able to stare down a stubborn 1200 pound cow and boss it around. Very different personalities between the two. I LOVE pitbulls as patients at the vet where I work because they are so accepting of anything we do with them while darn little corgis can be the BIGGEST jerks! lol.
I also agree with others that you should move the food. Its not fair to leave a full bowl of cat food down and expect the dogs to leave it alone. I free feed my cats, but I put the food up where the dogs can't get to it. My parents free feed the cats in a closet and just put a chair in the way so their lab can't get to it. If somebody put a big huge pile of yummy doughnuts and cookies in front of me and then said you can't ever touch or eat these I would be pretty pissed off too! Lol
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That's what I have always told him, it's hard for him to not touch the food I make and leave out so how does he expect the dogs to leave the cat kibble alone. Doja will let you do anything to her and will have the biggest grin on her face. She even lets Tomahawk chew on her ears and legs without hurting him, and sometimes he gets really rough. She is super sweet and has never hurt anything without a good reason. She's getting old and I don't like Tomahawk always bossing her around. He rivals my boyfriend in being the biggest jerk in the house lol.
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I am in a hurry and on my way to work, so forgive the short reply. A few thoughts:
1) In regards to where the food is: it always surprises me that we expect so much more of our dogs than we would ever ask of a person! If you had guests over and were entertaining, would you leave lots of food out and say "Sorry, that is our food, you just must learn not to touch it?" If you were at work, what would you think of a boss who regularly laid out a nice buffet and told the employees "That is off limits?" Trust me, when I was a kid I worked in fast food and it was almost impossible to enforce our "you must pay for all food" policy and so they modified it. If it is difficult to keep people away from visible food when they are hungry, why expect it of our dogs? I too would move the food, and feel free to ask your boyfriend how he would feel if he was hungry, there was food and he could not touch it.
2) Honestly I would try the simple route and change how you correct the other dog. The "cchhht" sound you make might be too much for your Corgi and set him off, especially if the noise upsets him and he sees the other dog as causing it. I have one who is very sensitive to loud noise corrections (he jumps and barks at me, not who I'm yelling at), so what I have done is say a different version of my other dog's names if I need her to stop. Sort of an exasperated "MADison!" while we say an upbeat "Maddie!" to call her. Or I might say a short "Ah-ah" or "stop that" in a normal voice.
3) I have trained my dogs on lots of voice commands so I rarely have to correct them. My experience, again, is that correcting one in a multi-pet household can be tricky. So since they know "leave it" for instance I can say "leave it" if they are in something they should not be, then I have the opportunity to praise when they listen. ALWAYS look for ways you can reward good behavior rather than punishing bad and your relationship with Tomahawk will improve.
Finally, on rolling dogs: I live by a busy park and have had the opportunity to view hundreds of dogs playing. Dogs will roll each other in play, but for corrections I can say in all honesty that the handful of dogs I have seen who roll others as a correction are viewed as unpredictable by other dogs and are by and large avoided. I have seen growls, mock charges, air-snapping, chewing on shoulders (without breaking skin) all taken in stride, but once dogs start rolling each other the other dogs clear out. My Maddie will actually try to leave the entire area if she has been rolled. Moreover, the dogs who roll other dogs generally are unpredictable with unclear body language compared to other dogs and feel the need to resort to it because they are either short-tempered or unclear communicators. In my experience, the other dogs don't respect them but by turns act is if they are not there, give them a wide berth, or fear them. Please don't roll your dog. It has a very limited place. The Dog Whisperer is dealing with dogs who seriously want to hurt humans when he does it. He does NOT do it for ordinary disobedience.
Good luck with Tomahawk! I would work on teaching him things like "back up" and "wait" that make him mind you and help you control your space.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Please move the cat food I have 1 bowl by the back bathroom sink and another on the washer which they can easily access...maybe this pic will help your boyfriend decide it can be moved. 2 of my females got in a fight (over the goats and 1 females was starting to go into heat) 6 weeks ago and after surgery for 6 pins and a plate in my hand plus I can't use it for a long time and then the $2,000 deductable for medical expenses
, this was a freak accident as one dog slipped out after the other was already but I think you need to see the graphic details of how serious an accident may be:( The dogs only had a couple small bites and I DID NOT get bit but I had each by their collar and when we got in this is what my hand looked like. Do you kennel Tomahawk? I have gates seperating mine if I'm not available to be watching also.Livvy is much like Tomahawk...but when this was happening neither one would budge an inch or listen:(
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