Ok, so my Shi-tzu cross has just lifted his leg & peed on my husband while they were outside!!...what is wrong with this dog??.....is he marking his terratory on him now or is he just being a little bugger?...

Can anyone help me?

Right... if your dog is choosing to dominate your husband or anyone else it needs a decent spanking in my opinion... seriously. And then put it in it's corner for a good long while.

Don't let it up on the bed or couches anymore, no feeding from the table, and practice making it wait until you let it approach it's food bowl at dinnertime.

Also make it earn playtime, a simple "lie down" command will teach submission and then reward it for that by playing.

Also, lead it behind you instead of in front of you while on the leash.

You CANNOT let a dog get away with this behavior or it will end up snapping or biting in the long run.

Uncool and dangerous...

He wants to dominate, and is marking, neuter as soon as you can!

Originally Posted by brumblebear

Right... if your dog is choosing to dominate your husband or anyone else it needs a decent spanking in my opinion... seriously. And then put it in it's corner for a good long while.

Don't let it up on the bed or couches anymore, no feeding from the table, and practice making it wait until you let it approach it's food bowl at dinnertime.

Also make it earn playtime, a simple "lie down" command will teach submission and then reward it for that by playing.

Also, lead it behind you instead of in front of you while on the leash.

You CANNOT let a dog get away with this behavior or it will end up snapping or biting in the long run.

Uncool and dangerous...

I have to agree with everything you said, execpt the first line. I don't endorse spanking a dog, and putting the dog in a "time out" in the corner for a "good long while" is futile. Dogs aren't people, they don't sit and think about what they just did for a good long while. They think about it while being punished, and right afterwards, but within minutes it is forgotten and they've moved on. It doesn't mean they can't learn from mistakes, it's just that dogs don't generally wallow (with the exception of Shar Pei's, I've seen one actually POUT for a good 10 minutes after being corrected haha).

I suggest a method called "Nothing In Life Is Free". I use this method on my boys, including the younger, more submisive one, and plan to use it on any and every dog I ever own. It's a good way to esstablish your dominance and pack leader status.

Here are a few articals on NILIF:

Nothing in Life is Free
Nothing in Life is Free Gaining control of your dog humanely
Nothing In Life Is Free Dog Training Tips

Also, have you made an appointment to have the dog neutered yet? This was brought up in your other post, and I suggest getting it done ASAP!

Spanking your dog, does nothing.

Originally Posted by Poohbear

Spanking your dog, does nothing.

I agree, it does absolutely nothing. I'll give my dogs a little tap once in a while when they're absolutely not listening to my words, but I wouldn't call it a spank. It's like when you nudge or tap someone on the shoulder to get their attention, just a physically attention grabber to say "HEY! Stop what you're doing and listen to me!"

I would disagree simply since I believe that any dog who has a happy family (=pack) relationship needs an Alpha Dog to guide and lead that family.

Any Alpha Dog will simply snap at, bite, shake or throw another pack member on the ground if it tries to dominate or challenge his/her position.

It's nature, dogs aren't humans, just as you say, and a quick whack on the butt shows that.

Putting the dog in it's place (bed/wherever) for a while simply teaches it that YOU decide when and what it gets to do, it's a practice in roles for the dog, and has proven useful to me often.

Any dog will test it's boundaries over the course of it's life, especially in puberty, and obedience training such as "go lie down in your bed cause I'm mad at you" makes it clear that your dog doesn't get to rule the roost.

In fact, regular obedience exercises are a good idea, a working dog is a happier dog, it stimulates it's mind and continues to build a mutual trusting relationship with it's owner!

All that, in my opinion, is a good thing!

Cheers.

Originally Posted by brumblebear

I would disagree simply since I believe that any dog who has a happy family (=pack) relationship needs an Alpha Dog to guide and lead that family.

Any Alpha Dog will simply snap at, bite, shake or throw another pack member on the ground if it tries to dominate or challenge his/her position.

It's nature, dogs aren't humans, just as you say, and a quick whack on the butt shows that.

Putting the dog in it's place (bed/wherever) for a while simply teaches it that YOU decide when and what it gets to do, it's a practice in roles for the dog, and has proven useful to me often.

Any dog will test it's boundaries over the course of it's life, especially in puberty, and obedience training such as "go lie down in your bed cause I'm mad at you" makes it clear that your dog doesn't get to rule the roost.

In fact, regular obedience exercises are a good idea, a working dog is a happier dog, it stimulates it's mind and continues to build a mutual trusting relationship with it's owner!

All that, in my opinion, is a good thing!

Cheers.

I'm not saying don't tell your dog when you're mad at him, I'm just not advocating HITTING your dog! I was spanked as a child a couple of times, and it HURT. I wouldn't ever want to hurt my dogs. However, I DO use physical and verbal ways to show my dogs I am unhappy with what they've done. When I say physical contact, I don't mean a spank though, I mean an abrupt touch, like a poke, or I'll littlerly shove them out of the way. Dogs do that a lot amongst themselves, they will crowd and push eachother around, and I do the same to my dogs to get them to move when they don't move on verbal command. Most often though a "NOOO, BAD DOG" will get thier attention and my point across and no physical contact is necessary.

I tell my dogs to go lay down and stay there when a "time out" is necessary, but I don't use it as punishment. I use it as a way to settle them down when they're getting out of control in the house (playing, running around, crowding in the kitchen etc.) If my dog peed on the floor I wouldn't spank him and tell him to go lay down in the corner because I was mad at him! I'd tell him NO and then reinforce the GOOD behavior I wanted by putting him outside in his area to go pee.

I use a lot of pack mentality with raising my dogs. They know I'm boss, they know everything is MINE, NOT theirs, INCLUDING their toys and crates, they know any food dropped on the floor is NOT theirs but mine (well... the younger one has less self dicipline but he's slowly learning this one :lol and they know the rules of the house. They also know if they don't follow these rules and make me unhappy that they're IN TROUBLE! They respect my authority and because of this are relatively well behaved I'd have to say, for two large house dogs with a large age gap between them, and that is why all it takes quite often is my tone of voice and body language to get them to quit what they're doing and know that they've wronged. If a dog doesn't respect you he's going to keep pushing your buttons. You don't have to get respect by hitting your dog, there are many other less violent ways to get respect.

I do agree though, obedience training is a great way to gain respect from your dog, and is also a great way to mentally exhaust your dog was well! A tired dog is a good dog ;-)

Every dog should have a Place. Ours know when we have them "down" in their place, that they cannot leave said place, until released. That in itself is such a great thing to have taught, I had to teach my grown daughter how to teach her dog this.
Attention touching, prodding, shoving, all are great for them to focus attention on you. It stops distraction and keeps them paying attention. I like to reward with treats that I keep on me, but timing is very important that you are rewarding what you want that is good, as compared to say, "Come, (dog comes and jumps on you) you reward, and what you have rewarded is the jumping, not a good thing.