We got Inga about 6 weeks ago from a rescue. She is supposed to be a labradoodle who was found in the orange groves around Clermont. She snaps her jaws when she is excited and also nipes at us when we try to pet her she urinates small amounts frequently and urinates in the house within 5-10 min of being outside, she is very hard to lease walk if she hears dogs barking she states pulling and fighting the leash she also will take the leash and chew it like she is walking you. We have had her checked for urinary tract infection she doesn't have one. . . . . we are getting despirate for help. We have tried the grab by the neck and put to the ground for the nipping and the stop playing and turn your back. . . a small flyer folded does work at times....but the peeing in the house and biting has to stop or she will need to go back any suggestions??????

[kodysdad]

Well, being aggressive (grabbing neck, alpha rolling) to an aggressive dog will definitely cause more aggression. That's almost certainly what the previous owner did.

You've got a rescue, who probably was previously owned by someone like you who didn't know much about training, so they ruined her, and took her to the shelter. Then you, being a good person, wanted to save a shelter dog. And you got one, of course the dog has problems, maybe you thought you could fix without knowing anything about dogs.

You should go to a positive training class with your dog to learn how to train her and mostly learn the techniques of positive training. They are easy and wonderful, you and your dog will have fun. You should additionally learn anything you can about positive training from wherever you can. Here's a good start:

Dog Star Daily

If you're willing to learn you will end up with a wonderful dog and will have saved that dog's life. If you're not, you will return her and she will be killed. The choice is yours.

But if you're looking for advice that will fit in a forum post that will solve all your problems, sorry, there is no such advice.

I know this is a bit harsh, but I answer posts like this all the time. I usually paint some wonderful picture about learning about dogs trying to lure people into learning, which I'm sure they will probably ignore. This time, I thought I'd just skip straight to the truth.

Originally Posted by genglerw

We got Inga about 6 weeks ago from a rescue. She is supposed to be a labradoodle who was found in the orange groves around Clermont. She snaps her jaws when she is excited and also nipes at us when we try to pet her she urinates small amounts frequently and urinates in the house within 5-10 min of being outside, she is very hard to lease walk if she hears dogs barking she states pulling and fighting the leash she also will take the leash and chew it like she is walking you. We have had her checked for urinary tract infection she doesn't have one. . . . . we are getting despirate for help. We have tried the grab by the neck and put to the ground for the nipping and the stop playing and turn your back. . . a small flyer folded does work at times....but the peeing in the house and biting has to stop or she will need to go back any suggestions??????

You don't say how old Inga is, puppy? adult?

The small volume urination is submissive pee'ing (since the vet has ruled out UTI). She is saying "hey, I accept that you are dominant, don't hurt me".

The snapping is most likely because she's never learned bite inhibition.

I would not use alpha rolls or scruff shakes with a dog showing fear/submission issues. She is acknowledging your position of authority and by continuing to show allot of dominant behavior toward her you are perpetuating the submissive behaviors.

NO TOUCH; NO TALK; NO EYE CONTACT

When you approach her, try not to stare at her...this is a sign of aggression and she will urinate to appease you.
Do not touch her on the top of her head...again, this is a dominance thing and she will urinate to appease you.
Don't talk to her when she is in an unstable emotional state. Wait until she is calm and then speak calmly to her. Do not baby her especially when she is showing fear or aggression as that only tells her that the fear or aggression is appropriate.

Get a handful of treats and sit on the floor with your back to her. Don't say a word to her. Just sit. If she approaches your back, continue to ignore her. Allow her to sniff. When she is in front of you and behaving calmly, gently pet her and give her a treat.

Do not play rough games with her. If she snaps, walk away from her without saying or doing anything to her. Never try to punish her with objects -- even objects that can not hurt her like rolled up newspaper.

Do not give her food or treats when she is in a negative emotional state. Wait until she is calm submissive. (Look up NILIF: Nothing In Life IS Free)

Long long long walks to exhaust her energy will go a long way to reducing her negative behaviors which are very likely stress related. Other good activities are rollerblading, jogging, running, hiking...anything that will give her a way to work out her energy.

Oh, yes, walking is a problem. Well, there are various ways of dealing with that. Victoria Stilwell teaches one such way. Cesar Milan another. I suspect you want something that will get some quick results, right? Then, what you need is a properly fitted prong collar or a halti. Both will give you better control over the walk while you work on training her to walk nicely.

Please don't give up on her. If you take her back to the shelter, she will be put down because she'll be deemed untrainable. She just needs rehabilitation and time.

I had similar problems with my puppy. He would go on a long walk, come inside and pee. We joke that he 'gets distracted,' because every little thing is interesting to him. Now he pees about five times in a walk because he has learned to lift his leg and mark his territory - I guess it may be easier for male dogs. However, when we started training him, we would ask "go outside?" and take him out to pee. We would then wait outside until he peed, and after he did, he would get a treat.

To teach him leash walking, we took a Petsmart obedience class and it was VERY helpful. If he starts pulling at the leash, we were taught to immediately stop walking. Wait for the dog to come back to you so he is not pulling anymore and continue. If he stops and starts sniffing at something undesirable (garbage, for instance), say "let's go" and when he starts to walk again, give him a treat. People have mixed results with dog training (my first dog learned nothing) but my puppy has become so much more manageable after learning these things. The good thing about obedience training is that the trainer has probably encountered almost every problem you have, so they may be able to offer some helpful tips.

In terms of the nipping, my puppy also did that. If you dog is still young, it may just be a teething thing or playfullness. In that case, they just grow out of it I am afraid. However, like the above poster mentioned, we would just immediately stop playing, walk away and leave him alone for 30 seconds. They say no more than 30 seconds because then the puppy forgets why he is in trouble... but no less because then they dont learn.

These are all common quirks with puppies, so just hang in there. Also realize that she is a rescue dog (i think you said), so she needs time to adjust. She may be submissive because of how she was handled previously to you. Just be patient!