Training my daughter's rat terrier mix

My daughter (who lives with me) has a rat terrier mix who is terrible. He barks at anyone who walks by our yard, he nips if he things you are bother her or her son, nips at her son, nips at my little dog if he thinks she is going to get any of his dry food,, just not well behaved at all. We are trying to teach him to sit and to come when called. Also trying to break him of the nipping and incessant barking. We have tried the "zap collars", the whistles you blow when he is acting out, and even have resorted to swatting his but. Does anyone have an suggestions tha could help us get some results? Oh yes,, when someone comes to the house he pitches a fit, but once they sit down he is ok and will even sit at their feet and beg for attention.

 

I am sorry about laughing but when I saw he terrible it reminded of my new family member. She was terrible but I am seeing s SLIGHT improvement. SLIGHT only. The swatting is a no no wherever I I have read about it. There are lots of YouTube videos on training. It's where how I learned how to teach my Zola to sit when she was very young. I am still so proud of that achievement. I wish I had more time to train them all. This "terrible one" i have is not a handful...she is two handfuls.. I am sure the others here will come along and offer some practical suggestions.

 

I agree with Winterybella! There are many YouTube videos on the topic, as well as books. I think the problem of that dog is that he didn't get enough discipline while he was growing, he grew up thinking it was ok to behave like that. It'll be hard to teach him new things, specially getting rid of those habits... but try to be firm with him. The problem with him is that he believes he is the alfa dog...

 

Joyemcgregor, how are you doing with the Rat? I hope you are seeing some results. My ginger is improving slightly. I am optimistic that she will continue to do better. Whatever you do "no swatting" as we have been discussing in another forum. Let us know how things are progressing.

 

Don't be violent with him. Dogs are sweet creatures, I'm sure he doesn't want to make you angry. Try to reward him with snacks every time he listens to you. And be patient.
My Homer is very naughty too, but it doesn't bother me too much. I got used to it

 

I have always believed that small dogs are meaner than big dogs, lol..I have seen other people using just plain water spray bottle to correct unwanted behaviors in dogs. Maybe you could try this method when he is barking at things that you don't approve with a NO command or when he is nipping and then reward him when he stopped.

 

Small dogs definitely are mean I noticed that most big dogs are very calm and don't bark often.
Tiny breeds are much more aggressive It's because no one takes them seriously.
I believe that the method with water could work. My Homer would hate it though, he would bite me if I tried to use it

 

I hope he is doing better now but wanted to chime in. Terriers are a whole other level in dogs and you really need to be ready to train your heart out. Yes, I own a terrier and had a former JRT who was my medical alert dog as well. I also showed one in AKC.

All dogs but maybe terriers even more so, need to be taught self constraint. Putting him in a sit/stay or down/stay is important as is teaching the 'leave it' command. While working on this, also understand alpha triggers. These are signals you may be giving to your dog without realizing it that are putting pressure on him to act alpha. A true alpha is not aggressive but one who thinks he is being pushed into the role can be put into a state of anxiety and become aggressive.

Some things to disallow in such a dog;

• sleeping in bed with you
• eating when you eat or before you eat
• putting their paws up on the shoulders of other dogs, even in play or attempting this type of behavior with humans
• playing tug-o-war (that includes going after feet as puppies)
• going through a doorway before the human (if they aren't being nice with other pets, this should include the other pets as well)
• only pet/reward your pet after they have done something positive and correctly, even if it is come or sit

Just a starting point.