He's controlling me.
Moderator: chowadmin
He's controlling me.
I now have a chowchow of mine who's name is Sparky. He's 1yr and 5 months now. He was previously my cousin's dog; since she had to work abroad, she entrusted him to me. I'm totally into taking care of dogs because I really like them. So yeah. Whenever we will have a walk, he would PULL from me. Everytime. Everywhere. It's like he can't wait to see the outside world. (well I think he's been always in his cage ever since he was a puppy and would be left alone off leash in their garage sometimes) He would sniff everything. Peeing everywhere to the point where the elders would be mad at me for even walking him in front of their house. He just can't stay calm. I would try to stop him by pulling him back to me (it's like when you would stop the horse you're riding by pulling those handles around its face).
He would stop. I'm telling him to sit but he's not looking at me or something like that. He's not listening. So we would just stop right there for a few seconds. Then if I start to walk again, he would pull again from me.
And when we would go back home, he would just stop. Sit. Ignoring me and refusing to bulge. I would slightly pull him but it's useless. So I will just carry him (imagine his oh-so-heavy-weight -_-)
Oh. And he would bark at every dog/cat/few people, bite me whenever I will place him inside his cage and sometimes out of nowhere. Ignoring me when I call out his name, not even looking at me. He's not even acknowledging my existence. I want to change that.
What to do?
He would stop. I'm telling him to sit but he's not looking at me or something like that. He's not listening. So we would just stop right there for a few seconds. Then if I start to walk again, he would pull again from me.
And when we would go back home, he would just stop. Sit. Ignoring me and refusing to bulge. I would slightly pull him but it's useless. So I will just carry him (imagine his oh-so-heavy-weight -_-)
Oh. And he would bark at every dog/cat/few people, bite me whenever I will place him inside his cage and sometimes out of nowhere. Ignoring me when I call out his name, not even looking at me. He's not even acknowledging my existence. I want to change that.
What to do?
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Rory's Dad
- Rank 3
- Posts: 1708
- Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 6:48 am
- Location: Mansfield, MA USA
Re: He's controlling me.
OK then...you have a typical chow on your hands...
1st off, understand the temperment. They are very good at selective hearing. You need to figure out how to gain his attention. I recommend treats. Outdoors, and outside his normal comfort zone (home), you may need to escalate to something like cheese. Wave it under his nose and wait for his attention. Move it to your nose, because you want eye contact. Then give him a command. Sit, stay, lie down, whatever. Reward him when he gets it on the 1st attempt. Use his name alot so he associates calling him with his reward. He may never completely comply, but that is a chow.
Walking, and i will assume he is not fixed given the marking tendencies, is a big challenge. Consider a harness, with a front hook. This will turn him back to you when he pulls. If he can't see where he is going, he will have no interest in going there. Over time, this will teach him that slow and controlled gets him somewhere and mushing forward gets nowhere.
Crate behavior is also learned. Don't just stuff him in there and leave him on his own. It needs to be a positive experience, or at least neutral. Toss a bone or other treat in with him. Let him know crating is not a punishment or a separation issue. Try talking at him when he is in the crate. Have had mixed success with that depending on the dog, but try it.
The barking is just that. He needs to become more accustomed to seeing other dogs/cats/people. Watch your responses to these situations. If he knows you are going to tense up anticipating his reaction, thats what he will do. Let him stop in the right situations, and relax, check things out. Seek out situations that expand on that...slowly. Find a dog park and let him get comfortable with a few other dogs. Expand to places like dog shows and walk him through the pack. You will be amazed at the respect Chows get from other dogs as well as the oohs and aahs from people. Demand courtesy and slowly introduce your dog to other people and the requests to pet him (when comfortable). Take him to the local Petco or Petsmart and let him walk around.
1st off, understand the temperment. They are very good at selective hearing. You need to figure out how to gain his attention. I recommend treats. Outdoors, and outside his normal comfort zone (home), you may need to escalate to something like cheese. Wave it under his nose and wait for his attention. Move it to your nose, because you want eye contact. Then give him a command. Sit, stay, lie down, whatever. Reward him when he gets it on the 1st attempt. Use his name alot so he associates calling him with his reward. He may never completely comply, but that is a chow.
Walking, and i will assume he is not fixed given the marking tendencies, is a big challenge. Consider a harness, with a front hook. This will turn him back to you when he pulls. If he can't see where he is going, he will have no interest in going there. Over time, this will teach him that slow and controlled gets him somewhere and mushing forward gets nowhere.
Crate behavior is also learned. Don't just stuff him in there and leave him on his own. It needs to be a positive experience, or at least neutral. Toss a bone or other treat in with him. Let him know crating is not a punishment or a separation issue. Try talking at him when he is in the crate. Have had mixed success with that depending on the dog, but try it.
The barking is just that. He needs to become more accustomed to seeing other dogs/cats/people. Watch your responses to these situations. If he knows you are going to tense up anticipating his reaction, thats what he will do. Let him stop in the right situations, and relax, check things out. Seek out situations that expand on that...slowly. Find a dog park and let him get comfortable with a few other dogs. Expand to places like dog shows and walk him through the pack. You will be amazed at the respect Chows get from other dogs as well as the oohs and aahs from people. Demand courtesy and slowly introduce your dog to other people and the requests to pet him (when comfortable). Take him to the local Petco or Petsmart and let him walk around.