Problems with my first dachshund

[joiseygirl]

Hi All,
I just found this site as I desperately need advice on this breed. My husband and I just adopted a 4 year old (Jacky O'Digger) this past weekend from the local shelter. Jack was turned in by his former owner for biting a child. The shelter workers told us he had not shown any signs of aggression while being at the shelter (for one month). His condition was horrible, all nails had grown around in a circle from not being cut, he was dirty, and (I know this was probably due to being in an outside run at the shelter) has a horrible upper respiratory so bad that he has to breathe through his mouth and sneezes constantly with green mucus coming out both nostrils.
(Sorry this is so long!) We took him to the vet and had chest x-rays that showed his lungs aren't as clear as they should be so he's now on medication.
Now, onto the problem. He's fine with our 4 cats and has been my shadow since we brought him home... until tonite. The past few days he's been fine with me giving him treats and I've had no problems taking his food bowl up. Tonite I gave him a rawhide. He was chewing it while my husband got his leash to take him out. Jack put the rawhide in his mouth and growled at my husband and the hair on his back raised. Figuring that he's taken to me more than the hubby, I took the leash and asked him if he wanted to go "pee-pee". He looked right at me and growled. I yelled "NO" and walked closer to him and he jumped at me. I was afraid that one of the cats would get attacked by him so I got the first piece of food from the fridge I could find (pepperoni) and threw a piece on the floor. Jack ran to get it and I scooped up the rawhide and threw it away. He was fine after that and I took him out. When we came in he jumped on the couch and buried himself under the sheet we have to protect the couch from his flying mucus. I sat on the couch and when he came out of the sheet he looked at me, a look that scared me. I stroked his back and he growled at me.
Now I read the other posts suggesting taking the dog by the scruff and staring him down, but I know if I go for his scruff he'll try to bite me. I don't know whats going on. He was so lovable up until tonite, licking me, laying on me, snuggling into my neck to sleep. I've had dogs all my life, volunteer at a local shelter(a different one than where we got him), and am pretty knowledgable about dogs, but this is really frightening me. I don't want to have to bring him back to the shelter, but I know my husband will not have a dog in the house that is aggressive.
One more quick note... we were told that the former owner had the kind of house where all the kids on the block hang out at. The kids would torment the dog which is how the biting incident happened.
I would appreciate any and all help you all could give as I think Jack has the potential to be a loving addition to our home. Thank you... Michele

[Oscar's Mom]

I've had the same problem with my Oscar, when he had a rawhide he would turn into a monster if you went near him. He's much better now. What you did was on the right track. If you get him to trade what you want for a treat thats good but he should take the treat from you. You have only had Jack a short time, don't worry yet. I've worked on commands like 'leave it' and 'out'. This is something you need to work on but I don't think it means that he will be aggressive in other situations.
You will get lots of great advice.

[dutchman]

You already did the right thing by making a trade and getting rid of the problem chewie. You need to try and avoid such treats for now. You should talk to some trainers in your area, find one who has a good track record with aggressive dogs and start some basic obedience classes.

Should you and you husband decide not to keep him please contact DRNA or C2CDR to see about placing him into a situation better than your shelter. With a little (or possibly a lot) of work this dog could still make a very loving pet for the right people. I am currently working with my latest adoptee Tanner who has some people aggression problems (never towards me) and some major dog aggression problems. In my case I think he was never socialized when he was young and will attack out of fear.

Good luck,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[Heather]

Definitely no more chewies, as you likely figured out.

I would suggest obedience classes with Jack. I have a two year old that I recently took to Puppy Kindergarten because he developed aggression toward my 2 year old nephew, and almost bit him. He also had an aggression toward other dogs as well.

Sometimes my 5 year old will steal something and has actually nipped me twice when I went to reach for it. When he is clamped on something and growling, I approach him slowly, grab the scruff of his neck, and remove the object from his mouth.

It sounds like he needs to learn who is boss. If you don't have classes in your area, try some internet searches on training books (try clickertraining.com). You could do it from a book as well. However, the socialization might do him good. On week one, my Beanie his behind my legs, by week 8 he was sniffing everyone's but. That's progress.

Good luck, give it some time....

[wireweiners]

Jacky is probably getting comfortable enough in your home that he feels ready to test the limits. I agree with the other suggestions not to give him any rawhide. I don't like rawhide anyway because they slime up the carpets and furniture and give my dogs upset tummies. I stick to nylabones and the hercules chew toys. They don't seem to get as possessive of those. Here's a trick you might try. From now on, all food comes from your hands or your husband's. Don't just toss a treat on the floor, make him take it from your hand. Don't let him lunge for it, tell him "easy" or "be nice" and make him take it gently from your hand. If he tries to take your fingers or growls, put the treat up and walk away and ignore him. Hint, if you place the treat in your palm, he will be less likely to grab fingers with taking the treat. This should also include his regular feedings. Sit in a chair with his bowl on a nearby table and feed him his kibble a few pieces at a time from your your hand. This will teach him that all goodies come from you and if he can't be polite about it he doesn't get any. Do this until he will take food from your hand politely without showing any agression. this can also be a good time to make him "work" for his food by sitting before he gets a bite or lying down, shaking hands or some other action from him that "earns" him his reward.

[joiseygirl]

Thank you all for being so wonderful! Jack has been good today and the medicine is finally starting to work. He's not sneezing as much.. yeay <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm42.gif" border=0>
He did take one of the cats toys in his mouth before. I grabbed the back of his neck and told him to "drop". Amazingly he spit it out of his mouth and looked at me with his little eyes squinting. He then licked my hand and layed down.
I'm going to call a trainer I used years back when I had a doberman. I liked him because he has one on one training and then one night a week everyone met for a group training.
Jack did meet Jake today which is the little poodle that lives behind us. They both barked and Jacks hair was raised on his back.. until they sniffed each other through the fence. Jack then began running around with his tail wagging and burrowing under the leaves. I really think his former owners just didn't know him well. For them to say Jack hates other animals is hard to believe. He's been wonderful with every animal he's been in contact with so far.
I want to again thank you all as I am new to this breed and am eager to learn all I can.

[wireweiners]

Carol Lea Benjamin is a trainer who has written several books and also has written articles for the AKC Gazette and Dog Fancy magazine on training. I have found her to have a very common sense, understandable approach to dog training. I would highly recommend her book, Second Hand Dog, about dealing with some of the problems and issues of dogs adopted from shelter/rescue situations.

BTW, I love Jacky's name. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm1.gif" border=0>

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by wireweiners on November 28, 2000 at 03:07 PM</font>

[LisaH]

Jack sounds like a great dog! I'll reiterate what the others have said about not giving him rawhides. I don't give them to Annie mainly because I don't want my house slimed up and also I'm afraid she'll swallow them, but the best reason for you not to give them to Jack is his bad behavior over them.

My mother's dachshund, Molly, is the sweetest dog in the world, but she reverted to her wolf ancestors one time when my mother gave her a real chicken bone (!!!). She realized almost immediately that Molly was splintering it and tried to take it away from her, but Molly growled at her VERY menacingly. My mother was scared of being bitten but even more scared for Molly, so luckily she persisted (and did not get bitten). Needless to say, however, that was the last time Molly saw a bone!

Molly and our Annie get the plaque attacker nylabones. They really like them but don't get possessive over them.

I think Jack is just trying to establish himself in his new environment. Avoid the chewies that "push his buttons." I'm not the bravest person with dogs, so I like to try to avoid the problem situations instead of having to scruff-shake or "bop." There are subtle ways to reinforce the idea that you're the boss (hand-feeding him, going through the door before he does), and the more you do this, the more ingrained his good behavior will become.

I'm glad his cold is better! By the way, you're a good person to have adopted a dachsie whose physical appearance was not the best when you met him! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm42.gif" border=0> I'm glad he's working out.

[Wienergal]

Welcome to the board, Michele!

You've already gotten lots of good advice, so let me just offer you a light at the end of the tunnel. I volunteer with Dachshund Rescue; a beautiful little girl was surrendered because her owners had no time for her. She had spent virtually all her time locked in the laundry room with a rawhide chewy or chained in the back yard with a rawhide chewy. She is the sweetest, most affectionate little girl...unless a piece of rawhide comes into the picture. I had her at my house after she was surrendered, and everything was going fine until I attempted to get her to drop a flip when it was time to go outside. This dog weighs about 15 pounds, and she scared me--the growl, the defiant eyes, the rigid body, the hair up on her back. What a change!

Now, after just few weeks, that behavior has stopped. I did the trade-for-a-treat training, and now, when she has any toy, I just hold up my hand, as if there were a treat in it, say, "Drop it," and she drops it.

We never know what our rescue dogs have actually been through, but in most cases, we can be pretty sure that they haven't been well trained--they lack structure, which all dogs crave. If you follow the advice below, and make Jack feel safe and in his place, my guess is that this behavior will gradually disappear. I love Wirewieners' tip about hand-feeding and making sure Jack understands that all goodies come from you.

One last thing: If Jack is in an aggressive posture, for any reason, I would not lunge at him and say, "NO!" I think that might make him feel more threatened and therefore stimulate more aggressive behavior. I've found that, when dealing with aggression, it's best to be as calm, quiet, and still as possible.

Best of luck, and keep us posted!!

[Penny's Aunt]

It sounds like Jack may have been the victim of a lot of teasing by the kids, creating a food- or toy-possessive dog.

And this something that you will have to realize & work with (& around). He may get better just by being with you longer.

You can improve the situation by handfeeding, & handing (not tossing) him nice tidbits of meat or cheese, etc. Teach him to sit on command* before he gets any kind of treat. You MUST insist, however, that he take all food gently. Keep the food within your hand, not sticking out where he can grab it; let him sniff your hand, then gradually open it so he can gently take the food. Don't tease, do it fairly quickly, but insist that he be gentle. Once he's good with you, have the rest of the family do the same thing. NO GRABBING!

Continue with your work with the food bowl to forestall problems there.

Don't STARE at him in an aggressive situation. Staring is a sign of aggression, & can escalate the problem.

*To teach sit without force: take a small treat in your LEFT hand (place it in the web at the base of your middle fingers, & pin it there with your thumb) & hold it in front of the dog so he knows something yummy is there, then raise your hand over his head. When his head comes up, his fanny usually goes down. As soon as his fanny hits the floor, give him the treat. Once he knows the signal, start adding the word "Sit" just before you give the hand signal, so he will learn to obey either the word or the hand signal. THE RULE: he never gets breakfast, dinner or any treat unless he is sitting.

Obedience school (Positive Methods Only!) could be a big asset in getting him to work with you. Be sure to use a trainer that employs BOTH praise AND food. IMHO, the ones that use only praise have something of
an ego problem. Dogs love food. Dogs love things that used to be food. Dogs love things that might be food. Why waste a training method that works?

Please avoid the methods that use the Koehler method, known in some circles as the jerk-&-hang method. Aggression often begets more aggression, & that's something you DON'T need!

Good luck!