I need a crash course in dog obedience training

[DesertBlossom]

My dad was admitted to the hospital Saturday for an undetermined length of time and I have his 3 year old Shih Tzu/Lhasa Apso mix at my house for the time being.  My indoor-dog hating father got this dog for my sick mother and she passed away a year and a half ago.  My mother loved this dog so my dad has come to love him and I appreciate the companionship he is for my dad since he lives alone. 

 

However, the dog rules the roost. Which is fine as the 2 of them get along. However, the dog can be ornery. He refuses to eat dog food, unless he's eating it out of my dad's hand!  He survives mostly on dog treats and table scraps. My dad half-heartedly complains about that, but not enough to do anything to change that behavior. 

 

When grandkids come over, the dog can get a little grabby with the kids' food and/or overwhelmed, so we try to put him outside or in his crate. Unless he can be bribed with a treat (which is rare, because he'd rather be with all the attention) getting him there is a battle. He will snarl and snap if he's picked up or grabbed by the collar. He's a smart dog and knows what we're up to and if he doesn't want to go, he won't. Usually, we have to put a dog treat by the door and then walk away. As soon as the dog thinks we are gone, he'll head for the treat and then it's a race to shut the door before he gets back in.  He also has a tendency to run off and explore outside when he gets out the front door and will not obey any command to come back inside... at least until we're yelling a lot.  We used to be able to trick him by putting a leash on him to bring him back inside, but he's figured that one out already. 

 

As long as he gets his way, he's a good dog.  But because of his tendency to snap when he's not getting his way, I need some help.

 

He's been at my house a few hours. When he walked into my bedroom I told him to go on out, and he surprisingly obeyed. But, when I wanted him to go into the backyard, he stood his ground and refused to budge. He finally went when I yelled loud enough.  

 

I have his crate here, which I don't know how I'll use since getting him in it is the hard part. As for his food, I have a "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit" policy, so he'll eat when he's finally hungry enough. :)

 

I know when he goes back to my dad, he'll go back to his ornery, bossy ways. But for the time being, I'd like him to listen to me. I have a 9 year old lab who is sweet and mellow and more obedient than all my kids' combined, but she came to me that way, so I don't know a darn about dog training.

 

Any ideas on how to help us co-exist?  I'd like to think he won't be here more than a week. However, I think there's a real possibility my dad might have to go to an assisted living center while he recuperates. So we need to figure something out. 

[Pawz4me]

When you need him to go outside or into his crate, why not try snapping his leash to his collar and walking him to where you want him to go?

 

I would try not to yell.  It's almost always totally counter productive.  The calmer and more matter-of-fact you can be the more likely he is to remain calm.

[Pen]

I think an in person trainer or at least a good book would be of help.

 

Leaving a nylon cord tied onto his collar could help give you something to get hold of that is not close to snapping teeth, and will not tend to get as caught on everything as a leash would do.

 

I'd probably be inclined to have him in his crate or on a leash or cord  or long training lead at all times until he shows better behavior, especially due to the running off problem, for both his own and anyone else's safety.

 

And I'd probably try an Ian Dunbar approach to training and working with him in general.  It tends to be very gentle, whereas I'd be concerned that some approaches might get the snarl and snap to escalate to bite.

 

Also, often a tired dog is a good dog.

[Pen]

My ds suggested maybe a muzzle, if needed to handle him safely.  

[wintermom]

I would put the dog in his crate before the grandkids came over (or locked in another room). There is no reason to set up a situation where the dog could bite one of the children. You know it's not going to go well, and you probably won't have the time to change this dog's behaviour.

[Pen]

I may have misunderstood the situation.  I thought the grandkids were the kids of OP, who used to visit the dog when they went to the grandparents' home--and what was being described was the usual situation and the grandparents' home.  Thus I was picturing that the dog is now living in a home amongst the grandkids while the dog's usual master (or not master perhaps in this case) is in hospital.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I agree with having a nylon lead on him.  If he snaps at you, you might need to do a muzzle.  You want to be calm, firm and keep to routines.  I've had relative's dogs in similar situations and with similar behavior and it only took a couple of days for them to start to obey me.  

[DesertBlossom]

Yes, the dog is at my house now. My dad is in the hospital, but we often have big family dinners at his house. Most of the snapping incidents have been when there's a family gathering of 30+ people or more and he doesn't want to get crated. It's not enough to put him outside bc kids are out there too eating on the porch, but he's too smart to get coaxed into his crate. And if someone tries to pick him up or lead him by the collar, he will snap.

 

I am not as worried about him at my home because it's not as loud and stressful, but I definitely won't try picking him up because I know he is capable of biting me. I like the lead idea. I did put his leash on earlier to take him outside... he was so excited because he thought he was going out the front door but instead got sent out back. I am afraid if I overuse that, the leash trick won't work anymore.

 

If my 9 year old lab gets something she's not supposed to have, I can reach in her mouth and take it. Or she'll drop it if you tell her to. This dog wouldn't drop anything if I told him to, and I certaily wouldn't try taking anything from him. I do feel like he's a smart dog and could be a really good dog if he had any incentive to be.

 

I will look up Ian Dunbar i had hoped to make it to the library today but we didn't get that far.

[Pawz4me]

I am not as worried about him at my home because it's not as loud and stressful, but I definitely won't try picking him up because I know he is capable of biting me. I like the lead idea. I did put his leash on earlier to take him outside... he was so excited because he thought he was going out the front door but instead got sent out back. I am afraid if I overuse that, the leash trick won't work anymore.

 

You're right, it won't work if you use it too much for that purpose.

 

But it sounds as if the dog could benefit in many ways from daily walk(s).  It sounds to me as if he's had little to no socialization.  That's a very common problem in dogs that belong to older folks.  Walks can help with that.  Walks will help tire him out mentally and physically.  And as someone else said, a tired dog really is a good dog.

 

You want to crate him well ahead of time when you're expecting company.  Firstly because you don't want to risk a bite and secondly because it's just going to be a LOT easier and kinder to him.  Put yourself in his place -- unless you're an introvert like me, would you like the fun to just be getting under way at a party and then being told to leave?  So crate him before anyone arrives.  Make the crate a good place by giving him a yummy treat every time you put him in there.  For family dinners try a Kong toy that has been stuffed with something yummy and then frozen.

[Plink]

Check out Kikopup for excellent training videos.  However, don't expect immediate results.  This dog has taken a long time to learn how to misbehave, and those habits will take a while to break.  If you only have it for one week, you won't be able to expect "obedience" when you simply visit your dad.

 

Oh, and stop yelling.  The dog's ears are better than yours.  He can hear you.  Getting louder only makes you feel more upset, it doesn't communicate your request any more clearly.  Save commands for when you have the ability to ensure that the dog WILL do it, not when you are hoping he might.