Question for dog owners

[Steve S]

My daughter frequently drops off her dog with us when she has to take my grandson to the doctors or run other errands.

The dog barks at the birds who fly by our house, the mailman, neighbors who pick up their mail, etc. Sometimes it gets obnoxious when he runs into the yard chasing birds. He usually doesn't stop until he falls asleep at nite.

When my daughter and her son are at our house, the dog just lays somewhere and sleeps. Why the difference in behavior?

[MJ5150]

Separation anxiety. The dog has nervous energy and that is how he lets it out. At least he isn't biting you and your family.

Weird thing is, when we leave our dog with someone else, she gets depressed and goes to sleep.

-Mike

[Gard]

Originally Posted by Steve S

My daughter frequently drops off her dog with us when she has to take my grandson to the doctors or run other errands.

The dog barks at the birds who fly by our house, the mailman, neighbors who pick up their mail, etc. Sometimes it gets obnoxious when he runs into the yard chasing birds. He usually doesn't stop until he falls asleep at nite.

When my daughter and her son are at our house, the dog just lays somewhere and sleeps. Why the difference in behavior?

Stress, most likely. The dog is in an unfamiliar situation without his regular "pack", and is upset.

Try having your daughter bring along something from home with the dog, something that maybe the dog has some affinity or attachment to (toy, bed, etc). Also, make sure that when she is leaving to not make a big deal of her doing so - or to try and "hide" it, as either will increase the dog's state of excitement.

Also, try getting the dog involved in physical activities, a good long walk right after your daughter leaves will help a lot (probably won't hurt you either, hm? ). The best way to calm a dog is to get it exercise.

It is important to not tolerate bad behavior at any time also. You don't need to punish the dog physically, but do something to re-direct the animal's attention if it does do something "wrong".

A good read would be Cesar Milan's first book, "The Dog Whisperer". Some of it is kinda "new-agey touchey-feely", and pretty hokey, but a LOT of what he says is dead-on.

[HEIST]

When their comfort (your daughter) isn't around, the dog is anxious. Separation anxiety makes some dogs act out in ways that it wouldn't have if their owners are around them. If the dog gets to spend lots of time at your place with you guys he will eventually get used to it and calm down.

[Gard]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Separation anxiety. The dog has nervous energy and that is how he lets it out. At least he isn't biting you and your family.

Weird thing is, when we leave our dog with someone else, she gets depressed and goes to sleep.

-Mike

Yup. Stress = separation anxiety.

Again, exercise will be a BIG help with this.

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by HEIST

If the dog gets to spend lots of time at your place with you guys he will eventually get used to it and calm down.

^ This

My dog is the most neurotic dog I have ever seen. We leave her with my sister when we have to be gone and can't take her with us. The only two other people on the planet that she will willingly interact with are my sister and her husband. They are definitely dog people and interact with her a lot. (Play ball, chase her, etc.)

Do you pay attention to your daughters dog when she leaves it with you? I think if you were to keep the dog engaged as much as possible, it may grow to love and respect you.

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Gard

A good read would be Cesar Milan's first book, "The Dog Whisperer".

I like him, and Victoria from "It's Me or the Dog". Although the two of them have some conflicting opinions on their approach. I'm trying to mix them both.

-Mike

[Jaco D]

Originally Posted by HEIST

When their comfort (your daughter) isn't around, the dog is anxious. Separation anxiety makes some dogs act out in ways that it wouldn't have if their owners are around them. If the dog gets to spend lots of time at your place with you guys he will eventually get used to it and calm down.

Or, tell your daughter to bring the dog's favorite toy, blanket, etc. the next time she has to deposit Mr. Pooch at your place to give him some sense of security.

[Skitch it!]

Take it for a walk, that'll break the ice.

[buzzbass]

The dog sees your daughter as the pack leader, and not you. He feels like he needs to assume that role if she's not around. You have to get the dog to see you as an authority figure.

[Steve S]

Wow! These are all great responses. Thank you very much. I do need the exercise too so next time he's with me, I'll take him for a long walk after my daughter leaves.

[dubist]

Originally Posted by Steve S

My daughter frequently drops off her dog with us when she has to take my grandson to the doctors or run other errands.

The dog barks at the birds who fly by our house, the mailman, neighbors who pick up their mail, etc. Sometimes it gets obnoxious when he runs into the yard chasing birds. He usually doesn't stop until he falls asleep at nite.

When my daughter and her son are at our house, the dog just lays somewhere and sleeps. Why the difference in behavior?

my Ex's dog was like this and a dog trainer set us up with a strategy.
have the owner or you walk the dog before letting them in the house get the dog tired if this don't work

have owner leave something like a old shirt or blanket with the owners scent on it(rub it all over hand feet face hair). have as few people around as possible. have the owner lay out the blanket down with the dog watching
owner sits for a few minutes let the dog relax give them a irresistible treat.
owner leaves as quitely as possible DON'T SAY "GOODBYE" or anything its a huge trigger. have treats near by and if the dogs stay give em a treat and a good boy.
this might not work the first time. keep at it. worked wonders for the dog and my relationship at the time. I work from home and dealt with the dog for 4 years first 1 was hell.

good luck

[Balog]

Lot of good advice so far. Out of curiousity, what breed is this?

[Jay Ralston]

At the prison I work at, we have a dog program where certain well behaved inmates can train dogs. It could be 1 of 2 things. Like others have said, separation anxiety or it could be that the dog knows your daughter is the master of him and has displayed dominant behavior towards him but you guys have not. This is actually what I am leaning towards believing but admit I could be wrong. When the inmates train the dogs, to get them to be obedient, they take a spray bottle filled with 50/50 vinegar and water and f the dog gets out of line, they squirt the dog in the nose and say the word, "ought" (rhymes with fought). The dog soon learns what it is doing is wrong and stops. The vinegar and water when spray in the nose is harmless but the dogs hate the smell and quickly associate a wrong behavior with that smell and thus stop. At the same time, the reason why the inmates say, "ought" to the dog instead of, "No" is because the sound ought sounds very similar to a dogs growl especially when the dogs Mother reared it as a puppy. When you do this, you too want to make almost a growl sound when saying the word. It's amazing how fast most of these dogs catch on after just a few times and stop the behavior.

[john grey]

Most everyone said what I would have but for one thing (in a sense). I would break the "pattern" of the dog responding to the stimuli. If there is a distraction / barking stimuli, if you act right at the point you may break that reflective association. Taking the dog for a walk is a very good idea but you can't do that always. It would be a very good thing to do when you can.
IF however, when the dog begins to bark, if you interject another stimuli, you may have some success so long as it's not associated as reward action for the barking behaviour. If the dog has a name association (knows it's name) you could call the dog (ASAP) and work on getting the dog to see you as Alpha in the owner's absence.

[Bassamatic]

I do dog owner training and counseling. Most of the above posts are basically correct. Dogs reflect the attitude of their owners and leaders. It is clear that that the doggie is comfortable with your daughter and not so much with you.

Perhaps having the dog there makes you a little uneasy? Perhaps you don't like having the dog there, or someone in the house doesn't like the dog? Any dog can pick up on this immediately.

DO walk the dog to burn off its nervous energy and to establish yourself as the dog's leader -
1. Be SURE you go through the door first, the dog must follow the leader.
2. Be SURE that the dog does not lead or pull you - this is disrespect. Again, the dog follows the leader.
3. Do not be afraid to discipline the dog when it barks, etc. Discipline does NOT mean punishment ! ! ! ! Discipline means telling the dog that you (its leader) does not want it barking. When it barks, you tell it NO, and stand in front of it between the dog and the mailman, etc. slowly approach it until it backs away. When he goes and lays down, you praise him and perhaps give a treat.

Be FIRM and CONSISTENT. Dogs WANT you to lead, so be the leader. What makes a dog feel comfortable is a firm leader that makes him feel safe. "Nice" in dog language = WEAK. You don't need to be nice, you need to be a firm leader and the dog will feel safe and comfortable.

This is a very simple program, but should be a start for you.

ALSO - as stated above - ask your daughter to bring something from home - a towel or blanket the dog lays on, etc. This and the walk will help a LOT.

Good luck. Dogs are a great as their owners help them to be.

[P. Aaron]

Originally Posted by buzzbass

The dog sees your daughter as the pack leader, and not you. He feels like he needs to assume that role if she's not around. You have to get the dog to see you as an authority figure.

this.

[Jay Ralston]

This post reminds me of a t.v. show I was watching one time. It was a comedy and this guy was having dog problems. He told his girlfriend about it and she told him he was going to have to mount the dog. The dudes reaction was priceless and quite funny.

[Steve S]

Originally Posted by Balog

Lot of good advice so far. Out of curiousity, what breed is this?

He's a 100 pound pit bull. Very sweet most of the time but gets very protective of us. Someone said that being "nice" was perceived by the dog as being "weak." I think that's happened here because my daughter treats him much different than I do. She's tougher on him.

[MJ5150]

I'd be nice to a 100 pound pit bull that wasn't mine too.

-Mike