"Hey Chase, this shit is happening again...like he doesn't even look at me anymore when I talk to him.
I open the door from the backyard and he runs in bulldozing over Courtlend leaving him with scratches and scuff marks and I can't have him going to school like that...
Hell but that's not even the worst of it because the little runt shits all over the furniture all the time when I clearly allow time for him to go outside and handle his business....
Meghan's beyond tired because every night we go to bed I have to hear this bull about "you need to give away that dog because I cant live with him messing up the house, I always have to clean up after him on my lunch breaks and when I get off work. either he leaves or you leave with him"
bro, I need some serious help"
Where do I start lol? So immediately I see one potential problem is that no one is home with the dog. His wife has to come home during her breaks and her off time, so no one is watching the dog during the day. Their dog, I was actually going to train, is still a pup so shouldn't be at home by himself anyway but there's ways around that that I will show you, and he's actually not as rambunctious as they make him sound, well at least around me he wasn't. This if because of two things.
#1 Disestablish Companionship, Establish Authority, Reestablish Companionship
The number one reason their dog -and most likely your dog too- won't listen is because, to the dog, it's owner is an equal. to put this in plain sight, you have a greater level of reverence and/or fear from people who you start off seeing as authoritative figures rather than companions. For example, your boss represents authority, your friends represent companionship. When you're out say, drinking with your friends and you're tired, you can go home, that is your decision, your leverage, and your authority that allowed you to do. Now apply the same scenario to the workplace, now obviously you don't drink in the workplace (you're a bad-ass if you do), but say you're tired but the boss needs your group's project done by 5:00 pm sharp TODAY, you know you're not going home. As a matter of fact, you know you're not going home so much, that you won't even dare to ask the boss if you could go, because you know he will not let you. The same thing applies with your Cane Corso. Your dog respects authority first and companionship second, not the opposite way around. So to get on the right track you need to disestablish companionship, establish authority, and then you can reestablish companionship. The bullet points below will aid you with this process:
- Do not play our show love to your dog for one week straight (don't ignore, but don't show ease) This disestablishes companionship
- After the week is over, be very consistent and stern about what you want from your dog (be physical but not overly physical, and associate certain actions and or sounds with bad and good behavior) This establishes the authoritative figure
- Do NOT give your dog anything until your dog makes strong eye contact with you (make sure you are above your dog when doing this. Your dog should be looking up to you, not down at you) This will teach your dog compliance
- Once your dog has gotten used to your authority and shows so by obeying your commands, slowly reestablish companionship by moderate contact, treats, and eventually playing. This reestablishes companionship
#2 Getting to Understand Your Dog
A lot of people know their dog and love their dog, but don't actually understand their dog. Like people, dogs respond strongly to people that cater to what they want and need. For example, if I were to have a conversation with you and somehow we migrated to the subject of chocolate allergies and I said I was allergic to chocolate, I would not be too fond of you if, say the next day was my birthday and you bought me a 1ft long Hershey bar. I would think that you weren't listening to me, and although in your mind it's the thought that counts, to me, all I can focus on is that I clearly stated I was allergic to chocolate and here I have a gargantuan chocolate bar laying before me awaiting consumption; I almost instantly build a disconnect between you and I with something that simple, because it's not the chocolate bar, it's the fact that you didn't listen to me. Dogs, amazingly pick up on this stuff. If your Corso doesn't like Purina Puppy Chow, and you keep giving him/her Purnia Puppy Chow EVERY day or other day, they're not going to be too willing to listen to you when you say "eat before you go outside".
I figured this out the hard way. One of my dogs, Zeus, a Cane Corso of course would never eat his food. My dogs get outside time after they finish eating dinner, but I noticed Zeus would never eat. So I decided to watch him one day to see why he wouldn't touch his food. I lowered his bowl, and just sat there and watched......If I were a dog, and I had to make a repulsive face, I would've made the face Zeus made lol. It's because he hated that God-awful Blue Buffalo shit I was giving him. I felt good because it was expensive, but ultimately it wasn't something he'd enjoy, and I was forced to realize that part of getting your dog to do what you want them to do is making it easy for them to do it. Turns out, the solution to getting Zeus to eat wasn't to assert my authority, it wasn't to force him to eat, it was to search for understanding and give him what he wanted. Now obviously you must use discretion with giving your dog what they want because you shouldn't give them everything they want all the time, but for this scenario, it was a simple fix to a complex problem.
Enjoy!
-Chase
