Nebor
Lifer
So I have an older dog (Apollo), 1.5 years old, we just got him about 3 months ago. He's a fawn chihuaha, was very well behaved, housebroken, etc. when we got him from the pound. He was hesitant to eat when we got him, and still never gets excited when it's dinner time for him. I had started taking him to obedience training, and he was very very good at it, top of his class. He quickly learned to sit, sit up, heel, halt, etc. He's always been VERY aggressive towards other dogs, even though he's only 18lbs himself, and most of the dogs he aggresses towards could kill him with one bite. But at training, he learned to get along well with other dogs too! He never strayed far even if you walked him without a leash. He would always come on command.
So anyway, 2 weeks ago my girlfriend brings home this 7 week old Yorkie puppy(Zeus.) He's 9 weeks now and weighs about 4lbs. I've gotten him house trained already, and he comes when you call him (most of the time.) He's very excited at dinner time. Generally a good dog.
Here's the tough part, my older dog, Apollo, has gone to absolute shit. Seemingly overnight, he refuses to do anything he's told. Entirely disobedient. He runs off outside for 30 minutes at a time before coming home. He gets run away from the food by the puppy, which I don't really understand. I would think the bigger, older dog would be the alpha. But Apollo's behavior has been on a steady decline for the last two weeks. Anytime I tell him to do anything, he puts his ears down, looks all sad, and goes to bed like he's in trouble. And while the puppy has become housetrained very quickly, Apollo has taken to peeing and pooping in the house.
This came to a head about 30 minutes ago, when I was walking him (on a leash now, since he'll now run off if I don't use a leash) and he alternated between pulling constantly while growling, and basically laying down and being dragged. So when we got home, I went into the dogs room with him and asked him what was wrong, and went to pet him. That's when he bit me. I immediately gave him two hard smacks on the butt, during which he bit me again. This resulted in him getting thrown across the room and striking the wall about 4 feet off the ground. He then ran around the room growling and peeing and pooping everywhere. I removed Zeus (the puppy) from the room and locked him in there (after cleaning up the mess.) Now keep in mind I'm never mean to my animals. I can count on two hands the number of times he's been spanked, and all of them involved him either pooping on the floor (out of spite) or being excessively mean to the puppy (to the point of endangering it's life.)
I don't know what to do. I've always said I'd rather have an obedient dog than a happy dog, but this one seems unwilling to be either. He is very close to being put down. Help?
UPDATE:
On the advice of the vet, I got Apollo a remote "shock collar." An Innotek IUT-300 to be exact. I watched the DVD that came with it, but I wasn't comfortable trying to use it by myself. I was afraid that his abuse at the hands of his previous owners would make him even more vulnerable to a complete mental breakdown. So I talked to the guy who runs his obedience training class, and he recommended someone that specializes in remote collar training. After only two lessons, Apollo is like a brand new dog. He quickly learned which behavior was bad, and which behavior is good, and by reinforcing the good behavior with praise and treats, it lets him know that he's doing the right thing and making me happy. And by punishing bad behavior with a corrective shock, he learns that bad behavior hurts him and me.
He is once again a very, very happy dog. He jumps up to greet me when I get him, licks my face again, gets along great with the puppy, etc. The remote collar and the training sessions added up to about $500, but it was worth it to see him happy again. Here's a new picture of him and Zeus hanging out.
DSC00156.JPG
Oh yeah, and he's only worn the electric collar for a grand total of maybe 8 hours. He's so used to having different collars and stuff put on him, he doesn't associate the remote collar with the shocks, so his behavior is good 100% of the time.
Also, I tried the electric collar on myself before I put it on him. It ranges from level 1 to level 9. Level 4 was relatively unpleasant for me, so I figured that would be limit for him. In actual use he can't feel level 1, and level 2 is just right to correct him, with the "boost button" to level 4 used for dangerous behavior (running into the street, chasing people while growling, etc.)
So anyway, 2 weeks ago my girlfriend brings home this 7 week old Yorkie puppy(Zeus.) He's 9 weeks now and weighs about 4lbs. I've gotten him house trained already, and he comes when you call him (most of the time.) He's very excited at dinner time. Generally a good dog.
Here's the tough part, my older dog, Apollo, has gone to absolute shit. Seemingly overnight, he refuses to do anything he's told. Entirely disobedient. He runs off outside for 30 minutes at a time before coming home. He gets run away from the food by the puppy, which I don't really understand. I would think the bigger, older dog would be the alpha. But Apollo's behavior has been on a steady decline for the last two weeks. Anytime I tell him to do anything, he puts his ears down, looks all sad, and goes to bed like he's in trouble. And while the puppy has become housetrained very quickly, Apollo has taken to peeing and pooping in the house.
This came to a head about 30 minutes ago, when I was walking him (on a leash now, since he'll now run off if I don't use a leash) and he alternated between pulling constantly while growling, and basically laying down and being dragged. So when we got home, I went into the dogs room with him and asked him what was wrong, and went to pet him. That's when he bit me. I immediately gave him two hard smacks on the butt, during which he bit me again. This resulted in him getting thrown across the room and striking the wall about 4 feet off the ground. He then ran around the room growling and peeing and pooping everywhere. I removed Zeus (the puppy) from the room and locked him in there (after cleaning up the mess.) Now keep in mind I'm never mean to my animals. I can count on two hands the number of times he's been spanked, and all of them involved him either pooping on the floor (out of spite) or being excessively mean to the puppy (to the point of endangering it's life.)
I don't know what to do. I've always said I'd rather have an obedient dog than a happy dog, but this one seems unwilling to be either. He is very close to being put down. Help?
UPDATE:
On the advice of the vet, I got Apollo a remote "shock collar." An Innotek IUT-300 to be exact. I watched the DVD that came with it, but I wasn't comfortable trying to use it by myself. I was afraid that his abuse at the hands of his previous owners would make him even more vulnerable to a complete mental breakdown. So I talked to the guy who runs his obedience training class, and he recommended someone that specializes in remote collar training. After only two lessons, Apollo is like a brand new dog. He quickly learned which behavior was bad, and which behavior is good, and by reinforcing the good behavior with praise and treats, it lets him know that he's doing the right thing and making me happy. And by punishing bad behavior with a corrective shock, he learns that bad behavior hurts him and me.
He is once again a very, very happy dog. He jumps up to greet me when I get him, licks my face again, gets along great with the puppy, etc. The remote collar and the training sessions added up to about $500, but it was worth it to see him happy again. Here's a new picture of him and Zeus hanging out.
DSC00156.JPG
Oh yeah, and he's only worn the electric collar for a grand total of maybe 8 hours. He's so used to having different collars and stuff put on him, he doesn't associate the remote collar with the shocks, so his behavior is good 100% of the time.
Also, I tried the electric collar on myself before I put it on him. It ranges from level 1 to level 9. Level 4 was relatively unpleasant for me, so I figured that would be limit for him. In actual use he can't feel level 1, and level 2 is just right to correct him, with the "boost button" to level 4 used for dangerous behavior (running into the street, chasing people while growling, etc.)
