What the hell am I doing wrong?..small snappy dog😥

[Couldsleeptillnextyear]

8 months old..pug/ chihuahua bit of terrier cross breed dog...super duper out and about,can do recall,amazing with other dogs ,she wows people constantly,she gets so much fuss from strangers,she rolls on her back for tummy rubs from strangers ,is all sweetness and light with everyone.....other than us ,her family🙁We get growled at and she snaps if we try to lift her off the sofa,or table or chair or bed...or today my dh went to pick her up and she snapped at him😢....I get less of it as she's with me the most and I don't pick her up....I'm constantly saying don't pick the dog up...would you pick up a Great Dane...no..then don't pick her up...it's getting better,they are getting better at not picking her up..what else can I can do...she's never bit anyone ,I'm sure if she meant to do us harm she would bite and draw blood ,not just snap...so I'm assuming she's warning us,stop I don't like that...am I right? What else / more / different can I do....I feel like Im Failing her..she goes to puppy class each week.

Mines is a terrier by the way. Terriers really don’t respond to harsh handling, they are generally intelligent and independent

I could have literally done anything with my last dog and he wouldn’t have grumbled but this one it’s treats all the way.

I say this nicely but....

STAY AWAY FROM ANYTHING CESAR MILAN SAYS

He's not a good trainer. He's an abusive man

What ? Why ? A friend recommended him to me ,said he was amazing..I've not had chance for a look yet soubriquit

Evie black.....having never heard of him before ,or know anything about him...instead of you saying ffs I despair ...how about you tell me why you think he's no good..I've never heard of him and I know nothing about his methods...so why do I need to give him a miss???

Fairy cake...yes I find treats work....we had months of weeing inside,as soon as ..in desperation..I started giving her a treat for weeing outside ,she got it immediately..very food oriented,probably the bit of pug in her .

Mr Milan trains based on the dominance theory. The idea that dogs need to be taught their place in the pack.
This theory is complete bollocks.
The man hits and kicks dogs and uses electric shock collars and other aversive methods.
You want an APDT trainer.

Cheers Woolf ie.i won't bother looking at his stuff ..surprised my friend recommended him😲

Woolfie or anyone else lurking...where does it say about the dominance therory not being correct....our puppy class uses this theory in their training.

Keep a trailing lead on her in the house. Do not let her on the furniture, sounds like she is taking control of her space. Nobody picks her up, if you need to move her, use the lead.

Does she have a 'safe space'? A crate or a den that is just hers? Smaller dogs are snappy sods anyway 😂 For the whole 'down' confusion, 'down' is lay down; 'off' is get off the sofa/bed etc. Consistency with everyone too

Dominance theory is bollocks. Sorry. Dogs do not want to be dominant, they want to be part of the family. Caesar Milan is a wanker.

The only type of 'control' we discuss (at home) is when a dog is feeling crowded & needs to take control of their space - think personal space. We have had dogs with food issues, so we give them their space when they eat. If we move into that space when they aren't expecting it, we get growled at.

Mustbemad17. Yes indeed to consistency,

The thing i found with little dogs is sometimes bad behaviour creeps...they snap once & people think it's cute, so let it go. Then it builds.
If one of my big bull terriers snapped at someone, no doubt the police would be involved 😂😂

Tell me why it's bollacks 17

I suspected it was ,and didn't follow the advice given in class

www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/why-not-dominance.php

I've posted lots ,but under different names ,this is my second dog ,I had a whippet before never snapped even once ..I'm getting some good ideas from this thread...I'm sure our problems are down to one family member I need to take to task on about the picking up.

Dominating a dog is forcing it to do something regardless of how it feels. DOminance theory is often used with fearful or aggressive dogs; can you imagine someone forcing you to do something you were terrified of? You remove any respect a dog has for you, dogs should want to work with you, to listen. A fearful dog is dangerous. A repressed dog is dangerous. I see people telling their dogs off for growling say at a child tugging & i cringe; a dog's only warning outlet is to growl, bark or move away. Dominance theory doesn't allow dogs these avenues, so they repress it.

I suck at explaining stuff in writing sorry 🙈 But i hope some of that makes sense?

You need to find a new class. Basically it involves you bullying and scaring your dog to show it who's boss. No wonder puppy is acting up!
The theory was based on observation of unrelated wolves kept in captivity. So unnatural behaviour.

So in a wolf pack there is no leader ,they work together?

Can you get everyone involved in doing some basic re-training? Make it fun, make it rewarding for the dog. Positive experiences are more likely to stick, with both sides.

I took a rommie rescue dog on, worked him a treat with some outside input & he went to his new home; they didn't stick to the plan & he came back to me aggressive, fearful & generally a huge mess. Turns out when he regressed a little with his behaviour they stuck a bloody e-collar on him 😡😡 never got him back to how he was because he was too far gone, we just had to manage his behaviour until he passed.

The link explains it much better than me.
A dog isn't a wild animal. You're not a wolf either.
Yes the dog needs to do as it is told but there are much better ways to achieve this than bullying and aversive methods.

You can't base a domesticated dog on a wolf pack. They are too different now due to breeding for domestication.

If you have several dogs you will likely have a heirarchy; you cannot instill that heirarchy as a human

Thanks woolfie I've read that interesting article...I want to say more ,but I can't,it would be to outing..the puppy class is fine ,no forcing dogs to do anything ,nothing is forced ,dogs arnt treated badly in any way

How is the training done OP? Dominance training is hugely different to positive reinforcement, so curious about your classes

If they are talking about lack theory and dominance then it isn't appropriate training. You don't have to hit a dog for it to be inappropriate. You need praise and positive based training. No aversive methods.