# any rhodesian ridgeback owners out there?



## KING'S owner (Mar 22, 2010)

well i brought home my RR 2 days ago and it was almost a nightmare for the first couple of hours and not cause he was mean or bad he was just peeing everywhere instantly which i was expecting so no biggie. i gathered myself and remembered he is only 8 weeks old and i need to be more patient. once i did that and took a couple of deep breaths i found that things started to go smoother. his car ride home was very positive and he was asleep on my wifes lap almost instantly. he loves his crate (most of the time) and does good in the night. he only wakes up maybe once or twice. he has been introduced to his leash and walked with me for a little while. but after 2 days he is starting to show his true colors. he seemed to have the lowest energy of the litter not timid or shy just kinda laid back. but now he is rambunctious which i was also expecting my problem is i want to establish myself as alpha which for a ridgeback is a must and i have done so i just dont know if i am being to hard on him or what. i try to check him on everything he does and show him who is boss. the puppy biting is the worse. he is gentle but he goes at everyones feet except mine and my 2 year old is afraid now cause he nibbled on her once or twice. i just dont know how much is to much. cause i catch EVERYTHING he does and correct him but i dont want him to see me as the mean guy who wont let him have any fun. were anybodies RR this nippy and defiant and if so how did it turn out? thanks.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

First-- Can you please use some capital letters and line breaks? Your posts are very hard to read.

Second-- Ridgebacks can be "willful" but they also tend to be "soft" dogs that do NOT do well with harsh punishments or dominance tactics. I don't know what you mean by this:


> i try to check him on everything he does and show him who is boss.


but if you mean something like scruffing him or "alpha roll" then stop that now. IMO, RR are dogs where the Cesar school of training (or even more so, the harsher trainers) can really backfire.

Puppy biting-- read "the bite stops here" sticky


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I second the writing style...it is helpful to have paragraphs to read...lol. 

I also question the alpha thing, but of course there are a zillion posts and threads on this so I will simply say: By THINKING right off the bat you need to be alpha because of his breed, you are setting up in your mind an adversarial and confrontational relationship. This is not how you build a bond and trust with a dog (especially a fresh young pup). The perspective is just setting you both up to fail and for more stress.

You ask if anyone's RR's were "nippy and defiant"..um yeah, all puppies are nippy and a correction does not mean in TWO DAYS he will learn not to nip. You need to back up your expectations, puppies are RARELY "defiant", easily excited? Yep. Scared of the strange new home and people? Yep. Totally unable neurologically to have an attention span longer that 2 seconds? Yep.

He's a BABY, not even a toddler, a BABY. He's also teething, excited to be in a new place, has no opposable thumbs so the world is about "put it in my mouth", has little or no bladder control (and WON'T for a while). He will alternately race around the house like a crazy dog (puppy zoomies) or be fast asleep. He will bite your fingers, ankles, toes, shoelaces, drawstrings, stretchy pants, teatowels etc. Normal normal normal, regardless of breed. 

The first couple of weeks are about him settling in and you setting up a decent crate/rest/walk/feed/ pee poo schedule to help him learn the basics of housetraining and to get you all on the path of success.

Puppy and toddler should not be allowed to play together. Period. Toddlers are like littermates to puppies, so puppy on leash for control, toddler sitting quietly petting the puppy or one or the other crated or playpenned for naps. LOL Supervision is very important, both for the safety of the child AND the puppy. They can BOTH hurt or frighten each other very easily accidentally.

Check out the stickies for doggie zen, the bite stops here etc and stop CORRECTING your dog (though you do not mention what your corrections are if they are physical corrections stop, now.) and set him up so he cannot make the mistakes in the first place. Appropriate chew toys, using the crate for "down times" and NON angry time outs, teaching the basics like sit and down are all you have to do now. Puppies do no wrong, it's the humans that make all the mistakes.

Most of the Ridgies I have worked with required no strict discipline and were neither soft nor hard dogs, but they WERE sensitive to my cues and intelligent and loyal dogs. You must teach him to trust you, not to obey for fear of repercussions. Start off on the right foot with teaching, and being alpha in the true sense, which is that of the parent, not the dominator.


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## KING'S owner (Mar 22, 2010)

Well guys thanks for the advice on the writing style (didn't even cross my mind). First let me start by saying that when i say i check him on everything that does not mean alpha rolls or "scruffing" (what is scruffing?). It is more of a ah-ah-ah type of deal. I will not sit here and lie and say i have not alpha rolled him (2x) but it wasn't done in a mean way i was very calm and released any tension once he had relaxed and then rewarded his calm behavior. 

Let me also say that when this was originally posted i had only had him for approx. 2 days or so. As time goes on i realize what you mean @cracker. My concern was how do i know when am i doing to much as i am afraid of not doing enough but definetely do not want to cross the line and create problems that do not need to be there. On top of it all i want is a good relationship with my dog and i believe that i was expecting to much to quick i see now i am in it for the long haul. I feel like a total doushce bag now because i feel i have started on the wrong foot with him already expecting so much and trying to establish myself as the boss. I just want him to be a well rounded dog but I understand what you guys are saying. Thank goodness for forums like this one that let you speak with people with experience.

Tommorow is a new day and i will start from scratch again. I just have to keep in mind he is a puppy and i should gain his trust before trying to be the boss. Funny thing is he listens to my wife a little more than me which is funny cause she didnt really want him at first and he was instantly attracted to her.

Thanks again guys.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

From Patricia McConnell's _The Other End of the Leash_, a book on dog behavior that is highly recommended by many people here:



> Even the Monks of New Skete, whose book _How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend_ inspired me and at least a million other people, advised owners to act like wolves and do "alpha rollovers" -- to throw dogs down onto their backs to ensure that their dogs would accept them as leaders. The book's main author, Job Michael Evans, later said that he deeply regretted this advice.
> 
> Well-socialized, healthy dogs don't pin other dogs to the ground. Submissive individuals initiate that posture themselves. The posture is a display signal from one animal to another, a signal of appeasement, not the result of a wrestling maneuver. Forcing dogs into "submission" and screaming in their face is a great way to elicit defensive aggression. It makes sense that a dog would bite, or at least threaten to, in this context. Within their social framework, you're acting like a lunatic.
> 
> ...


It has an entire, great chapter on dominance. Definitely worth a read. McConnell is an applied animal behaviorist and dog trainer with over 20 years of experience.


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## Airedale Mom (Apr 1, 2010)

Crantastic said:


> From Patricia McConnell's _The Other End of the Leash_, a book on dog behavior that is highly recommended by many people here:QUOTE]
> 
> I LOVE that book! She has another entitled For The Love of A Dog and I would recommend that one as well.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

King,
Hey, no need to feel like a ****** bag. LOL. Look, I've been there. I'm what is known as a crossover trainer, not that I was ever heavily into punishment but I bought into all that alpha phooey as well...and then someone pointed me in a different direction, I educated myself and my life and that of the dogs I work with changed. We all gotta start somewhere.

It's really common, btw, for people to forget their puppies are little fur infants and expect too much too soon. Just wait til he hits adolescence kiddo..lol. If you get the basic training (walking nicely, sits and downs, recalls, greeting behaviours) going in a good positive manner you will HAVE your well rounded dog and then he will be a teenager and you'll have to keep working on it because he will SEEM to have forgotten most of it. This is also a neurological development stage, not stubborness, but an instinctual/biological drive for independence and adventure. If you have your basics, this stage will be much easier to handle for everyone. 

I too recommend Patricia McConnell's books AND her website has an awesome blog. I also recommend Jean Donaldson's book "The Culture Clash", Suzanne Clothier's "Bones Would Rain from the Sky" and "The Power of Positive Dog Training" by Pat Miller.


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