Thanks for all of the tips.
First, there is no single thing to do/ not do to train a dog. They are all individuals and frequently take multiple methods to adjust their behavior. Especially if it has taken root over time. But here are some basics:
You MUST be the alpha dog. You do not back off, you do not submit.
You must not tolerate biting. If they nip, you must respond. If done by accident, a quick yell will usually suffice. If done in anger, you must put the dog in submission. First time, every time. You are the boss. Inaction condones the behavior.
Remember that dogs have no sense of time. Only here and now. For example, if they come to you after they have gotten loose, DO NOT yell or beat the dog!! They only know they came and now you beat them for coming. Here is the hard part, once they have come, you have to let them go again. Practice this every day. I realize you have to collar the dog once in a while for your or its safety, but make it so the dog wants to come to you. They are always a good dog when they come. No matter how long it took. Hard to remember some times.
Positive reinforcement when they are good. Remember to be nice after discipline. Again, they don't remember they were bad that morning. Only that you are pissed off now and don't know why.
Most dogs do not respond favorably to beating as discipline. I have one now that likes getting roughed up for instance. "is that all you got?"
In your case:
Food aggression is the tip of the iceberg. Nip it in the bud by sitting with the dog while it eats and pet it. Play with the food. Work up to actually taking the food away then giving it back. Growling not allowed. At you or the other dog. Things like this actually start as fear on the dog's part, not aggression per se. So work on relieving what is driving the fear. Loosing their fair share, not getting attention, being left alone, whatever.
One of the best posts. All I have ever had was farm dogs. To me they are still perfect, all we ever have to do with them is give them their shots. Dump a 50lb bag of food out every month or so and they're good to go. Its perfect for them, they get to kill and eat whatever they want, they run around all day and when they want attention they come to you. Never had an agressive farm dog, they have always been great. I've never trained any of them to do anything though either.
The one class I took with this puppy (brutus) just kind of taught the basics of training. The key things I learned were dogs sense of time like you said, you have to reward or discipline that second or they dont know whats going on. Consistency, the same hand motion, same verbal command every single time and only once for the most part, don't say the same command 20 times, just once and once they finally respond reward them. Never let anything slide because they will take it and run.
I agree with most other posts saying my/my wifes presense as being dominant over him is what needs to be established and also agree with you on the food issue probably being more fear than anything.
Those of you that punch slap choke of use VIOLENCE to train a dog or any animal should know that isn't the proper way to train a dog or any animal!
It will take consistency, time and plenty of patience to train a problem dog. If you don't have these traits I suggest you re-home the dog or seek professional help for yourself and the dog.
No offense, but it seems to be that the people all writing books and trying to preach that only positive encouragement can be used to train dogs are lazy liberals with all day to train a dog and no jobs/life. Not saying you are, but I live outside a town that is 99% liberal so its what I see. Sure I shouldn't own a pet if I don't have time for them. Why do you think I chose a Basset Hound instead of a Border Collie or Shephard? They require less time and space. Living in town and working a lot that's what we needed. They basically sleep from the time I leave in the morning until I go home at lunch then sleep until one of use comes home in the afternoon. They get the attention and play time they want and then fall asleep shortly after.
To me beating a dog is when you are doing it for no reason and doing it all the time. Most of those in this thread simply said they threw their dog down once and after that it never got out of line again. Doesn't sound like any of them are running around beating their dogs for no reason nor are they causing any physical harm to them.
I also don't think theres one way to train any dog, every situation varies.
Too many people forget, that despite these being our companions and parts of our families, they are still animals, with animilistic instincts.
I could go on for hours about this topic. Being outside a liberal town, we get people calling the cops on farmers all the time thinking they are abusing their animals. These are the Prius drivers who read on the internet how to farm so since they have no job or anything better to do they drive around wasting LEO's time on stuff like this. Then when they dont get their way they start a campaign online. A buddy of mine had them called because there was a dead cow on his farm that someone apparently saw. Cop's came said they have food water and shelter what more do you want, cows die its life. Theres another guy with a shetland pony that chooses to stand outside in the cold versus inside his shed. He has sheriffs out there often because people think he's neglecting it. Why do you think they grow a coat that heavy? It wants to stand out in the sun versus sit inside so be it.
They criticize long day lighting in dairy barns because they think cows want 8hrs of sleep. Cows sleep less than 3hrs a day and never more than 5 minutes at a time. I know one guy who had a lady wait until he came back out to his horse and she said he was neglecting it because it stood there tied up for 3 hrs and it should've been able to lay down. Horses hocks lock to allow them to rest standing up, its actually not that comfortable for a lot of them to lay down because of the way it aligns their digestive tract.
The bottom line is too many people see animals as the same as humans when they are not. Every species has unique traits you have to understand and learn to work with. I wish more people would educate themselves before making other peoples lives miserable.
For those who are liberal, no offense its not directed at all of you just a stereotype of the people I run into who are "proud liberals".
