4 mth JRT & 1 yr Mini Daschund

Question
Hello,

I have a 1 year old Miniature Daschund who's name is Precious and she is quite snarly at times. When she goes for walks or in the back yard or even in the house she will bark at every noise she hears any unknown people she sees, everything. We took her to the dog park on-leash and walked around and this little girl wanted to pet Precious so I asked the little girl to put her hand in front of Precious' face so that my dog could smell her hand first. Suddenly Precious jumped towards her hand like she was going to bite. I have been told that this is a dominance issue and to put her into a training class. However, this has already been done. She has gone through a puppy training class already. If I put her on her training collar and walk around with her she is better but she still barks no matter what I do. And I don't understand how this is going to help her at home. Can you help me please?

My other question for you is about my 4 month ol Jack Russell Terrier (Miko). He is also quite aggressive but not as bad. He is great with strangers, and not so bad with other dogs, but when it comes to my boyfriend and I he is so vicious. Last night we played Miko in the middle with a frisbee. My boyfriend and I threw the frisbee back and forth while Miko chased it. But it seems that Miko gets confused and begins thinking that our hands are toys. When I come home from work he gets very excited and at first he licks but then he will start biting.
Please help me handle my babies.

Answer
I think both need obedience training, but some courses, perhaps the one you took, are useless.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

Some people use ''Nothing is life is free''.  The dog wants fed, it sits on command first and waits until released.  It wants out, again, it sits on command.  You must be very consistent about all this and outlast the dog.  Holding eye contact helps if a dog fails to obey a command.  

Young Labs, which I know best, and other puppies tend to very bad about biting. You see a litter of them, and all the ones that are awake are biting another one or themselves. I am not even sure they realize that when they are alone, if they quit biting, they would quit being bitten. At 3 to 4 months they are getting their adult teeth, and it seems they spend every waking moment biting or chewing. One thing you can do at that stage is to knot and wet a piece of cloth. Then freeze it. The cooling will soothe the gums. Only let the puppy have it when you are there to watch it. I maintain a Lab's favorite chew toy is another Lab. Otherwise they settle for any person they can. They keep hoping to find one that won't yelp, jerk their hand away, and leave.

You just have to keep on correcting them, hundreds of times, not dozens. Provide sturdy, safe toys such as Kongs and Nylabones. Avoid things they can chew pieces off and choke on them. Keep them away from electrical cords. Crates are essential for most young Labs and other dogs.

The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces. Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.