Barking and Agression

Question
Hi there,

I have two pomeranian puppies (9 mos) and they both have a few issues that I haven't been able to train out.

I've had akira since 8 weeks and she is in lots of ways a very good dog.  However when I'm training her she cowers and gets agressive.    Also when i take her and her sister to the dog park she gets agreassive towards other dogs if they approach her too quickly.  She nips and snaps and barks.  What do I do?

Trixie I got when she was 5 months, the are littermates,  Trixie was with the breeder for this whole time.  She did not have the oppurtunity to get socialized, so she barks excessivly at other dogs and cowers away from unknown dogs.  This also makes akira get agressive because she is tryign to protect trixie...

What do I do?

Answer
Hi Sabrina.  Dog training should be fun for both the owner and the dog.  If tails aren't wagging, then something is wrong with the technique.  Find out about clicker training which uses positive reinforcement methods to teach the dog what to do.  Here's a great starting point:  http://www.clickertraining.com/.  

Find a trainer giving classes in your area to observe or sign up with.  Here's the best places to find trainers. Hopefully you can locate one in your area.

http://www.karenpryoracademy.com/find-a-trainer
http://positively.com/dog-training/trainersearch/
http://www.ccpdt.org/
http://www.apdt.com/petowners/ts/default.aspx
http://iaabc.org/consultants

As you recognize, socialization during the first few months of life is critical for a dog and it's too bad that Trixie has missed out on this.  There's nothing you can do to go back and fix this. However, if you can carefully and gradually expose her to other dogs in a place where she feels safe, then you might be able to help her.  HINT:  The dog park is NOT the place to do this!  The ideal thing would be to find an adult dog who tolerates and plays well with youngsters.  Find a place to go where Trixie can retreat if she feels the need.  Allow the dogs to get comfortable with each other without pressure.  

Check out this great website:  www.fearfuldogs.com.  There's also a couple of books I recommend on my website under the heading of Fearfulness:  http://www.distinctivedogtraining.com/resources.html.  

It really sounds like neither of your girls are going to be dog park material.  Not all dogs do well there, so I'm hoping you have other ways of exercising them.  If you find a good training class, that will help, too!

Good luck and I hope you have some success with your training.  Having littermates can be quite a challenge.  Let me know if you have further questions.