Where is your dog in your family hierarchy and why? - Page 3

My dogs and my family all interact well without problems.  The dogs are considered valid members and listened to such as the time they growled and went ballistic to let us know someone was in the backyard who shouldn't be (at 3am), another time one of them grabbed a neighborhood child and tried to pull him to the ground, now I could have gone ballistic on the dog and punished the hell out of him, except, that child ended up having a severe tonic/clonic seizure right after Loki successfully brought him to the ground gently (yes it took some talking to the freaked out parents but they saw the benefit of a dog who can recognize seizures and ended up getting a service dog for that reason).  Loki took it upon himself to make a decision based on his superior instincts in this case.  That is the type of dog I want.  Not afraid to "disobey" to create safety.  Of course they listen to me as the leader (NOT alpha) and they generally listen to my family, but I am the main person.  We listen to them when their superior instincts/capabilities will keep us safe. 

Some people need to be the boss/alpha over their dog for whatever reason, whatever floats your boat.  Others feel ok letting the dog run things, again whatever floats your boat.  If it is working for you, fine, but don't judge another for what works for them.

If human family members are being challenged with growls, bared teeth and bites in every day interactions, that is not okay.

That is different than the exceptional case of deliberate disobedience due to extenuating circumstances.

Agree with you there Beetree.  Deliberate challenges are not good and can lead to bad things.  I should have been clearer on that in my post.  Mine are NEVER allowed to challenge and no one's dogs should be allowed to challenge family members EVER unless that family member is abusing the dog, then I am all for a good reminder you NEVER abuse a dog.

Mindhunt I kind of agree with some of your post ....no one is bothered here and we kind of accept thats the way the dog is. Clearly she is manageable but just me me for now.

Mithuna, your family is living in a dangerous situation - caused by your dog.
For me: family first, dog second...

We talked about this outcome more than one year ago; you didn't believe me, now you got the result - and her behavior won't better but worsen, in case something happens you are the one in duty, nobody else.
I am still not sure if your female really is that dominant or just rotten spoiled and nervy.. I guess we will never know, but it doesn' t really matter-you are responsible in either case.
I only hope your wife and your child are always able to "read" YOUR dog accordingly.

My advice: keep her away from your family, try to avoid the worst scenario...

Kind regards

Susie stop dramatizing. i said everyone is fine and the dog only behaves in a certain way in limited circumstances.

Fine

making the claim that my family is living in a dangerous situation while never having been here and despite hearing /reading what Im saying ..is pretty irresponsible

In that case you are either not telling the truth or misinterpreting the situation.
I really hope your family will be healthy and happy for the next approximately 10 years.

Wonder what your wife would think if she were not only reading this post but read other topics here.

Would she still be OK with things the way they are.

Good luck to you and your wife and daughter in the coming years.