My dog is having behavioral problems. My family and I are taking him to get training. He is always whining and having anxiety it seems like. I don't know what to do about that. He looks like he wants to run away. Which he already did once but now he's acting very strange after. He's jumping up at the door. Is there a way to stop him from acting like this before I take him to dog training. I play with him all the time and give him lots of attention. He's a shar pei mix.

What is your question?

She does have a question. OP wants to know if there is any help for her dog before going to a trainer !

If you are taking him to a trainer and without seeing how he is acting, that is your best bet.

How old is your dog? What training have you done? Who's the main caregiver for the dog (feeding, walking, vet care, training etc. )

Playing with him and giving him attention, isn't training. In fact most people play with their dogs in a way that teaches bad habits. Like tug of war with a toy, it teaches the dog to pull on an object, it teaches a dog challenge their human, it's not a good way to play. Rough housing, which many people do, teaches the dog that biting is okay, that jumping on humans is okay.

The main thing you have to remember with a dog, is that a dog isn't a human. It doesn't know how to live in a human world, or do what human beings expect, until it's taught the rules. If you want a well trained dog you have to be consistent. That means that if you don't want the dog to jump on anyone, then you can't ever allow him to jump up, even during play, even if you like getting greeted like that when you come home. It's all or nothing.

Training a dog is like training an alien from another planet. You have to teach them what human beings live like, and what's okay, and what's not. Imagine if you went to a different country where the rules were very different. Would you not have to learn? Well so does your dog.

Be consistent, be patient, and only allow play in a form that you can accept. In other words, if you don't mind him jumping on everyone he meets, then allow him to jump on you when you play. If you don't mind him pulling on your clothes, pulling on his leash, not letting go of things you don't want him to have, than play tug of war with him. Everything you do teaches your dog how he has to behave in your home.

Good luck.

Since your dog is acting out so badly, why not talk to your veterinarian about anti-anxiety medications. Anti-anxiety medications work great when also working with the dog on the behavior issues. After the classes are done with, then work on weaning the dog off the medications and see how he/she is behaviorally. Some dogs stay on the medications for 6mo to a year, others are life long. It depends on the dog and the level of anxiety. The medications are not a miracle pill, he will still need obedience training and behavior modification lessons, it just allows you to deal with him without wanting to pull your hair out or your home being destroyed.

Also, with anxiety dogs, it is best to keep their mind and body tired. Increase exercise, purchase one of those puzzle balls or a kong with frozen peanut butter and let him work it out.

If this dog is a puppy, I don't see him acting out, I see him being a puppy. Are you going to put a 2 year old child on anti-anxiety meds for going through the terrible twos?

Without it knowing the age of the dog, any advice we give is pointless.

Anti anxiety meds because the dog hasn't been properly trained? Lucky, I get that you're a vet tech, but meds aren't always the answer. Meds mask the issues a human or dog is having. It's not a cure, and frankly, when it comes to a dog with behavior issues, if you have to resort to meds, you shouldn't have the dog!

Proper training, for dog and human, is what I see in this post. To recommend medication for up to a year, or even a lifetime, based on what was posted, is, imo, not very responsible. :(

Medication isn't the be all end all, it's what you use when all else fails!

How is it not responsible? Anti Anxiety medications are a tool to help the owner TRAIN the dog and re-establish good behavior. It allows the owner to not pull her hair out, have an overly anxious dog. I just gave typical time frames for dogs that are on the medications. If you would actually read my post where I stated that the medications are not a miracle pill, and that the O still needs to go to training classes then maybe you wouldn't be harping over my post.

I have a question though... is the dog neutered? That would be a good thing to know since we all know that boy dogs can smell girl dogs in heat and can become anxious and almost unbearable to live with.

It's irresponsible because we have very limited information on the dog. We don't know his age, we don't know if he's fixed, we don't know how often he's walked, if he's alone all day, nothing!

Pills aren't always the answer, and they definitely shouldn't be the first thing people run for every time there's an issue. Especially when this very much sounds like a behavior issue.

By all means talk to the vet, but I'd try training first, behavior modification, before I reached for drugs.

It was JUST a suggestion after you covered all of the training tips... I was just adding to the broad spectrum of advise given... geez..

My dog had high anxiety getting into a car to get lessons and again, once we got there. Ride after ride, and class after class, we didn't give up. Find a good dog trainer and don't give up. Stick with it and hopefully, you have success.

No need to be upset Lucky. We can't always agree with each other. That's what makes this site what it is. Different opinions. But I do feel that it's irresponsible of anyone to suggest medication when we have such limited information.

That's my opinion, and you have every right to disagree. As do I. No need to take umbrage.

I don't get how it is irresponsible to suggest a different form of battling an out of control dog. Irresponsible, in my mind, would be to suggest to beat the dog into submission... not suggest a tool to help the dog settle down enough for the owner to work with the pet.

If veterinary prescribed medications is too offensive, then the OP can try the homeopathic types such as melatonin, valerian root, rescue remedy and so on.

It would also be irresponsible to tell the OP that drugs is the only way. It was only a suggestion... something for the OP to consider and speak with their vet about this option being adequate for this particular pet. I didn't even say WHICH Rx medications the OP should try, I specifically stated that the OP should speak with their vet.

I still don't get how suggesting this is being irresponsible. I guess next time someone posts something that I completely disagree with, I'll call them out on it, too, and claim its irresponsible because it's not my idea..