05/21/2026
Before calling a dog trainer, here is what I suggest no matter what the behavior is.
This post is overdue, promised it to a client in response to a message over a week ago. I was reminded today after a phone call from a close friend who was on the way home from getting stitches in his arm and putting his 11-year-old Great Dane down, after the dog when after his teenage daughter. She called him home and when he arrived and tried to put Diesel in his crate suffered a pretty good bite when the dog latched onto his arm.
As long as I have known him, Diesel has always been one of those dogs you couldn’t trust. The first time my buddy ever laid eyes on me was when his wife called me to work with Diesel over a decade ago. He watched me work with him on their camera. I have long suspected that Diesel had a neurological issue. I say this because he was never really what I would call stable and different things would set him off at different times. After we became friends (Brothers from Freedom Biker Church), Lisa and I were over one day for a cookout. Lisa walked out onto their patio and Diesel approached as if he wanted to play. Suddenly, he jumped up and bit Lisa inside her upper arm. It was not a super serious bite, but it did draw blood and eventually left a scar.
Today they are upset, but also relieved that they do not have to suffer from the anxiety they endured for years with a large dog that seem to get aggressive without real rhyme or reason.
The situation the other client contacted me about is a familiar one. They got a Cane Corse puppy two years ago, and Dad who is not home with his wife and daughter all the time, chose not to socialize with the dog because he wanted the dog to be protective of their daughter. This is ALWAYS a mistake. People tend to make bad decisions when they make decisions without wisdom and counsel. Dogs will always make bad decisions when they think decisions are theirs to make. All dogs especially those protector breeds, have to have a firm handler and boundaries. The primary handler must be the adult that is the one most responsible for them. This is seldom the case with men. They want the big bad ass dogs based on reputation and aesthetics without understanding the full implications of the breed and leave it up to Mom to figure it out. It is common for the dog to be better behaved when Dad is around. First off dogs are generally leerier around men because men tend to be more forward facing and bold, there voice deeper and when they get upset their voice does not really change in pitch like women’s voices do. This presents as more stable to the dog, not meaning they are more stable. Just like kids, the more familiar they are with someone, the more they are likely to challenge.
Apparently, while in the backyard the 2 year old Cane Corso lunged at someone. Mom’s anxiety is skyrocketing. Without being there, here are my suggestions if they want to attempt to get this under control before the dog is an adult at 3 years old. If you think you dog has any level of aggressing or is just pushing boundaries here are my simple suggestions, however simple does not imply easy.
Before I give my best practices, for the record I want to state that I get it. Odin, my almost 10 year old Olde English Bulldogge would not be a good fit Lisa if I was not his handler and asserted dominance when he was very young. The word dominance gets a bad wrap and is very misunderstood. To me it is just that he is under my control and I am responsible for him. After over 10 years and over 3,500 dogs I am confident in saying that I do not believe in family dogs where everyone is the same in the dogs life. When you bring home a new human baby, everyone is equally responsible for the well-being of the infant. Of course not, it is the Mom. She is with the baby more than anyone else and knows better than anyone what the baby needs. As the baby matures, Dad and siblings can help out, but nobody better get between Momma and her cub.
Most know my story and that I feel into this dog training stuff when Sissy got Odin to help me deal with my service related PTSD. This led me to working with the Dogfather who taught me, which is one did more to help my PTSD thank anything else, you are 100% responsible for whatever your dog does or does not do. For a long, long time, neither Lisa or the kids EVER fed or walked him. The feeding part has relaxed over the years, but for a long time, if for some reason I was not home, they would let Odin out and when he came back in his food would be in his box. He never saw anyone feed him except for me and could only assume that while he was out, I came in, put his food in the box and left. He has NEVER been allowed to walk through a door in front of me without the command “LEAD”. He has always laid in my spot on the couch or in the bed. When I walk in the room he now looks up and waits for me to say “blieb” if he can stay. For years he would just automatically jump down or immediately be given the command “OFF”. To me this was no different than me sitting in my father’s Lazy Boy when he was not home. When I heard his truck in the driveway, I immediately unassed that chair. Never in a million years would I ever sit at his spot at the table. If we were walking towards a door, I would always step aside for my father to go first.
If this seems like a lot, it can be, it can be more if you don’t establish boundaries with a puppy or a rescue from the start. Lisa does not possess the personality to do this, she never had to be Odin is my dog. Odin will only take commands from me, Frank, and the Dogfather because we are the only ones who always demanded it. Odin loves Lisa, the feeling of love, not the action, anything he does for her he does for the emotion of love. Till this day, I can be in the living room, and I can hear her yell in a very exasperated tone “call your dog” because he thinks she is a joke and will not come in from the back yard. I say “fuss” in a direct tone, not a yelling one because he is dialed into hear one voice all others, mine.
So, if you are getting a dog or currently have issues with the one you have, decide who the person is that is responsible for them. Often the person who has the biggest issue with their behavior does not want to put in the work to correct it. If nothing changes, nothing changes.
According to my calculations about 95% of my clients have been women. Men and women are built different. Most men know that when you are walking down a narrow hallway in a bar on the way to the bathroom, that the man who turns his shoulders first is the submissive man. There is a way you have to carry yourself to be taken seriously. There is a reason that why up until recently there were very few female military or police dog handlers. If your dog is behaving exactly as you want them to you can feel free to disregard all this. However if they are not, if they are challenging you, if they are taking possessing of space, or belongings, if they are placing themselves between you and other people and making you both uncomfortable you may want to try what I am about the share.
OK, now you have accepted responsibility for your dog. If your pack is out of control, try to pick out the ringleader and once you have their attention the rest will fall in line. We have five. I once worked with a pack of 9…count em…nine pugs.
Novelty is everything, today is a new day. First decide what time in the morning you are going to feed your dog. Odin eats at 0500 and 1730. The other four (who are not my responsibility) only eat at 1700. For the next two weeks, without saying a single word, at the appointed feeding time, get the dogs food. Start with the mindset that you dog has no food, they only have what is left when you have had your fill. Hold it up in front of you. They will be looking at you. If you can get through this first time, it will get easier. Hold the bowl up until the dog is completely quite and sits. It may take a while, you are likely to see all kinds of behaviors as they attempt to unlock the food. When they sit, begin to lower the food. Every time they move or become excited, silently stand up and repeat. Once you can put the food down and the stay (without any commands). Step over the bowl until they back up a little. When they back up, wait a minute before turning around and walking away.
Remember all dogs are 98.6% wolves by DNA. What you have replicated is the key to developing a stable dog. In a pack the Alpha eats first. The next in line is the dog that can get the closest to the food by being quite and silent and not getting growled off or getting nipped. They learn the boundaries of the dog ahead of them. They know exactly how close they can get. This conditions them to be more focused on the dog and less on the food. By the time an unstable dog gets to the food, it is likely gone and that dog does not survive.
Do this for two weeks and watch the change in your dog, without you saying a word or doing anything more than feeding them but now using that as an opportunity to force them to focus. This is why free feeling is never a good idea. You decide when they eat, where they eat, and how much time they get to eat. I suggest 15 minutes. If they are not done, simply walk over and pick up the food. In nature, no wolf would ever walk away from food and expect it to be there later.
Next, door work. Again, without saying a word. Stand in front of any door leading to the outside with your back to it. First just crack the door, if the dog moves forward, close the door and with you arm’s down without saying word walk towards them until they back up. You decide how far they need to be back. Craziness happens at the door, if they are not allowed at the door when your there…no crazy. When they are staying where you want, whether they are standing, sitting, or laying down, open the door all the way. Then repeat the process until you can stand in front of the open door and they refuse to take their eyes off of you. Do this to each exterior door. The reason that dogs go nuts in the back yard is because of people letting them go out the door first or without permission. It’s like telling kids, this is your room, feel free to paint the walls black.
This is all about space, you are communicating to the dog that all space is yours, not theirs and the only way to get what they want whether it is food, or going outside, the only way to get it is to focus more on you than what you want.
These two things lead to everything else. They are not labor intensive, but you have to be calm and non-reactive. Non-reactive people have calm dogs.
Try this and report back. Be blessed- George
