![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Sandy.jpg\")
The dog trainer is in to answer your questions. Alexandra Macias, owner and operator of the Long Beach-based Alex Macias dog training, will be sitting down and answering readers’ pet-related inquiries.<\/p>\nThe dog trainer is in to answer your questions. Alexandra Macias, owner and operator of the Long Beach-based Alex Macias dog training, will be sitting down and answering readers’ pet-related inquiries.<\/p>\n
Hi Alex,<\/p>\n
My dog Lily is generally pretty social, but acted slightly jealous while I was babysitting my friend\u2019s dog for the weekend. She never got aggressive, but she began to snarl and curl her lips when my friend\u2019s dog tried to get on my bed with us. A few minutes later, they would run around and play without any issues. I want Lily to continue being social. Any ideas on how I can correct her \u201cjealousy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks,
Robert<\/p>\n
Hi Robert,<\/p>\n
I\u2019m glad you recognize this as an issue that needs to be worked on. We all become jealous in certain situations, our dogs included. And while this \u201cterritorial\u201d behavior is understandable, it\u2019s certainly not acceptable. Jealousy can lead to more severe behavior issues like aggression, and is an issue that should be taken very seriously.<\/p>\n
First things first. If Lily is on your bed and becomes territorial, make her get off of the bed. She needs to understand that her behavior is unacceptable, and comes with the ultimate consequence\u2014no bed time. Every time she attempts to jump up, make her get off.<\/p>\n
Once she is no longer trying to jump up, invite the other dog onto your bed. Again, if Lily tries to come up, keep her off. It will be good for her to watch the other dog spend time with you. If she growls or acts territorial, correct her. I like using a shakey can for a correction. A shakey can is just an empty soda can with 13 pennies in it. When Lily misbehaves, give her a command like \u201cthat\u2019s enough,\u201d and give the can one, hard shake. The pennies make a shrill sound that will startle her out of her behavior, and she will learn \u201cthat\u2019s enough\u201d means to stop.<\/p>\n
The moment she stops her unwanted behavior, praise her.<\/p>\n
When Lily has finally stopped her jealous behavior, remove yourself from the bed, and invite her back up with the other dog. Have your shakey can ready, and be prepared to make her get off if the jealousy starts up again. Every moment she tolerates the other dog, really praise her. If Lily keeps up the good behavior, continue to praise her, and try sitting on the edge of the bed. If Lily acts up again, remove yourself, correct her, and make her get off of the bed. If she doesn\u2019t act up, praise her, and slowly keep moving yourself further onto the bed with both dogs. Every time Lily acts up, repeat the correction process.<\/p>\n
Make sure this entire process takes place over several days. Don\u2019t try to push Lily too far in a 24 hour period. Behavior modification like this should be gradual, and should always end on a positive note. Try working on Lily\u2019s behavior for no more than 15-20 minutes at a time, and end the practice session when she\u2019s doing well. If you notice her behavior gets worse or does not change, contact a professional dog trainer or behavior specialist for help.<\/p>\n
Hope this helps. WOOF!<\/p>\n
-Alex<\/p>\n
Alexandra (Alex) Macias has been a certified Dog Trainer and Behavior Specialist since 2008, and is the owner of Alex Macias Dog training, a Long Beach-based dog training company. To ask Alexandra questions for a future article, leave them in the comments below, or email her at alexmaciasdogtraining@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Above, left: file photo. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The dog trainer is in to answer your questions. Alexandra Macias, owner and operator of the Long Beach-based Alex Macias dog training, will be sitting down and answering readers’ pet-related inquiries. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":67840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1018],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","tag-ask-a-dog-trainer","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2509"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2509"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}