Need some suggestions.... - Page 2

This is a taught behavior, question is, how would you un-teach it?
I don't care if the dog does or doesn't like being in a crate, kennel or fenced yard.
This behavior is not acceptable, it will lead to his death.
I want to know how "real" trainers would "fix" this dog.


 

Good to hear the owner wants the behavior extinguished.  I asked because there ARE people who do actually encourage such things.

Out of curiosity, if you have him in the house and just leave the crate door open, after he's been released, what does he do?  Does he go in there on his own to lay down, and act the fool if you then approach?  If he's out of the crate, and you head towards it while he's otherwise occupied, what does he do then?  Same questions about the kennel gate being open and the dog just free in the surrounding area...

How old is the dog, and how long have these owners had him?

sita, like i said, step1 breach the behaviour (act like an idiot, no food or water)
                           step2 teach a behaviour that takes the place of the unwanted behaviour, (sit,down) before he gets food
                           step3 introduce 1 of he's owners during the exercise
                           step4 both owners
                           step5 let the owners do the "exercise" at your place under your supervision 1 at a time but switch 1x owner next time you, and so on
                           step6 at his own place
                           step7 owners at his own place
after step 2 wen he's calm when you approch he's kennel you can start taking him out for walks and play, just make sure he's hungry and thursty and let somebody put a small amount of water and kibble put ready inside he's kennel so he immediatly finds food/water it's the only way to breach the behaviour if he gets inside the kennel
iif he's hungry/thursty enough the kibble/water will be more intresting to him than acting like an idiot
it's not the first time i get a dog like that in front of me, this way i even got an old out of use special service dog (anti terrorismdog) ready to live as a petdog, he returnd after bitting he's handler and some other officers several times at the age of 9 he turns 13 this year and still "runs" in pascale's garden/living room
this one took me 9months, tried to get me 10x+ because he was all screwed up in he's head and trainned that way for several years
but eventually he's natural friendlyness came back
trainning good and bad is programming the brain, unfortunatly nature didn't provide a resetbutton so reprogramming isn't a easy,fast proces

Hexe,
Dog is being kept in kennel house and also in backyard run. I've only had him for a day and have not tried every scenario yet.
He is almost 2 years and owners have had him since 8 week.

Kyto
Thank you for your training outline......




 

SitasMom, very interesting.  That's in your favor, then, a still-young dog that has only lived in one home other than his birthplace. At least you're not trying to undo the results of several people's poor intentional or accidental 'training'...

Keep us posted on how things go during the process, if you wouldn't mind.  It's definitely a challenging problem that's going to take a lot of effort to resolve, and one hell of a learning opportunity.

worked with this dog yesterday, 5 - 15 minute sessions of training with a 10 minute fun and play session after each.

this morning, except for one very short moment (1-2 seconds) of unwanted behavior, is acting perfectly normal.
as I said, this is a learned behavior, somehow the owners taught this dog to go crazy in confinement.

i believe they gave it food each time they walked to its crate and it was acting up.

today we start with the dog learning to communicate. he doesn't seem to understand praise, commands or punishments.
once the dog understands this, he will be less confused and much happier. marker training gone bad again!

the owners are contacting a trainer, the best we have regionally, for a month of dog training and also private lessons on how to communicate with their dog.

the future is bright for this dog.

That was a valid question I asked. If the dog has a phobia about being confined, it would be good to know. Just repeating "this is a learned behavior" and saying you don't care what the dog likes, is a looser approach to "fixing" a problem. Maybe you didn't mean that literally and it was frustration leaking out, but some animals are truly claustrophobic..... How do you know it's a learned behavior, did you see the dog at a time in his life when he did not act out as described? A "real" trainer likes to know what makes a dog tick, instead of having the 'do it my way or you're dead" approach.

I spoke at length with the owners, they explained what has been happening for the past several months.
When dog was in crate and barked, they talked nice and gave it treats and the behavior became worse.

This is a trained behavior.

This dog is not claustrophobic.

That's good.

First, I think the clients need a new vet since the dog shows no other signs of what they all think of as aggression.  What a shame!

Have you ever gone to a Schutzhund trial?  Some of the most well-trained dogs in the world will sound off in their crates like they want to kill you.

Put the dog on a schedule he can rely on.  You should, at intervals, make an appearance while he is in his crate & when you are not going to take him out of his crate.  No matter what happens act friendly & say hi as you walk by without any frowns. 

For example:

• take him out for a walk & play/train with him.
• Put him in his crate & feed him (the food should be in his crate ready for him & he should be hungry)
• nap time
• take him out again at a determined time & repeat play/train
• put him back in his crate with a chewy (Redbarn bully slices are good)
• nap time
• take him out for nightly walk/play time
• feed him again (same as in the morning)

VERY IMPORTANT  When it's time for you get him out of his crate, approach in a friendly manner, (ignore the barking).  Have some pieces of treat (Redbarn Choppers are perfect-every dog loves them, they break into small pieces), show him the treats in you hand (make sure he knows what you have the first few times) & throw the small pieces on the floor towards where the dog is going to go head.  The dog always is more interested in getting the treats than barking.  The treats are the signal that he is getting out of his crate.  You will then be controlling the signal (treats) instead of his barking which he thinks is getting him out of his crate. 

From what you describe, there is absolutely no aggression.  The dog is frustrated & wants to get out of his crate & doesn't know how to make it happen.  When he knows the drill & is on the schedule he will accept his "benefits" & will be less apt to show the unacceptable behavior.  Most people take their dogs out whenever they think about it.  When you have a well-adjusted dog that knows what to expect (everyday instead of holidays & when the owner feels like it , you'll see a great improvement in behavior).

If the owners really want to understand about canine behavior, read Steven Lindsay's books.