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ForumsMain > Hyper lines? (0 replies)
by D.H. on 29 April 2005 - 17:07 |
| Hi Mick The lines are really secondary at this stage. Your sisters dog is going through puberty right now as any male would at this age. He needs to be told where his place is. A good time to join an obedience club. For better control right now, she should get a Halti (most pet food stores carry them), and a leash that has a clip at each end. She can use two leashes, personally I find that very cumbersome though. If she cannot find such a leash, she can have a seond clip put on a 2 meter leash. One clip goes on the Halti, the other on a regular collar. Never use the Halti just by itself. Use the Halti for correction only when the situation calls for it. The Halti is a head halter, comparable to what you would be using on a horse. A horse can pull a wagon with its neck, but not with its head. Since you are controlling the head, you can move the dog away from things it is reacting to rather quickly, make it face another direction, or make it look at you. What took a lot of strength to accomplish before can now be done with 2 fingers. It is that effective. It also mimicks the mouth across the mouth gesture as dogs do with one another to put a culprit in its place. Next she needs to teach the dog the down. If ever faced with a difficult situation she can simply put the dog in the down, which puts him at a disadvantage and also in a submissive position. She can then step on the leash close to his head or neck for better control, should he try to get up anyways. The down is a good safeguard mechanism. It should only be used after the dog has shown that he will do a long down with some distraction. Dogs are opportunists by nature, and if given the chance, every dog dislikes being told off. This sounds like a typical situation where the GSD is expected to be a good dog just because it is a GSD. Hyper does not automatically translate into bad behaviour. Any hyper dog can be taught how to behave, and when to behave. Many working line dogs that you see in trials are very hyper and do well. The key is always control. And training, because these dogs need something to do. Your sister needs to teach this dog where his boundries are just like with every dog and every person. She needs control and better get it now before this dog has learned how he can have success with bad behaviour. It is hard to give any practical advice on a remote basis without actually seeing the situation. I recommend that you urge your sister to join a club, ideally with a trainer that has some experience in behaviour modification, and that she train regularly with this dog. :o) |
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