who all managed a timid puppy and how? - Page 3

When I got Val (then a 1 year old Belgian Malinois), she was extremely timid, especially around men ... No idea why, just was. I started to get concerned when she began growling and showing aggression when she was scared. I don't know about Hounds or how their temperaments are (I've only ever dealt with Sheppard types), but I began breaking her of those habits by grabbing her leash and then stepping on it, forcing her to lie down while I had conversations with people. She'd jerk and try to be dramatic at first, but then she started to calm down and trust that if I wasn't worried, she didn't need to be either. I didn't rush it and try to force her to accept people touching her, just made her lie down and be calm while we were talking.

However, I wanted her to be ok with touching eventually, so I put a twist on your treat idea. Instead of food, I used her ball while we were at the dog park. It took a long time, but once she got acquainted with the dog park and interacting with so many new things at once, I started passing off her ball to anyone who would throw it, then refuse to pick it up when she tried to return it to me. I forced her to give her ball to the little kid or whoever was trying to play with her so that they could throw it again, not me. She started warming up and would get so excited about playing fetch that she accepted the little rewards of pats and petting that people gave her for playing. That eventually grew into such a big level of happiness that she'll now try to sit in people's lap at the dog park (lol, she really doesn't fit, so I try to prevent that, but it was a good sign that her confidence had grown in leaps).

I've also had her learn that there's a difference between the park and anywhere else-- she needs permission before approaching anyone at any other place, but now she stops and looks at me for confirmation instead of spooking and trying to run the other direction. The vibration mode on her e-collar was perfect for so much of our training. At the first sign of aggression (lip curl, lowering of head, stiffening of limbs), I'd hit that button. It was enough to immediately snap her out of her bad mood before it got out of hand, but also didn't overdo the correction and scare her even worse. I also used it to stop her from approaching someone I didn't approve of-- again, just enough correction to get her to stop without scaring her and putting us back several days of work.

I also whole heartedly agree with the idea that eventually you have to leave your pup with people who you know you can trust. I didn't necessarily leave her for long periods of time, just a few hours or so, but it worked wonders for building up her confidence, teaching her to interact even if I'm not around. She started to realize that if I trust the people enough to leave her there, then they're ok and there's nothing to worry about. I stayed for the first couple of trips (I used my parents house), then started to build on how long I left her with others. I've done the same with my boyfriend, my OB trainer, etc... Although she definitely doesn't like my leaving, she no longer panics or gets silly when she hears my truck turn on.

Just some thoughts. Cesar Millan deals with anxiety/aggression all the time, so if you want to take a bit to examine some of his techniques, that might help too (I watch his stuff a lot and have found it to be very helpful-- he's got lots of videos on Youtube = FREE! :D ). Last note-- before engaging in any of those activities, try warming up with exercise. I found that by wearing Valkyrie down first, I was able to get through her people anxiety much faster.

Best of luck!

Cesar Millan..............
E-collar..........
Jesus !!!!

This is why I stopped coming here along with some other very good trainers.
Your not going to learn how to train from a Cesar Millan video, and you'll never be a trainer if you think you can do it with an e-collar.





 

Lol, sorry ur upset Two Moons-- I never said I was a trainer, just the owner of a pup that used to be nervous.

Sorry for upsetting you Two Moons but if reading what I post encourages you to move along, then at least they are good for something.

Have you ever considered medication - or maybe neutering would work?

If Two moons can't fix it, then he blames it on genetics.  Nice.

And who knew that giving treats for desired behavior was a bad thing?

tanks for comments guys, Fry, sub-par, thats pretty rude, you can take that unqualified baseless comment and shove it up yr shirt.

anyhoo here is quick vid of said dog, balck/brindle gyp playing this morning, any red flags, own property, own pack;

No one's upset,
I forgot this is more social media than a training forum.
It's changed a lot over the years.

Jeffs,
LOL..not gonna tell ya what you can do next...... I'm sure you can guess.
I've read your posts.

There is a place for positive reinforcement, sometimes that might take the form of a treat as a reward, I shy away from that practice.
It's something I would use a little with very young pups, but it is not a training tool.



VK4,
I'm ready for another cat hunt....lol

well the internet flak (here and elsewhere) i caught re last hunt vid i doubt i will ever put another one up....the world is getting harder to recognize. 

ya like my neat lil gyp?

You can't post a hunting video without someone whining about it that's a fact.
They live in a plastic world, they eat plastic food, and think it disappears when they put out the trash, not very realistic.

Yeah great, but is that your best boot?
Your GSD looks left out..probably by choice..lol

You definitely don't want your dogs following some stranger off the property for a treat..

 

we are only how many generations away from the guys that stormed the beaches and everyone is acting like they were born in a bubble, can't, won't last.

the gsd does not play the same way as the curs, he by far gets the most attention from me, frankly the others will amuse themselves, the gsd NEEDS ME to act at all.

you may have noticed his ball, he is never been more then 3 feet away from his ball in his life, no matter what chaos is going on around him he is watching and waiting for the stupid ball, if he can throw himself he would breed great narc dogs...that bite.

strange how the different breeds play different.