Erratic behavioral problems w/ 6 month old female - Page 4

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!


I would like to add, that I myself have a wild-child, and for the first time I have actually bonded with her---I used to get all tense cause she is strong & powerful, but today I gave in and became very relaxed at the end of the leash, and we took a walk around the neighborhood, and I took the time & let her sniff and explore, she even kept coming back to me at the end of the leash & would sniff & sit in front of me and she made eye contact, as if to say "Am I being a good dog?"   I'm telling you.... this is the first time that I've not given up, but let the dog think about what it is doing, WAY BETTER than any e-collar on the market!!!


I have 10 dogs (including 2 labs) that I try to earn titles with, on my own, my children & husband help, but when it comes to the trials, it's just me......


Wouldn't trade it for the world!!

My dogs are never allowed up on furniture or laps...actually my dogs are either crated or involved in something...training, walking, running. They're happy that way. In fact, they like their crates so much that if my fiance tries to get them to "chill" downstairs while I'm gone...they'll stay for about 5 minutes and then run back upstairs to their crates to sleep. Leadership is about setting boundaries and I make sure the dogs understand their place. I sure as hell don't get bit! Nipped one time, but he hadn't had his daily run and was being a little devil. BTW, this crazy devil is a working line 2 year old shepherd with high civil drive that I have only had since April...zero problems because I won't let there be a problem. Proper dog management, THEN training. Some of this stuff sounds like cart before horse, IMHO.

suggestions for op:
make sure you are being CLEAR to your dog.
this doesn't mean being bossy or domineering (prong and e-collar on puppy is just that).
a puppy's life should be fun.
the key to a stress-free life with a working line pup is PLAY.
brief training sessions, you don't want a dog to shut down from boredom or frustration. perfect heeling from a 6 month old pup is less important than a pup that respects you and wants to work with you.

 I'll second or third or n-th any other posters who say there's something wrong with the dog.  Getting a clean bill of health from a  different vet would help.  

There's also something wrong with how you're handling her, though.  Can't you see that her bad behavior is escalating in response to the force of your corrections, not the other way around?  Her behavior isn't erratic at all -- you're just not seeing the early warning signs before the explosions. After you have a clean bill of health you'll want to see a good trainer, or even a canine behaviorist.

How do I know this?  I grew up with working shepherds, and have had three myself.  This current dog (a beautiful black working line male) is from a shelter, adopted at somewhere around two years of age, and he was a wreck when I got him.  Paced in circles, couldn't focus, acted out, didn't know how to listen to my voice (literally, you could yell and he wouldn't turn his head -- I had him checked for deafness but his hearing is fine).  Everything overloaded and over-excited him.  From what I can tell whoever had him before me kept him locked up and did nothing with him.  He's also "reactive" (if you google you'll find lots of descriptions of this -- basically the dog is easily excited and has a hard time calming down).  To me (though I'm no expert) it sounds like your girl might be reactive too. It's got nothing to do with "not enough leadership", because being non-neutral with the dog (either by correcting them or by getting excited or even praising too much) you make them *more* excited, not less.

I've had my guy for a year now.  He whips his head around to look at me when I say his name.  He comes when called (though we're still perfecting that outside and around distractions). He walks nicely on a loose leash (taught using a no pull harness, nothing that will cause pain, stimulate him, or cut off his air).  He knows not to touch my things, food that isn't given to him, or get on the furniture.  He doesn't mouth or jump (which he did incessantly at first). This doesn't sound like much, but it's a big change from the dog who acted like that cartoon Tasmanian Devil when I brought him home.  None of this could have been achieved by using hard corrections on him because it would just increase his frenzy.  Calm, patience, repetition, rigid schedule (exercise, attention, careful nutrition, regular short training sessions to increase his focus) -- those worked.  I also worked with a skilled professional trainer, because everything I knew before that *didn't* work.

Good luck to you and your girl.

Jackal73, what you've just described is leadership...is it not? I don't think of corrections or praise as leadership. They're just tools, in the same way as repetition, routine, patience, exercise... if one tool doesn't work, use another. I think that some people think that corrections ARE leadership, and this is usually where they mess up their dog. I guess that's what I was trying to get at.

mollyandjack,

Your avitar answers it all!!!!

 

 That is what a team should look like, very nice! 

I'm so glad you posted, that's what a team embodies!  (the dog looks into your eyes, and you become a team!)

You and your dog are just you and your dog----BUT----when you reach that AH--HAA moment, you will know

Good Luck with your training,

               Paula

 

Thanks Paula!! :D That is a picture of our very first session of "watch me" PLUS movement. He was quite intriqued by the change. And in reference to your avatar: I love to see a GSD herding!

   


        

 I'll agree with you mollyandjack -- I'm the leader in my household, no question.  But that doesn't seem to be what others are taking for leadership which is "punish any infraction and keep punishing, whether it works or not, until the dog gives way".  In my opinion you shouldn't have to use force with the dog.  Provided you've taught them what it is you want them to do and don't have unreasonable expectations there shouldn't be any reason to escalate.  (Because who doesn't screw up sometimes?  I know I do, why should I expect the dog to be perfect?)  Your expectations can grow as the dog learns.

This bit with saying "the dog doesn't view you as leader because you let it get into human laps and give kisses" is, to me, a skewed view of leadership.  My dogs have always been able to look for attention and affection.  They also know how to respect others, and comply with requests like not pestering for attention if a person doesn't want to give it.  A prong collar and an e-collar on a puppy strike me as overkill -- and they're obviously not working because the behavior is escalating.  Which is why I suggest the original poster try to develop some other methods, and hopefully help herself and her pup.

As I said, I'm no expert, but I've learned a great deal that I didn't know because of the current dog.  He was so far gone in his frenzied behavior that neither praise nor correction worked.  Calm and patience worked.  Firmness and gentleness worked.  Bizarrely *less* exercise than I would normally find acceptable for a fit young GSD worked.  (With my other dogs I walked 10km minimum daily, coupled with 30-50 minutes running.  The current guy's brain fried if I push him over 45 minutes of exercise even at a  brisk walk, so I had to cut it down into shorter sections, and cut back overall.)  Basically his system was wired so tight that anything stimulating got him going and he couldn't shut off being excited, or focus for more than miniscule increments.  The result?  He'd fling himself at things that excited him, or freak out over being touched.  I didn't correct or praise once I realized it either wouldn't reach him or would make him worse.  I'd manage his behavior instead -- lots of crating, lots of quiet time, no stimulating play, avoiding things that excited him even if it was positive, giving exercise and feeding and attention but all low key.  Slowly he learned to calm himself down and control himself, and I worked with him by training him very gently and not pushing him beyond his limits in anything other than the smallest increments.  Now he's essentially a normal dog, if still a little high strung, and we're working on that too. 

If there isn't something organically wrong with the original poster's dog, it really does sound like she suffers from the same tendency towards over-arousal as my boy. If that's the case, being harsher with the dog will make it *worse*, not better.  

I agree that the pup  ahopuld have  a vet check and then see a trainer who specializes in behavior issues who can watch you together, maybe in your home and see why the puop acts this way, The pup is young ro hopefully can be trained to accept your leadership.

I let my 6.5 month sleep on the bed but he also gets off whenver my husband and I tell him. I am starting him in agility so we are learning to be a team.  He looks to me for direction and I don't think letting him on the bed is harmful or gives mixed signals.