Update on Gracie and her tattoo - Page 3

EduCanine--Never said a 'well-fitting prong collar will fix her'.  NEVER. SAID. THAT.  But a training collar of any fashion will be of no use what so ever if it is not correctly fitted. 

You call it 'behavior modification', I called it 'training'. It's the same thing--teaching the dog that it MUST control its impulses, and that some behaviors are NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated EVER.  Again--Gracie is never a dog I would consider to be a candidate for a dog park, and with Sunsilver operating a boarding & grooming operation, I would NEVER consider it to be an acceptable risk for her to permit Gracie to play with a client's dog, but with the dedication that Sunsilver is putting into the work with this dog, I do feel confident that she will be able to eventually have Gracie out in public sans muzzle. 

I wonder what tattoo formula is used by other European countries, such as Hungary or Italy, for GSDs born in those countries?

not a big fan of fred hassen, however....... he has published a video on doing obedience with a muzzle.  the dog fought the muzzle very hard
initially, but once he settled down, the muzzle was actually a tool to get the dog to focus on the handler.  i believe most aggression problems
can be managed by working the dog in obedience but it has to be done in a safe manner.  when that aggression is directed toward another
dog, you have to do what you can to keep a dog fight from happening, yet at the same time get the dog to work that obedience even under
the distraction of another dog.  check out fred hassen on you-tube and look for the muzzle obedience video.  i will look for it too & post a link
if i find it.  i believe it would be worth watching and may spur some thoughts of your own.
pjp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMnbghSMXs

 

The book by Brenda Aloff Hexe recommended has been very helpful too. It recommends working intensively on attention and focus, until the dog uses that as an anchor when it gets in an unfamiliar situation that might result in aggression.

Whenever the dog focuses intently on something (another dog, person, or even a chipmunk) the owner must break that focus, and draw the dog's attention back to them.  That intent focus is exactly what happens when Gracie starts to go into prey mode.

I've heard this before, and done it before. As a matter of fact, I was told it was the best way to fix the behaviour of a very timid dog I used to own. It was considered so important that the trainer even ran a full 4 week course on attention and focus. The idea is that if the dog looks to YOU for help in all situations, it isn't going to get into a fight. It will also result in a very close bond between you and the dog.

And that is a goal every dog owner should want to achieve.

I was tired and struggling to find the right words for the above post last night. This morning, I'd like to add this: the dog becomes CONDITIONED to check in with you in all unfamiliar situations, BEFORE taking any action on its own. You do this by using rewards to teach the 'watch' command (or whatever word you choose), first with no distractions, then gradually adding distractions. I do say 'leave it' and pop her with the collar for focusing on things other than me, especially other dogs. She does have very good ball drive, but since the hunt for a ball is tied to prey drive, I prefer to used treats (hotdogs) as a reward.

This also works for teaching a dog to ignore others when walking on leash.

Ask 10 dog trainers how to handle a dog aggressvie dog and odds are you will get 10 distinctly different methods. Clickers, food rewards, no food rewards, muzzle, head harness, prongs, only use a buckle collar, how about a "My Dog Has Issues" class? I've had 3, 4 very dog aggressive dogs in my life, one a GSD. I never had much luck at all breaking them of the love of fighting. Bitches were generally much worse than males, they will fight to the death, most males to the point of submission. Not suggesting that you should give up on this dog, just saying that it may come down to living with her the way she is and making compensations.

Good luck........

Things are getting better, Blitzen. Our TD does NOT feel she is dog aggressive. Two other experts who have seen her in person or on video identify the problem as PREY aggression. That can be hard to deal with too, as it's such an instinctive 'lizard brain' response, but once she has accepted me as the pack alpha, the one who controls her behaviour, hopefully she will get the message that other dogs are pack members, and must NOT be attacked. My cat is likely going to be a different story, though. She may never be safe with him.

After her trying to play with the golden on the other side of the fence, I decided to let her out through the alley of the main kennel this morning, instead of through the guillotine door from her cage.

She TOTALLY ignored all the other dogs, even though the golden barked at her!

That doesn't mean I'm going to be taking chances with her anytime soon, though. Especially with anything small and furry....

Okay, cleaned her ears with mineral oil, and gave her Surolan. The first letter of the tatt is definitely a 'G'.  So, we still have GKNCJA. Bright sunshine makes it much easier to read, so I am not guessing at the letters any more.

I expect that when she totally ignored the other dogs, she got lots of reward, praise...  I think if you keep at it with the focus training, correction when action is wrong, and over the top reward/praise when she does it right, you will her where you want her.  Give it time.

 

Blitzen, it's the results that count, not the tools. Regardless of what I use: prong, head collar, shock collar, the goal is the same, a dog that is bonded enough to me to listen and obey regardless of the circumstances.

Even when/if she can safely interact with my other dogs with me present, it's going to be a long, long time before I trust her when I'm not present.