glenmar
Posted : 5/15/2008 8:59:24 AM
When she has done something like she did with dashing across the street and "assumes the position" don't laugh and rub her belly. That in itself, that minor withholding of affection, should get through to her that you aren't pleased that she didn't obey.
This is a far more difficult question than I think you realize. My experience with terrors....errr TERRIORS is quite limited, but my gsds are independent thinkers and I honestly never have occassion to punish them. They come to me when I call, off lead, because coming to mommy might mean a toss of the ball, a treat, or a good ear rubbing or maybe just lavish praise. Coming to mommy is never ever a bad thing, and never for something icky like cutting nails or because I'm angry.
I certainly DO have occassion to correct....particularly now with all of us squeezed into this rv like sardines in a too small can. And normally, it's simply speaking to them. I use the "mom" voice, and they listen. Occassionally someone will decide to horde all the bones and toys and then growl should anyone come near, and when that happens, which is probably punishment, I simply pick everything up and return it to the communal toy box and tell the offender "you may have ONE at a time" When Thor took off after a wild turkey, he froze midstep when I called out "Thor, leave it", and came trotting back to me. He got a whole lot of extra ball tosses that day. I didn't even think about punishing him for taking off after the turkey.....that's his nature and his instinct.....instead I've trained a good and reliable recall so he can be off lead in some areas and rewarded him for doing the right thing, which in this case was to stop the chase and return to me.
Honestly, this all comes down to the training my dogs have had, and the continual reinforcement of that training. And that's really all it's going to take with your girl. But, I do think that you need to rethink your whole training situation so that she ALWAYS does the right thing, and then you eliminate any need for punishment. You really do need to set things up for her to always suceed and never fail. And, if she does fail, then you need to look at your training to figure out why.
I don't recall if you've taken her to classes or not. If not, I'd suggest considering doing so. YOU get so much information and you learn so much about how to teach her. And working together in classes really strengthens the bond between you.
To me, training is kind of a lifelong thing, constantly reinforcing, adding new challenges as situations change. I've worked really hard with my reactive Sheba but still put a basket muzzle on her in situations that I know will be stressful to her. Yet, at the campground, I've continued to work with her, and by golly NOW if someone approaches on the paths, I simply step off the path and let them pass, and she, stands beside me calmly, but alertly, with absolutely no sign of agression. That's huge for her and has taken a very long time to accomplish. I think that any sort of punishment along the way to getting to where we are now, would have just set her back and reinforced in her mind that people cause bad things to happen and that she's right to be reactive.
Training is such a huge part of life with a dog.
And yeah, you really can "talk" to her. I talk to my crew all the time. I tell them what I expect, I tell them what they are doing that I like and what I don't like, and when I need to give them meds, I'm very straightforward and remind them WHY they need those meds. I don't try to hide meds, I just slip them into some cheese and tell them THIS piece has your pill. And perhaps because I do talk to them so much, my dogs are very aware of even the slightest change in my tone of voice and respond to that.
My dogs are very much part of my family too......but remember, all family members have certain responsibilities and even human children have to follow "the rules".