My dog has a growling/Barking Problem

The Easy Walk Harness isn't designed to be yanked either, and may cause shoulder injuries if you do so, but there are ways you can help your dog to be less fearful and to look at you rather than look at all the stimulating things around her.  This all takes time, so don't lose patience.  To teach her some skills (this builds overall confidence) there are some free lessons at www.clickerlessons.com.  If you have a little spare cash, you might want to add these books to your library:  Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell (originally written for leash aggressive dogs, the protocols work for the scaredy dogs, too); The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller (everything a well behaved dog needs to know); and later, if you can, grab a copy of The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson (how dogs think versus how humans think, and why our relationships get mucked up).

Daffodil_Lament

wow. quite a flew conflicting ideas...... As for the trainer, its out.... My hours were cut at work, I have 100 less then I need to pay my rent, and I have to do yard work for family members to pay for the rest. I just cant do it. There has to be a way to do it myself, she isn't aggressive at all.....I strongly believe she has no interest in hurting who she is growling at... Im not sure exactly what she wants..... but, it isnt to maul them. she growls when people come to the door, but when they come in she is fine..... she plays well with other pets, and will cuddle with my guests. Like get in there lap and lay her head on their shoulder. Is it possible she thinks she protecting me for random things?

It's more likely that she is seeking protection from you, rather than seeking to protect you.     She wants to know that you will be there to keep anything scary from happening to her!  I think she is probably a normal dog, a bit on the fearful side, and just needs some confidence building and training.  I'd be willing to bet her social experiences were not as extensive as they could have been during her early puppy hood, when most dogs that are extensively socialized learn to accept many novel situations, people, and dogs.  She may never recover completely if her socialization was inadequate, but, all in all, it sounds as if she is, at least, a friendly household member with no ill intentions.  That doesn't mean that she doesn't need you - as Glenda said, it's your job to get her away from scary situations to a safe distance - then you can speak to her, feed her some treats, ask her to do some obedience work (if she is unable to eat her rewards, you are still too close to whatever upset her, so back away some more).

I had issues like this with one of my dogs where he would go nuts at the sight of another dog (and sometimes large objects in weird places).  In the end, it was not any method of desensitization or any training tool that did the trick, it was managing the environment and building a stronger bond with my dog BEFORE we went back out.  I did all my training in controlled environments for several months before walking him around in public around other dogs that were not part of my training program.  I can't say what exactly fixed the problem or if part of it was a fear stage/maturity issue, but the first time we went walking again he passed several dogs, even ones off lead, without a peep.  It was like he just didn't care any more so I didn't really do any desensitization or even teach him "leave it" or commands to turn his focus off the dog.  In the time "off" we did tons of work builing a bond and developing his confidence in himselt and trust in my leadership.

If you have to call your dog's attention off whatever is upsetting it, then you're already too late.  The goal is for the dog not to react at all.  If too many things set the dog off and it's too hard to predict what will and avoid it, then stay away for now and working on finding the root of the issue.  Perhaps the dog is very lacking in confidence?  Then work on building confidence and trust away from these scary objects rather than pressuring the dog to work past them.  The goal should not be to have to constantly re-direct the dog, but for the dog not to care at all.

Re: socialization, yes, there is still time, BUT, that particular window closes VERY early, like under 16 weeks, and I don't recall exactly when.....My point is, now it's going to be much harder to work on socializing.

I've fostered older pups who've never been out of the kennel and holy cow it is HARD work to get them socialized, to get them less fearful and to get them ready to live in the real world.  I personally don't believe that its ever too late, but you need to know that what would have been really easy when she was younger, becomes much, much harder now.

espencer

Daffodil_Lament

If i walk away isnt that kind of helping with the antisocialness?

Yes it is, if you walk away you are not fixing anything and you are just avoiding the problem.

The alternative to walking away is NOT moving away, and this would basically be "flooding" - a risky process and only sometimes effective.  Often it just backfires and the dog's response escalates, and for most people there is no knowing which way it will go until you try it.  It's a big risk, and a needless one, when there are alternatives available.

Moving away from the trigger signals to the dog that you are in control and she has nothing to worry about.  There are a number of things you can do to increase her confidence without making her work through it right there next to the thing that iscaring her.  Trust me, if you tried this on me with spiders I would attack YOU in my attempt to get away!!

Essentially, she has to LEARN that the object is not scary - when she is TOO CLOSE she is not in a state of mind to learn anything, because she is too frightened/emotional.  In the short term, I think you are better off moving away to a distance that she can cope with and giving simple commands that she "knows"... This helps her reconnect with you and also feel more confident (the effect of success... "yes I know that!  I can DO that!";). 

Place youself between the thing and the dog as you move away.  It's something you can do even when you can't move away....  This is a pretty much universal signal of taking control and protecting and will help to inspire confidence in her.  Don't scold or coddle her (although I find a calming touch sometimes helps, as long as you are confident she won't whip round in a panic and snap!)  Stay aloof and calm - you want to set an example she can follow - and keep her lead slack. 

Jerking on it can be harmful if it is on a collar, but is not likely to even register if the pressure is spread out with a harness.  If she is wearing a no-pull device like a halti or an easy walk harness.... you should NOT pull on it! 

A headcollar can be useful for helping to turn her attention away from items and back on to you, but again - NO JERKING - and some dogs really don't like these devices.  Usually you have to acclimate them to the item slowly with treats and praise over at least a couple of days; I think it's worth taking the time, even if walks have to be suspended for the time being.  As long as she is given plenty of other activities, it should not have an adverse effect.

You could try to walk her at quiet times at first, to make it easier on both of you, but the downside to that option is that reactive/fearful/aggressive dogs also tend to be walked at those times!

Good luck anyway....

 First of all, correcting a dog for an aggressive response (whether it's a leash jerk, a verbal reprimand, or something else unpleasant, you are causing the dog to associate even more unpleasant things with the aggression-inducing stimulus. Though I have not seen your dog in person, it definitely sounds like you have a 'reactive' dog, and her growling and displays are out of fear. When you then correct a dog because they are reacting to a fearful item or thing, they're going to be even more afraid of it. Which in the end will just cause a bigger and more disastrous reaction.

 Though I understand money is tight, is there anyway you could purchase the book called Control Unleashed? It talks about dealing with reactive dogs and re-training and desensitizing them to be comfortable around the stimuli that causes them to react, and also to pay better attention to you.

 Really though, you need to work on re-socializing her and desensitizing her to new and scary things. Remember that once she is over threshold, and by that I mean once she is at the point she is growling and giving a big display, she will not be able to learn well. Stress and fear make learning difficult, regardless of whether it's positive reinforcement or corrections. So, you need to keep her under threshold, (so, far enough away from the fear inducing things that she is not reacting and can give you attention), and really, really, unload the high value treats. And these really do need to be high value. Liver treats, hot dogs, cut chicken breast, etc., a treat that is really motivating. Biscuits and kibble won't cut it.

 As you give her the high value you treats, you are changing her associations from negative to positive. You can slowly move her closer to the scary objects. If she starts to react, you've gotten too close and you need to take a step back in training.

Apologies to the OP for going off topic, but welcome teena.  If you go to the intro section you can do a thread about you and your dogs.

Everyone has offered good advice. Such as, by the time the dog has reacted, preventative measures are too late. However, one can continue to work on that. And again, I would like to highlight Glenda's example. She is a petite woman with a shoulder that might as well be made of glass. And she can walk six 90+ lb GSDs at once, if she cares to. Because they pay attention to her, most of all. And that just takes time and effort.

I totally understand the dire economic situation. It seems as if no one can do anything about that.

But here are some thoughts to keep in your head. You get what you reinforce. Even aggressive behavior is rewarding since the dog thinks he/she has protected himself with it. So, the dog needs to learn that you lead to good things. Some desensitization is good, by interacting with "scary" objects in a calm manner and being rewarded for that. But there's a whole world of potential scaries. So, it also helps to have a "watch me" command for which the dog is heavily rewarded. For me, it is "off," which means to disengage from whatever. Then, you can follow up with desensitization. But it must depend on building the dog's confidence. Nearly all non-pathological aggression is based in fear. The barking and growling is actually to avoid confrontations by getting whatever or whomever it is to go away and quit being scary. So, you're not trying to stop the growling and barking, you are wanting to change the reaction to the environment. But there's no magic sound or touch that instantly changes the behavior. Dogs do what is rewarding. Your dog is rewarded by the sense of safety that comes from growling, barking, and piloerection because that has led to survival in the past. Survival is considered rewarding.

Make a different reaction to the environment more rewarding than the fearful reaction. Dogs are all about gaining and guarding resources. A dog will even break off in mid-snarl in a confrontation if doing so leads to resources that are valued. Mine has done so for that very reason.

ron2

Everyone has offered good advice. Such as, by the time the dog has reacted, preventative measures are too late. However, one can continue to work on that. And again, I would like to highlight Glenda's example. She is a petite woman with a shoulder that might as well be made of glass. And she can walk six 90+ lb GSDs at once, if she cares to. Because they pay attention to her, most of all. And that just takes time and effort.

I totally understand the dire economic situation. It seems as if no one can do anything about that.

But here are some thoughts to keep in your head. You get what you reinforce. Even aggressive behavior is rewarding since the dog thinks he/she has protected himself with it. So, the dog needs to learn that you lead to good things. Some desensitization is good, by interacting with "scary" objects in a calm manner and being rewarded for that. But there's a whole world of potential scaries. So, it also helps to have a "watch me" command for which the dog is heavily rewarded. For me, it is "off," which means to disengage from whatever. Then, you can follow up with desensitization. But it must depend on building the dog's confidence. Nearly all non-pathological aggression is based in fear. The barking and growling is actually to avoid confrontations by getting whatever or whomever it is to go away and quit being scary. So, you're not trying to stop the growling and barking, you are wanting to change the reaction to the environment. But there's no magic sound or touch that instantly changes the behavior. Dogs do what is rewarding. Your dog is rewarded by the sense of safety that comes from growling, barking, and piloerection because that has led to survival in the past. Survival is considered rewarding.

Make a different reaction to the environment more rewarding than the fearful reaction. Dogs are all about gaining and guarding resources. A dog will even break off in mid-snarl in a confrontation if doing so leads to resources that are valued. Mine has done so for that very reason.

Daffodil_Lament

Have you, or anyone else come across a great training treat that seems to catch attention

Tootsie will do anything for a banana chip.

Daffodil_Lament

I have noticed, that most of the treats she LOVES inside, she either will not take outside, or she wont eat them, she takes it, and holds it in her mouth.....like she doesnt know what to do with it....

It's likely because she's stressed; most dogs won't take a treat in a fearful state of mind. 

I don't use a lot of treats.  When I do feel the need, something STINKY!  Homemade liver treats rarely are turned down....liverwurst, some of the particularly disguisting smelling cheeses......the worse it smells to US, the more they seem to like it!

My dogs work VERY well for praise or a toss of the ball.

Daffodil_Lament

Thank you very much. This is kinda random, but what kind of reward have you found to be the best?

I'll have you know that I don't play fair, at all. The normal treats I can buy at the store work just fine. But for my dog, the mother lode is whatever meat I have cooked. Smoked brisket, roasted chicken, grilled country style pork rib or pork chop. I am that good. I'm a pretty good electrician, a half-way decent amateur trainer of my own dog, but I rule on the charcoal grill. Behold my magnificence. Shadow, my dog, will do calculus and audition for the Bolshoi Ballet for some meat. My smoked deer ribs are worth writing home about.

And I have been known, a few times, to have pieces of such meat on my person in zip lock bag so that I can have them in public situations. Not only do I reward for breaking off the engagement and paying attention to me, I have also clicked and rewarded for not reactiing to a snarly stranger dog. Timing and preparation. You get what you reinforce. Your dog may or may not fancy some foods as treats. A number of dogs do. Some dogs will do absolutely anything to chase a frisbee one more time. My brother-in-law has a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd who lives to herd and cut sheep. Since he doesn't have sheep, the big ball will do. Throw it and she will run herself ragged herding to a point and then cutting it and holding it until you can go over and sheer or vaccinate your "sheep" ball. So, you can command sit or down or whatever you want, as long as she gets to herd and cut. She will also take treats but nothing beats herding and cutting.

Find out what your dog finds most rewarding that is positive and then you be the source of that reward. And then reward for the behavior that you want, don't reward the behavior you don't want. That is easier said than done. It is so very easy, even in body language, to accidently reward what we don't want to reward.

ron2

Daffodil_Lament

Thank you very much. This is kinda random, but what kind of reward have you found to be the best?

I'll have you know that I don't play fair, at all. The normal treats I can buy at the store work just fine. But for my dog, the mother lode is whatever meat I have cooked. Smoked brisket, roasted chicken, grilled country style pork rib or pork chop. I am that good. I'm a pretty good electrician, a half-way decent amateur trainer of my own dog, but I rule on the charcoal grill. Behold my magnificence. Shadow, my dog, will do calculus and audition for the Bolshoi Ballet for some meat. My smoked deer ribs are worth writing home about.

And I have been known, a few times, to have pieces of such meat on my person in zip lock bag so that I can have them in public situations. Not only do I reward for breaking off the engagement and paying attention to me, I have also clicked and rewarded for not reactiing to a snarly stranger dog. Timing and preparation. You get what you reinforce. Your dog may or may not fancy some foods as treats. A number of dogs do. Some dogs will do absolutely anything to chase a frisbee one more time. My brother-in-law has a Blue Merle Australian Shepherd who lives to herd and cut sheep. Since he doesn't have sheep, the big ball will do. Throw it and she will run herself ragged herding to a point and then cutting it and holding it until you can go over and sheer or vaccinate your "sheep" ball. So, you can command sit or down or whatever you want, as long as she gets to herd and cut. She will also take treats but nothing beats herding and cutting.

Find out what your dog finds most rewarding that is positive and then you be the source of that reward. And then reward for the behavior that you want, don't reward the behavior you don't want. That is easier said than done. It is so very easy, even in body language, to accidently reward what we don't want to reward.