Dog Community

Crazy Great Dane... Help!

Posted : 5/23/2006 10:23:04 AM

I my Great dane Athena has a few problems which I am guessing is from where she lived before I got her. She was always outside all alone and wouldn't even come to the lady when she called her for us to see her. Even since she made the change to inside dog when we go her she has gone crazy. When we let her out of her room in the morning she runs and jumps and flips out. I have scratches all over me. I have to make sure there are no toys in the path to the door or she will pick them up and not let me get them back. When i take her out side she wont stay in the fence even when i am out with her. She runs and jumps it and goes right to the door. I started putting her on a chain outside during the day or on a leash at night for her last potty before bed. This causes 2 problems... when she is going on the chain she jumps and pulls and when i go to take her off she jumps on me and barks. Then with the leash at night she will pee and then jump on me even though i know she isn't done. It is really driving me crazy and half the time i just have DH take her so i don't have to deal with the scratching and her over all craziness. I've tried taking her for walks but she is still the same way when we get back home. I have 2 other dogs not much older than her and they are nothing like this when i say no or tell them to sit or lay down they will do it. She doesn't seem to care what i say to her. I make her sit before she can eat or go inside but it only lasts like 2 seconds. What can I do to make her listen to me? I really can't take having my arms all scratched up or having a 80 lbs dog jump on me all the time.

tashakota

Posted : 5/23/2006 12:21:08 PM

Sounds like your Dane has not been taught basic human manners. You should enroll in an obedience class with her. They will teach you how to teach her to be a better dog. If she spent her life on a chain, then she probably doesn't know what sit or down or anything else means, so you have to teach her what that means. Any dog that has not been taught some basic manners will jump on people because that's what dogs do. Interaction with other dogs and people helps to teach a dog how to behave and coexist with humans.

puggylover

Posted : 5/23/2006 12:34:54 PM

I've tried training her myself but it's like she doesn't want to listen. I say sit and she jumps and trys to rip off my hand for the treat. I've done the sit with just petting her after and it works until she says ok that's and bolts off. Even though this training has worked for my dogs in the past i feel like I'm doing something wrong with her and not giving her the best. We really don't have the money right now to enroll in an obedience class. I just want her to play and be happy and when i tell her to do something she does it. Now it just seems like all she is worried about is me leaving her outside in the backyard like her previous owners didn't which i would never do. So now she just runs back inside and wants to hide in her room or pace.

tashakota

Posted : 5/23/2006 12:45:44 PM

It might be that your other dogs didn't have the same issues as your Dane and were a little easier to teach. If you're teaching sit and she tries to grab the treat, say No or Anh and keep the treat in your hand. Wait until she sits, then immediately give her the treat. You have to reward her for the behavior within 2 seconds and you have to move up from a quick sit to a longer one. So once she knows that sit means put the butt on the floor and she does this reliably 80% of the time, then you can move into making the sit longer, or teach a wait. You have to take small steps to get where you want to go and I bet since she's a lot bigger, it seems worse!

puggylover

Posted : 5/23/2006 1:01:18 PM

Yes i do admit i give up when she starts to jump on me or when her teeth hit my hand. She almost weighs as much as me so when she jumps i get the wind knocked out of me so i just say heck with it and let it go until the next day. People who see her joke and call her kangaroo because she jumps all the time, but if only they knew. I guess i just have to suck it up and keep with it until it works. I think i just give her too much freedom because she is so big while while my other dogs are small.

Xerxes

Posted : 5/23/2006 1:37:16 PM

Be patient and don't be afraid to use some basic discipline (growls, snarls, uh-uh's and the like.) By teaching her what she's doing wrong, she'll start to realize what she's doing right. It will take alot of commitment and alot of time but you'll end up with a great dog.

puggylover

Posted : 5/23/2006 2:58:05 PM

Thanks for all the help. I didn't want to just give up on her because i love her and know she can be a great dog somehow. It's just the behaviors and lack of obedience that is making me crazy.

mudpuppy

Posted : 5/24/2006 8:46:31 AM

I would treat the poor dog like an ignorant young puppy. It sounds like you simply expect her to somehow understand English and basic manners, things dogs aren't born knowing, and apparently no one bothered to teach this poor dog anything, including any ability to control herself. Also it sounds like she's getting very little exercise. A tired dog is a good dog.
You may have to scrape up the funds for some professional help. An out of control ill-mannered untrained adult great dane is not something most people are able to handle safely.

puggylover

Posted : 5/24/2006 8:53:55 AM

I don't expect her to just know what sit or stay or down means. I've only had her a few months and she was always like this. We do go on walks with her, i'm planing on getting her on of those backpacks to help work her out a little more. I work with her everyday and it just seems to go no where. If it comes to it i will find a way to get her in a class, but i would rather try everything i can first.

Janey

Posted : 5/24/2006 5:56:38 PM

If you don't have funds for a class, try some books on training. I'm definitely into the positive reinforcement training methods out there, and one really good one that helped me with our dogs is called "The Power of Positive Dog Training," by Pat Miller. Your local library might have it.

And, if you've had smaller dogs before, they are simply easier to handle - if they are misbehaving you can pick them up! You obviously can't do that with a great dane.

But keep working - she'll settle in with some consistent training!

probe1957

Posted : 5/25/2006 8:24:55 AM

I agree with what everyone else here has said. The problem with your dog is she isn't trained. I am going to go a bit further though and say the problem with YOU is you don't know how to train her. There is no shame in that, as most people aren't born knowing how to train dogs. My advice would be for you to find a way to get her into classes.

mudpuppy

Posted : 5/25/2006 9:16:27 AM

frankly, big dogs don't get much exercise benefit from just walking on a leash. My Danes need some full-out running several times a week plus regular steady trotting on leash every day or they start acting hyper.
Something I'm sure you haven't considered: dogs have to learn how to learn, and how to control themselves. This is best done with young pups. Your dog has NO concept of obedience- simply no idea that a signal from you means anything, or that her behavior affects you in any way, or that she can even change her behavior from whatever her instincts tell her to do at any one moment.
I would start by making her work for her meals, to teach her that food comes from you, and that her behavior can let her gain access to her food. Since she's snatching at treats in your hand, start with a bowlful of food. So work on getting her to not jump around like a kangaroo first. When she has all four feet on the floor she gets her food. This may take some time. It may help A LOT to get a clicker. Clickers improve one's timing and enhance communication with dogs. So you're standing quietly holding the supper dish. Dog is leaping around trying to figure out why you haven't put it down. Wait. Patience. Dog will eventually at some point get all four feet on the ground and stop moving. The second she does, CLICK, and put the food down. It might take you a week before she clearly catches on. But once she has mastered this key concept, obedience training becomes possible. It's not possible right now.

puggylover

Posted : 5/25/2006 9:48:18 AM

I'm going to get that book and a clicker to tomorrow. I'll also start going on runs with her too. Like mudpuppy said maybe walking just isn't enough. I'll also do the thing with her food also. I did call a trainer that was recommended to me but i won't have he money for that for about a month or 2. Thank you all for your help. I do know this is my problem and not hers. So reading a few books on training should help me know how to work with her.

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/26/2006 8:15:46 AM

Just from reading, it sounds like she has zero respect for you and is using her weight to bully you.... I think she needs a lot of clear rules and expectations to help her learn her place in the pack. I would really recommend checking out the My Smart Puppy and The Family Dog forum. It's run by a professional trainer and moderated by several other trainers. They give EXCELLENT advice.

[linkhttp://p073.ezboard.com/bfamilydog]http://p073.ezboard.com/bfamilydog[/link]

One of the first things I would read on there is the sticky "you're grounded". It's basically a NILF program, but it's in an easy read format. Good luck!!

[linkhttp://p073.ezboard.com/ffamilydogfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1745.topic]http://p073.ezboard.com/ffamilydogfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1745.topic[/link]