Oh hai adolescence!

punkchica321

 Ugh Simba is in that dreaded(at least for me) adolescence stage. I've never owned a dog that went through this, or well okay Toby but I was young and he was terrified. Simba on the other hand is a very confident dog, minus that fearful stage he's going through. So I have some questions, bet you're all so surprise. :P

 

1) How can I get him over the fearful stage? I try ignore it when he gets scared, or I lure him over to what's scaring him. One thing he's TERRIFIED of is the play pen, it's both the sound and the fact that he knocked into it one time and it started to fall on him. I keep it folded up in the living room and if it so much as moves a little bit he's barking at it. Same goes with the baby gate if it falls or slides down a little. I did manage to get him pretty close the other day to the play pen with some chicken(what dog can resist that? :P) and he seems to be a bit better. What is your advice on this?

 

2) That prey drive of his is coming out BIG time. If he sees a bird or a squirrel he'll whine and try to lunge at it. If I manage to see it first I'll have him sit and stay, but that's not always the case. Am I handling it right? He also tried to lunge at a skateboarder the other day, not the person so much as the movement. I have a skateboard in my garage, should I take it out and have someone go on it and work with him that way? How should I get him used to that?

 

Luckily he's getting better with the jumping and nipping, though there are days when he doesn't seem to listen. Last night he started but as soon as I saw that look in his eyes I had him sit and gave him a treat. As it is I'll have him sit after he's done his business, stupid me forgot a toy though last night. *Facepalm*

Thanks in advance! I'm sure most of you can relate to this stuff. :P

1) Pair good stuff up with scary stuff.  So, if he's scared of the play pen, feed him roast beef or something else he rarely gets, but loves, any time he is near the play pen.   http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/classical-conditioning

 2) You don't start right out with heavy distractions.  You go slowly.  First, teach him to "watch" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHLvt6TQzqA  then extend the length of time he'll do it.  Next, add distractions (slow things, people walking, dogs going by, etc.) and have him watch you while that's going on.  When you get to that point, we'll talk some more:-)  You should also work on "leave it" and "come" - You can use the free lessons at www.clickerlessons.com for those skills.

It's not unusual for adolescent dogs to forget everything they ever knew for a while;-)))  Keep up with the training, and even think about getting in to a class, and you should be ok.

 Oooh thanks for the suggestions and links! I'll definitely work on that watch me. He's enrolled in obedience class at the moment as well. :)

 Ari's 2 years old now, and I feel your pain on adolescence. Anne gave you some GREAT advice. And, like she said, Simba is likely going to temporarily forget everything. OR like Ari, KNOW what your asking, but roll their eyes (yes, she rolls her eyes at us) and "think about it" for awhile before being asked again and then finally doing what you asked lol.

I would set aside a super high value treat that you ONLY use near the pen, like she mentioned. This will make it an extra special treat for him. 

Definitely go slow on the distractions. At first, the only distraction we used with Ari, was moving something out of place on her (like a kitchen chair). Then we slowly added someone in the house talking when asking her to do something or walking near her. It took awhile before she could do even the "simplest" commands reliably outdoors (and we even started outdoors in as controlled of a situation as possible). Then again, Ari had doggy ADHD. She's easily distracted by grass growing. The "Watch Me" command is something that is very worthwhile to teach and use in increasingly distracting situations. 

Adolescence will pass! Just keep at it and being consistent. If need be, go back to square one on commands that he used to know well and he'll pick them up again very quickly. Darn teenagers 

punkchica321

2) That prey drive of his is coming out BIG time. If he sees a bird or a squirrel he'll whine and try to lunge at it. If I manage to see it first I'll have him sit and stay, but that's not always the case. Am I handling it right? He also tried to lunge at a skateboarder the other day, not the person so much as the movement. I have a skateboard in my garage, should I take it out and have someone go on it and work with him that way? How should I get him used to that?

punkchica321

2) That prey drive of his is coming out BIG time. If he sees a bird or a squirrel he'll whine and try to lunge at it. If I manage to see it first I'll have him sit and stay, but that's not always the case. Am I handling it right? He also tried to lunge at a skateboarder the other day, not the person so much as the movement. I have a skateboard in my garage, should I take it out and have someone go on it and work with him that way? How should I get him used to that?

Some dogs have it and others like my Tootsie have 0. IMO. they're isn't much you can do other than manage it. As for the skateboarding incident, it was more than likely the movement. If you have one, introduce him to it, have someone rid e it and if he lunges at it, redirect him to what he should do. A down-stay comes to mind.

Edit: I have no idea why it quoted twice. Sorry.

Chuck is almost 2 and a half now, even when he is not officially ourt of the teenager years i can see that he has calmed down a lot. He was at his worst around  1 year old, the difference is that he is not scared of anything and he was ready to conquer the world as all teangers do

Food didnt work for me because vene when he is really food driven, at the moment when the prey drive was kicking in it was only prey vs him in the world and nothing else existed. A hamburger in his face was not providing the thrill of the chase and the satisfaction of the hunt.

I did something different and today, when we walk, if a wild rabbit is literally 10 feet away he just looks at it but does not make any effort to chase it. He knows he is not allowed to chase while on walks. The prey drive is there as i saw him yesterday chasing a rabbit in the backyard but he learned when it's the appropiate time for every thing.

Nikon has high prey drive which we actually reward and encourage.  However in most situations he is expected to show restraint and control.  I will never expect for him to ignore prey on his own, but I do expect that after all his training, when I say to sit or down or heel or look at me, that he does it.  If there is prey nearby, he will be more anxious about it (whining, fixating on the prey, teeth chattering) so if it gets to that point it's my job to turn around and go another way.  I take him to work a lot - I work on a college campus - and he always becomes more aroused in areas that usually have squirrels and chipmunks but we use these learning opportunities to make it clear when he is allowed to chase prey and when he is expected to be under control.  I won't totally desensitize it out of him thought, it's part of his genetics and breed, and is very much used to my advantage when training (prey drive > ball drive > super easy to motivate and reward my dog).

 Thanks guys! I never thought of just turning the other way, wow stupid me. :P

I encourage prey drive with a flirt pole on the back yard, i discourage prey drive during walks as i dont want him to become a road kill along with the rabbit. He has learned to know the difference. Dogs are very very smart and if you know what you are doing they can still have fun doing what they enjoy but only during the right moment.

Just like when you give a raw hide bone to your dog to chew instead of chewing your shoes

espencer

I encourage prey drive with a flirt pole on the back yard, i discourage prey drive during walks as i dont want him to become a road kill along with the rabbit. He has learned to know the difference. Dogs are very very smart and if you know what you are doing they can still have fun doing what they enjoy but only during the right moment.

Well, I use my dogs to flush rodents, feral cats, and geese so I don't have a problem with them chasing stuff out of my yard.  I've never had a dog get away from me while out on a walk b/c of a prey animal.  They are free to chase whatever pest comes onto our property until I command otherwise.  It doesn't have to be as distinct as flirt pole vs actual animal.  Nikon will chase the rabbits out of the yard, and then do tracking or training off leash on the SchH field (in the country) which is full of rabbits, foxes, deer, and turkey.

It seems we are in the same page then

 I'm curious, why is it you guys encourage prey drive? Is it because of who they are or something else?

If I were to "get rid" of my dog's prey drive it would take some serious squashing.  It would take a long time, time that the dog would much rather be doing something else.  He would have ten times more fun playing fetch (prey drive!) than being walked around and around the neighborhood near squirrels and expected to sit still and look at me while a squirrel goes by.  That's not to say that it is excusable for the dog to not be under control.  Prey drive is something I use to motivate and reward, but like I said earlier I can still heel my dog through a crowd of cats if I want to.  Basically, you don't get a GSD if you don't want prey drive.  It is who he is.  I use it to my advantage every day in training.  For example he is learning to run blinds using a ball (running blinds is the exercise where there are six blinds on a large field and the helper is in one, the handler remains at the middle of the field and commands the dog back and forth around each blind until he gets to the "hot" blind with the helper in it).  His heeling, send out, and retrieves were also taught and/or reinforced using prey drive.

Getting a dog like mine and being upset over the prey drive would be like getting upset with a Great Dane for slobber.  They cannot control it and when understood and used correctly, it's not bad at all.

I do not agree by using drive in one context you are "asking for it" in another.  Using prey drive to run blinds does not mean my dog is now obsessed with killing everything that moves.  I actually think he's better off because he has an outlet for that drive and energy where it is appropriate.

Prey drive makes my dog happy and like Liesje says, it keeps unwanted creatures out of the back yard. You can still have your dog to enjoy chasing animals as long as is in a positive and productive way.

My dog knows "yes" to prey drive on the back yard "no" during walks. The issue is teaching him the difference and yes, they are able to know when is ok and when is not.

Just like when you know a puppy loves to chew things, you give him something to chew instead of letting him chew your furniture and shoes. He is happy and you are happy.

Prey drive is actually not a bad thingand is very natural but humans find it inconvenient in some instances (like during walks). Just like when dogs pee, the human is the one in charge of teaching the dog that he is not allowed to do it inside the house but it's totally ok outside. It's exactly the same with prey drive and a clear simple example that dogs will know the difference

 Makes sense! He saw a bird on our walk today, I told him 'lets go' and he walked with me easily. Praised the heck out of him for that. :P

Do you guys think prey drive will help him in agility?