running out of aggr. excuses

well, since it seems like an issue of 'respect' i am not a little kid. i'm almost 20. I took care of all my 4 dogs, i have taken care of 15 different clients with multiple animals in my personal dog walking business, and more than 70 dogs at a time at my last job.

i love animals. thank you for all your advice.

and with the previous comment from fisher300; i haven't been tackling him for months. i only 'tried' maybe 4 or 5 times. you have to understand that i am trying basically EVERYTHING. I don't want to come to the point that i feel i can't leave my family with MY devil dog when i go to school. I would rather give him to someone who i can trust and who can care for him and give him a 'better' life.i admit, the technique is a little too extreme. But we are past that. i just want what will be ultimately best for my dog.

i wrote this whole positive update and... the comp jamms up! one of those days. anyway.
I forgot to add the update in the last post so here goes:

- The retraining of the humans is going well, nobody touches or approaches the dog when sleeping/eating etc...
- When someone comes near when he is laying beside me, i say 'look russ! its ____ go say hi!" and his whole approach is happy, not a suspicious look or a rumble.
-clicker training started, i used it with 'agility'. he is obsessed with what is in my hand, he doesn't listen as hard as i'd like. but in one day, i got him to recognize the 'spot' to sit at, to 'jump' 2 jumps on command, and to do it all in one go. he likes the sound and i tell him its 'good' and kinda rub him with it while clicking it so i don't use so many treats.
- he is officially a carpet sleeper, no more sneaking in the bed. i purposefully moved into the bunkbed so i won't be tempted to let him up. he sleeps on my blanket on the floor.. i think he likes it better. []
-when he does the bark/circle attention method i turn and ignore him [sm=smack.gif] and as long as he can't see my face he goes away and chews his bone... its this FACE he can't resist [].
-we upgraded him to the puppy proof kitchen when we leave, i'm not surrendering! i need to re-introduce the crate as a positive thing! i'm going to take the door off and put it outside (limited space indoors!) and feed his meals there.
he is definitely a happier dog... thank you all sooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When clicker training a new behavior, a treat should always been given until the dog knows the behavior really well.

If you are worried about weight gain or too much food, use the dog's dinner for clicker training.  Or cut the treats up smaller.

ORIGINAL: Russell Stover

well, since it seems like an issue of 'respect' i am not a little kid. i'm almost 20. I took care of all my 4 dogs, i have taken care of 15 different clients with multiple animals in my personal dog walking business, and more than 70 dogs at a time at my last job.

 
I wanna be able to do that!  Round of applause for Russell Stover!!! [sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif][sm=wink2.gif]

call me Grace, i haven't found out how to change my login name, it confuses people into thinking i am a man. []

if you are really interested, you can start by volunteering at a shelter or do a summer 'internship' at a kennel. technically they can't make you do labor until you are older, but if you love animals you'd get a great experience and you can put it on your application to schools and colleges for extra curricular studies. i worked at a kennel and it was hard but challenging in a good way. i got really attached to the regular dogs.

Grace, thanks for the update.  I'm all smiles here.  I think you're doing a great job![sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif][sm=wink2.gif]

A click must always be followed by a high value reward.... usually a food reward, sometimes a super-charged, high value, high-novelty training toy.  I don't think telling him it good and petting him is significant enough in his eyes and gthe clicker may begin to lose its effectiveness.  Just my thoughts.
 
On a happier note.... WELL DONE YOU!! Sounds like Russells doing really well []

Yay, I'm glad things are working well for you guys!

For clicker training, what I found works best is getting a really cheap cut of steak at the grocery store, cooking it briefly in a pan (or even the microwave), and then cutting it up into teeny tiny pieces. The first time I tried clicker training I used Subway ham as a reward - bad idea! The food wasn't interesting enough, and my dog didn't really care about the clicking business. The idea is to have them super super excited about the click, so if you have a really extra exciting reward (like food or a favorite toy) then it will work a lot better!

ORIGINAL: Chuffy

A click must always be followed by a high value reward.... usually a food reward,   I don't think telling him it good and petting him is significant enough.

 
oh, i know i use treats, but he loves the clicker! thats why i 'pet' him with it, he recognizes that its good. thanks for the advice

You mentioned having used an electronic collar with this dog.  While it might have made him "stop in his tracks", etc., and you find his behavior improved, it might also have had an unintended consequence.  Some dogs that are trained on e-collars, especially if it is not done carefully, end up becoming more aggressive, not less.
This dog is a "teenager" and testing limits, none of which seem to have been firmly established in positive ways.  You may, as another poster suggested, have been used to dealing with other breeds, and other dogs, but this one has presented a real challenge.  Please take Janet's suggestions about trying clicker training again.  And, it's not necessary to have someone else train your dog at $300/hour - and it will probably be ineffective anyway.  The Power of Positive Training can help a lot, so do get that.
Also, check out www.clickertraining.com for helpful articles, and there is also a trainer search - so you may find a good trainer who is within your budget.  You really do need to get this under control before your dog reaches maturity.  I hope that you will keep your siblings from harassing him (he may perceive their behavior differently than you do) and get some suggestions from your trainer on how to create a situation where he can safely interact with the kids.  Good luck.

Hi Grace,
 
Body positioning can mean a lot to a dog having these issues. Sometimes "we" can even be a resource which is being guarded, rather than a leader in the dog's eyes.
 
One of my shelter dogs started doing this shortly after I brought her home. She was just starting to show aggression towards my boyfriend and then I noticed she was positioning herself between me and him. This was a really long time ago, but I remembered something I had read about "a dog should be responsible to you, not for you", and I kept myself between him and her, while interacting with him and ignoring her. It worked very well.
 
Safety for everyone is very important. If your dog's behavior escalates, please get hand-on, eyes-on help from a behaviorist. []
 
I was doing some searches on the net and I remembered this thread. Here is a little bit about what I'm talking about:
 
[linkhttp://www.basenjicompanions.org/tips/adjust/guarding.html]http://www.basenjicompanions.org/tips/adjust/guarding.html[/link]
 
Good luck and stay safe.

That's a really good article, Angelique, and the technique is quite similar to what Pat Miller recommends in her book.  It works quite well if guarding is the issue.
If the dog is simply guarding the resting spot, or feels he is in charge, then another technique would be to leave the leash on the dog, and gently take him off the bed/couch/high place gently, then reward him for getting "off".  Picking the leash up to do that keeps the human from having to grab the dog's collar, which can result in a bite.

The jumping isn't on strangers, it is strictly with family walking away or just arriving home, he gets frustrated when we leave/come and 'tags' us with his paws, like he needs to tag a base. The jumping is gradually getting better. It is at an all-time minimum.

Ignore him when he does this, keep walking don't talk, don't touch just.. ignore.

My very large dog tends to want to jump on visitors he dosen't acutally jump on them and touch them he jumps up in front of them more or less to get into there face.  My BIL visited this weekend and the minute I let River out he ran to him.  I told my brother in law, turn your back, don't speak or touch him.  River ran to him to jump and my BIL did what I wanted.  River immediatly ran to the front of my BIL again and jumped up as my BIL turned, didn't speak or touch..  River then just walked away from him.   A few minutes later my BIL and I were talking and River walked up and sat down in front of him.  I then told him, NOW you can pet him.  I was so proud of both my BIL and River - my BIL was impressed too.
 
Edited to add:  I didn't read that article before posting, very good and basicly the same idea.  Ignoring bad behavior is key.

I don't have anything constructive to add, except that WOW, that's a gorgeous dog!!! Russell is just beautiful!

I'm glad to hear that he's doing better. I hope that he continues to improve.

ORIGINAL: luvmyswissy
I told my brother in law, turn your back, don't speak or touch him. River ran to him to jump and my BIL did what I wanted. River immediatly ran to the front of my BIL again and jumped up as my BIL turned, didn't speak or touch.. River then just walked away from him. A few minutes later my BIL and I were talking and River walked up and sat down in front of him. I then told him, NOW you can pet him. I was so proud of both my BIL and River - my BIL was impressed too.

Beautiful! I wish I could manage my BF's behavior as well as you managed your BIL's! [8D]