What can you contribute?

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

So explain the technique you use.  Where did you learn this technique.  How do YOU walk their dogs?

 
I just dont let them be hyper even before i put the leash on, at the moment they show excitement to go out  i make them sit and wait for them to be calm, at one moment they just wait for me to step out of the house, in the street i just keep them focused on the walk, i can stop, let go the leash and they still are next to me waiting for me to start walking, my problem is that when i give the first step they get ahead of me pretty quick, i dont have a forest to walk thru so if they get too fast into the street it could be dangerous, so far they come back every single time that i get down on my knees and call them back, i would love them to walk right next to me without leash so thats my challenge

there was another friend with a dog that is dog agressive, i also walked her dog, at one point a neighbor of hers came out with 5 other dogs, my friend could not believe that her dog was next to other 5 without fighting

ORIGINAL: Xerxes
What did you do that was different? 

 
Redirection, not letting her get too much aggressive attention to the other dogs even when they were all around, she was able to interact but at the moment i saw her snarling i was correcting her, she is fine when i put her together with my dog and my friend's dog that is neutered, that same friend has another one that is not neutered and is always trying to hump her and of course she gets aggresive, i can control the aggressive one but i cant control the "horny" one when he is close to a female hehe, thats my challenge

I also feel really good when i can draw an invisible line in the floor and avoid my dog or my friends dogs crossing that line, i have a friend which has a dog that is a runner, i showed him that he could have the garage open 100% and the dog would not run away, same with the first friend with 2 dogs, i can make one of them wait inside the garage and play with the other without the first one feeling that has to join the fun,

ORIGINAL: Xerxes
Again, how do you you do this?  What technique do you use?

Body blocking, first i start right in front of him and i go back one step, if i see him moving foward i say "no" and take him back the invisible line again, little by little i increase the distance between him and me without letting him move foward even a little bit, after a while he backs up himself and at the end he does not move without me giving permission

There is going to be a dog parade next month here and they are asking me to come with them to "control" their dogs and be able to go []

ORIGINAL: Xerxes
That sounds like alot of fun.  I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 
And is going to be a challenge too, like i said, one of them in not neutered, my guy freind refuses to "cut off his testicles" and the dog tries to hump every single female he sees, i dont know who i am going to take care of, the agressive one or the horny one, i think i will take care of the agressive one and let my friend take care of his horny dog hehe

espencer,  sounds like you have your hands full with the neighborhood dogs.  Have you had any challenges that really made you scratch your head or have to approach things in a different manner than you normally would?

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

espencer,  sounds like you have your hands full with the neighborhood dogs.  Have you had any challenges that really made you scratch your head or have to approach things in a different manner than you normally would?

 
Trying to walk together the DA dog and the unutered one (what a combination right? hehe), one in each hand made me really scratch my head
 
I could not figure how to have them walking together so i just decided to separate them, even in the backyard they cant be together, like i said the DA one is perfectly fine next to the one that is neutered so she is not as much of a problem as the one unutered, it seems he is in the "limbo" when he sees a female, i cant give him treats 24/7 and corrections didnt work that time
 
I have to admit that i just tried once and they made me sweat, i would have to think about a better solution once i have them together again to see how they will react to different approuches

This is a great thread Ed… it feels good to know that all of us have to deal with issues with our pups.[]
 
Here is what we have done with our two…and we don#%92t follow any particular training philosophy or individual trainer.
 
Jimmy James (JJ) was very fear aggressive when I got him. He had been in 3 separate previous homes and I believe due to a serious tail injury that lead to his fear aggression he had become “unadoptable”  at the rescue. He would snarl at almost everyone who was interested in adopting him and heaven forbid you touched anywhere on his hindquarters or near his amputated tail.
 
He was always fine with DH and I, but anyone and everyone else he would snarl at if he became uncomfortable with their petting or closeness to him. This included repeated snarls to Dh#%92s adult kids. We use a “snap” of the fingers to show our dogs that the behavior they are exhibiting is unacceptable. So every time JJ would snarl or even begin to snarl at anyone we would “snap” our fingers. Within only a few weeks the snarling completely stopped and now JJ will allow almost anyone to pet him and IF he is uncomfortable with the interaction he turns his head away from the person (instead of just immediately snarling) and so we are able to pick up on his cues and stop the unwanted petting. He gets rewarded by us (through petting and lots of "good boys") when he allows a stranger to pet him and he is now starting to actually SEEK OUT affection from strangers.        
 
No one from our greyhound walking club who knew him when he was at the shelter, can believe what a sweet, kind and calm doggie he has become.  To be perfectly truthful though I think the majority of the change in him has VERY LITTLE to do with any training we have done and is really because he is content and receives daily exercise versus being cooped up in a crate all day and night.
 
 
 
Prudence is my spook… she was also in several previous homes and they couldn#%92t deal with her and she was also “unadoptable” and was terrified of EVERYONE.  Her biggest fears are strangers (especially children) and strange dogs. The last owner could not even walk her in a quiet neighborhood so she wasn#%92t getting regular walks. The BIGGEST difference for her in our home has been that she has calm and confident JJ to follow so this has been crucial. That said she is petrified at times on walks even with him by her side. From the second day we had her, we force her to walk in heavily populated areas. We would go to a local lake where at any one time there are about 60 people walking their dogs, riding bikes with their kids, rollerblading… After a few weeks of going almost daily we got her greatly desensitized and much calmer. She still has good and bad days and we also take her every other weekend on our greyhound walking club. She feels comfortable there because she LOVES the other greyhounds and she feels more comfortable with their owners than most other strangers. 
 
 
WE often use treats to help her get over her fear of strangers and this has helped immensely! We have had LIMITED success though using treats on walks when we encounter a strange dog. If she is really frightened she won#%92t even accept liverwurst.  Over the past 4 months she has made HUGE gains and continues to make progress every day. But the two areas that I am NOT sure HOW to get her to improve in are her fear of children and her totally irrational fear of anyone that speaks Spanish. She came off a race track in Mexico and she is scared to death whenever she hears people speaking in Spanish. This is VERY TOUGH being that we live in southern California only 25 miles from the border…

Wow it sounds like you got the problem greys from the rescue.  I'm glad they got a good loving home. 

I think that stability in a home is a very important factor when dealing with behavior problems, at least when the environment is stable then you have a base to judge what type of reactivity or what stimuli are causing particular behaviors. 

So would you say that in your efforts you use a "calming energy?"  I mean is that safe to say? 

From reading everyones posts I can see that we use alot of techniques in common.  I'm really enjoying this thread and hearing about the personal experiences.

Yes I really think alot of our techniques are similar board-wide. Aside from extreme cases, like crazy aggression or something; we all see the need to get our dogs calm in order to work with them, and we all like to use rewards (of various types) to both encourage behavior and help get over fears or dislikes.
 
Shelly, do you try having Pru take treats from calm kids (and calm Spanish people [])? Is she too upset to even take the treats?

So would you say that in your efforts you use a "calming energy?" I mean is that safe to say?

 
Yes, I use this every single time I volunteer with the rescue too. With all the spooks who won't approach a human or even come out of their crate, or the dogs that are hyper from not being able to run races every few days,  or the dogs that are nervouse because we just picked them up off the track and we are having to ull hundreds of ticks out one by one...  [&o]
 
I especially use it to when Pru is ”freaking out” on a walk due to a child or strange dog, I never react, I just stay calm and act like there is nothing there.  If she gets spooked enough that she is pulling as though she thinks she is a “draft horse” then similar to Espence, I will stop walking and not allow her to move forward until she calms. Sometime this means we only go a few feet at a time.  She has made HUGE gains in this area though, but sometimes just has a BAD day…

I've also worked with a few very fearful dogs at the shelter and it is very important to be calm, and move slowly. Just act like it is the most normal thing in the world that you're squatting in front of their kennel for 10 minutes not looking at them. I'm just hanging out, no rush, no big deal, I do this all the time. I let them come to me. This is also key with Conrad and meeting new people. If the person rushes up to him and tries to initiate contact, he will shy away and avoid their hands. If they just stand still for a second, he will approach them and initiate contact on his own. But people get very offended when they reach for him and he backs up, like he's just said something nasty about their mom, and they say "Oh, he must not be friendly!" No, he's perfectly friendly, just don't barge into his space like that because he has no idea whether or not you're going to wring his neck or pet him when you do that!

Shelly, do you try having Pru take treats from calm kids (and calm Spanish people )? Is she too upset to even take the treats?

 
Yep, she can't even let them get within 20 feet of her... she goes into flight mode and actually several times has almost slipped her collar[].
 
We have also tried having US give her a treat when she is anywhere near a child or someone speaking Spanish, but she won't take it from us either. If we can get her to stop trying to run away all she does is shake and quiver. Overall though she has gotten MUCH better about taking treats from strangers and on rare occasion will actually approach a strange adult just to "see" if they have a treat for her.[]    She also now LOVES the people at the do it yourself doggie wash and one of our local pet shops since she gets treats from them (even the vet's office isn't so bad now). SO I do see someday her being able to let a child get a few feet from her, it will just take awhile to get there. It does seem like the larger her "comfort zone" gets, the easier it is for her to adapt to new environments. Her trust in people overall  is definately growing...

I probably don't have anything to bring to the table but plenty to take.
I am a first time dog owner and really didn't want a dog.  Cant say didn't want one but could take it or leave it.  My fiance wanted a dog and I wanted him to have one, so we adopted Sampson.  Let's just say he is really MY dog now.  I just dig him soooo much!
When we decided to get a dog, I happened to see CM on Martha show.  I began watching his show for a month or so and also started searching the internet on training ect.  So I knew just a little about dogs before adopting one.  Turns out, he was a breeze to train.
I can have him in the front yard and he goes nowhere, he comes when called most of the time.  I did have trouble with recall when squirrels were involved but that has even been better with more work.
We walk everyday and I often pass people and other dogs.  He loves others dogs but doesnt lunge. He will put tention on the leash but i try to correct at the right time.  I often get strangers ask me if I had put him in training cuz he walks well.  I love those compliments
Like JJSmom, Sam is afraid of kids.  That is the one area that we have not made progress.  This is totally my fault.  I'm scared.  I have a freaken school right next door and I avoid that side of the street when the kids are out.  I need to just face the fear.   I am so scared though. I don't know what I would do if he bit some kid out of fear.
At first I tried giving the kids treats to give him.  I tell them no sudden movements but it's Sam's quickness that scares them.  He puts his ears back, tail between the legs and jumps behind me as fast as possible. Also lets out a little growl.  I soon started avoiding that area....so stupid.  Thats what I would do different. Tackle the problem the best I can.
It's not too late.....I will make an effort..I promise myself.
Now, we had a girl come to the door selling something not long ago and he didn't even notice her.  He walked right by her to get out on the walk and she even tried to grab him thinking he was getting away. 
 

jode, just the fact that you're "digging" having this dog and you're noticing where you have challenges is a great thing.  When you put your mind to it, and ask the right questions, you'll see that your pupper will answer them correctly most of the time.

I think it's great that you adopted a dog and I'm pretty happy that you decided to post.  Whenever you have those little victories, like the one with the at the door, share them.  Every little victory and challenge that you overcome could be significant to someone else with their dog. 

So I say that you've got just as much to offer as the next person, maybe even more because you're kind of new to the dog "thing."

I once worked with a three legged 10 year old DA Chow. He had been showing this behavior for about a year. He even started chewing up the window trim. He would pull his owner, growl, snap, lunge, and just go crazy when he saw another dog. The final straw was when he broke loose and attacked another dog. When I went to meet him and his owner, the first thing I did was find out what their daily life was. He was, sleeping in her bed, being free fed, walked in front of her, allowed to jump up on the bed or couch uninvited, going throw doors before her, would jump on her when she came home, paw at her to be petted, and the list goes on and on.

I changed all those things. Explained why her dog was being aggressive. I used my dog (and a few of her neighbors lol) to show her how to stop the aggression. That was 2 years ago and the dog is doing great. Sorry there's not alot of detail, but time is always a factor, and I have to make things quick.

ORIGINAL: Awsomedog

I once worked with a three legged 10 year old DA Chow. He had been showing this behavior for about a year. He even started chewing up the window trim. He would pull his owner, growl, snap, lunge, and just go crazy when he saw another dog. The final straw was when he broke loose and attacked another dog. When I went to meet him and his owner, the first thing I did was find out what their daily life was. He was, sleeping in her bed, being free fed, walked in front of her, allowed to jump up on the bed or couch uninvited, going throw doors before her, would jump on her when she came home, paw at her to be petted, and the list goes on and on.

I changed all those things. Explained why her dog was being aggressive. I used my dog (and a few of her neighbors lol) to show her how to stop the aggression. That was 2 years ago and the dog is doing great. Sorry there's not alot of detail, but time is always a factor, and I have to make things quick.

Was the dog newly adopted?  It seems to me kind of strange that DA would rear up in a 10yr old all of a sudden.  Given the circumstances I can understand generalized aggression.  But if the dog had been theirs all along, especially given the breed history, one would expect the DA to materialize at a much earlier stage.

Awsomedogs posted:
That was 2 years ago and the dog is doing great.

Always nice to hear the success stories![]

Jode88 posted:
I soon started avoiding that area....so stupid.  Thats what I would do different. Tackle the problem the best I can.  

Jode, that is always a tough one, I felt the same way with Prudence when I got her ..I HATED making her go into heavily populated areas when it felt so comfortable to stay in the areas she was already familar with and where she wouldn't spook. I was setting her up for success on every walk, but not really helping her with her problems because of my fear of her somehow slipping her collar when spooked... I TOTALLY FEEL your frustration! []

Why thank you for your kind words and encouragement to post. I really appreciate it.