JD_Shelties:Outside of the home (when I'm doing puppy classes) after about 2 - 3 hours of training there is always social play time for puppies and younger dogs. And boy is he cranky! He's only 16 weeks old so I make sure to bring his crate along so he can go lay down when he needs to, and by the time it's play time he is very grumpy.
Not sure I get this - are you saying he is participating in training for 2-3 hours, or you are teaching classes while he is crated? Either way - first scenario, he's too young to be training in increments that long. Second scenario, boredom and confinement make herders cranky. Exercise him before you must turn your attention elsewhere so that he's tired while you are busy.
JD_Shelties: Lots of warning signals, showing teeth, launching forward if the dogs get too close or annoy him too much ("back off!" type additude). One time a Chihuahua really must of upset him because he chased after the dog, forced the dog on its back, and just stood over him for a little bit like errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....
Not uncommon for herders to hate other dogs right in their face. If the dog is in their face, he's blocking their view, and they NEED to see where you are, what's going on. Plus, some dogs are just not nice behind a barrier, such as a fence or crate door, and that is very common in the herding breeds, too. Indicative of territorial behavior or anxiety about being trapped. I have no problem with letting dogs iron out minor difficulties so long as no one uses teeth. And, the Chi may have been of an age where he WAS annoying, and needed to be told. Without seeing it, I can't say, but I know that my own dogs occasionally tell a pup off, or ask an adult dog to keep their distance. Not abnormal behavior.
JD_Shelties: Another issue I've been working on is his mild food aggression. Humans and dogs in the home can take his food, eat his food, do whatever we want... But once again when strange dogs are around (or dogs that don't live with us, but even if he sees them every week) he is so bad!! So I just walk away from him then give attention to the other dogs.
The very last issue is if he's in the lap of another person (near a human) or myself and a dog approaches 65% of the time he'll go into errrrrrrrrrrrr back off!! So I tell people to put him down and walk away. I have no idea why sometimes he feels the need to guard us...
He's probably not guarding you to protect you - you are a possession (in the sense of a "resource"), and dogs that guard possessions may guard food, people, space, toys, kleenex - whatever he considers his. "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs" is a good starting place for helping resolve the food aggression issue. Beyond that, I would not have this dog on laps, beds, couches, etc. until he is well trained enough that you can move him about on command. Ownership of high places will just convince him that he is the king of the hill - not what you want.
JD_Shelties: Working with my mentor next month one on one to expose him to many dogs and try to get this under control... but I'd like to hear opinions from other trainers on the board. If this was your dog how would you approach it?
JD_Shelties: Working with my mentor next month one on one to expose him to many dogs and try to get this under control... but I'd like to hear opinions from other trainers on the board. If this was your dog how would you approach it?
All I require of my dogs is that they be able to sit nicely by my side when another dog is two feet or more from them. I do not force dogs that don't care for physical play to do it, nor do I get involved in doggy tiffs, so long as the dogs are appropriate. It sounds like you need more education on dog body language and breed propensities. I like Barbara Handelman's new book on body language, and the breed part is just experience, and knowing the breed standards for temperament, plus getting to know the rescue peeps for the breeds - they know the down and dirty about why their breed might not fit into a family - a wealth of knowledge there that you won't get from breeders who just love the breed and have their rose colored glasses on LOL. Shelties and other herders, if this is about the dog in your avatar, are not that fond of physical play, will tell other dogs to get out of their personal space, and some of them tend to obsess on a certain toy and not want to share. Little you can do to change who your dog is. We see herders all the time that, once their spit is on a tennis ball, no other ball will do that day;-) Lots you can do to insist that the dog responds to "leave it" or "come".
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