JMFS

Kind of like a child, puppies will ignore you for more interesting things. The trick is to be more interesting than the interesting things. For most of us, especially with Labs (I adore the breed!), that means waving our arms, making silly noises, or even running away from them to entice them to chase us instead of doing whatever it is they're doing. Having a tasty snack at the ready always helps reinforce the idea that You are Way cooler than Anything they may be into at the moment. By tasty I mean Real meat, cheese, or something else they go bonkers for. Once their recall is solid you can scale back on the treats, but recall is something you will be forever training because dogs are dogs and they have noses and those noses lead them to massively enticing things and that's hard to compete with. If we have steak I'll save a piece or two and use that to reinforce our recall (I cut it up into even smaller pieces for training). I use a silent whistle myself so I'll set Gertie loose in the yard, let her get interested in something, then I'll blow our tune on the whistle and she comes Runnin', then gets her reward (omg steak!). I do the same with chicken or even a hamburger or bacon (I go lightly on the pork products because Momo had a case of pancreatitis a few years back and his Veterinarian cautioned that pork is the least desirable meat for pooches). Cut up hot dogs work, too. Oh, or freeze dried beef liver - mine go wild for that. Recall training gets the super special treats that I don't give out for anything else so it remains the Best thing in the World to come to me because it's a rare specialty.

I follow my dogs' lead when training. Momo can learn several things over the course of a few days, Gertrude a couple, and Abbi takes what feels like a couple months to catch on. If it seems like they're not getting something I take a step back so they get a solid grasp on one thing, then I'll move forward. One thing I did find with the basic training (sit, stay, down) is that one leads to the others. Sit leads to down and stay. Once they have "sit" memorized other things seem to fall in place. Another example is that leave leads to drop. They have to grasp the concept of leave before they can start learning drop. That's only my experience, others may have different information. Our experiences are as varied as our pups. 🙂

Typical small dog, lol. Momo exhibits similar behavior with our cat, Monkey. I cannot scold the Monkey in front of Mo or he'll go after poor Monks. He doesn't go for a full on bite, but he'll do a tooth pinch, which is irritatingly painful, or a nose punch and woe betide the cat if he runs because then the prey drive kicks in. Interesting that your GSD took after the peekapoo from such a distance - puzzling to be sure! She was just peeing, not barking or making sudden movements? When Gertie stops listening to me in the yard I'll put her on a 50 ft lead so I can more easily correct the undesirable behavior. For your peekapoo's safety that may be an option to consider. These bites aren't breaking the skin, are they? How quickly does he release?

Some dogs simply aren't interested in toys - I have one of those. He Loves the brain games, though. I'll even toss his food into the yard for a couple days after it's been mowed so he can "hunt" his food. German Shepherds have a strong prey drive, which is probably why he seems to enjoy "hide and seek," and you can use that to your advantage. I watched a lady at the dog park with her two GSDs and even with all those distractions they waited on one side of the park while she went to the other side to hide balls. When she came back she released them with a command and they ran over to the hiding area to find their balls. They came back and gave her the balls so she could do it again. GSDs are truly amazing dogs! Even though Giorgio doesn't show interest in toys you may be able to find something he'd be happy finding and you can build his skill from there. The information you gave off topic seems more pressing to me than disinterest in toys, though. To me it sounds like he wasn't properly socialized with humans or dogs, but the good news is that you can work with him on that. I am interested to see the suggestions Adrienne has. 🙂

You can try covering the treat with your hand instead and lifting only when she lies flat. Praise praise praise, repeat. Our dachshund also doesn't do the down very easily because her nubby little legs pretty much have her there already. 😄 Yours will probably paw, nose, and / or lick at your hand to release the treat, but hold steadfast and she should eventually lie down. Here you're capturing the behavior instead of leading her to it.

Aw, what a sweet boy. ❤️ Might I suggest that all of the dog owners you talked to and yourself get together to lodge a complaint? This dog should Not be at a park and the next time another dog may not be so fortunate. It boils my blood to think that the owner keeps bringing their dog there, particularly since now your dog has been attacked. If they don't have the physical ability to control their dog they should Not be taking it to a park. Were you able to get their information so they can pay the vet bill, or did you just get the heck out of there? I don't know if you had time to notice whether that Am Staff was unaltered, but if it wasn't that's all the more reason to keep it out of the park (our dog park prohibits unaltered males and females in heat because they cause aggression issues to arise). I'm ecstatic to hear your boy seems to have bounced right back! Since you know the breed it might be good to follow the suggestions Adrienne gave to reinforce good feelings towards Am Staffs. Better to head it off at the pass than to find out too late that he's got hidden fear. Also, I know we tend to project on to our furry companions so I'm going to caution that not allowing him to play Could transfer your feelings of trepidation to him. We have to be ambassadors for our pooches and sometimes that means being brave and stepping out of our comfort zone for their benefit. It's kind of like you were the driver and he the passenger when y'all had an accident. You may still be anxious, but he's happy as a clam so maybe let him drive until you're comfortable again. I hope that analogy worked . . . it sounds better in my head where I can kind of picture it! Give him extra pets and scratches from my crew.

Poor puppy. 😞 That's such a terrifying experience. I know Adrienne will have sage advice. Here's are a couple bits of advice to get you started: Assess whether he's developed a fear of other dogs If so, I would keep him away from unknown dogs where possible and re-introduce him to calm dogs (perhaps a friend or two have pooches who fit that description) I would also use "look at that" and treats to acclimate him to other dogs through barriers (such as a window or fence or even a baby gate in the case of a calm dog) Practice a quick turn around for walking so he can do that if I'm walking towards another dog that's making him nervous What were the circumstances that led to the attack? Has he shown any changes in temperament or behavior?

It really is difficult information to work around. I decided to focus on basic training with Momo when I found out I couldn't take him to the dog park The Day I Got Him. He was with his brother and sister (someone dumped those puppies at the shelter - can you imagine?!) when I adopted him so I can only guess that he had that socialization for the first 16 weeks. I believe he did because he understood the "yelp" training quite well. He came into a house of 3 cats and they certainly trained him quickly as to what They didn't like, haha. Once Baylee has her shots you'll be able to expose her to many different dog types, but for now humans will do. That softens the blow because at least one type of socialization can be worked on. And humans are generally far more judgmental regarding dog manners than other dogs are. There is also window training. If Baylee can see other dogs through a window you can give her a treat each time she looks at another dog so she forms positive associations (other dog = delicious treat = happiness). If you have friends with dogs you could even have them walk by the window with the pup to increase the number of opportunities to gain that warm and fuzzy feeling towards other dogs. I'm doing that with the neighbor's goats. While they don't walk them by my window, lol, Gertie does have an eagle's nest view of them from our upstairs office and their playful nature gets her chuffing and sometimes barking. The circled area on the other side of the street is where they're usually frolicking about.

Hi Heidi, Momo didn't have much socialization until after all his shots and I'm unsure about Gertrude. Until recently Momo was good with other dogs (he hasn't socialized in Quite some time) and Gertrude has never met a stranger, furry or otherwise. While it's ideal for them to get that socialization in the first . . . 16 weeks I want to say, it doesn't mean you can't play catch up! If Baylee was with siblings then she got some of the puppy socialization done already, and the human side of it is pretty easy; especially if you have family members and / or friends she'll be around. If those friends or family members have vaccinated dogs (or cats if you want her to be cat friendly) then you're getting a two (or three) for one deal!

Hi Julianne - I'm curious about progress. I've been away from the forums for several months and am catching up with all the new faces and situations. I have a resource guarding pooch, Momo, and while it's a totally different trigger for him, the feeling of exasperation is the same. I went 8 years without any real help. Between Adrienne and a behaviorist we've been growl and "air snap" (he has yet to actually bite, though there's always the potential) free for about 6 months now. 6 Glorious months, lol. In any event, I read your post and would love to know how things are going now. I can tell you we've had numerous steps back throughout the process, and that can be discouraging, but we kept up with the regimen (and I checked my hair trigger response to yell) and it's paid off. I hope to get to read an update about Miss Molly. 🐶

So many beautiful faces!

Momo is one of those who can't relax. I move and he's up, "what, what, where are we going, what are we doing, omg, omg, omg." Recently I've started moving and then doing nothing until he settles. For example, in the morning I usually bend my knees before I get out of bed. Mo sees that and starts his frantic pacing and general chaos. I stay in that position until he stops moving. I'll put my knees down, wait until he calms. Knees up, rinse and repeat until his panicked behavior lessens and I can finally get out of bed. That's not Precisely what you're looking for, but it's one example of how to get them to start chilling out. With Momo I found it's best to focus on One issue at a time because his little head is like a hive of busy bees. I used to try Everything with his resource guarding, switching it up monthly when stuff didn't work. The issue was I was rushing it, going too fast for his comfort. With the help of a Behaviorist we were able to break it down into baby steps and go at Mo's pace, not mine. I'm not qualified to give advice on behavior modification so I'll offer words of encouragement from someone who's been there. Thankfully this pup has you to help him get comfortable with the world. :)

I'll interject an option and that's the front attachment harness. I used to turn my nose up at those because I was always told it gives the dog more leverage because it goes around the strongest part of their body. But, after reading numerous points made on these forums I've converted. The leash attachment is on the front of the harness so when the dog starts to pull ahead of you their body rotates, hindering their forward progress. You don't have to do much other than hold the leash. Gertie's also has a top attachment, between the shoulder blades, for more control. It took only two walks for her to really catch on. I've yet to try it on Momo, who is the real dickens when it comes to walking (he'll choke himself to the point of rasping). The primary reason I switched is because Gertie's neck is bigger around than her head and she can slip out of her collar. I have a martingale collar (it's like a safety version of a slip collar - you choose how tight it can go so the dog doesn't choke), which helps, but between the two options the front attachment harness is far friendlier, safer in regards to her escaping, and more effective, not to mention the training was much faster. I also like that it takes pressure off their neck. If I were a dog and had my choice of being led around by a collar or a harness, I'd opt for the harness. I still teach "heel" and the harness makes it that much easier.

You're singing my song! Not the petting, but the food. I have a whole saga posted about that here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?92-Mo-s-Escalating-Behavior&highlight=escalating I lived like that for 8 years and I'll tell you right now, it's worth Every last penny to get a force-free Behaviorist in there to help. That little dude and I are on such better terms as a result. I've admitted it several times, I seriously considered euthanasia or rehoming because I didn't think he could be "cured." I'm glad I paid the money to be proven wrong. At 5 months of age she's in a Great position to have her opinion shaped differently when it comes to food. I honestly wouldn't try this on your own because I did that for 7 years and it got me nowhere. Having the Behaviorist there to walk me through it and call to my attention Momo's body language was key to our success. Some dogs, like people, want to be left alone. In that regard I'd respect her wishes. My husband likes to rub my back in the morning when he wakes up and I Hate it because it wakes me up and I want to sleep and be left alone. He perceives it as a loving gesture, I perceive it as a rude interruption to my Very valuable sleep. He gets pushed away or griped at (the human version of a nip). Conversely, he would Love it if I scratched his back or rubbed his head while he's sleeping. It relaxes him whereas it irritates me. Dogs are just as varied as humans in their desire for touch. Is there a Need to touch her, like are you giving massage or administering medicine? If not then I'd "let sleeping dogs lie."

Once they know target you can teach them all sorts of things, from practical to frivolous. I taught Gertrude how to open the baby gate for me when my hands are full, she also knows the difference between her bone, carrot, and duck toys. It's how I taught Momo to jump up. The idea there was to eventually get him to balance on his hind legs, but his arthritis settled in before we completed that training. Some people have taught their dogs to clean up their toys. Gertie rings a bell when she needs to go potty. Momo will give me a "kiss" (he punches me with his nose, lol). I Almost trained Mo to bring his bowl to me, but mostly he flips it up in the air or scoots it with his nose. They can be taught to push the handicap button if a door is equipped with one. It's largely up to the imagination because these guys can do so many things. Border Collie / Jack Russell?! How on earth did That happen?! :D I'd love to see a picture of those two breeds mixed.

There will be setbacks as everyone learns how to communicate. I had several with Momo and the way I measure it is the length of time between setbacks, as well as severity. I can take his food dish now, but if I don't say, "more," before I do he's likely to have something to say about it. "More" means I'm adding something, like when the waiter comes by to refill your drink. If the waiter just reached across your face and took your glass you'd have words for him, but if he said, "let me get you a refill," you can give him permission and access. In this case it sounds like everyone would have been better served to let Remie cool her jets and call her to get out of the kennel first. Especially since in the kennel she has nowhere to retreat to, she's trapped. I often think of this when I'm feeding Momo now that he takes his meals in his Igloo. He has nowhere to go if he's feeling uncomfortable so his only option is going to be to "use his words," as Adrienne says. I'm mindful about that and ensure my movements and voice are devoid of threat, which is sometimes a task because what We perceive to be non-threatening They can take great offense to. It's extraordinary progress that he's not holding it against her! As time goes by she'll feel more comfortable and confident. :)

How exciting! Thank you. :) Momo would be good at this if he wasn't so darn excitable once food is out. Gertie has the calmer demeanor and loves interacting with us. We'll work on it and report back!

That's what you want - for him to do it without you giving him a cue so excellent job to you! You can give him verbal praise to encourage him to keep checking in with you. I don't feel qualified to answer the rest, but I did want to give you kudos for getting him to the point of looking at you without you prodding him. That's awesome!

I've been teaching Gertie how to turn around in a circle by luring her with a treat while saying "round" and then "yes" when she does it. I ultimately want her to turn around when I turn around, but I'm kind of stumped with the next step / tying those together. She's not doing it without the lure (with or without treat) as of yet so we have work to do. I thought it might be fun to up our game a bit and try a little dancing, or at the least a coordinated routine. I can get her to weave through my legs to a point so we'll continue to work on that as well. She's got the bow down pat - it's her go to behavior when she doesn't know what I want from her. I think bowing to each other at the end would be funny. Any advice?

I feed mine in their crates to make it a happy place, and Momo does much better with a sheet over his crate (his is wire). It makes it more like a cave and it's nice and cozy. He was crate trained as a puppy and for the first 3 years of his life he stayed there when I worked outside of the house. He, too, whined at night initially. We ended up moving the crate into our room, right next to me. After about 3 months we moved him to the foot of the bed because he needed a bigger crate. I got him an Igloo dog house (with heating pad, the spoiled brat) and he was so hesitant at first. It's enclosed, unlike his crate. Tossing treats in got him to explore and once he was comfortable with going in I started feeding him in there. Now at feeding time he charges in there so fast that the whole thing moves a couple inches, lol. We just remodeled our upstairs and I cut a piece of the old carpet to put in the bottom of Momo's crate. Carpet is Very inexpensive for a crate-sized piece ($1 - $5 per sq ft and you only need about 3 sq ft) and I know our flooring company has scrap they can cut from. You may inquire about that, especially if she has control over her potty situation at night. Our company (we build houses) would give someone scrap for free, and I know several others are equally helpful - they may even give you enough for a couple pieces, just in case. Another option is to check at a construction site if you see them installing carpet - just ask if they have any left over that you can have. It all goes in the dumpster once they're done so it may as well get used (I do advise against dumpster diving, some contractors are weird about that, or may accuse you of using their dumpster - a $500 fine here). The bonus of the carpet - no more tick tick tick tick tick of the claws on the plastic (that drives me up the wall!). We have window alcoves that we turned into dog pens, very posh digs for the girls. :D To get Abbi used to hers (she's never been crated) I ping treats off the wall so they fall onto her bed. She can't see me so it's like heaven is raining treats down upon her, but it only happens in that area. Bit-by-bit she's coming to accept this "crate." I put each of them in there for about 15 minutes once or twice per day while I work to further solidify a positive association, it also teaches them that their being in there doesn't Always indicate we're leaving. 130% with you on that! Plus the hair and drool and dirt, yuck (litter in the case of cats, gag)! I love my pups, but I don't want to wallow in their dogginess!

Hi Mari, I'm going to try to anticipate some things Adrienne's going to ask to see if I can help get a tailored answer for you. :) What type of aggressive behavior is he displaying? Just growls and barks, or does he lunge? If he's been able to get close to the person, what does he do? Does he have things to do when you leave? Like a Kong filled with his kibble or maybe some jerky or peanut butter, or even all three? Is he getting exercise before you leave? Have you have him for the 2-yr duration? Management is a great start. We just renovated our upstairs play room into an office. It had these awesome alcoves that were perfect for dog areas so that's where the girls will eventually stay when we're out. Right now we're having to train them to love the area. Abbi, the little one, chewed the drywall right off the corner, down to the metal, of the wall. I'm putting them in there for 15 minutes per day with Kongs or rawhides or whatever else I can think of while I'm still here and I will increase that time slowly. That way they don't associate it with a place they go when I leave, instead it's a place to have a great snack. Initially I wasn't able to close Abbi's gate, but after pinging Zuke's minis off the wall and onto her bed (she couldn't see me doing it so it was like that area was raining treats) she tolerated the door being closed. The first day she barked her head off, even though I was sitting not 3 feet away at my desk. I think the remedy for Cash is going to be somewhat similar. Here's one thread on departure cues and how to dampen those: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt&p=564&viewfull=1#post564 Further down in that thread Adrienne gave me a model of how I could lessen their anxiety when I leave: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt&p=572&viewfull=1#post572 Right now I have a LickMat bowl in the freezer with peanut butter slathered all over it and a few treats stuck in it for Abbi. Gertie can hang out in her alcove happily for quite some time, but once Abbi gets to howling and carrying on Gertrude joins in the "fun." By the time I get home they're both worked up. My daughter started working at Chewy and she's in the warehouse from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. and this office is almost directly over her room so you can imagine how well it goes over when the dogs are making all sorts of racket! Anyway, we're kind of in the same boat with the destructive behavior.

The very short story: Desensitization is going to be your friend here. You'll gradually introduce him to these sounds, perhaps beginning with a recording or a tv show, give him treats when he's calm with these noises. Increase the volume, treats when he's calm. Bit-by-bit you'll expose him to more intense versions until finally the real deal can be faced. To get you started: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/doorbells-knocks-on-doors/

That is Fantastic! It is a huge amount of work, and can be stressful, but the pay off is well worth it. I'm happy for y'all! Especially Remie - she deserves a life with someone who loves her so dearly. I'm all smiles over here for you!

Just chiming in to offer encouragement and hope. :) Both Momo and Gertrude Marie are shelter pooches and it did take them a little while to adjust to the new digs. Momo was 4 months so he was still learning control, too. Gertie was 9 months and should have had an idea when she needed to go, but in the shelters they often sit in those kennels for hours and end up toileting in there. That means they come to us with little sense of being housebroken. Even being older, and likely potty trained, Ben is in a new situation and possibly nervous, which can cause performance anxiety, not to mention a completely different schedule than the shelter or his previous home. He'll get there, but there may be a few more accidents. One thing that helped us was crate training, and the other was keeping them limited to certain areas where the mess wasn't as much of an inconvenience. Gertrude only pooped in the house twice, but the peeing was a little tougher to address - she'd roam around and stealth pee on our door mats (at least she was considerate in doing it in an easy-to-clean area!).

Oh wow, you have really put in the work! Each thing I was thinking to offer you already tried. I have one question - does she get in easily (no physical challenges)? I can't wait to see Adrienne wrap her brain around this one. :) Pets and scratches to Sophie!