Adrienne Farricelli

I hear you! I think I have done so many ridiculous things to train a good recall including running out of the blue and acting crazy in front of people. Sometimes, we need to think out of the box to compete with those super enticing stimuli. And you are right, it can be tough. In my place we don't have squirrels but rabbits and our chickens to practice and compete with. The last dog in service dog training was attracted to both. Super strong prey drive due to the fact this dog was a hound mix. Since she was so crazy for rabbits, I got her a real rabbit fur tug toy (found it on Etsy, and it was hand crafted by a lady who specializes in this niche) and I used it as an outlet for her great drive to chase those furry critters. I attached it to a flirt pole and used to train leave its and drop its in the home and then we practiced in the yard. She was heavily rewarded with high-value foods (even experimented with rabbit meat!) until I got a very strong response that she looked at me for her high value treat upon spotting the rabbit versus chasing. Did the same exercise with chicken. Note: I always kept her on leash for this training because mishaps can and will happen (a chicken flies her way, the rooster gets upset) but we got to the point of walking past them on a loose leash with her caring less about them. We also did lots of desensitization to sudden movements/sounds in tall grass or on dry leaves. My helper tossed rocks in tall grass when she wasn't looking and this triggered an instinct to chase (which was redirected to a smacking sound/treats). We did this so often that she then cared less as she learned that there were no animals to chase and the food was far more interesting than a remote possibility that there was a real critter. We also did rehearsals of dragging a stuffed animal made of chicken feathers/rabbit fur on a string in tall grass and even invested in a remote controlled flying bird to practice attention heeling. Practice makes perfect. Embracing challenges and trying to work with them (through positive associations, reinforcement of desirable behaviors, desensitization) rather than against them (through avoidance or corrections by jerking the leash) has always been my favorite approach and the most effective. Sometimes, this takes a lot of determination (being more motivated in getting results than the dog's will to chase) and getting to know the triggers better and also thinking like a dog (what attracts the dog the most? the unpredictable movement? the smell? a combo of factors? and what can be done to work on the issue?) but when there is a will there is a way. It takes time, but it's worthy in the long run (of course, this was a must as this was a to-be service dog possibly going to some veteran with mobility issues).

Sounds like you are on the right track! Behavior modification takes some time, especially when the problem behavior has been rehearsed for a while, but if you were construct a graph and measure the behavior responses over time, you should see a steady progress, although there may be here and there a few setbacks. With barking at people in the car, I have a driver and sit in the back seat with the dog. I carry super high value food (boiled chicken, baked liver strips) and every time we see a person I make a smacking sound with my mouth and present the food. The goal is creating positive associations and a strong conditioned emotional response at the sight of people. Start at a distance from people and pay close attention to not send your dog over threshold. If you notice a setback, evaluate carefully what may have caused it (too close, person was too loud, child moving fast? screaming? throwing a tantrum?) and take steps to prevent it in the future by taking some steps (feed several treats in a row, park at a distance, play music to buffer sound etc).

Greetings, You may have to discuss these issues with your vet to make sure your dog is on the right dose of phenobarbital. This drug may cause dogs to become sluggish and tired and may play a role in accidents in the house if the dose is incorrect (meaning some dogs need adjustments in doses over time, ask your vet about this). Also, I think increased drinking and increased urination may be some side effects of this medication. It's always good practice to play it safe and discuss with the vet to rule out possible medical issues triggering the accidents. Puppies and dogs in general, also enjoy companionship so they may be reluctant to go potty when they are left alone or if going potty translates into being separated from their family. It may help to accompany her downstairs to potty also so that you can praise and reward her, and as Cammidge pointed out, to introduce her to a verbal cue that teaches her to go potty on command which can come handy in many situations.

Yes, management is your best bet to prevent rehearsal of the problematic barking. The more he is allowed to perform the undesirable behavior (barking during meal preparation) the more it will put roots and become more and more difficult to eradicate. You have several options here: Putting him in a crate, behind a baby gate or training him to go to his mat (you can find instructions on how to train a dog to use a crate or go on his mat in the archive) to enjoy a little "appetizer" is a good starting point to keep him busy. If you want to work on this issue more actively, you need to be very persistent and determined. Your first meal preparations may take a while at first, but it is worth in the long run. Here are some tips to set him up for success: -Make feeding him a breeze. If your meal preparation is too long, he'll be more likely to start getting impatient and barking, so give yourself a head start. Keep him in the yard, or have a helper walk him prior or keep him in another room with a helper to distract him. While he is there, get your food bowl ready, put the meal in it, keep it on a shelf or on the counter/table and then call your dog. (This makes an excellent opportunity to train a strong recall with these food motivated fellows). -As soon as he reaches you, ask him for a sit and place the bowl on the floor. If he gets up from the sit, place the bowl behind your back and retry. Only quiet and a nice sit earns him the meal. -Every day, make your meal preparation sessions a little bit longer. You need to go gradual and keep him under threshold. Baby steps. Same goes with talking to people. Keep your talks very brief at first. Hello, shake hands, and then move on. If somebody is keeping you a little longer, ask your dog to target your hands every now and then to keep him busy and reward that, but keep these chit-chats short. Then, gradually increase the length. You may have to leave long chats for later on, once your dog has developed more impulse control, but this is for the sake of training. We do not want to allow rehearsal of the barking behavior.

Hello Cammidge, Have you tried a front-attachment harness? Are you using high-value treats for training? What have you tried so far?

Hello Cathy, Welcome to the forums, If you press on your computer CTRL and P, that should bring up the possibility to print. I am not aware of a pdf version, sorry, I am not too tech savvy. You can try to email support at [email protected] to see if this would be an option. Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums! Is your pup just a messy drinker or is he purposely playing with the water with his mouth/paws? Here are some ideas that come to mind: 1) Invest in water bowls that are equipped with nonskid rubber pads on the bottom. These can be an easy fix for messy pups. 2) For the crate, they now sell waterers for dogs under the form of bottles that mount on the outside of the crate. Dogs can be trained to use them by just smearing some peanut bottle on the tip of the spout. 2) If he's playing, he may need more mental stimulation, and since it sounds like he may love playing with water, you may want to provide some fun brain games especially some that involve water such as the Bobbing for treats brain game. You can find it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/bobbing-for-treats/ Once your dog discovers this game, the water bowl may become rather boring in comparison so he may hopefully lose interest in it. Your dog is a poodle mix and poodles were orginailly bred to work in the water, so your pup may have a natural attraction to that. Fun fact: did you know the German word "pudel" means "splash in the water?" Best, Adrienne

Hi there! If you need have any questions on any particular potty training issues, please feel free to post them here. Best, Adrienne

Greetings, and welcome to the forums! Sounds like your pup would like to share some food with you! Perhaps he is so concentrated on watching you eat, that he completely forgets about his potty training. In any case, there may be several things you can do. Putting him in the garage when you eat, sounds like a good plan if that reduces the number of accidents. However, your pup may feel quite excluded. There are several other options you can try, here are some ideas: 1) Meal time is a great time to implement some obedience training. I like to have pups lie on a mat and enjoy some long-lasting goodies while there (stuffed Kong, bully stick etc) and the dog is then released once the owner is done eating. With older dogs, I have them like on the mat and wait for the owner to finish and then I give the long-lasting goodies as a reward for patiently waiting. Here is how to train a dog to lie on a mat: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ 2) Alternatively, you can keep your pup inside a crate or behind a baby gTE with a chew toy or long-lasting goodie while you are eating. Here is an article on crate training: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ 3) You can take your puppy outside to potty before meal time so that your pup is empty and that can help reduce the chances of accidents in the home.

You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go. Targeting is also a very helpful behavior, and if trained to a strongly reliable level, in spite of distractions, it can come handy to get your dog to re-focus on you. Practicing a lot in quiet areas first, then in areas with more distractions prior to being introduced in areas with strong distractions may help, however, expect him to be less able to focus when exposed to areas with heavy distractions. Make sure to have super tasty treats to reinforce desired behaviors and create positive associations! Happy training!

You are very welcome! Keep us posted on how things go. Best wishes, Adrienne

Yes, prong collars are meant to be worn behind the ears and under the jaw line. Many people have them on their dogs too loose or too low. The prong parts are in contact with the throat area. Although dogs may appear healthy and happy, it's likely that no pressure is being placed on the prong collar at that time or the dogs are too over threshold to notice or they are showing signs but they are very minimal. Here's how the prongs work: upon pulling or upon being corrected, the prongs dig into the skin of the dog's neck which is meant to cause an unpleasant sensation such as discomfort/pain or a startling effect. If prong collars weren't causing any pain/discomfort they would have no purpose other than just encircling a dog's neck. Back in time when I used prong collars, my dogs came running towards me as soon as I grabbed them as they associated them with walks. I figured they loved wearing it. However, only overtime, I started seeing the negative effects. Some dogs like Rottweilers can be quite stoic, and oftentimes they may seem to be doing OK, while they may not. Physically, they may look fine, but emotionally they are not. That's when I understood that when my dogs were wagging their tails like crazy, moving quickly and acting all silly at the vet, they were in "fool around" mood (a part of the fight and flight response) and that's seen when dogs are anxious. It took me to enroll in a dog training academy that relied on modern dog training methods involving positive reinforcement and which focused on instilling trust and building a relationship with dogs, to start noticing the negative effects of certain training tools and training methods. The goal of this training philosophy was reinforcing desired behaviors rather than suppressing the unwanted ones. With this training, my dogs opened up, they were more likely to try new things and we were able to bring training to a higher level. As I got more attuned into reading dog body language, I started noticing subtle signs of discomfort and displacement behaviors in dogs I had never noticed before such as quick lip licks, yawning, tense mouths,whale eyes, spatulate tongues, ears back. Some signs took time noticing and the training school helped us see them by playing videos of dogs very slowly. That's when I ditched certain training methods and stopped using the prong collar. I hung it up by door turning it into an ornamental key holder and replaced it with a front attachment harness. The harness was more really for my confidence (I was quite petite weighing 102 pounds while my Rotties were 85 and 90) and I had the need to feel some level of control until we had perfected obedience training. One thing worth considering is that, when behavior modification (ideally under the aid or a professional) is done well, systematically and correctly, using force-free methods, there should be minimal barking/lunging and piloerection. In other words, the dog is kept well under threshold, so there really should be no need to worry too much about a dog pulling at full force and struggling in keeping him under control. If the dog happens to react, the trainer takes quick notice, and steps are taken to prevent further mishaps (by increasing distance, taking notice what triggers cause the dog to react (ID tags jingling? fine, they can be taped together, dog moving too fast? then let's make the dog move more slowly, panting of the dog? let's give that dog some rest or let's work under shade) etc. Often, it's is best starting with private lessons using a dog trainer's calm dog as the "stimulus dog", rather than going straight into group classes where dogs are stressed, flooded and unable to cognitively function (and possibly corrected for reacting depending on the dog's trainer's training philosophies). Dog trainer Ian Dunbar claims: "to use shock collar (or a prong collar) as an effective dog training tool you will need: A thorough understanding of canine behaviour. A thorough understanding of learning theory. Impeccable timing. And if you have those three things, you ultimately don't need a shock collar (or a prong collar). Here's a read about dog threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ However, since "oops' moments can happen to even the best behavior modification program (another dog barks, moves too fast-this by the way can be to a great extent avoided using a bomb-proof dog trainer's dog as a demo dog), it's not a bad idea to invest in a front-attachment harness if that provides an additional sense of security. If you are concerned about pressure on the throat and your German shepherd's emotions, then I would suggest skipping the prong and investing in force-free behavior modification and tools.

Prong collars work mainly by inflicting discomfort/pain. There are two mechanisms of action: active correction (directly from the owner) or passive correction (indirectly). Active correction takes place when the owner deliberately delivers a correction by yanking the leash when the dog is showing signs of "misbehaving." The yank is contingent upon the dog performing an undesirable behavior. Passive correction takes place when the dog pulls on the leash, in other words, the dog receives an "auto-correction" since upon pulling, the strain on the leash causes the prong collar to tighten around the neck. Depending on the dog's pain threshold/situation (when dogs go through adrenaline surges they may have reduced perception of pain/discomfort), this may or may not result in reduced pulling behavior. Now here's the thing: while its true that prong collars tend to overall work (I have used them with my dogs back in time, before I crossed over to kinder training methods), there are risks for "side effects." Most likely, since you mention your dog is showing aggression towards other dogs, he is lunging and barking at them on walks. Lunging is simply an outward manifestation of an internal turmoil. Correction after correction, there are risks that a dog will learn to associate the presence of other dogs with the pain/discomfort inflicted by the collar. A prong collar may not cause any pain upon putting it on a leg and pulling gently and slowly. However, prong collars are meant to be worn on necks. Yank it hard and suddenly (mimicking a hard correction or a dog hitting the end of the leash) with a force equal to the weight of their dog, and it's easier to get an idea (please don't try this!). Contrary to popular belief, the skin on a dog's neck isn't as thick as we previously thought. It has been found that the skin on a human’s neck is thicker (10 to 15 cells) than the skin on a dog’s neck (3 to 5 cells). On top of this, veterinarian and thyroid expert, Dr. Jean Dodds claims that prong collars can easily injure a dog's thyroid as well as the salivary glands and salivary lymph nodes. As James O’Heare, professional Animal Behavior Consultant puts it, goes a long way. He claims the use of choke chains, prong collars and other devices are "a Band-Aid solution that does not address the actual problem". Their use can result in depression, disempowerment, redirected aggression and deterioration of social relationships to just name a few. Board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Soraya V. Juarbe-Diaz, in reference to using training methods or tools known to cause discomfort or pain, claims: “I can stop any behavior, but I am more interested in teaching my students, animal or human, to choose the behavior I want them to perform because they can trust me, because I do not hurt them and they are safe with me, and because the outcome is something they enjoy. Mistakes are inherent in any type of learning — if I continually frighten or hurt my students when they get something wrong, eventually they will be afraid to try anything new and will not want to learn from me any longer." So these are just a few things that may be worthy of considering and the reason why I advocate for front-attachment harnesses.

Greetings, Your German shepherd is going through the adolescent stage and this is a time when there may be challenges. This article can help you know what to expect during this stage: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ Barking at visitors is not an uncommon problem. Below is a guide on how I tackle this type of problem. Although it discusses about the owner having problems with her dog barking at the boyfriend every time he entered the room, similar behavior modification takes place when dealing with guests. It takes patience and time for behavior changes to occur and it's important to go at the dog's pace. There are moments where there will be setbacks. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/ You are correct that living in a rural area can put a dent in socialization. Dog trainer Jean Donaldson calls this "suburban dog syndrome." Here's the thing, in rural settings, things get pretty static. And when dogs living in rural areas see humans under the form of delivery people or when they are walked and encounter a person in the distance or see visitors, all alarm bells are set off, as these stimuli turn out being perceived as "superstimuli." In other words, they are very salient presences that urban dogs encounter on a daily basis and could care less about. With dogs as such, it's important to do "remedial socialization" making sure the dog is under threshold and prevented from rehearsing the barking through desensitization and counter conditioning, but this requires having guests over frequently, or taking the dog to places where there are people. Particularly helpful would be taking your dog to group training classes or enrolling your dog in a dog sport where Hershey gets to see people and other dogs and where he can keep busy and increase his confidence. Now, something worth precising though is that there are many dogs who do just fine with people outside of their homes, but still struggle with people coming over. So having guests over in a structured setting would still play an important role, because the less people come over, the more the dog feels nervous about the situation. However, seeing people on walks or driving to places where there are people still is sure worthy. Since you mention that you don't have much company and it's a long drive, then unfortunately, this leaves little room for improving the situation. And although the trainer coming to your home can implement behavior modification acting himself as a stimulus, there may likely be a struggle in maintaining any progress made if there will be no visitors coming over for a while as scarcity may cause them to become "super stimuli" once again. As a starting point though, you can take advantage of delivery people or trash employees coming to collect the trash by practicing the "look at that" exercise in the Brain Training guide. This may give you a starting point. Below is the link: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ As for walks, you may need to find a way to make the most out of them by perhaps walking your dog when you know your neighbors may be leaving for work or coming back home or on weekends when most are home, perhaps gardening in their yards.

A dog scared of the dog door can be a frustrating ordeal, especially after all the time spent in assembling and mounting it and having high expectations! I surely empathize. Often, more than fearing the doggy door per se, dogs are fearful of the flap touching their shoulders every time they go in and out. This sounds like what's happening in your case. Now, forcing the dog through the flap often only makes matters worse. Dogs don't like to be put into situations they are not comfortable with, and if we force them, they also may lose trust in us. If we use treats, this may work with strongly food motivated dogs, but won't work with dogs who aren't too crazy about food, or in circumstances where the fear of going through the door surpasses the incentive or the dog hasn't grasped the concept that, in order to get out, he must push through the flap. So what's left to try? Following are some tips for a dog scared of the dog door. Take Some Baby Steps If your dog is afraid of the flap, but has no problems going in and out of the dog door if the flap is kept open, then you may need to take several baby steps to help your dog out. The process is known as desensitization.https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ Have a helper on the other side of the door entice your dog to come out and play with the flap taped up. Your helper may bounce a ball around or talk in silly voices. Over several days, as your dog goes through the open flap, place the flap gently on him as he goes through, starting at his back end and then gradually lowering it earlier and earlier. Once out, make sure your helper rewards him with a game, or to really impress him, a stuffed Kong, or his meal served in a bowl or some tasty treats. Then, progress to holding the flap lower and lower until you are just holding the corner open. At some point, stop holding the flap. Have your family all outside and make your dog feel as if you are having the fun of your lives. If you have other dogs, invite them outside too. When your dog manages to come out, make sure that you make a big deal of it, praising lavishly and giving your dog several treats in a row. Invite a Demo Dog Do you have a friend who has a dog who knows how to use a doggy door? Does this dog get along with your dog and has been a playmate for some time? Excellent, some times, dogs are the best teachers. Have this dog come over and show your dog how to use the doggy door. Many times, dogs are intimidated of doing certain things, but if they see other dogs perform behaviors with confidence, they are more likely to give things a try. Of course, it helps if this doggy guest flies out the door and then eagerly waits for his pal, barking in anticipation. Playing with this guest dog outside and making noises suggesting lots of fun often helps the tentative dog gain enough courage to get out. Because coming out of the doggy door leads to a fun play session with his buddy, the dog will likely feel more inclined to get out again in the future. Use Target Training Target training means your dog learns to touch a target and is rewarded for that. Start with targeting. You can read how to train targeting in the Brain Training Course under this link:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Simply stick a post-it note to the floor. If your dog touches the post-it note with his nose, reward with a treat. If your dog is reluctant, it's OK to smear some soft food on the post-it note such as a bit of canned food, peanut butter or cream cheese (check with your vet if your dog has food allergies or a sensitive tummy). Keep repeating this exercise until your dog understands what to do. Once your dog clearly understands the objective, the next step is to add the verbal cue "target." Simply, say "target" before your dog touches the post-it note with his nose. Next, move the post-it note around. Stick it to a chair, on your leg, to the wall and then to the dog door. The goal is teach him to touch the dog door with his nose and then push it open and eventually get out to get the reward. Make sure that upon pushing the dog door with the nose and then getting out, that you give a jackpot of treats (several small treats given in a row). Craft a Fake Door Sometimes, it helps to recreate something similar to the dog door and flap and practice with that inside. For instance, you can try to mimic a dog door by cutting a box into the shape of frame through which your dog can jump through. Practice having your dog through this frame over and over using high value treats to reward your dog each time he passes through. Next, glue a sheet of paper or some large piece of cloth to the frame to mimic the flap of the door. Glue it high initially. Practice your dog going through this, always rewarding generously. Remove the sheet of paper/felt and then glue it lower and lower until your dog must go through it completely. Then, practice nearby the dog door and then hang it by the door. Alternatively, you can try having your dog jump through a hula hoop and then attach several strings to it to desensitize your dog to feeling something on his shoulders as he passes through. Increase the Level of Motivation Sometimes all that's needed is increasing the dog's level of motivation. If your dog is super attracted to food, make it a habit of having the door flap kept open and play the treasure hunt game. You can find how to train the treasure hunt game here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ Basically, it works like this: get some irresistible treats and show them to your dog. Get him really excited about them. Then have have a helper hold him, while you get out of the door to go "hide" the treats in the yard. Once done, call your dog and have your helper readily release him. Repeat several days with the door flap lifted, until you get an eager, strong response to wanting to go out upon hearing you call him. You want him impatiently fidgeting against the helper holding him. Then one day, have the flap lowered a bit, then the next days more until it's completely down. His impatience and motivation may get him through the hurdle. When All Things Fail... -If you are out of luck trying the above methods, you can try a different make and model. Look specifically for a doggy door that activates and opens upon detecting a special sensor that is in the dog's collar. Problem solved!

Awww... what a cutie! Kudos to you for being so attentive and catching her before her behavior escalated. Napping right afterward sounds like proof she was starting to get cranky!

Hello and welcome to the forums, I am working on your question and will get back to you shortly.

Hello Holivoer0711 and welcome to the forums. Have you ever tried a front-attachment harness such as the Easy Walk Harness, Sensible Harness or the Walk Your Dog with love harness? Since these harnessed attach to a front ring in the middle of the dog's chest, they allow better control compared to flat collars. They have become my go-to option for people who have large, powerful dogs.

Hello and welcome to the forums, Great to hear that Jackman is well behaved and has learned a lot of things! When your dog barks and lunges at people and bikes, he's over threshold, so it's important to be extra careful in not exposing him to stimuli and situations in such intense forms that he reacts in that way. The number one thing to do is therefore to work under threshold and screen his environment carefully until he has learned how to better cope in these situations. Here is a read on how to assess your dog's threshold levels and stay under it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Preventing rehearsal of the barking and lunging behavior is therefore top priority so your starting point is keeping him under threshold and controlling his environment as best as you can. Often this means working with distance and exposure to stimuli that aren't overwhelming to the point of evoking the barking/lunging. Now, this can sometimes be easier said than done because we can never 100 percent control the environment. People or bikes may pop out of nowhere, leaving us sometimes unprepared with stimuli getting too close for comfort. In the initial stages of behavior modification, it's OK to practice avoidance as that means preventing rehearsal of the problematic behavior until we are better equipped to deal with the triggers at such intensity. This is where teaching an emergency exit can come handy: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ A tool that can come handy if you are struggling with his pulling is a front-attachment harness. This is a harness where the leash attaches to a ring in the front of the dog's chest allowing better control. While our goal is to keep him under threshold and teach polite leash walking, it may still happen at times that a setback unexpectedly takes place, and in that case, a front-attachment harness can help you feel more confident on walks as it allows better control. Examples of front-attachment harnesses include the Easy Walk Harness, Sensible Harness and the Walk Your Dog with Love Harness. When you have distance and you find that "sweet spot" where Jackman appears under threshold, then you can work on behavior modification using desensitization and counterconditioning, such as the "look at that" method explained here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/ or the open bar/closed bar method: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ Make sure to use super-high value treats so to create positive associations. If Jackman struggles with sitting and looking at you (some dogs are too over threshold to sit or may get fidgety/feel trapped upon sitting) then initially, it's OK to skip asking for a sit and just practice feeding him treats as he looks at his triggers or walks past them. If we can get him to eventually look at us while walking by his triggers, that's a big plus, but this may come only with practice and once more confidence builds up. You can read how to eventually train attention heeling here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ If children are triggering barking/lunging then we really need to be extra careful and tread with caution. Children often move erratically and their acute voices and sudden movements can make dogs nervous and react sometimes in unpredictable ways, especially when they feel cornered or in unfamiliar or small places with no escape routes. Management and keeping Jackman under threshold again is top priority. So if practicing needs to be done, it is best done behind a baby gate, secure fence or a window for safety and also for preventing Jackman from getting too overwhelmed. Having a behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification provide in-person guidance would be important for safety and the correct implementation of modification modification. Since you own a herding breed, there may be chances that his barking and lunging may stem from an instinctive drive to herd, you can find some tips in these threads helpful as they address how to tackle and provide outlets for these strong instincts in herding breeds: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?195-Rescue-Border-Collie-fear-issues https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?184-Barking-fiercely-at-inanimate-objects Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further assistance. Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums, This sounds like a cranky pup who may benefit from a little quiet time. Tired pups are more prone to misbehave. Puppies may not know how and when to chill. They are tired, maybe even getting cranky, but they are too overstimulated to relax. If you have provided her with plenty of brain games, socialization (she's at the peak time, so make sure to invite a variety of people over-ask them to take their shoes off- before that window of opportunity closes) play and training, then she needs to learn that it's a good time to take a nap. This can be accomplished by providing her with some interactive toy (like a stuffed Kong) in a confined area (crate, x-pen, behind a baby gate) and giving her some quiet time. Many dogs will chew/lick for a bit and then fall asleep. You can play some calming music (there are several CD's made just for dogs) draw the curtains or place a blanket over the crate. Avoid if possible doing things that may overstimulate her such as getting up repeatedly from the couch, grabbing her food bowl or the car keys or cleaning the house. Having the T.V. on or some music playing, although that qualifies as noise, offers the advantage of buffering sounds that may stimulate her (unless the tv show features door bells or dogs barking!) so she has a easier time falling asleep. If you establish scheduled nap times as a routine, chances are that, day after day, she will start getting drowsy around these times and may fall asleep on her own. Harsh corrections unfortunately lead to several drawbacks. They put a dent in the bonding experience and we want our dogs to trust us rather than perceive us as intimidating and unpredictable. It's a myth hard to debunk that some breeds or types of dogs need a heavier hand. As a crossover trainer, I have seen first hand, the emotional damage that can occur as a result of using harsh methods over time, although it took a while for this "to stick" because when I started training several years ago, it was all about corrections. With my breed (Rottweilers) there is still a strong belief that they need harsh methods, but these dogs are ever so sensitive only that they might not seem to show it. It may help identifying when she is more likely to act this way and do all possible to prevent her from reaching this point. Since she is so smart to learn, we can use this to our advantage by outsmarting her and making our goal to prevent rehearsal of these behaviors before they pop up in full intensity where she cannot cognitively function. Here are some ideas. -As soon as you notice her getting a bit hyped up, you can toss a ball (that you keep handy in your pocket) or play a bit of tug with her and then escort her into her quiet area to chill out with a stuffed Kong. -Upon noticing she is about to have one of these episodes, (or even better, beforehand), you can take her out on a sniffing adventure prior to nap time. It has been found that sniffing is quite a tiresome activity for many dogs. If you have a yard, spend some time out with her and watch her sniff to her heart's content. Chances are, once back inside, she should be ready for a nap (although may need your guidance initially). -You can train her to respond very reliably to hand targeting and distract her temporarily this way (toss the treats after each target to allow her a legit way to get rid of this frustrated energy) and then conclude the training by asking one last hand target and rewarding with a stuffed Kong once she is in her quiet area. Here is how to train targeting https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ With behaviors that occur suddenly and unexpectedly, it's ideal to be prepared. You must have a plan in mind on how to address this in a timely fashion before she gets over threshold. This often means carrying a treat bag filled up with some kibble/treats and/or toys in a pocket so that you can redirect and reward at a moment's notice or taking her out to sniff/explore. Keep us posted on how things go. If she has learned a lot in less than two weeks, you are doing very well and your pup is brilliant and has shown the ability to learn and absorb all that you are teaching her. Although biting in pups is frustrating, the good news is that most pups outgrow this as they mature (just as they eventually stop chasing their tails) and learn more productive ways to interact.

Hi there, I can feel your frustration. More than deliberately "forgetting," I think that your dog is over threshold from all of the excitement of having guests over. Her cognitive functions shut down just like a child who can't focus at Disney World due to all the exciting sights and sounds. You can read about dogs being over threshold here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ An aggravating factor is that your guests are likely delivering body language and excited tones and expressions (awww, ahhh, so cute!) that encourages her jumping and nipping. There are several things you can do to work on this issue. Here are some ideas: -Jennifer offered you a great starting point. With guests tossing treats, her focus will be more on catching/searching treats rather than jumping and nipping. This can establish a new routine versus rehearsing the jumping/nipping behaviors. -If you want to kick things up a notch, invite over compliant guests (initially start with one or two) that can participate in training her and establishing calm behaviors. Have them ask her to sit with you nearby and reward her. Keep her on a leash if that helps her stay calm. -Over time, gradually move farther and farther away (this means weaning her off the leash). If your dog starts jumping or acting nippy, then tell your guests to turn around and cross their arms until she acts calmer. If she keeps jumping on their back, tell them to even leave temporarily (if they can open the door without her escaping out of course!). Once she is calmer, then they can turn around again/come back, ask for a sit and reward. -Alternatively, if you have her on leash, when you notice she is about to jump, turn around and walk away so that she must catch up and follow you. Then, try to approach again and have the guest try again to have her sit. The goal is to make it clear that sitting leads to treats, and jumping/nipping leads to either the guest leaving or you putting distance between the guest and your dog by leaving with her on leash. -Here's a fun exercise, once her emotions are better in check: have guests over to sit on the couch and ask her to target their hands and reward her with a tossed treat. Dogs who target hands are less likely to nip if they are rewarded well for it: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ -How about having guests sitting on the couch take turns calling her, asking her to sit and then tossing a treat? -You don't need to have guests who teach her for the whole visit. Make the exercises short and sweet, once she has done a few great reps, you may want to call it a day and keep her in an area to chill and enjoy a stuffed Kong. Many dogs get super tired when guests are over and when they get cranky this is often when they misbehave. -Another great exercise is training her to go to her mat and stay when guests are over and you need to excuse yourself for a minute or two. Make sure to practice this a lot and use high-value rewards. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/ -If you know you have non-compliant guests or guests who excite her too much, you can always keep on leash with you or keep her behind a baby gate/separate room until she is calmer. Many dogs act calmer if they are kept in a room and then introduced to guests who are sitting on the couch versus greeting them at the door while the guests are moving and standing up. -Never let your dog alone with guests so to not allow her to rehearse the problematic behaviors. -Enroll her in group dog training classes. These offer an excellent opportunity for training your dog to behave despite the presence of people and other dogs. This can provide you a starting point and foundation to apply in other contexts. -Of course, if your dog is biting and the behavior is getting out of hand (overly aroused dogs may bite with more force in exciting situations), please consult with a dog behavior professional using force-free methods for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification. In most cases, this behavior is seen in young dogs who are overly excited and haven't been trained enough in spite of strong distractions. Only practice makes perfect, but one fundamental ingredient is finding compliant guests. Most of us dog owners face this problem. Failure to find compliant guests willing to follow clear directions, may only lead to setbacks and rehearsals of problem behaviors that risk putting roots. It's therefore best to manage the dog (put on leash with you, behind a baby gate) than allow reps of problematic behaviors when dealing with such guests.

Hello, and welcome to the forums! Great to hear your puppy is doing well and responding to all the training you are implementing! I understand your concerns about socializing your puppy as they are very valid. Fortunately, there are several ways to allow this while keeping your puppy as safe as possible from infectious diseases. One great option is to have trusted people come over to socialize with the puppy. Veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and dog trainer Ian Dunbar calls these "puppy parties." As an extra precaution (parvovirus can be transmitted by fomites), it helps to ask that all guests remove their shoes before entering the home and that the shoes remain outside in an area not accessible to the pup. Dr. Dunbar suggests holding these parties four nights a week, making sure the pup gets to meet a variety of people (children, men, women, elderly and strangers) who gently handle and train the puppy (use tasty treats!). Another option is to enroll the puppy is puppy classes. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's position statement on socialization emphasizes the importance of socializing puppies and provides tips on how to find puppy classes run by experts who take steps in minimizing the chances for spread of infectious diseases (all pups must be up-to-date on vaccinations and the floors must be properly cleaned and sanitized). You can find AVSAB's position statement here: https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Puppy_Socialization_Position_Statement_Download_-_10-3-14.pdf If you have any questions or concerns discuss these with the professionals running the puppy classes and then check back with your vet to play it safe. It sounds like you are doing very well with training your pup. These dogs are super smart, workaholics so they thrive on lots of brain games and training. Exercise of course is important as well, but you need to be careful with puppies doing high-impact exercise on hard surfaces such as jogging with the dog on concrete or excessive jumping before the growth plates have closed (ask your vet about this as every dog has different timelines) Just as a head's up, be ready to have a very, very busy dog, (especially when young), who might very well get into all kinds of creative trouble if not provided with enough outlets for their pent up energy and mental stimulation needs. If you work during the day, it's important to provide mental stimulation, training and exercise before and after going to work. If you are at home most of the day, your pup is very lucky as you can provide all these in several sessions throughout the day. Here are some extra tips that may come handy: -Border collies thrive when they are given directions. Ask your border collie to perform desirable behaviors such as eye contact, sit, stay, heel, lie down, come or even tricks using valuable rewards to reinforce those behaviors. Mix and match these commands so not to bore your dog. The obedience 101 course has guides on how to train these. -Use your training to redirect your border collie's chasing/herding instincts. Ask your border to make eye contact with you and heel when there are distractions. Ask your border collie to sit when there are cars passing by. Ask your border collie to lie down and stay when a cat is crossing the road. Reinforce with valuable rewards (treats, toys, a game of tug or play with a flirt pole). -If your border collie has a hard time focusing, it means that he hasn't been trained yet for that level of distractions and is over threshold. Increase distance from the stimulus and find that sweet spot where your border collie is better under control. Practice at this level of difficulty before moving to more challenging levels. -Some border collies may enjoy playing with other dogs as puppies, but then as they start maturing they get more discriminative over who to befriend. Some just aren't comfortable mingling and wrestling with unknown dogs and do better with a few well-known friends. -As soon as the vet gives you the OK (growth plates have closed) enroll your border collie in some fun canine sports. In particular, herding trials are great as border collies get to do what they were bred for, but if there are no sheep in your area, the sport of Treibball (where dogs get to herd large balls) can be equally satisfying. Other fun sports include Flyball, disc dog, dock diving and canine musical freestyle. Let me know if you have any particular questions or concerns. Happy training! Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums! It's great to hear that your dog has been socialized so much and is awesome, kudos to you for doing such a great job! There is barking and barking when dogs are on leash. We have on one hand dogs who bark because they wish to decrease distance and dogs who bark because they wish to increase distance due to fear/aggression. Telling the two apart can be a challenge sometimes. Dogs who bark to decrease distance are often displaying signs of what is known as "barrier frustration." Since you mention your dog starts with excited barking then, this may be what you are dealing with. I am not sure if you read the article on barrier frustration yet, but in case you haven't, the link is here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/barrier-frustration/ You may need to login as a member in order to access that. One thing that dogs displaying barrier frustration share is this common element: the dog acts "reactive" when on leash, but then once off leash. he plays well with other dogs without any incidents. If this would be truly a case of pure barrier frustration barking a good way to tackle this would be by training an alternate behavior such as heeling/attention heeling, which it sounds like it's what you are already doing. A dog barking due to frustration is often a dog who simply needs to better learn impulse control and frustration tolerance . It's always a good idea to start training the alternate behavior in a quiet area at first (at home) until you obtain a fluent response and reward it generously. Then, practice in the yard, then on walks with no triggers and then at a distance from triggers gradually reducing distance. Setbacks are always possible, and in those cases, they are a signs that you have gone too fast in the process or your dog wasn't ready for encounters with stimuli of a certain intensity. In those cases, a few steps back in the process are needed always paying attention to not send the dog "over threshold." Here's a read on threshold levels: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ Now, you mention being too late getting the treats. This is understandable and can be due to dogs popping out of nowhere or not having treats handy or perhaps a combo of the two. One way I remedy this is by keeping the treats in my pocket and holding some in my hand so that treat delivery is flawless and delivered on time every few steps. Also, I do what I call "defensive dog walking" which is the doggy version of "defensive driving." In other words, I am always constantly scanning the environment on walks. No talking on the phone, window shopping or having a conversation with others. I am always readily looking around and watching the dog's body language as sometimes the dog tells me there is another dog before I can even see it (this happens often in crowds, the dog sees the other dog before me or hears the tags jingling before I do). In any case, if you see a dog at a distance coming your way and you are not ready, you can always use what's known as "the emergency u-turn:"https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/ Now, as mentioned, some dogs bark on walks because they are fearful/aggressive rather than excited. While these cases benefit too from learning to heel in presence of other dogs, before doing that I prefer using counterconditioning and desensitization. In other words, I just deliver treats at the sight of the dog without asking a particular behavior. This is because dogs who are on a fearful state are often too over threshold due to chemicals in their brains activating the fight or flight response to be able to cognitively function (they can't focus well) until their emotional state is more responsive. Once they are more responsive, then we gradually switch more into operant mode and ask for behaviors. You can read more about counterconditioning and desensitization here if interested. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ To answer your question, thinking in terms of "dominant" or "submissive" can sometimes blur what we are really seeing. What exactly are the other dogs doing to suggest they are being submissive? What does your dog seem to be react to exactly? Are they avoiding eye contact? Tucking their tails and folding their ears back? Are they tentative to approach? Lowering their bodies? Rolling over their backs? Perhaps he is barking in hopes of getting more "engagement" from these dogs who are trying to avoid him or maybe are inhibited by his exuberance. Or perhaps, he understood that barking at dogs displaying a certain body language makes them more likely withdraw. It is not unusual for many dogs to reach the adolescent stage and start becoming a bit less tolerant of other dogs or downright standoffish. On the other hand, some dogs around this age may just be testing how other dogs react to their barking. So perhaps your dog is seeing that when he barks certain dogs respond in a certain way and their response reinforces his barking. Or perhaps, the body language of certain dogs may stimulate him to bark. Of course, hard to say what may be really going on their mind, so until dogs can talk, we may just be making assumptions. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further assistance! Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums, There are "fights" and fights among dogs. Several times, it's just noise and just conflict resolution albeit noisy (dogs using "their words to avoid escalation to bodily injury) other times there are actual serious threats with dogs potentially following through and really risking harming each other. Of course, this latter is really a concern. Among female dogs sometimes fights can get quite serious especially when they reach doggy adolescence/social maturity. What to do about this varies based on various factors. For many minor cases, all that may be needed is just letting dogs be as long as they find an agreement (Einstein and Petra growled at each when in possession of resources for most of their lives but they never got into a serious fight as they communicated well and didn't push each other's boundaries) to redirection by training dogs to be responsive to certain cues and implementation of behavior modification with the help of a professional (for example, Dog A is fed tasty treats, every time Dog B is on the lap), to management by providing distance or separation when resources are provided (as Jennifer pointed out), up to rehoming one dog in the most severe cases where there are risks for injuries or dogs being emotionally scarred. In multi-dog households there may be several dynamics going on and things can get complex at times, hence why it's always best when there are fights among dogs to have a behavior professional using force-free methods to assess and provide in-person guidance for safety and correct implementation of behavior modification. Other two threads that may be of interest that tackle guarding resources among dogs with management and behavior modification samples are the following: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?176-Stealing-recall-walking https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?71-My-dog-gets-quot-aggressive-quot-with-toys-around-other-dogs Let me know if you have any questions. Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums! Where is the crate placed at night? Are you offering a stuffed Kong when you close her in there? Have you tried covering the crate with the blanket? What do you do when she is crying in the crate? If she is used to sitting on your feet a good part of the day she may be suffering from separation issues when in the crate at night. Many owners of puppies of this age, notice improvement when the crate is kept near the bedroom so the pup is reassured the owners are close. Interestingly, research has shown that this night-time closure to the owners has no impact on separation anxiety in adult dogs suffering from this. Many dogs are super excited when waking up and barking is their way to express that. Impulse control exercises take time to take effect with young pups, but applied daily should lead to improvement overtime. However, it sounds like you need something to keep her occupied for a longer time during the morning routine. Have you tried providing her with a Kong Wobbler filled with her kibble during this morning routine versus feeding her breakfast in a bowl? Can turns be taken to play with her in the yard while everybody gets ready and she comes back inside once everybody is gone? If she can't focus on training how about playing a treasure hunt game in the yard? Establishing a new routine that channels her excess energy and enthusiasm may come handy. Preventing rehearsal of the overly excited behavior would be important until better impulse control kicks in. She is very young so impulse control in a puppy isn't really something to be expected to happen overnight (just as small children won't sit down calmly until we give them something better to do), but we can manage the behavior at this stage and try to redirect to calmer activities. Exposure to the kids may overstimulate her so it may help keeping her in a separate area (like kitchen area blocked off with a baby gate with a Kong Wobbler to keep her occupied). If she is unable to focus on the Wobbler though, and goes straight to barking, it's likely she's too overtreshold and this is something that needs to be worked on more.