 Barked: Thu Jul 19, '07 7:47am PST |
 | |  | | Hi there! Summer is my little leash aggressive dog. She also has occasional problems in the park when she decides she doesn't like a dog. Nee, I'm like you. I think she sees them as infringing on her stuff. She's recently taken a dislike to a girl dog who always jumps in when Summer is playing with her friend Diego, adn I think Summer thinks that 3's a crowd. So this morning, she got into it with Lola, and unfortunately, I got yelled at in the process for not being able to control my dog... I felt really bad about that, but at the same time, I was a little offended that people instantly presume that I let her run wild and free. I don't. I train her formally with a trainer every saturday morning for an hour, and for at least 10 mins in the morning, we're practicing obedience. EVERY DAY. Whenever there is a dog fight that she's not involved in, she may run over and show interest, but if I call her back to me, she will come. Sorry, I'm still a little sore over it.
I think a lot of behavioral problems are due to vaccine damage. I know that's not a popular point of view, but I've read up on it, and I really believe it to be true.
So to tackle that part of it, we're currently clients of a classical homeopath. I've seen improvements already in just short months.
We still have a long way to go...
I DO train with a prong collar. I tried clicker training early on, but Summer seemed distressed and unable to focus with it. With the prong, I use it as a way for her to snap out of it and to pay attention to me. I use a combination of treats, toys and compulsion to teach her appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. I taught her first to Heel and Look with treats, and I actually still use treats, but with the prong, I clean up any hesitation or slowness to respond.
With the leash aggression, I suspect she feels trapped and has a perceived danger from her rabies vaccinosis (causes hallucinatory behavior, has effects very much like encephalitis). So she reacts by trying to scare away the other dog. I hate when she does it, I know it's not her fault and she can't help it... But she looks so monstrous with all her teeth and her bark is so booming. Thankfully, I have a great classical homeopath on my side who keeps reminding me that this isn't learned behavior - it's a result of the insults of vaccinations and chronic disease, and on another side of me, I have my stellar trainer who teaches me how to control her lunges and to teach her how to behave appropriately. He teaches me to deal with her drive and to channel it towards me. So when she's going nuts, I have to pop her collar, tell her NO. And really, this is all it takes for her to remember what she IS supposed to do, which is to heel to me instantly, sit on my left plastered against my leg, and look up at me. I have to be more diligent about doing the calming exercises though - which teach her to maintain self control by staying perfectly still and silent. My old trainer taught me this exercise called Trick or Treat. Essentially, I show a treat to Summer right in front of her nose, and everytime she moves to grab it, I move it quickly away. I say STAY and she must stay perfectly still - no tail wag, no ears peeling back - nothing. Every fibre of her being must be focused on the treat. And when she maintains a certain length of time, I give her the treat, and free her for play.
It's certainly hard to have an aggressive dog, I know... But at the same time, I have to keep reminding myself that it isn't who she really is, and I have to be there to show her the way out of this state. And with the combination of classical homeopathy and training, I think she's improved about 40%. Still a looong way to go, but we're getting there. Thanks for setting up this group Monte!! I'm grateful I have a place to talk about this freely...  |  |  | |  |
|
| my page | msg me | gift me | become pals | |
Poor kid.
The Dog Show: Who's Your Mama?
9
