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Post by masha on Jul 11, 2004 9:52:10 GMT -5
Hi - new member here.
I have a young (1 year old) white shepherd. She is generally very well socialised as I've been taking her to puppy school and obedience training from the beginning. Usually she is quite gentle with other dogs.
Lately , when I'm not around or when we walk her with our other dog she is does get quite aggresive: barking very exitedly, and is difficult to control. She is not vicious or angry, more like over excited and boisterous.
I'm geussing that when she is with our other dog she feels more confident, or maybe is influended in some way by him. When they are together they seem to work one another up. Any tips on getting out of this pattern?
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Post by sibemom on Jul 11, 2004 16:14:37 GMT -5
I need a little more information because just barking and getting excited does not mean she is aggresive. If this is the case and that is all she is doing then I would recomend you buy a pinch collar, if you do not already own one, but if you say she is hard to controll then I assume you are not using one. What I would do is when she starts this behavior, give her a very firm POP, with the collar. You can follow that with the command Settle, Enough, or Leave it. When you are walking with your other dog and this starts you must make sure that she is focusing on YOU. She should be paying attention to you at all times. How is your other dog on walks? Does it show this type of behavior also? The same thing would go for that dog too. Like I said just barking and getting excited is not aggresion, and she is at that age when she will try anything to test you. Another good thing to read is the thread on NILIF, it will give you a good insite on keeping your dog in it's proper place, and making it a much better family member
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Post by masha on Jul 12, 2004 13:01:39 GMT -5
Yes, I guess she's not really got an agression problem. The problem is really that she gets kind of hysterically excited. Your suggested method of popping the leash and a short sharp order works if I get her early enough, but once she gets going it just seems to excite her more.
I've found that attaching a sort of second short leash on her choke chain for my left hand helps a lot: I can controll her a lot better. But I am considering getting her a halti.
What you say about getting her attention does seem to be the most important thing. She loves our training sessions, and I was wondering if there is a way I could teach her to "shut up" on command. I geuss the trick is to get her attention.
My dog club tells me I need to be very firm with her and I do try!
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Post by amyjo on Jul 12, 2004 13:12:20 GMT -5
Hi masha - I have had this exact same problem and (sometimes still do ) Like you, if I don't catch her early enough corrections just make her nuttier! What I do is a fast about-face in the opposite direction. I keep walking in the other direction until she "settles" then I turn back towards the dog (or whatever she is excited about) only proceeding as long as she is calm..the first sign of freakiness I turn right back around... this way, we will NEVER get close to the object of her excitement until she is calm and well behaved. Of course it makes getting from point A to point B a little tough - but it does work... our "outbursts" have become less and less frequent.
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Post by sibemom on Jul 12, 2004 13:36:22 GMT -5
OK so what you are tellinig me is that you DO NOT HAVE A PINCH collar? And you are considering a HALTI. STOP SAVE YOUR MONEY, for a dog that you are saying is getting WAY TO EXCITED to the point of not be able to controll her, a Halti could cause her some serious damage. Is there a reason you don't use a Prong Collar? I can tell you maybe they look cruel BUT they are much safer and more effective then a Halti. The principal of a pinch is that the dog almost corrects it's self and if she is getting that wound up the Halti can cause some serious nerve and spinal damage. Trust me if you get a prong collar, in no time at all she will stop this, and you do not have to be SuperWoman to give the correction like you do with a regular chain choke, and it is also safer for the dogs throat than the choke collar. Is your Kennel Club into PP training?If not then I am surprised they did not suggest using the prong.
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Post by amyjo on Jul 12, 2004 13:57:02 GMT -5
Oh yes! Get a pinch (prong) collar and if you still have problems - (which I sometimes do) then try walking in the other direction as I have suggested. A halti in this case is NOT useful and maybe even dangerous. I didn't catch that you were considering it in your previous post. Sibemom is right - don't do it!
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Post by masha on Jul 13, 2004 13:08:07 GMT -5
Ok - thats good advice. My dog club is very keen on halit's but I've really resisted getting one. I have no experience with them.
Ive actually been trying something very similar to your advice, amyjo - basically turning her around and getting her attention back on me. This is the thing that has worked best so far - Ive only tried doing it now for a couple of days, but if you say it works for you too, I feel a lot more confident.
I might still consider getting a prong collar,especially since I'm not the only one walking her. My mom walks her every morning - she does not pull at the leash anymore ( my dog, not my mom!) but I'm a bit worried that she might see a squirrel and take off with my mom following shortly after. Thanks!
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Post by amyjo on Jul 13, 2004 13:24:25 GMT -5
A quick about face on a prong collar is probably 100X more effective than what you are doing now.
Good luck...and trust me... I know how frustrating this is!
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