Post by Kona on Jun 28, 2005 20:42:11 GMT -5
I started working today with a woman who owns a 1 ½-year-old G.S.D.
The dog had originally been owned by a police officer, and the new owner has had the dog for six months. She told me that the dog nips and is afraid of men. When I first came into the house, I completely ignored the dog. He barked aggressively at me, but the more I ignored him the more he tried to initiate interaction between us. Within a few minutes he was licking my chin to get me to pay attention to him.
I talked for a few minutes with the owner, gathering information about the situation. The owner has had other dogs but never a challenging one like this. She was told that the dog was "trained" and so she hasn't done any obedience work with him, thinking that he didn't need it. We then talked about a training plan; what we would be focusing on and what techniques we would be using. Then it was time to go for a walk.
The owner currently has two other small dogs, a 6-month-old petite Brussels Griffon and a 15 year old blind toy poodle mix. The owner walked in front of me with the two small dogs on leash, and I walked behind her with the G.S.D. on a Martingale collar. The G.S.D. was very apprehensive about not being in charge of the walk, and the first time he got a light leash correction he turned and nipped at my hand. He didn't break the skin, but it was clearly intentional.
The next time he tried to do that I was quicker than him and I lifted my hand out of the way and used a negative word marker and a moderate leash correction. Then we started walking again. He forged, I gave a light leash correction, and he turned and bit at my crotch! It was not intended to hurt, but rather to send a message: Knock It Off. I was reassessing the situation in my mind at this point. Clearly this was not a dog that "nipped" or had "issues with men." This dog has been trained to bite.
Most dogs that have inadvertently been trained to bite by ignorant owners do not intend to do harm. They have simply learned that they can control a situation with their teeth. When I show them that the learned behavior doesn't work anymore, they stop. This dog was actually escalating the bite behavior each time.
Just as we were almost back to the house, I had occasion to give him another leash correction. He turned and bit my left leg, breaking the skin. I wasn't angry or afraid, but saddened more than I can say. We went back into the house and I had a very serious talk with the owner. I told her that, in all likelihood, the dog had been bite and/or attack trained. I explained that a dog that will bite in a situation like this (on leash with a new friend that he had just been giving kisses to), is not only a major liability, but has extreme behavioral issues, and possibly even psychological issues due to his previous training.
We decided that I would come over every day for the next two weeks and work one-on-one with the dog. I won't be using any aversive or intimidation-based methods. I want to motivate him to make the right choices based on a desire to please the handler. I'll start by not feeding him for a day, then starting on day two I'll use food treats to motivate and reward him, while at the same time reinforcing the positive word marker.
I need to teach him some very important concepts. First, that he is not in charge of making decisions, but rather he needs to look to his handler for leadership in all things (yes, NILIF will be his new religion). Secondly, he needs to learn that biting is never a solution to stress or a way of solving a problem or getting what he wants. The challenge with a bite-trained dog is that he has already passed the natural mental block that makes a typical dog feel remorse for biting. Obviously I'm going to have to be very careful with the teeth, but I want to avoid using a muzzle.
Because of our schedules, I won't be able to start with him for three more days, but after that it will be every day for two weeks, one hour every morning. I told the owner not to make any changes until then with the exception of tethering him. I want him to start getting the idea that mom is in charge of his movement.
The dog had originally been owned by a police officer, and the new owner has had the dog for six months. She told me that the dog nips and is afraid of men. When I first came into the house, I completely ignored the dog. He barked aggressively at me, but the more I ignored him the more he tried to initiate interaction between us. Within a few minutes he was licking my chin to get me to pay attention to him.
I talked for a few minutes with the owner, gathering information about the situation. The owner has had other dogs but never a challenging one like this. She was told that the dog was "trained" and so she hasn't done any obedience work with him, thinking that he didn't need it. We then talked about a training plan; what we would be focusing on and what techniques we would be using. Then it was time to go for a walk.
The owner currently has two other small dogs, a 6-month-old petite Brussels Griffon and a 15 year old blind toy poodle mix. The owner walked in front of me with the two small dogs on leash, and I walked behind her with the G.S.D. on a Martingale collar. The G.S.D. was very apprehensive about not being in charge of the walk, and the first time he got a light leash correction he turned and nipped at my hand. He didn't break the skin, but it was clearly intentional.
The next time he tried to do that I was quicker than him and I lifted my hand out of the way and used a negative word marker and a moderate leash correction. Then we started walking again. He forged, I gave a light leash correction, and he turned and bit at my crotch! It was not intended to hurt, but rather to send a message: Knock It Off. I was reassessing the situation in my mind at this point. Clearly this was not a dog that "nipped" or had "issues with men." This dog has been trained to bite.
Most dogs that have inadvertently been trained to bite by ignorant owners do not intend to do harm. They have simply learned that they can control a situation with their teeth. When I show them that the learned behavior doesn't work anymore, they stop. This dog was actually escalating the bite behavior each time.
Just as we were almost back to the house, I had occasion to give him another leash correction. He turned and bit my left leg, breaking the skin. I wasn't angry or afraid, but saddened more than I can say. We went back into the house and I had a very serious talk with the owner. I told her that, in all likelihood, the dog had been bite and/or attack trained. I explained that a dog that will bite in a situation like this (on leash with a new friend that he had just been giving kisses to), is not only a major liability, but has extreme behavioral issues, and possibly even psychological issues due to his previous training.
We decided that I would come over every day for the next two weeks and work one-on-one with the dog. I won't be using any aversive or intimidation-based methods. I want to motivate him to make the right choices based on a desire to please the handler. I'll start by not feeding him for a day, then starting on day two I'll use food treats to motivate and reward him, while at the same time reinforcing the positive word marker.
I need to teach him some very important concepts. First, that he is not in charge of making decisions, but rather he needs to look to his handler for leadership in all things (yes, NILIF will be his new religion). Secondly, he needs to learn that biting is never a solution to stress or a way of solving a problem or getting what he wants. The challenge with a bite-trained dog is that he has already passed the natural mental block that makes a typical dog feel remorse for biting. Obviously I'm going to have to be very careful with the teeth, but I want to avoid using a muzzle.
Because of our schedules, I won't be able to start with him for three more days, but after that it will be every day for two weeks, one hour every morning. I told the owner not to make any changes until then with the exception of tethering him. I want him to start getting the idea that mom is in charge of his movement.