training my shepherd cross lab help!!!

[MrsBadger]

ok so i need to find someone who can help me with tips to train my nearly 3 yr old shepherd cross lab. her name is delia, she is loving and friendly, but she barks constantly, whines at home, and when i take her out she barks,pulls doesnt listen at all to me and if let off the lead will barrel into other dogs, which ends up in fighting! i have tried rattle bottles, distracting her with treats and a sound spray with no real effect!! i cant afford to take her to training classes, my other dog billy who is nearly 4 is a lurcher, and is perfect on and off the lead! so i am fairly confident its not my training that has ruined her!! She just cannot seem to recognize my commands over her urge to chase!!! how do people stay calm when training as i get so upset and frustrated i end up just going home feeling like i have failed her

[TheDogsHuman]

I'm sorry to say that, if you've had her from a puppy, then her behaviour is more than likely due to how you brought her up. Don't feel like you've failed her though!

Because her behaviour is provoking to other dogs, that makes it dangerous to let her off the lead, so keep her leashed. You'll need another source of exercise for her, so exercise her early when people aren't up yet, or condition her to the bike.

What collar do you walk her on? Before I know, I'll recommend a martingale, and a halti. I wouldn't recommend a Canny Collar, or a choke chain. Cannies aren't great for big dogs, becaues it pulls them up, and chokes shouldn't be used by people without experience.

Head Collars can damage the neck. Halti's are management tools. You shouldn't yank your dog about with them, or give checks with them, because you can jerk and jar the neck. It just gives you better control if you dog decides to lunge and bark.

What she has isn't aggression, it's reactivity to other dogs. An experience early on could have caused it, or she could simply be in a habit of charging other dogs. Because when she doe sit they attack her, she's learning to attack THEM first. This means your dogs reactivity will convert into aggression if not dealt with.

Have no fear though. You just need to find out how your dog "works". Does she respond better to verbal scoldings or praise? Does she need a firm or soft hand? Is she food, or toy motivated? Maybe her reward is walking away from the dog.

Work out where her threshold is, and then stay behind it.

Praise whenever she does something you like. No matter how much she progresses, continue to praise for the little things.

I could do with a bit more information. How does she react to dogs she knows? Does she try to bite them, or just run at them? Was there something that happened, that could have caused her DR, or has it gone from frustration from wanting to see the dog and not being allowed to, to habit which has never been broken?

[MrsBadger]

I have another dog, which I have trained in exactly the same way, he is fine on and off the lead, friendly towards other dogs and very rarely barks. It would be impossible to condition her to a bike, as she is still very unpredictable and lunges when she sees something of interest, so that would simply cause an accident and her getting hurt. She walks on a halti and harness, as a halti alone means she simply jumps around in circles and hurts herself. She doesnt react like this just to dogs, its to any animal or something she feels she must chase and has even done it to a spider which ran infront of her. She doesnt attack, but barges, its obvious over excited play, but other dogs can see this as aggression and therefore attack her. No offence but I refuse to stay behind her threshold as I feel that is simply me doing what she wants, I am the alpha in our household and she must learn to do as she is told. She only runs and tries to bite billy when playing, if he growls or chastises her she will submit to him instantly within our home boundaries, outside of that she will not listen to him either. I do praise her, and reward her with treats (she is definitely food motivated lol) She has never had a bad experience with another dog, she has always been allowed to interact with other dogs, and I do believe this is simply a bad habit that has got out of hand, but one that I have never been able to break her of. We went out again today, and managed an hour off the lead, with lots of recall training, which went well, apart from 1 incident with a lab pup, which she ran over to, played with, and after alot of coaxing eventually came back to me. No fur flying, and i felt she had learned some small things today.

[TheDogsHuman]

If she's trying to play, then she doesn't want to stayu behind her threshold, she wants to go over it to play. You taking her over it, too close to dogs/animals she wants to chase is giving her what she wants.

If I were to have trained my dog, how my other was trained, she'd be terrible now, because she isn't the same as my other dog. She's a different dog, with a different temperament. Maybe you should train with your dog instead of against her.

Obviously the way you trained your last dog, hasn't worked for this dog, so mix it up a bit.

If you aren't willing to change how you're handling her, then nobody can really help you, because that's your problem. It's great that how you train worked for your otehr dog, but it isn't working for the dog you have now. You'll just have to manage your dog, rather than adjust her behaviour.

Word of advice: Keep her leashed. If that Labrador wasn't a friendly puppy, then you'd have had a problem and possibly a law suit on your hands. It's dangerous to have her off lead while she's unreliable.

[MrsBadger]

no offence but im nearly 40 yrs old and have had many dogs, I dont need people pointing out how dogs are different... I am already aware of this. SHE ISNT AGGRESSIVE!!! Think you need to read my posts more carefully, i joined this site for some advice, not to be preached at by someone who has never met me or my dogs!! Lots of people train their dogs out of bad behaviour, not just manage it, please dont comment again, because your "advice" is not really that, its just an opinion. If you feel that a dog is impossible to train or re-train then you really are not in any position to give advice to anyone.
Your "advice" is to keep her on a lead, keep her away from anything and everyone and just accept this is the way she is!!! I want a solution, or possible ways to try to gain a solution, so that we can both enjoy walking and exercising.

[TheDogsHuman]

I'm sorry that you thought I was "preaching". I'm not sure what I'd have been preaching.

I never even implied a dog couldn't be trained. I clearly said "your dog isn't working on the methods you are using", I did not say "Your dog is untrainable".

I also never told you to keep her away from everything. I told you to work behind her threshold. As a person with 40 years behind you, you know that the more you work behidn the threshold, the closer you get to what your dog reacts to. This means if you make 1% progress every day, you'll be 7% closer to the dog a week into the BAT.

If you didn't want advice (which was given, by the way) then you shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry that you didn't get told what you wanted to hear. You need to adjust your training to fit your dog, and you didn't do this. You're trying to say the dog is the one that naturally has the problems...They are learned behaviours, and I'm sorry that you didn't want to hear this.

I wish you luck in managing your dog.

The Dogs Human. x

ETA: Your dog causes fights. Whether aggressive or not, she is a danger. Dangerous dogs should be leashed or controlled at all times. If you insist on unleashing her in a public area, then buy a muzzle.

[MrsBadger]

you have just said she has to be leashed at all times, thats telling me she will always have to be kept like that. FYI ( not ETA thats estimated time of arrival, which made no sense ) I have taken her out today, recall training and lead training, both of which after 3 days of intensive work, proved to be successful. I am aware alot of the problem is myself getting upset or frustrated, so I asked her to do simple things today, in a deserted field, result being an hour of the most enjoyable time for her and me! I know it will take time, but I will not have her labelled as a dangerous dog.

[TheDogsHuman]

ETA = Edited To Add.

I told you to keep her leashed until she is properly under control, as she IS a dangerous dog. What happens when she charges other dogs and ignores you, is causes danger to herself, another dog, and people around her. What if the owner of the other dog were to try and stop the fight? It wouldn't be their fault, it would be your fault, because your dog caused it, whether she means to or not.

The advice to keep her leashed until further notice is some that you'd be smart to listen to.

You, yourself, said that she chases after anything that moves. What if she ran into a busy road after something, or chased something and became lost? She's a dog that could and has caused damage to living things in the passed. not only could she get herself seriously hurt or killed, but she could cause serious damage to another living thing.

I'm glad you're having success, and I'm sorry you didn't get the answer you wanted.

TheDogsHuman. x

ETA: You don't really have a say in the DD label.

[diane21]

Puppies and dogs can be crate trained at any time. It is best to start puppies right away, as older dogs will take longer to adjust to the crate if they have never been introduced to the idea. To get dogs comfortable with the crate, you have to allow them to go in and out on their own, and never to use force. You want the dog to relate the crate to pleasant experiences, not unpleasant ones.

[jonathan2340]

I think we all should give training to our dogs. This is a good part of dog's life.