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My dog is driving me crazy - help?
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<blockquote data-quote="InsaneCdn" data-source="post: 427257" data-attributes="member: 11791"><p>Not as bad as one we had, and had to give back... again, shelter situation, improperly labelled (they said lab/shepherd cross - we don't think it was either!) - wouldn't accept position as lowest in the pack (endangering youngest...)</p><p> </p><p>But, working with a trainer on that one, we learned some stuff that's been really helpful since...</p><p>1) high-energy dog means you have to find activities that make the dog work harder than you - so, hiking isn't good enough... simple fetch, if they like that, is better... once they have basic obedience down, look at flyball or agility.</p><p> </p><p>2) The brain-work food toys DO work... we like Kongs and the Buster Cube (has settings from easy to really hard).</p><p> </p><p>3) Stuff to chew on... but make sure its safe, have multiple types, wash them often, and change them around (they get bored)</p><p> </p><p>4) Crate training... the crate needs to be the dog's special private space, including "bedroom" - they can hide a favorite toy in there, for example... we found that the plastic-style crates worked better with food toys, because the food pebbles stayed inside the crate (wire crate = dog barking over pebbles that went flying)</p><p> </p><p>5) Clicker training - but watch out what version you follow. Some want you to be 100% dependent on clicker - doesn't work in long run. We were taught to use clicker to teach new concepts (including, for example, being quiet). The trick is, you DON'T actually get them to do ANYTHING... you "catch them" doing good. So, you make "not barking" your primary objective... whenever she's quiet, you click and toss her a treat. Then, ignore, but keep tabs on her... at first, you can "catch" her every minute or two, but don't do training for more than 15 mins at a time. They catch on fast that click = treat. The advantage of "click" is that you can click from 20 feet away - and they know the treat is coming. (We were told that reinforcement for dogs has to come in under 3 seconds, max - you can click faster than you can get to the treat box!) Hang the clicker on a lanyard around your neck - I lived like that for weeks.</p><p> </p><p>6) Clicker part 2 - teach basic obedience commands with clicker (sit and/or down are the key here, then stay). If you want to sit and read and that's when she wants attention, then... every bark = command to do something (sit, for example) - obey = click + treat. They catch on that its a game, then you start issuing the command before the barking... e.g. you grab your book, command "down", click, treat, and YOU sit... make it a routine. Keep a sealed container of treats by your favorite chair... It took 2 weeks of this to get our latest dog to not bark when I'm on the phone (note: I'm on phone, so I can't go issuing commands to the dog... but I can click and toss a treat for being quiet... it works!)</p><p> </p><p>A trainer with experience in this type of dog will have more specific advice, but from what you describe, you're doing fairly well - actually quiet if you put her in the garage or go away? Its not separation anxiety...</p><p> </p><p>Other dogs... it helps to use a doggy daycare sometimes... they really get to burn of some steam with doggy friends.</p><p> </p><p>(the one we gave back had psychological problems, probably from being separated from the pack much too early - at least, that was the trainer's conclusion - what we needed and what dog could handle just couldn't meet in the middle - but we learned how to handle tough dogs, so now we have 2... teenage-pups... am I crazy?)</p><p> </p><p>Wow - yours sounds like an interesting project!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="InsaneCdn, post: 427257, member: 11791"] Not as bad as one we had, and had to give back... again, shelter situation, improperly labelled (they said lab/shepherd cross - we don't think it was either!) - wouldn't accept position as lowest in the pack (endangering youngest...) But, working with a trainer on that one, we learned some stuff that's been really helpful since... 1) high-energy dog means you have to find activities that make the dog work harder than you - so, hiking isn't good enough... simple fetch, if they like that, is better... once they have basic obedience down, look at flyball or agility. 2) The brain-work food toys DO work... we like Kongs and the Buster Cube (has settings from easy to really hard). 3) Stuff to chew on... but make sure its safe, have multiple types, wash them often, and change them around (they get bored) 4) Crate training... the crate needs to be the dog's special private space, including "bedroom" - they can hide a favorite toy in there, for example... we found that the plastic-style crates worked better with food toys, because the food pebbles stayed inside the crate (wire crate = dog barking over pebbles that went flying) 5) Clicker training - but watch out what version you follow. Some want you to be 100% dependent on clicker - doesn't work in long run. We were taught to use clicker to teach new concepts (including, for example, being quiet). The trick is, you DON'T actually get them to do ANYTHING... you "catch them" doing good. So, you make "not barking" your primary objective... whenever she's quiet, you click and toss her a treat. Then, ignore, but keep tabs on her... at first, you can "catch" her every minute or two, but don't do training for more than 15 mins at a time. They catch on fast that click = treat. The advantage of "click" is that you can click from 20 feet away - and they know the treat is coming. (We were told that reinforcement for dogs has to come in under 3 seconds, max - you can click faster than you can get to the treat box!) Hang the clicker on a lanyard around your neck - I lived like that for weeks. 6) Clicker part 2 - teach basic obedience commands with clicker (sit and/or down are the key here, then stay). If you want to sit and read and that's when she wants attention, then... every bark = command to do something (sit, for example) - obey = click + treat. They catch on that its a game, then you start issuing the command before the barking... e.g. you grab your book, command "down", click, treat, and YOU sit... make it a routine. Keep a sealed container of treats by your favorite chair... It took 2 weeks of this to get our latest dog to not bark when I'm on the phone (note: I'm on phone, so I can't go issuing commands to the dog... but I can click and toss a treat for being quiet... it works!) A trainer with experience in this type of dog will have more specific advice, but from what you describe, you're doing fairly well - actually quiet if you put her in the garage or go away? Its not separation anxiety... Other dogs... it helps to use a doggy daycare sometimes... they really get to burn of some steam with doggy friends. (the one we gave back had psychological problems, probably from being separated from the pack much too early - at least, that was the trainer's conclusion - what we needed and what dog could handle just couldn't meet in the middle - but we learned how to handle tough dogs, so now we have 2... teenage-pups... am I crazy?) Wow - yours sounds like an interesting project! [/QUOTE]
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