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Aggressive Dog, I don't know what to do
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<blockquote data-quote="TerryJ2" data-source="post: 51474" data-attributes="member: 3419"><p>Tina, I agree that you need to begin with-a vet check.</p><p></p><p>In re: to training, you definitely need obedience training. I have dealt with-two aggressive dogs and both were rescues. (Both were abused prior to our adopting them.) Neither was completely "cured" but they were sufficiently socialized that they could live in the house, and be placed in the kennel if necessary when we had company. A kennel is essential. If you don't have one, buy one.</p><p></p><p>When you take your dog for a walk, and you observe the dog going crazy when a car goes by, for eg., what do you do? This is a perfect training opportunity. You should use a choke chain (although with-a spitz you made need a prong collar and will have to learn how to use it--you can't jerk as hard as you can with-a regular choke). When the dog gets ready to bark, you jerk the chain and say "no bark!" in a firm voice. You can also say "No bark! Sit!" and make the dog sit until the car is gone. (That gives the dog something to do, plus, it creates a situation where you praise the dog for sitting, and praise is usually lacking in an aggressive situation. Sort of like our kids. LOL!)</p><p></p><p>The key is watching the dog very closely. You say that your dog bites for "no good reason" and, assuming the vet check turns up nothing, I would doubt that. (Although it's possible your dog has developed arthritis or some infection that is so painful that any touch or perceived threat makes the dog panic.) I used to say the same thing about my border collie until I took her to a professional trainer. He showed me that she did, in fact, have a reason. One example was that I would pet another one of our dogs, and the aggressive dog would attack for no good reason.</p><p></p><p>"No good reason?" he laughed. "You're petting the other dog! She's jealous."</p><p></p><p>Solution? Practice down-stays several times a day. (The goal is to make the dog do a down-stay while you're petting the other dog, or doing whatever it is that normally makes it aggressive.) Start alone with-the dog for 5 min, work up to 10 min., 1/2 hr, 1 hr, 2 hrs. (You can do long down stays when you're at the computer or watching TV. To prevent the dog from racing to the door while you're typing for eg., tie the dog's leash to your belt. You'll get a jerk but so will the dog. And you won't have to get up to chase it.) Then you do down-stays with-distractions, such as on the street, in a houseful of noisy kids, etc.</p><p></p><p>I wish I knew as much about raising kids as I do about dog training... although some of the techniques are similar... such as, cut out the long, involved explanations (which the kids won't listen to anyway), stick to basic instructions, stay calm, and always be consistent. </p><p></p><p>In The Explosive Child, they say kids will do well if they can. In dog training, you have to catch the dog doing something right and then praise it.</p><p></p><p>The hardest part is finding something to praise the dog or kid for when you're ready to smack them. The obedience instructor said that having the dog just sit is a good excuse for praise. So I transfered that advice to my own experience with-my difficult child, and would have him do something very simple that I knew he could and would do, such as put his backpack in the house, or feed the dogs, and then I'd praise him. (The hardest part is training yourself to think differently, to force yourself to create a situation where you know difficult child will succeed, just so you CAN praise him or her... IOW, overcoming the resentment that he or she should be behaving properly as a matter of course, rather than having you artificially manufacture a situation where they can succeed. But that's life and you have to rewrite the script.)</p><p></p><p>Good luck and let me know how it goes. I'm actually pretty good with-dogs and would love to help.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TerryJ2, post: 51474, member: 3419"] Tina, I agree that you need to begin with-a vet check. In re: to training, you definitely need obedience training. I have dealt with-two aggressive dogs and both were rescues. (Both were abused prior to our adopting them.) Neither was completely "cured" but they were sufficiently socialized that they could live in the house, and be placed in the kennel if necessary when we had company. A kennel is essential. If you don't have one, buy one. When you take your dog for a walk, and you observe the dog going crazy when a car goes by, for eg., what do you do? This is a perfect training opportunity. You should use a choke chain (although with-a spitz you made need a prong collar and will have to learn how to use it--you can't jerk as hard as you can with-a regular choke). When the dog gets ready to bark, you jerk the chain and say "no bark!" in a firm voice. You can also say "No bark! Sit!" and make the dog sit until the car is gone. (That gives the dog something to do, plus, it creates a situation where you praise the dog for sitting, and praise is usually lacking in an aggressive situation. Sort of like our kids. LOL!) The key is watching the dog very closely. You say that your dog bites for "no good reason" and, assuming the vet check turns up nothing, I would doubt that. (Although it's possible your dog has developed arthritis or some infection that is so painful that any touch or perceived threat makes the dog panic.) I used to say the same thing about my border collie until I took her to a professional trainer. He showed me that she did, in fact, have a reason. One example was that I would pet another one of our dogs, and the aggressive dog would attack for no good reason. "No good reason?" he laughed. "You're petting the other dog! She's jealous." Solution? Practice down-stays several times a day. (The goal is to make the dog do a down-stay while you're petting the other dog, or doing whatever it is that normally makes it aggressive.) Start alone with-the dog for 5 min, work up to 10 min., 1/2 hr, 1 hr, 2 hrs. (You can do long down stays when you're at the computer or watching TV. To prevent the dog from racing to the door while you're typing for eg., tie the dog's leash to your belt. You'll get a jerk but so will the dog. And you won't have to get up to chase it.) Then you do down-stays with-distractions, such as on the street, in a houseful of noisy kids, etc. I wish I knew as much about raising kids as I do about dog training... although some of the techniques are similar... such as, cut out the long, involved explanations (which the kids won't listen to anyway), stick to basic instructions, stay calm, and always be consistent. In The Explosive Child, they say kids will do well if they can. In dog training, you have to catch the dog doing something right and then praise it. The hardest part is finding something to praise the dog or kid for when you're ready to smack them. The obedience instructor said that having the dog just sit is a good excuse for praise. So I transfered that advice to my own experience with-my difficult child, and would have him do something very simple that I knew he could and would do, such as put his backpack in the house, or feed the dogs, and then I'd praise him. (The hardest part is training yourself to think differently, to force yourself to create a situation where you know difficult child will succeed, just so you CAN praise him or her... IOW, overcoming the resentment that he or she should be behaving properly as a matter of course, rather than having you artificially manufacture a situation where they can succeed. But that's life and you have to rewrite the script.) Good luck and let me know how it goes. I'm actually pretty good with-dogs and would love to help. [/QUOTE]
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