Need Some Help

[Sweetypye]

Might be a better idea to get the behaviour BEFORE the hackles go up otherwise you could end up rewarding that behaviour...........................

 

[rooooooooby]

Hi,

I agree it is best to get a cue like 'heel-close' in early and stop the behaviour before it starts but if you dont catch it that early and you cue a watch and the dog obeys i think you could mark that but you would have to be VERY accurate and then re-enforce with rewards if the dogs focus stays with you ?

Claire x

[dogloverwoooo!]

Hi,

I agree it is best to get a cue like 'heel-close' in early and stop the behaviour before it starts but if you dont catch it that early and you cue a watch and the dog obeys i think you could mark that but you would have to be VERY accurate and then re-enforce with rewards if the dogs focus stays with you ?

Claire x

I'd agree with that 

[Justine&Rafe]

That's kind of what I do when we pass the giant wolfhound on our way to the fields... As soon as he goes on alert (ears pricked, focus totally off me, tense - not usually hackles just yet) I tell him to leave it, (c/r for relaxing/breaking his stare/looking towards me) but then I use the watch command to keep his attention on me.  Is just a bit more specific than leave.

I think!

[Kerry_and_Beau]

Hi laura, what happens if dodge is startled, like someone pops out infront of him with a dog?  I'm seeing alot of the same charactersitics as beau here 

[.dodger.]

He'd probably lunge towards the dog. Im not talking lunging to attack, he just lunges in towards the dog to greet, it then depends on how the other dog acts to what he does next. If i continue walking and he gets to the end of the lead i'll say leave and when he leaves good leave then come. I'd just like to have him able to walk up to a dog, sniff sniff, and then move on when i say instead of all this rushing up towards them.

[Kerry_and_Beau]

ahh ok not the same as beau then as beau goes mad in a 'i'll kill you if you come any nearer' way ....
sorry would have replied sooner but had an awful weekend 

so he's eagre to meet the dogs, but if they show hostility he does the same? and if they are nice, everything is fine?

[.dodger.]

don't worry about it Kerry

Dodger's really unpredictable. As you said if a dog is 'hostile' back he'll lunge growling at it, if the dog is rolling over on it's back to him he'll have a good sniff with still all his hackles up and then just get bored and move back. If the dog gets up and continues walking as it's owner walks away there's a 30% - 70% chance that he'll lunge at it growling. If we have any sort of resource like a ball or a stick if a dog tries to get it he'll have them hence not being aloud a ball or stick out on his walk now.

I think to a behaviorist i'm not sure you would call him unpredictable but to me he is. There'll be a group of kids he'll walk in and out of not having problem at all but then a little way down the path he'll be glaring out a different group as we pass. Some kids he doesn't mind near him others he does. I do no there are reasons why but some of the time i don't understand them all.

The only one thing he is good with is puppies no matter if they are crazy, calm, bouncy, timid ect although he does make a lot of noise when playing which can scare some of them.