May 18, 2011
Have you ever seen a dog that is afraid of traffic grow up to become a brave, confident companion? How have you dealt with similar problems?
Full Question:
Hello,Several weeks ago I was lucky enough to have come upon your website. I found it so fascinating that I have spent hours reading dozens and dozens of its articles. Your insight into the thinking dogs is in many ways unique and I have come to the conclusion, accurate although it differs from so many traditional views. I have already purchased several DVDs and books ("Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months," "Basic Obedience," "Raw Dog Food," etc.) and consider them tremendously helpful. I am trying to follow your instructions to a "T," even concerning the raw diet and vaccinosis issues you address with which I agree.
After studying so much of your work, I decided that I was ready to "take the plunge" and I am now the proud owner of a 11 week old GSD pup. He comes from working bloodlines and already exhibits tremendous intelligence (I am 52 years old (and a "semi-retired" engineer so I can appreciate your technical explanations and reasonings) and have owned medium sized mixed breed dogs all my life but never a GSD so I have some experience as an owner and trainer of them but for this little guy, I am lacking in knowledge and I want to be sure I am doing everything right).
I have 2 problems that I didn't see your DVDs dwell on very much and I was hoping you could help me (It would make the next 12+ years of my life go much smoother!).
I live 1/2 block from a busy highway. I have been taking my new pup on walks around the block to expose him to life in my neighborhood (early socialization) however:
1. He insists on chewing the leash and carrying it in his mouth. If I snap it out of his mouth as your DVD suggests, he just grabs it again so essentially, the whole walk becomes nothing but a big game of tug-of-war.
2. Recently, he has become afraid of the traffic. When a truck passes us, he trys to go backward, pulls in reverse and now sometimes screams in terror. He grabs the leash in his mouth and trys to head home. I have his collar on snugly but I am still concerned he may slip out.
This problem troubles me the most. I understand that he is still a puppy and needs patience and gradual desensitization (take his mind off traffic, have him sit, target, etc. and give treats when he exhibts courage) but I can't help but think that fear like this portends trouble in the future.
I guess what I'm asking is "have you ever seen this in a dog that has grown up to become a brave, confident companion or do you think I have errored in my selection and now own a weak-nerved pup? How have you dealt with similar problems?"
Your help would be greatly appreciated,
Dennis
Cindy's Answer:
First of all, thank you for your kind words and for your business. We really appreciate it.
For puppies with high play drive, the leash snapping can become just one big game as you have found out. It seems like most of my puppies that I raise do this. I have found a good solution to this is train the pup with markers. Read the article titled Training With Markers and give them an alternate behavior when I see them revving up to bite at the leash. If you wait until the pup has already bitten the leash, it’s really too late and they have already gotten some positive reinforcement. So… become an expert at reading your pup and ask for a very simple behavior like a hand touch or eye contact before he has a chance to make a mistake, THEN give some really high value food or get out a favorite toy. Once the puppy learns that you have much better games to play than the leash tug, it should extinguish quickly. I also teach my high drive puppies “OH NO” (I don’t say this like I am mad, but kind of with a disappointed tone) , and when they get past me and do something I don’t like I say “OH NO” and just stop every thing. I may even turn my back on the puppy. It takes all the fun out of the game when you don’t participate at all. Then when they offer something different, no matter how small the behavior I mark with YES and we play with a toy or have a great snack.
As for the fear of the highway, I think that’s a pretty common thing. I had a very nice GSD years ago that was really almost panicked by traffic as a puppy and I had to find his “bubble” of distance where the traffic didn’t seem to affect his drive. I would feed him and play with him and when he seemed to be doing well I would move a bit closer and repeat.
They do grow out of this as they gain confidence and life experience. I wouldn’t feed him for showing courage, because that’s not a black/white thing for a dog. You can only reward behavior that you like, and what you perceive as courage may be something completely unclear for the dog.
I would simply play with him and feed him to show him that being with you is great and that you won’t put him in situations that make him feel uncomfortable. Be aware of his attitude and don’t be afraid to back up a step in your conditioning.
Dogs learn much faster when we present things as black or white. Grey areas slow learning and confidence. Engineers are usually really good at understanding that part of dog training. :-)
I hope this helps.
Cindy
For puppies with high play drive, the leash snapping can become just one big game as you have found out. It seems like most of my puppies that I raise do this. I have found a good solution to this is train the pup with markers. Read the article titled Training With Markers and give them an alternate behavior when I see them revving up to bite at the leash. If you wait until the pup has already bitten the leash, it’s really too late and they have already gotten some positive reinforcement. So… become an expert at reading your pup and ask for a very simple behavior like a hand touch or eye contact before he has a chance to make a mistake, THEN give some really high value food or get out a favorite toy. Once the puppy learns that you have much better games to play than the leash tug, it should extinguish quickly. I also teach my high drive puppies “OH NO” (I don’t say this like I am mad, but kind of with a disappointed tone) , and when they get past me and do something I don’t like I say “OH NO” and just stop every thing. I may even turn my back on the puppy. It takes all the fun out of the game when you don’t participate at all. Then when they offer something different, no matter how small the behavior I mark with YES and we play with a toy or have a great snack.
As for the fear of the highway, I think that’s a pretty common thing. I had a very nice GSD years ago that was really almost panicked by traffic as a puppy and I had to find his “bubble” of distance where the traffic didn’t seem to affect his drive. I would feed him and play with him and when he seemed to be doing well I would move a bit closer and repeat.
They do grow out of this as they gain confidence and life experience. I wouldn’t feed him for showing courage, because that’s not a black/white thing for a dog. You can only reward behavior that you like, and what you perceive as courage may be something completely unclear for the dog.
I would simply play with him and feed him to show him that being with you is great and that you won’t put him in situations that make him feel uncomfortable. Be aware of his attitude and don’t be afraid to back up a step in your conditioning.
Dogs learn much faster when we present things as black or white. Grey areas slow learning and confidence. Engineers are usually really good at understanding that part of dog training. :-)
I hope this helps.
Cindy
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