Hi All,

I might have over corrected my bhoy. It was for lunging at a toddler agressively and barking, he wasn't very well and the toddler was running at him but that's no excuse! Luckily he was on leash in the house at the time as i'd just gone in.

I'm worried it's affected our bond as he doesn't seem to be the same with me since, lack of trust? maybe just a bit fearful right now?

How can I fix this (if I can) so that we're back on track?

He's 9 1/2 months.

Cheers

John

Depends on how well your dogs take corrections and what level of correction you applied, how often. I over corrected one of my beagles with the e-collar by mistake and it took 3 months before she was even back to normal in the yard. This type of behavior is not to be tolerated, espically out of a pup.
I didnt do anything special except go back to the long line for OB, and pet up the dog, nothing out of the normal.

Alot depends on the dog. Some will take a great deal longer than others. If he is weak to hard corrections then just spend time with him and play. It will take some time but he will understand that you are the alpha and not him. Sometimes there is just cause to corrected a dog a little harder than average. I see going after a child as one of those reasons. If your dog is strong toward corrections then he will rebound quickly. Just reassure him that you are his friend and he only gets corrected when he does not listen. Again it really depends on the temperament of your animal.

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Another thing to look at is ; "Is it you that is acting different after you corrected him ?" . I know of many people who have a tough time correcting dogs . They feel very guilty afterwards , show it and the dog plays off of what they are seeing .

Corrections should be given fairly , timely and in a calm cool manner . You should then move on like nothing happened as long as the dog is being obediant .

"he wasn't very well"

Didn't you post earlier about this dog drinking excessive water?

If the dog is ill, and or recovering from an illness, it is my belief the "distance" you're describing has more to do with that than of the over correction.

How is the health of the dog?

After a correction, I like to find an opportunity to praise my dogs.

As an example, if my pup is outside being a dog but decides to run to the neighbor’s house to play with their dogs that are outside here is what I would do. If he is on a leash or has an e-collar on, I will give him a 7 or 8 correction along with a “no”. I will then tell him to sit. I’ll wait a few seconds, then give him his “come” command. When he arrives in front of me I will then praise him for being such a good dog (he just sat and came perfectly). Then I’ll lead him to the back yard (no distractions there) and play (KONG on string) with him. This both reinforces how happy I am with him when he does what I want, and allows him the pleasure of play (don’t tell him he is learning too).

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the replies!

He is very strong with "scruff" corrections. I actually can't do it hard enough to hurt him in any way (in the correction sense, I don't try to overdo it). The only other type of correction I use is a prong correction, I'd say level 4 to 5 (the occasion in question was about a 9 or 10) but I can't keep that on all the time can I?.

I've worked hard the last couple of days to play more and praise more for good behaviour and he seems to be responding much better tonight (maybe I just got a bit of a fright from everything).

Jim you hit the nail on the head! I had been acting differently since the correction, maybe a bit of guilt in there but more anger to be honest! The one thing I have a problem with is my temper when I see something I really don't like.

I now beleive it was unfair of me to have reacted as badly as I did, I could have handled things much better (I did make a big deal of it now that you mention it...the dog KNEW he was in the doghouse for a while) but this is my first dog and first experience of "that behaviour". Hopefully I'll learn from this.

Michelle you may be right as he's been picking up again from yesterday (a bit more lively) and these two things could be coincidental.

The vet says there are no signs of anything wrong with him so maybe he was just having an "off time" or something.

Chris I normall do what you advise but on this occasion I was just so angry. I'll try to keep that in mind though and brush up on my training myself (wish there was a dog handlers course in my area).

Thanks

John

Don't kill yourself over it. I tend to be heavy handed with my corrections as well, just a personality trait, but the dogs bounce back as long as I bounce back and treat them as if nothing has ever happened. As long as you don't dwell on something for an extended period of time.

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as long as I bounce back and treat them as if nothing has ever happened

That is the truth. Positive training goes so much farther.