Soft and Sensitive are different. Soft is relating to the reaction to the handler. Sensitive is relating to the reaction to environment. Related to eachother yes, the same, no.

Defensive:

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She sounds the alarm (barks) when she hears someone on our property with hair raised... looking very confident.

With others, she barks like crazy and backs away if they try to come near her.

Suggestions? Maybe tomorrow, I'm exhausted and don't want to write an essay right now Your post title implied you were just trying to determine temperament.

 Quote: randy allen

in young pups.

Common? Maybe. The norm? Absolutely not. I will never choose a pup that does this. But then, I do not look for pets.... then again, I would look for the same traits in a pet that I would a working dog, but then, we're not talking about me, so on hand #4... maybe it is some screwed up kinda norm that shouldn't be the norm???

Yes, thanks randy. You're right she does recover quickly. It's not all doom and gloom. I'm not the type to give up on a dog, especially at 6 months.

I have gotten a lot of helpful replies.

I figure "Eat the meat and spit out the bones."

Thanks for being a voice or reason.

Okay Mike maybe norm wasn't the right wording. Call it lazyness.
Submissive piddling is not that uncommon. There are certainly youngsters that never admit to being over matched. I look for those types as well as you.
Randy



Edited by randy allen (01/08/2008 05:14 PM)
Edit reason: I think faster then I type

Wendy, don't get me wrong, I don't mean what I said in a negative way, but being realistic about what your dog is, is the first step to improving the dog. The dog is what the dog is, and the dog will always have these things, but if you take these things into account when handling her, things will go alot smoother.

My dog Cujo for example, he is soft, sensitive, nervey and defensive, but I take these things into account, and now he counters these negative traits with being cocky and stubborn with alot of enthusiasm for things that he didn't have when he was 6 months old. If he jumps up on the kitchen counter, I let him get away with it. I'll tell him to get off, but he needs to be allowed to be a little cocky and get away with things once in a while, otherwise he turns into a very bland dog with a "well I'm not allowed to do anything anyway so I'll just lie down in a corner all day" mentality.

Accepting and working around a dogs flaws are the most important steps.

 Quote: jennifer marshal

Wendy - you did great! It took me months to figure out the multiple quote thing.

Thanks, wasn't sure it would work until posted.

I will watch her more closely to see if she is squatting the tiniest bit. It does happen more when her bladder is full.

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Dogs that are raised without human contact and only interact with other dogs interpret human body language the way they would body language from another dog. ...if she becomes aggressive or just barks and avoids them she is essentially disputing this persons attempt at being dominant.

Awesome information. Makes perfect sense! As she becomes more accustomed to human contact, perhaps this will dissipate.

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Has she been through any Obedience training?

Only in the privacy of our own home. She knows sit, come, down and that's pretty much it for now.

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What is your body language when you go to grab her after going potty in the house? Are you angry at all? Do you loom over her when you grab her collar and hunch over when you hold onto her collar and wind up dragging her?

Yes, in all honesty, I feel angry. I don't loom over her but my voice has turned angry. Dog's are smart, they know when we're angry even if we don't sound it. I do end up dragging her towards the door because she is resisting. I don't know how I can calmly say, "com'on let's go potty outside (smile, smile)." I picture her tail wagging, happily going outside not knowing she did something wrong. what do you recommend?

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The housebreaking issues can be from unclean conditions as a pup - does she soil her crate at all? What do you use to clean up the messes with? Is it always one area, or randomly throughout the house?

No, she does not soil her crate. It is random through the house.

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I would keep a lead on her at all times and not just go to put one on her when she makes a mistake. Tethering her to you would also be good as she is always right there and you do not have to approach her to correct her.

She is pretty much always on a lead or tethered to something, usually the coffee table or in the kitchen.

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With the Ah-Ah not working for her going in the house, do you only use Ah-Ah as a correction and not the word no? You can also try clapping your hands to get her attention and then say a very firm Ah-Ah or No, and immediately taking her outside.

Yes, I do clap (forgot to mention that). I clap with each Ah.

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For the food aggression, the use of the DD collar is effective - are you using a DD collar, choke chain, flat collar? Are you only correcting her while she is at the food?

I am using a flat collar. I personally do not care for choke chains. I also have an almost exact replica of the DD collar. I haven't used it for this though. If it were more severe I would.

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How does your normal every day feeding time go? (I.E. you just give her the food bowl, or you make her sit and then give her the food, or you put the food down, make her sit and then let her eat, etc.. is she super excited, nervous, or ?)

I have her sit while the food is on the counter and then I give it to her. I started this after the first food incident. She is calm.

Thanks again for your time Jennifer. I really appreciate it.

Yes, Mike. That is precisely what I am trying to do... take into consideration her traits and learn to train and discipline accordingly. Some the the temperment clues in this dog are new to me and I'd rather ask and learn the most effective way to work with her.
I see great potential in her and if I don't end up seeing that come out in the long run, I know I've done something wrong. I don't want to have to go back and correct what I could have taken the time to learn in the first place.
Thanks for the reply

Randy, sorry it took me so long to reply.

 Quote: randy allen

After a quick search on some of your other posts, I can't find how you socialized your dog, or even if you were able to. I could have missed it.

Great question. I have taken her to sports games (alot of interaction there), hikes, to work, stores, etc.

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Have you tried corrections in a normal tone of voice? With no harshness.

Yes, most of her corrections are given this way.

By the way. I like your sig. quote!...

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If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Thanks again

I would tether her to you and not an inanimate object, as you can easily walk away and give her the chance to potty in the house if you can't see her or are too far away. I recommend a command for going potty. I use the word Potty. When you take her out, have some fabulous treat or toy and reward her like she just did a backflip, when she goes. "Good Potty! GOOD POTTY!" excitement and reward for potty outside. This way she has something possitive associated with going to the bathroom and not only negative with being corrected/reprimanded for going in doors.

Tethering her to you and making sure she goes out very often with her rewards for potty outside. If you catch her trying to go/starting to go with her tethered you can give her a leash pop and a No! Try a verbal correction she isn't used to, and keep it limited to only when she potties in the house. No is a very intimidating sound and doesn't need to be said loudly. As for dragging her, that can backfire and cause her to continue to urinate the whole way out the door as she is scared and unsure of what you are doing.

Remember you have to catch her in the act for a correction to have an effect, as soon as the dog starts walking away from the pee spot they are no longer going to associate a correction with peeing in the house.

To motivate her to move forward don't maintain constant pressure on the leash/collar, give a pull and encouraging sound, another pull, encouraging sound, another pull, and move forward with her, don't stand still and try to get her to move, she will likely become confused and lock up and by the time you move and start dragging her she has planted. Also try using the leash instead of your hand ont he collar.

 Quote: jennifer marshal

I would tether her to you and not an inanimate object, as you can easily walk away and give her the chance to potty in the house if you can't see her or are too far away. .... Tethering her to you and making sure she goes out very often with her rewards for potty outside. If you catch her trying to go/starting to go with her tethered you can give her a leash pop and a No! Try a verbal correction she isn't used to, and keep it limited to only when she potties in the house. No is a very intimidating sound and doesn't need to be said loudly. As for dragging her, that can backfire and cause her to continue to urinate the whole way out the door as she is scared and unsure of what you are doing.

Remember you have to catch her in the act for a correction to have an effect, as soon as the dog starts walking away from the pee spot they are no longer going to associate a correction with peeing in the house.

Absolutely! It's completely confusing to a dog to be dragged to a potty and corrected. It means nothing to her but that the handler gives mysterious corrections. It's counterproductive, when your goal is for the dog to associate rewards with certain behaviors and corrections with others..... and then here is a correction with no behavior happening at all.

Have you read or listened to the excellent explanations of marker training that Ed has done?

The big point is that the dog gets feedback INSTANTLY about desired behavior.

I think it will be very helpful to you. :-) The explanation of "snapshot"-marking applies to correcting just as much as rewarding.

Also, you mention the full bladder thing..... perhaps she is not getting enough outdoor-potty opportunity. If she is taken out every hour (for a while) and tethered to you in between, the outdoor potty will become the habit and the indoor potty just won't happen. I would also give very good rewards for good potty for now.

Personally, I almost never correct for indoor potty; I "up" the opportunities for outside, throw a party for each one, and limit the chances for inside to just about zero.