I defer to Aaron's comments first. He knows his stuff. The dogs don't know what is expected from them unless you show them in a way a dog can understand.

Some dogs just take more time and training than others. If you're committed to the dog you have to make the time for her. I hear the frustration in your posts. And I also understand that you have more going on in your life than training a dog. Small children take a lot of work. So I understand that you don't have hours to spend walking each dog individually. Most people don't.

I have a husky, a sled dog. He responds very well to marker/clicker training. These are generally very smart dogs, but independent. And they really need to run. I mean run. Not walk, with constant corrections. I don't know where you live, but even just 20-30 minutes of constant running would do wonders. Since you can't let her off leash at this point, bike with her. They make attachements for bikes that reduce lunging forces which I've tried. 'Springer' and 'Walky dog' are two that work well. Run her at 6 minutes/mile or less pace. Really make her work.

And (or), leave Ghost at home and bring Pippi to an open field to play fetch. Get a long line, I mean long, like 50 feet- or use an enclosed area (tennis courts with high fences would be my recommendation if she's a fence jumper). That she actually retrieves for you is a good sign. She's willing to work with you and has ball drive (most huskies I've known have no interest in retrieve). So this is a great tool.

There's more, of course, but I think adequate exercise will catalyze solving some of your problems with the dogs. That doesn't mean it will fix any of them, just that it will help make the fixing easier. Time, work, and patience are required to solve dog-aggression/reactivity issues. Many other people on this board have more experience on these issues than do I.

Thanks Aaron for helping break this all down. I am going to go through it after I have a coffee I really don't have a clue as to what I am doing with these dogs who are obviously both smart and determined, and am totally willing to say I am lost. As far as trainers I've run into here, I don't feel like they are giving me any real solutions so far. The guy I've had over recently (the one who said to stop on the street and let her bark until she gets tired) also wants me to bring her to his dog day care so she can socialize, but I feel like that it just a fight waiting to happen. The last time I took her to an enclose building with five other dogs she attacked 2. I feel very naive in thinking that I could have dogs and it wouldn't be too hard

Ok, Aaron had so many good points for me that no one has ever actually spelled out before. Here is my day, where I need to work in training, this is where I need help as for some reason I can't seem to wrap my head around how to fit dog work into the day - I am generally a good organizer but all this dog work overwhelms me. I don't know where to start most times. On weekdays myself and my son are up at 6:15 AM dogs get fed (made to do a "sit" and "wait" until I release them to eat), my daycare kids start coming at 6:30 AM. Dogs go outside. We walk 2 kids to school at 8AM, come back home with the remaining 3 kids. Go back to get the boys from school at 10:45 AM, play at the park for a bit if the weather is nice, then home for lunch at 11:30. Kids are at my house all afternoon until 4:30 PM. During the afternoon if the little kids are napping and the 2 older ones are playing nicely I go outside for 15-20 minutes and play with the dogs. I play with them separately now and it is much more enjoyable for all of us. Ghost is tied up and sits beside me while I play fetch with Pippi. Then Ghost and I play tug (she doesn't fetch). I let them inside and have them "relax" (laydown) and stay on their rug at the back door. This is not perfect yet, and I spend a lot of time putting them back into their stay. Once kids go home at 4:30 my son and I start the dog walks. We walk each dog for 45 minutes with their backpack on. Once walks are done, dogs do another sit/wait for their food. We eat supper, dogs come inside and relax at the back door until they are dry, about an hour. Then I brush their coats and we go to bed. I don't have crates for them; we don't have room in our home and Ghost has destroyed 2 crates as well as pulling up all the carpet under her crate, being successful in bending bars and opening the door to get out. They sleep in a gated area instead. So where and how do I start with working with these 2 dogs? I'm going to respond to Aaron's comments in a separate post next, just wanted to give some background into what our day looks like to get some ideas for fitting training sessions in.

 Quote: Kiersten Lippman

I defer to Aaron's comments first. He knows his stuff. The dogs don't know what is expected from them unless you show them in a way a dog can understand.

Some dogs just take more time and training than others. If you're committed to the dog you have to make the time for her. I hear the frustration in your posts. And I also understand that you have more going on in your life than training a dog. Small children take a lot of work. So I understand that you don't have hours to spend walking each dog individually. Most people don't.

I have a husky, a sled dog. He responds very well to marker/clicker training. These are generally very smart dogs, but independent. And they really need to run. I mean run. Not walk, with constant corrections . I don't know where you live, but even just 20-30 minutes of constant running would do wonders. Since you can't let her off leash at this point, bike with her. They make attachements for bikes that reduce lunging forces which I've tried. 'Springer' and 'Walky dog' are two that work well. Run her at 6 minutes/mile or less pace. Really make her work.

And (or), leave Ghost at home and bring Pippi to an open field to play fetch. Get a long line, I mean long, like 50 feet- or use an enclosed area (tennis courts with high fences would be my recommendation if she's a fence jumper). That she actually retrieves for you is a good sign. She's willing to work with you and has ball drive (most huskies I've known have no interest in retrieve). So this is a great tool.

There's more, of course, but I think adequate exercise will catalyze solving some of your problems with the dogs . That doesn't mean it will fix any of them, just that it will help make the fixing easier. Time, work, and patience are required to solve dog-aggression/reactivity issues. Many other people on this board have more experience on these issues than do I.

Excellant Post!! Agree 110%!!
Adequate Exercise is So Important, & solves so many issues, but is often overlooked; or not convienent for the owner!
The Biggest commitment to owning a dog!

Respect would look like this for me – when we are out they look back to me for guidance instead of just forging ahead without a second glance; so that they can see/hear me if I give a command – like “stop” or “wait”. If I ask them to relax (laydown) and stay they comply. Ghost is a terrible doorbell barker, I would like her to stop barking when I ask and wait while guests come in. Or have them settle down instead of wrestle in the house if I ask, as little kids get knocked over.

**listen to and look to me when we are out and I say "no".

You want to use "no" as a look command?**

Sorry, that was not exactly what I meant. I say “pay attention” when I want them to look back at me and watch where I am walking. They both are trying so hard to pull ahead of us that they run into the stroller or get their leash caught in the wheels. When I want them to stop pulling or barking I say “no pulling” or “ no barking”.

**If you can't tell me, and I speak english, how could they possibly understand what you want?**

Well said, that is what I don’t want them to do. I would like Pippi to stay with me when out walking, and enjoy being with us more than chasing an animal. I want her to feel calm and no need to bark, lunge or cry at other dogs. I would like to have her walk by other dogs without feeling like she has to do anything besides give them a glance. I don’t mind one bark in the house to let me know someone is going by, but want them to stop when I say “no barking”.

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I would love for them to be able to calm themselves down instead of getting worked up when they see another dog, or when I leave them alone at home.

**Do they know what calm is? What it looks like?
For that matter... what DOES calm look like?**
Hmm, ok well I want them to be able to stop frantically barking, etc. if I tell them no. To stay in their spot in the house if I tell them to stay, and to stop wrestling around people or the kids if I ask them to. They always seem to come right up to us and start wrestling with each other on top of our feet. They can wrestle, just not on top of me.

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Did I mention that she escaped from my 6 ft fenced yard multiple times to chase other dogs walking by? I've had to raise my fenced.

**Huskies are known for this. Which is why you basically can't put them in a yard unsupervised. Ever. **
Yes, I realize now they were a bad choice for us being in a city. For some reason I thought that they would want to stay near us, or with each other in the yard to be close to the family. Not the case, esp now that spring is almost here.

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I just got back from walking both, Pippi first which was a hard 45 minutes of leash corrections and barking like a maniac at other dogs in yards and on the street.

**What were you correcting her for? Does *she* know why you're correcting her?
What do you say before you correct her? **

I don’t know now if she does understand what I want. I was correcting her for trying to pull ahead of me and the stroller. I wanted a loose leash walk. I say no pulling before I correct her. I also would correct her saying leave it when we would walk by a house with a dog outside and they started barking at each other. I would be ok with her even barking less at other dogs, I just don’t think the lunging and shrieking is ok. It scares me and other people, hurts my arm and her neck I’m sure. I want her to stop that behaviour when I say no barking or leave it. Now that you have me thinking more, she likely has never been leash walked or very rarely, being a dog who was likely allowed to roam free on the reserve. I just assumed that she would understand how to walk with us since she is an adult dog.

**Did you train her to behave another way on leash?
Did you train her to do it under gradually increasing distraction?
Does she know what is expected of her, or are you just holding her in place and hoping she'll figure it out? **

I am just holding her in place, saying no pulling and waiting for to figure it out. Not fair I am thinking now. I keep hoping she’ll get it, everyone says she needs to be exercised and that is the only way I know how to exercise the dogs before I can do any training or they won’t be able to focus because they have too much energy. Should I being doing something else? Do I start with her like she is a new puppy basically?

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I just moved to a prong collar as this lunging, shreiking and barking is getting worse; what I find now is that when I correct her with the prong she turns and snaps at me.

**Yes, because she thinks your correction is unfair, and it probably is. Slapping a prong collar on her when she doesn't know how to heel is bordering on cruelty. Not because the collar is cruel, but because you're punishing her for doing what you've always let her do. Why is it suddenly not okay? **

Again, I was naively thinking that she should just catch on to what I wanted by repeating our walks and doing leash corrections (with the martingale collar) saying no pulling. Since she wasn't catching on, I kept trying different collars to try to control her better and as is much stronger than I am. I also tried the stopping walking until she stopped at looked back at me, then moving forward again. This was the guidance I got from trainers here. It doesn’t seem to be working. I used the prong collar 2x then went back to the regular one as I don’t want her to become scared or aggressive towards people, and it seemed like that was how it was going. Same reason why I don’t use the e collar. I don’t know what I am doing and have no one to help me use it correctly.

Quote:
Other problems that seem to be coming up is that our first dog Ghost has become very possessive and jealous of my interactions with Pippi.

**Then separate the dogs.**
Separate them when they are with the family? I got Pippi as a companion for Ghost, probably a bad idea I realize now.

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I have to walk them separately, as Pippi will bite Ghost out of frustration when I correct her after she loses it seeing, smelling or hearing another dog. The trainer I am working with has told me to just stop moving when we come across another dog and Pippi starts barking, and wait until she calms down before we move again.

**Trainer sounds like an idiot... but anyway...**
So this advice sounded weird to me too, but I figured he was a professional so I would try it. It seems mean to me to make her stay in a place where she feels afraid or anxious, I thought it would be better to just keep walking instead.

**So you're walking along and Pippi is heeling beautifully, focused on you, and suddenly another dog appears out of nowhere and Pippi, who has been heeling and obeying every command you give her, loses the ability to obey.

You do what, at this point?**

Again, the underlying issue – she is never focused on me, walking with a loose leash. As soon as we head out, it is like she’s on the hunt – head up and searching, and straining to get in front of me and the stroller. She will run in front of me, behind me, crying because she can’t get away. The only time she really will focus on me is when we are in the house doing work on the sit/stay/relax. Or if we are playing fetch in the yard.

So after going through all your questions I feel like I need to start with Pippi like she is a puppy. I can’t really have her with me in the house all day, there are too many small kids around. And if she isn’t ready for leash walking, how do I exercise her? Play in the yard? What do I do about both dogs crying when I leave one of them at home? I have to tie them up, since they can get out of the yard and the dog run. Just let them cry? I’ve left kongs filled with food, raw whole fish or other raw food and they don’t even touch it. Just cry and panic. I feel like a terrible dog owner, and that I am failing these dogs.

Have you paid this trainer yet?

He is giving you a lot of dumb advice. No doggie daycare for this dog! It will absolutely, without a doubt, make your problems worse.

If you haven't paid him, take the money and invest it into videos from this site. They will get you a lot further along than what he is going to tell you.

I am all for exercising the dogs, I love getting out with them. Problem usually is that I have to bring my 2 yr old son everywhere we go as I have no one else to keep him while I take the dogs out. I would love to be able to take both dogs to Nose Hill (a huge wild area near our house with nice hiking trails, hills,swimming for dogs) and we did every day with Ghost. Pippi just chases wildlife and other dogs, so we can't take her there. I can exercise Ghost no problem. Pippi is more difficult and where I run into trouble thinking of how to really wear her out. Biking would be great if I was confident she wouldn't pull me and my son (who would be on the bike with me) over trying to catch a deer or another dog. Fetch is great, maybe on a really long lead? There are lots of open areas around me, just lots of other dogs which is a nightmare for Pippi. People are always letting their dogs off leash in these areas, even though they aren't off leash designated. There is a soccer field by my house but we've avoided it as there is inevitably either a dog off leash or a coyote wandering around there. The most basic thing I need to know is what to do if we are out, say we're playing fetch on a long lead at the soccer field and a dog starts running over. Pippi gets worked up, and tries to fight or chase this dog while the owner stands or slowly comes over calling their dog who isn't listening. Do we walk away? Do I hold here there and tell her to leave it? How do you handle these kind of situations?

Unfortunately I paid him for one session, don't think I will be having him back though. He was recommended to me by a friend who had trouble with her dog getting into a fight with another dog. Her dog is ok now, goes to the day care regularly. I felt a bit like he just wanted me to put my dogs in daycare to make more money. I mean, I work from home so they don't need to go anywhere. And really I don't care if they socialize and have dog friends. I just want them to not freak out when we walk past other dogs. And last time we talked he told me that he wants to be the "dog whisperer of Calgary". I am not a fan of the TV dog trainers. Looks good in a half hour of TV time, but not realistic.

Are the videos here doable on your own if you know nothing about dogs? Which ones would be best? I can admit that I have no idea what I am doing and was dumb enough to get 2 large, smart, independent dogs. While single parenting and working full time. Not so smart.

Most everything you train, you break into separate parts Angela. If you want the dog to look at you, you teach that first before you add moving, and the last thing is distractions like other dogs or wildlife, etc..

Another thing to work on is making it clear to the dog when its done. A release. The dogs looks at you, you reward, release, start again.Dog walks without pulling, release to sniff around, start again. The nature of walks changes, its all about training for a while and for me, thats one dog at a time. I always had a three wheel stroller so I could take one of my kids too though.

With the kids in the room getting knocked over by the dogs, I look to do two things. The dogs get a place command out of the way and the kids are taught to give them some space. It sounds like you are pretty close to that with your relax.

I would get the pack structure and basic obedience set along with marker training. Work from pack structure first, marker training second and basic obedience last. You will learn a lot from these videos, all of them are great for novice pet owners.

You will need to seperate the dogs at first. If they have bonded with eachother this work needs to be done to get them to bond with you. The dogs can be friends in the future, but its important to seperate them while they learn that you are the center of the universe. This will be a lot of work, but its not impossible.

I face similar issues when it comes to exercising my dog.

Through experience I have learned which dogs will stay with their owners. It dosent take long to figure out which ones have obedience training and which ones don't .

What I do is use the feilds that are of no interest to people who allow their dogs to roam off leash. If somebody shows up with a dog that I'm not sure about I leave and finish the exercise session with a brisk walk.

Its a pain in the butt, but its better than dealing with serious dog aggression in the long run.


Eta: Yes to a long line. Its the best thing ever.