I think you should question your sister about what exactly happened when she was walking him.
A dog doesn't flip his switch like that without there being some reason behind it.

Having the dog on the leash inside isn't just to have control. It's to improve the bond you have with him.
He needs to trust you again, that bond has been totally broken and you need to repair it before things get out of hand.
All good things need to come from you and ONLY you.
I understand your thinking about having your mom take care of him during the day. But if i were you I would change that to be that the only interaction is her letting him outside. No playing, no walks nothing on the fun side. You need to get up earlier and take the dog out for longer than 25 minutes. Do some extra OB or something on the walk to help increase the bond and give him more exercise so that you have a tired dog in the morning
If you leave a tired dog when you go to work he will be fine till you get home and shouldn't require your Mom to do more than maybe let him out once to relieve himself.
Theres too many people involved in this dogs training right now, and its starting to show in his behaviour. Stressed dogs will usually lash out.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

I think you should question your sister about what exactly happened when she was walking him.
A dog doesn't flip his switch like that without there being some reason behind it.

1. that s what we re all confused about. nothing apparently happened. the only thing is that my sister just NEVER takes him out for walks... we have no other clue about it.

 Quote: Wendy Lefebvre

Having the dog on the leash inside isn't just to have control. It's to improve the bond you have with him.

2. wendy how does it improve the bond? by showing i control his life? but am not even at home so what s the point? (btw my mom doesnt interact with him anymore)

 Quote: Mike Arnold

You have to take a bunch of steps back and re-start, I think. Re-start walks; gently re-work all the basic commands, lots of praise, lots of patience. Always insert yourself between the dog and any unwanted influence. Make sure the home environment reinforces your efforts.

So i should praise him now? i dont get it. am i supposed to be the fun loving master or just go back to reestablish pack leadership by being aloof toward him and locking him in the crate if we re not out or on obedience?

the professional's like no petting at all till he respects us again (because he used to jump on us and was allowed on the couch, prompt my mom for play...etc)

questions:
1. is it fine if he sleeps on the ground and not in the crate? (he s very calm in the house) and is very calm in the crate too.
*ed said that you put him in the crate till he calms down, then take him out.

2. is my aloof approach right?
it s to have karly trust me as a FAIR pack leader before the loves comes in.

here s the plan again in case you didnt catch it before:

 Quote: michel karsouny

I think i m gonna keep our aloof walks for a minimum of a week where he just gets corrected for leash pulling and gets a couple of sit commands to get out of the house.
He gets put on a long leash to do his business in the parking lot then goes on a 6ft leash for the walk.
He s not allowed to mark his territory anymore and reacts calmly to my "no" when he attempt to.
The "good boys" he gets are aloof with barely any touching for now.
I m going to start doing 3-4 5 minute training marker sessions with treats to make our interactions fun. No play or petting till further notice.
Then i ll have some "good boys" with a kind praising voice bit by bit.
THEN i ll pet gradually.
THEN i ll include a toy (no tugs yet although he does out but doesnt fetch always just comes my direction sometimes or just runs away all excited when i used to say bring)

Michel,

I think any time one of my dogs is behaving in a manner I am seeking, praise is appropriate. I want my dogs to associate me with leadership and partnership. I want them to want to come to me with or without command.

I use an aloof attitude when a dog has done some thing I am not thrilled with but that is a long ways from working with a dog and training it. I call a dog and it doesn't come until the 12th command to come, and I praise the dog like it came on the first command. The next time I call it may be 8th and I still praise, and then next 4th and I still praise, and then the dog comes on the first command every time and I often praise.

When I walk with the dog I often just utter 'good' as in good walk. And when we encounter another person, and I stop, and the dog sits, I utter 'good.' In the normal ebb and flow of training I don't often correct, and certainly do not act aloof. I want the dog to see me wanting to be around it.

Aloof is used, by me, to show disdain and or disgust for an action. It is more acting to emphasize a 'bad dog' comment than anything else.

Walk with the dog because you happily want to do so. Play with the dog because you joyfully want to do so. That the dog is acting out is motivation for you to get closer to the dog.

Getting closer is not condoning behavior, and you don't have overlook bad behavior but you have to be inviting to the dog if you want to create and nurture trust, in my opinion.

I use every tool I can to pull a dog out of unwanted behavior, but I seldom use aloof demeanor. I want to connect with the dog and that requires positive interaction, in my opinion.

You can start the clock on the dog today as if it is new to the house. Actions can reinforce the past or they can look to a future. You should use 10 or more praises to every correction, again just my opinion.

I think your approach to withhold you from your dog is counterproductive. The objective is to not have a dog that is an object. Leadership is not reinforced by being aloof.

Lose aloof. You need to get close to your dog not farther away.

Come, good dog; sit, good dog; go, good dog; down, good dog; walk, good dog; get, good dog; bring, good dog; no, good dog; etc. It is a contradiction to praise a dog with an aloof demeanor.

My opinion only.

Aside from the very good advice above about protecting the dog, "1. that s what we re all confused about. nothing apparently happened. the only thing is that my sister just NEVER takes him out for walks... we have no other clue about it. " .... I don't believe that nothing happened.

I would assume if I were you that I'm not going to know what happened, but that something did. Mike and others are 100% right that the dog did not get from where he was to where he is without a traumatic event (several, in fact, based on your own descriptions).

I don't need to say any more because you have lots of good advice about repairing your relationship. I don't know if I missed the reply, but I mentioned earlier YOU being the dog's trainer/handler/owner.

QUOTE (Wendy):
Having the dog on the leash inside isn't just to have control. It's to improve the bond you have with him. (You are tethered to the dog.)
He needs to trust you again, that bond has been totally broken and you need to repair it before things get out of hand.
All good things need to come from you and ONLY you.
I understand your thinking about having your mom take care of him during the day. But if i were you I would change that to be that the only interaction is her letting him outside. No playing, no walks nothing on the fun side. You need to get up earlier and take the dog out for longer than 25 minutes. Do some extra OB or something on the walk to help increase the bond and give him more exercise so that you have a tired dog in the morning
If you leave a tired dog when you go to work he will be fine till you get home and shouldn't require your Mom to do more than maybe let him out once to relieve himself.
Theres too many people involved in this dogs training right now, and its starting to show in his behaviour. Stressed dogs will usually lash out.

Great observations, Mike:

Start over. Establish rules for working with the dog with other family members. Open your eyes and evaluate the attitudes of other family members and determine if their behavior is hostile to the dog. As you noted, you are not always home. If there is a person who doesn't like the dog, create a line.

You have to regain the dog's 'trust' because it seems to me it has been lost. There is a delta for me when it comes to following a command, and following a command willingly and with enthusiasm. Your dog should happily hang on your every word well, most of them, at least. Some thing happened.

You have to take a bunch of steps back and re-start, I think. Re-start walks; gently re-work all the basic commands, lots of praise, lots of patience. Always insert yourself between the dog and any unwanted influence. Make sure the home environment reinforces your efforts.

Some thing or things happened in the dog's world. You may not find out what happened but you have to prevent stuff from happening - to state the obvious. You can't train and re-establish a relationship if there is a source of confusion or worse in the dog's world.

I'm pleased if one of my dogs likes other family members and friends but there are those I do not leave alone with my dogs. My dogs, my rules, my responsibility. And I am not anxious to have my dogs interact with children - though they are well socialized - because some thing can go wrong in a heartbeat. Frankly, they are my dogs and people have to follow my rules for dealing with them.

Start over. No easy fix for regaining a dog's confidence.

Connie, Mike,

that s great advice guys! i m going to drop the whole aloof approach.

did some marker training and gave some food rewards. got Karly to approach me today just praised but didnt pet him – nor will i unless he s in great spirits and in a fully focused playing session.

discovered something today while walking. i corrected karly for a heal and realized that no corrections whatsoever should be done at least at first. Karly thinks i m out to hurt him and giving him harsh corrections isnt gonna help at all. (he didnt eat his treat and just ditched me all together)

i m going to go back to the attitude Ed has when starting to train puppies. ALL POSITIVE FOCUS. setting everything up so he d win and be happy around me.

coming face to face with another dog for instance usually makes me put him in heal and correcting him as we re walking. from now on, i ll just turn away and drop the situation all together.

it s time to reinforce our one on ones. I cant have him tethered all day with me since i m working but will make it a point to have it be fiesta time when i m around.

any thoughts on getting a bicycle to get him to exercise by following me?

thanks a lot for your replies. it s putting things in perspective.

Biking with the dog next to you (just like with walking no pulling) is wonderful. I think its a great way to give them some exercise without wearing yourself out.

Just keep a few things in mind:
-Heat (don't let him overheat, take water)
-Surface (if pavement; trotting only and check pads after every run),
-gradually get him used to the bike, you want his confidence and obedience
-Commands decide on the same commands for go, stop, left and right and slow, faster etc.

guess who s taking his dog to work with him?

1. how long should the teather be? as long as he s in the same room right and following me around?
2. if he follows at first, or makes eye contact etc.. should i mark the moment and give him a treat?
3. i want him to be around at night and not keep him at moms anymore. should i put him in a place on the floor of my room?
4. when i come into my mom s house and try to greet karly with a high pitched "hey karly" and make eye contact, he just highers his tail and moves away. should i crate him till i come so that he s excited that i m letting him out instead of having me as a threat when i come in?


OBSERVATIONS:

- i ve noticed that karly s mainly afraid of me at my mom s house. (where the harsh corrections happened)
- i havent tried petting him at work or in my apartment and dont want to but he seems more comfortable.

IMPORTANT THING HAPPENED, could you comment on the following?
it was raining so i had to dry him with a towel.
I was mainly drying his back so he growled and had all the hair on his back come up.
I said "it s ok" and kept on drying. more gently. then dropped the towel when he calmed down and petted him very softly on his back for a couple of minutes. his ears were lowered but he was a bit tense. Released him afterward with a calm "good boy"

(i had seen cesar milan do this. so no "NO" but instead showing the dog that he s safe and he doesnt have to worry and that i dont mean him any harm). Cesar held the dog firmly instead though till he calmed down but karly was leashed well and blocked with my leg so i think i pulled it off right.

when turning my tone into a very happy and positive one is where Karly comes all happy and wagging!!

i ll keep it going for a while, reinforce with treats then lower my register bit by bit!

GREAT DISCOVERY!