 Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383602 - 10/01/2013 02:36 PM |
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What I need to know is whether this reaction from him is coming from fear or aggression and no one has even touched on that, so forgive me if it looks like I am being closed-minded.
If your foot had a serious case of rot, what would be your main concern? How hygiene can prevent rot in the first place, or healing your foot?
I don't really see fear or aggression from what you're describing. It just sounds like some new home insecurity.
If you had a blister would you just slap a bandage on it and continue or would you change socks/shoes?  Yelling at and correcting the dog is a bandage in this case.
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: Greg Meyer ]
#383603 - 10/01/2013 02:44 PM |
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... Sounds like you may want to consider laying some basic groundwork, as you would with any new puppy, by tethering him to you when you're together. It makes it much easier to control his behavior and apply corrections when needed. JMHO.
Big ditto. And not having taught much by now (if anything) means that there isn't much to correct. Correcting is what I do when the dog fails to do what I have taught and proofed.
This speaks to the basic ob thing that has come up a couple of times. Basic ob (insert another big hint about marker training) is so much more than "the dog knows what sit means." It's bonding, it reinforces pack structure, it's fun, and it gives you a great reason to reward the dog.
I load my marker and then start with all the simple position commands with every dog who comes to join my pack. It goes fast with a dog who has some foundation, but it's still (IMO) important.
And some basic ob is practiced in my house every day. The recall, definitely. Sit before the food is handed over, for example.
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383611 - 10/01/2013 04:13 PM |
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During the new dog's intro period, I think it's very important that there be no misunderstanding about who the leader is in this new pack. Any dog that doesn't think somebody is minding the store will be on heightened alert, and may feel THEY have to step up and run things.
That may or may not contribute to what you're seeing; I don't know. But I don't think there's anything more important to "train" a dog--especially in the introductory period--than clearly who is in charge, all the time, no help needed.
That doesn't mean behaving like a drill sergeant. But it does mean acting in ways that dogs' understand leaders to act. Leaders are firm, fair, and expect deference. If you would prefer that he look at you (I would) then provide a reward for doing so that is better than the self-reward of staring out the door. You can't teach a dog much of anything until he has your undivided attention when you ask for it.
Tethering and NILIF are both good techniques that send clear signals to the dog that this is a safe place with a leader who will protect him (so he doesn't have to).
Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon |
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383621 - 10/01/2013 06:35 PM |
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You can use marker training to reward the basic "house rules" you are seeking, as well (in addition to traditional obedience training). I've used this type of training to really perfect what I want in terms of my dogs behavior. This work has landed me with what I'd consider to be the perfect dog in the house.
Getting up when he barks and taking a peek has been mentioned too. Oh, this works wonderfully!! When my male was young, I would simply get up, look outside and say "it's all good" or "thanks" and redirect with a treat. In the same respect, I don't live in the best neighborhood, so if it was a threat, I'd say "who's there?" and he would amp up. I simply marked/treated the behavior I was looking for. Now I have a dog who can really judge who is supposed to be where and if there truly is a problem.
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: Candi Campbell ]
#383623 - 10/01/2013 06:48 PM |
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Hi Guys,
I'm looking for some help identifying what my dog is experiencing so I can best work on the issue.
I adopted Wyatt 2 weeks ago. He is a 5 year old American Bulldog. I recently just put down my other Am-Bull I had for 12 years, so I am pretty familiar with the breed.
Wyatt came with a few issues that I've already worked through for the most part. He was afraid of stairs, but now he's okay with them. He was also afraid of shiny floors which he is working on, and improving daily.
The dog follows me from room to room, and prefers to sit in front of me facing out. When I sleep he sleeps in my open doorway and guards me. He sleeps when I am awake.
This is all well and good, but if one of my 2 roommate's come home, especially after its dark out, he goes nuts.. Barking and bouncing in there direction lunging in and out of the doorway. This continues until I get up, walk past him toward my roommate and command him to stop. It takes a few seconds for him to calm down and then he's back to buddies with my roommate.
Ideally I would like him to not bark at my roommates, guard the front door and not mine, and calm down when commanded.
BTW If I leave the house and come back, he does not bark once, he is not excited to see me, he's calm and relaxed.
I'm not sure if what I'm dealing with here is some sort of manifestation of fear, him protecting me and aggression, or territorial of my room.
I know I sound like a Broken Record in here (even to myself) but it seems as if no one else except me ever points any posters to Ed Frawley's truly TERRIFIC article on how to establish Pack Structure with a New ADULT Dog in the house -- I volunteer with both Akita Rescue and Doberman Rescue, which are obviously guardian breeds, and I send a print out of...
http://leerburg.com/groundwork.htm
...home with each & every Foster or Adoption out-placement, as the best way to get an adult Rescue dog settled into the new Situation & Routine that will be expected of them -- This is NOT obedience training, and neither is it canine "Psycho-Analysis", but is just Basic PACK Structure protocol as the quickest way a new dog can learn to feel Safe & Secure, IMHO 
Hi again, John!
Don't know if you saw my LINK to the owner of this website's Helpful Article above or not -- I'm a firm believer in "Why Try to Re-Invent the Wheel?", so I'm bumping it for your sure attention ... Most of the concerns you're voicing here could be solved by a strict Initial Adherence to practicing the "Pack Structure / Groundwork Protocol" principles as described in that tutorial
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: Candi Campbell ]
#383624 - 10/01/2013 06:54 PM |
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Delete inadvertent multiple posting, Sorry!
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: Candi Campbell ]
#383625 - 10/01/2013 06:51 PM |
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Delete accidental duplicate post, Sorry.
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383628 - 10/01/2013 08:39 PM |
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Thanks for the help guys, I've been practicing what you said, and he has had a really good day.
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383629 - 10/01/2013 10:07 PM |
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Hi again, John,
Feel free to ask for detailed help. What have you changed, and what has changed about his behavior?
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Re: Fear, Anxiety, or Aggression?
[Re: John Stowe ]
#383631 - 10/01/2013 10:44 PM |
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I took your advice about him barking at noises outside. He'd bark once or twice I'd get up, tell him enough, walk out to my front door to look around outside, and then in a happy voice I'd tell him "its all set". He'd stop barking when I walked out of my room, but wait for me to check things out. When I got back to the room he'd lay back down. He hasn't barked at all at either of my roommates today, in fact he hasn't seemed bothered at all. He hasn't been woken up by them yet though.
I started saying "good" the moment he goes into the spot I want him to heel at, and it may be helping. Every time I go for a walk I get 10 minutes of hell where im constantly working him, starting/stopping, corrections.. I have blisters on my hand. The last 50 minutes he walks at heel with the occasional bolt towards the curb to investigate something. This from a dog I was told was "un-walkable"
He's improving quickly
I read the FAQ on ground work, and I didn't realize what it was. I learned alot about that when I got my last bulldog, in 2002, when I was originally a member of this site. Most of the alpha-male pack leader role stuff I already knew.
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