Quote: sarah ward

Jenn,
"Humpy mode"is a sign that the dog is trying to establish dominance over another, yes, but that doesn't mean you have a truly dominant dog. Dogs encountering another dog try various behaviors to establish who is first in the pecking order. I have seen even very soft and submissive dogs do it with a strange dog they thought they could be #1 over.

It does sound like your dog has some bratty attitude around the house, yes. What do you do when she growls at you?

Without seeing the dog, I am having trouble figuring out whether the screaming and lunging at other dogs is a fear response arising from a previous bad experience, or whether she's just acting out. Sounds like you are too. You said you worked with a trainer - what were his/her observations on this?

Hi i do not tolerate her growling at me, luckily it has only happened a few times, but mainly she gets a verbal "hey!" or "no" and i use the word "off" and use my body to get her off the couch if needed. like i said, it's only happened a couple times at home, and normally she is OKAY in the house, and seems to know who is boss.

It is hard to tell for me too. we did go to a behaviorist at one point, who diagnosed her with fear aggression. however the behaviorist also did not see her in action on the street. she only witnessed my dogs yelping/whining/ and carrying on when we heard other dogs outside the room, and also felt that by her body language, and inability to relax near the door was a sign of fear.

i have had other trainers who saw her actions as being territorial. my dog walker believes this as well.

but then there are times when we will be leaving the building, or coming in for instance, and we are suddenly confronted by another dog in the building and she will just lose it. i will pick her up in these instances just to get her out of there as fast as possible, and her eyes are wide, sometimes they turn red, her paws curl,and her whole body is tense, and it seems really almost scary for her!

maybe i could video tape her sometime, and post it up here and see what people think?

Well guys sorry,
If the pinch is engaged after the fact, ie. while the brat is already having a fit, then yes it'll only escalate the situation.
Do not let it get to that point.
Timing, timing, timing.
Should be every handlers mantra and prayer at bedtime.

Get one of those nasty looking prongs and fix the issues.

By not allowing the dog walker to correct the dog only serves to confuse the dog.

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

 Quote: randy allen

If the pinch is engaged after the fact, ie. while the brat is already having a fit, then yes it'll only escalate the situation.
Do not let it get to that point.
Timing, timing, timing.

I agree with Randy on this.

The prong is a great tool for aggressive or bratty dogs, timed right.

I use a prong on Teagan, and while we did have a few incidents where it escalated her, those were when I first had her and hadn't fully learned to read the subtleties of her body language.

Speaking of timing and corrections - Jenn, in a previous thread we'd discussed giving your dog something to do (different obedience commands, for instance) instead of reacting and getting corrected - giving her a positive rather than the negative - again, timing is a big thing there which is what made me think of it. How is that going? It can be a bit frustrating but it's really worthwhile

well i guess then at this point, i reallty need to figure out if this is a fear based thing, or a territorial thing, because we should not use prongs on fearful dogs right? then i wonder, what are the advantages of using the prong over the dominant dog collar?

jennifer- yes sometimes i will pull her over to the side and have her sit, stay,and "watch' i hold the treat up by my eyes. but sometimes my dog will sense my actions of pulling her aside and trying to work with her, as "hey i know something is up here" and will start to seek out whatever it is she thinks i am trying to distract her from. i try to do it at random times as well in hopes that she will not associate it in that manner. it does just take a lot of patience and time, and can get tricky and exhausting at times!

 Quote: randy allen

As to your problem with the dog; I'd work hard on the ob away from distractions until I was sure it knew them. Randy

And you too. To the point ob becomes the default behavior for both of you.

Jenn,

Here is a suggestion - others on this board may have better ideas - but here goes. I am basing this on a foster dog I worked with a few years who threw a complete barking lunging fit whenever another dog approached while out walking, and also was nervous around some (not all) other dogs. We didn't know what the history behind his behavior was, but this is based on what I did (it took some time and patience, but it did work):

Make sure you have practiced and rewarded the "watch" command (or whatever command you have use that tells the dog to focus her attention on you) so the dog knows it well.

Get a properly fitted DD collar with a second leash attached (I'm backtracking on one of my previous posts here). Put this on the dog along with your usual flat collar.

Equip yourself with lots of really yummy treats.

Go out and find a spot where you can sit and see other dogs go past without having to actually encounter them up close. I did this sitting with the dog off to the side of a local trail popular with people walking their dogs. If the dog is reactive to other dogs from a distance, your spot needs to be even further away to begin with. Are you in a city? Is there a park or somewhere you can go to do this?

Sit there with the dog. Talk to her, play with her, get her to relax and enjoy being with and paying attention to you. Watch her. When another dog comes into view, as soon as your dog starts to react (stiffens, stares, growls etc. ) say a firm "NO" followed by "Watch". Praise and reward the moment she responds by redirecting her attention to you. If she starts shrieking, lunging etc. lift her with the DD collar while saying NO, set her down and praise/reward as soon as she stops. Be prepared to repeat this a lot.

It is much easier to watch the dog closely and redirect with the "Watch" command at the right moment if you are sitting rather than walking along. Also if you are in a "safe" spot where the dog is not in motion and doesn't have continually changing "territory" to defend (plus she cannot reach or be reached by other dogs) it de-escalates the situation for the dog and you. You might have to start with a spot some distance from other dogs passing by and work gradually closer.

The idea is that for the dog to learn a) that other dogs passing by are not a threat; b) that throwing a fit (for whatever reason) is not allowed; and c) that responding with an alternative behavior ("watch") instead will be nicely rewarded.

Think about your own reaction, too. You need to stay calm and relaxed. If you are expecting trouble so you start to tense up whenever you see another dog approaching, your own dog will sense it without fail.

 Quote: sarah ward

Jenn,

Here is a suggestion - others on this board may have better ideas - but here goes. I am basing this on a foster dog I worked with a few years who threw a complete barking lunging fit whenever another dog approached while out walking, and also was nervous around some (not all) other dogs. We didn't know what the history behind his behavior was, but this is based on what I did (it took some time and patience, but it did work):

Make sure you have practiced and rewarded the "watch" command (or whatever command you have use that tells the dog to focus her attention on you) so the dog knows it well.

Get a properly fitted DD collar with a second leash attached (I'm backtracking on one of my previous posts here). Put this on the dog along with your usual flat collar.

Equip yourself with lots of really yummy treats.

Go out and find a spot where you can sit and see other dogs go past without having to actually encounter them up close. I did this sitting with the dog off to the side of a local trail popular with people walking their dogs. If the dog is reactive to other dogs from a distance, your spot needs to be even further away to begin with. Are you in a city? Is there a park or somewhere you can go to do this?

Sit there with the dog. Talk to her, play with her, get her to relax and enjoy being with and paying attention to you. Watch her. When another dog comes into view, as soon as your dog starts to react (stiffens, stares, growls etc. ) say a firm "NO" followed by "Watch". Praise and reward the moment she responds by redirecting her attention to you. If she starts shrieking, lunging etc. lift her with the DD collar while saying NO, set her down and praise/reward as soon as she stops. Be prepared to repeat this a lot.

It is much easier to watch the dog closely and redirect with the "Watch" command at the right moment if you are sitting rather than walking along. Also if you are in a "safe" spot where the dog is not in motion and doesn't have continually changing "territory" to defend (plus she cannot reach or be reached by other dogs) it de-escalates the situation for the dog and you. You might have to start with a spot some distance from other dogs passing by and work gradually closer.

The idea is that for the dog to learn a) that other dogs passing by are not a threat; b) that throwing a fit (for whatever reason) is not allowed; and c) that responding with an alternative behavior ("watch") instead will be nicely rewarded.

Think about your own reaction, too. You need to stay calm and relaxed. If you are expecting trouble so you start to tense up whenever you see another dog approaching, your own dog will sense it without fail.

sarah

thanks we will definitely try this! there is a dog park near by where i sometimes take her to walk her along outside the fence. she feels a little less threatened being there, when she realizes there is a fence. then we can work our way closer and closer, or maybe sit across the street from the entrance.

thanks for all your advice.

Jenn,

It's important if you get a DD collar that it fits right (see http://leerburg.com/746.htm). What I found was we could gradually decrease the distance from where we sat to where the dogs were passing by, and then work up to walking along the trail ourselves, still using "watch" to redirect and the DD collar if lunging etc started.

Do keep us posted if you try this.

Soooo,
Everyone tell me, exactly how does one use a dd collar for correction?
I must be missing some details on that point.

And why is it called for in this instance?
Randy

Randy,

http://leerburg.com/746.htm. Scroll down beyond the video about fitting the collar.