I bought a male German Shepherd almost 4 weeks ago. He's a SchH1 who was sent to Germany for his training.

He's not a hard dog at all but as soon as he sees or hears his fur saver, he cowers, crawls on the floor, scooting in circles, flees the room and pees. Gladly, the peeing I think has pretty much stopped.

Since I've had him, I've given him no verbal or physical corrections, not even a "no". I've had strong nerved, confident German Shepherds in the past and I have to say that I am speechless that a SchH1 male would act so afraid of his collar.

I pretty much ignore this behavior and do not get mad. I clean up his pee while talking to him and act like nothing happened. When cleaned up, I walk over to him, slip the collar over his head and act excited that it's time to go outside. Once the collar is on, he's fine. I think if he senses that I'm upset with him, not only will it make it worse, it could bring onto another host of problems.

To me it's obvious that someone was too hard with their corrections while he was training for his SchH1 or maybe even after. Perhaps someone used the antiquated yank and crank til they learn training or a shock collar. I was told he was not trained using an electronic collar but something definitely has gone awry either during his SchH1 training or after.

What can I do to help him overcome this fear? I have no plans of returning him, so please don't advise me to do so. I'm not looking for a quick fix, I am willing to invest whatever time is necessary. I have no intention of continuing on with his SchH training but I do want a end up with a confident dog and would like some sound advice so I don't end up doing more damage.

does he like to play with you? ie does he have ball/toy drive, if he does you could always make it pleseant to have the collar around him, by playing with him around the collar give him food when he sees the collar everything positive with him, is he like this with other collars or just the fursaver?

Hey Al-
That situation sucks buddy. Unfortunatley thats what happens alot of times when a dog is sent to Germany, or anywhere else for that matter, to be titled. MOST, not all, but most of the time they use compulsion to make the obedience and get em by(if it was even a legit trial).
If you plan on keeping him like you said I would keep doing what your doing. You have the right idea.....associate fun and good things with the collar and not getting mad at him.
Also you could start giving him treats and as he is getting treats from you slip on the collar like it is no big deal as you continue to feed. You could also just keep it on him. My dogs have always had the fur saver on a majority of the time.
Sounds like he hears that noise of the collar and associates it with the training that was done to him.
I'm curious as to who you got the male through. PM me if you dont feel comfortable puting it on the board.
Good luck,

Pat

He does like to play and he's better than when I first brought him home. I don't think he was ever played with before and spent the majority of his life in a kennel. He's 29 months old.

I'm going to try to make this short but clear. If you are interested in the evidence (clinical and anecdotal) of why this will work then PM me.

1. Get a different collar (nylon or leather) for everyday wear.
2. Put your dog on leash. Put the fur-saver collar on the floor taking care to not make any noise with it.
3. Walk your dog up to the collar and drop food on it. When your dog takes the food, it will move the collar. This will desensitize your dog to the sound of the collar. If your dog shows a fearful response, you must either physically keep the dog from avoidance behavior (trying to bolt) or correct the dog with a non-stimulating corrective collar (Leerburg's dominant dog collar).

4. When your dog will take food off of the collar laying on the floor and walk around it, over it etc., then you are ready for the next step. Quietly hang the collar on your wrist and offer treats from that outstretched hand. Hold your dog on leash so that he cannot back up.

5. When your dog is comfortable and approaches your hand quickly for treats, prepare a "jackpot" of very special treats (I'm thinking steak) or play. This time, when your dog takes the treats, tip up your arm so the collar falls around the dog's neck. Immediately drop the "jackpot" on the floor, throw a ball, or initiate your dog's favorite activity. This should happen all within split second so that the dog never gets an opportunity to hesitate.

6. Use this method to put on the collar 3 - 5 times a day for 30 - 40 days.

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Just wanted to post an update about the fur saver problem that I was having.

I kept doing what I had been and didn't change anything. Didn't switch to another type of collar as I felt that would just delay dealing with the problem he was having.

He's no longer fearful of his fur saver at all. In fact, I allow him to jump on me so I can put it on. He now associates his collar with going outside, for walks and having fun. Instead of running away at the sound of it, he runs towards it and is very eager to have it slipped over his head!

Patience and basically ignoring his fear paid off quite well in the end. Thanks for all your suggestions.