Teach what you do want. As Steve said, "quiet" means nothing more to him now than "I'm about to be randomly punished again."
Yes.
Dogs need to know 3 things in training:
1. What they are doing right
2. What they are doing wrong
3. When they are free to end the behavior
Very clear communication in training reactive breeds can go a long way towards preventing the behaviors you're describing. However, at this point, I think starting over (lots of good advice in this thread for how to do that!) while keeping these 3 things in mind will help you immensely.
Also, #2 doesn't necessarily mean a correction, but it can also be a negative marker word (ah-ah) and witholding the reward.
It can be done, and if you can teach your dog to retrieve a dime, you can fix this too.
Alrighty, we're going to re-learn everything just to be sure.
I need to know, should I also stop walking him and bringing him out beyond my backyard? I usually run with him 2x's a week, plus a few daily one mile walks, but if I'm starting over from scratch, I should probably do no distractions at all, right?
Yeah, I agree that he doesn't exactly know when a marked behavior ends. Example: He goes to his blanket all the time without being commanded to, and then he thinks he is stuck there until he is released.
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
Posts: 31571
Loc: North-Central coast of California
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Do you see a lot of unleashed dogs on walks?
When I am first working with a reactive dog, I just keep on marching, and I avoid routes with fence-fighters, dog parks, loose dogs .... and/or choose times of day when few others are out with dogs. I definitely don't stop to chat or even slow down enough for the dog to have time to fixate or become excited or even react. More like whoosh what was that?
And "Yeah, I agree that he doesn't exactly know when a marked behavior ends. Example: He goes to his blanket all the time without being commanded to, and then he thinks he is stuck there until he is released" means that the marker training fell down somewhere.
Have you seen any of the marker videos/DVDs here, or any of the free streaming Michael Ellis video?
I own the first three Michael Ellis videos, and watched some of the free streaming ones... I haven't in a while though, and yeah, I know I messed up somewhere in there... I'm going to re-watch them before I start this re-training program.
I don't usually come in contact with any dogs on my walks. We live out in the boonies. The closest we come to is a dog behind a fence, barking. I can get him to focus on me but he is still anxious and hackling, lots of lip licks and some yawns. He also might bark once or twice, if the other dog right in front of us outside a fence (most cases this doesn't happen.)
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Re: I think I'm making my dog anxious...
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