A support thread for behaviour problems

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Le sigh. Jasper has been doing very well with his fear aggression, and I've been managing situations better all round. But today I cocked up. We met dog A and his owner, and Jas was fine. Both dogs chased their balls, and even when dog A picked up Jas's ball, there was no drama. I praised and treated like crazy, all was well. Then dog B arrived with his owner, and everything was fine for about 10 minutes. I should have cut my losses, praised and treated and left the group. But I didn't, and inevitably all three dogs ran for the ball at once, and Jas was crowded on both sides by larger dogs. He leapt at dog B with lots of noise but no actual violence and then licked his lips and looked away like crazy. He'd probably been doing so for a while, and I hadn't noticed. I could kick myself. Anyway, no major harm done and as I know both owners and dogs, no falling out either. It does go to show, though, how far he has come and how much his tolerance of these situations has increased. I will of course be taking a step back in terms of his interactions, though, as I clearly pushed it too far. How's everyone else doing?

[thwinka]

My 11 month old pup suffers from terrible fear aggression:( He is the most loyal and loving dog in the world towards everyone he knows but is not keen on strangers (although this has improved considerably over the last 6 months)
His fear aggression towards other dogs is an uphill struggle though. It developed from about 4 months after an incident with a group of dogs and he is very nervous now,especially with big dogs.
He was doing so well recently to the point that he was approaching other dogs at the local dog park,playing with them and everything and it was so nice to see him enjoying himself and I actually started to relax myself:)
Took him to a trip to the vet last week and he totally freaked out when they tried to give him an injection and he has since regressed considerably.
He is back to snapping and snarling at dogs whenever they approach him or running away from them. I could quite easily cry with frustration after how well he was doing:( So back to square one for us also.
Your right to take reassurance in how far your dog has come:) and don't be to hard on yourself. You sound like you are doing a great job:)

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Hello! Can I join you? My 3 (ish) year old Lab girl came to us a year ago - ex puppy-farm breeder before (presumably) becoming too weak to breed and then dumped somewhere. We have had trouble when she comes across entire males (understandable, really). She's getting so much better, but like everybody else we do find she suddenly regresses.

We're finding that every time something causes a hiccup, she gets back to where she was before hand much more quickly, so that's reassuring.

We came across a group of 3 entire dogs at the weekend, Spinones - I've seen them before and the owner has no control at all, she rarely even knows where they . One of her dogs just wouldn't leave us alone, our girl was grumbling at him but he just wouldn't leave. In the end I managed to turn us around but it was very hairy for a moment. I would have shouted at the woman to call her dog off, but she was so far away she would never have heard me. Pupcake was a little on edge that day (probably because I was!) but was fine again after that.

[Mrsjay]

hi can I join I am seeing the behaviourist on monday so will see what they say but newdog came to us 2ish months ago and he is very nippy and is jumping and biting, I am at my wits end with him some days he is so calm and another day he is quite aggresive I think it is dominance aggresion , for example If i take something from him like a letter he has stolen he will jump at me ,

I do love him but some days it is so frustrating and bloody sore his nips are getting stronger, thank you for starting this thread I did start a thread but it seemed to vanish into this air,

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

Do you know what I find so frustrating about behavioural stuff? It's two steps forward, one step back all the time. Some days it just grinds you down. Then other days, he's an absolute delight and behaves impeccably. I'm trying to see the small progresses, and learn from my mistakes (as they are generally my mistakes at this point) and not dwell too much on any failures. Hard sometimes, though

[Mrsjay]

thank you lovely a drunk dog walk newdog will be knocked out by the fumes yes it is 1 step forward 3 back and I am not sure what we are doing wrong , he is a rescue and what little they were told about him doesn't really compare with some of his behaviour, we are trying out best I can't wait to speak to the behaviourist

[pinkbraces]

Can I join in please
I have a 3 yr old Doodle who was attacked by a large dog when she was about a year old, pulled to the ground, shaken around etc.

She is getting better and is almost ok if she is allowed to say hello to another dog slowly but she turns aggressive if a dog runs full pelt up to her, and if they dare to touch her ball, she barks at them. She never tries to attack another dog first, only when she feels cornered.

Any tips would be gratefully received.

Gin is also good

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

My dog is similar, pink, except he doesn't bark he jumps in the other dogs face and makes a lot of noise. No teeth though, thank God. He was attacked on lead at 14 weeks old :( He never chooses to seek out doggy company, but has got better at not reacting to dogs at a reasonable distance. I keep a squeaky ball in my pocket and only get it out to play when he notices another dog. Now, when he sees another dog, he looks at me waiting for the ball. I keep our distance from other dog walkers and have no problem asking people to call their dog back if it won't leave us alone. Working on Jas's recall was the most important thing because it allowed me to have full control of where he went and when. Now if he feels uncomfortable and starts showing stress signs, I walk in the other direction. The idea is to build up his exposure, but to remove him from a situation before he feels that he has to react. It's working well so far, with just the odd set back.

[pinkbraces]

We keep our distance as well, which also makes me sad, I would love her to play with other dogs. I do use a dog walker once a week and she walks my dog with two others, at first it was difficult but Its fine now and she almost plays with them.

Although my dog walker wont have her overnight as she doesnt trust my dog with her own if they were left unatteneded, and I do agree with her. I would love to get another dog but cant risk it.

[Mrsjay]

dd is on exam leave she has taken him a walk he loves outisde and people and his training is going ok when he is in the mood, we just can't seem to break these crazy episodes, the rescue thinks he was ignored in his last home and left to do what he liked,

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

pink I bet in time those walks with the dog walker will help her a lot - we already had another dog when we adopted Pupcake2 and she has learned so much from him. He's really confident and laid back and she looks to him when she's worried. Actually, most of the "hard" work of socialising her has been done by Pupcake1. He's a star!

[HelgatheHairy]

MrsJay I have a 7 month Golden Retriever with the same issues. Basically he has temper tantrums if I try and make him do something he doesn't want to. Like get out of the very muddy puddle. We've had him since he was a puppy so not a neglect issue.

No real advice as I'm still working on it. BUT I have noticed over the last few days while he's still jumping, he's not biting as much.

[Mrsjay]

I said on another thread that he was having a strop and it was dismissed it is like a strop isn't it, we are working on it too but it is so frustrating thanks for sharing helga HE seems to be biting more he is 9ish months old , will see what they say on monday he is now zedded out after his walk

[littlewhitebag]

My 6 month old lab pup has me totally sussed - as i creep up with her hated lead- she reaches in for the treat i am offering as a reward (bribe) - then she bolts while laughing her head off.
And don't get me started on other dogs - my pup is not scared - she thinks every dog is her new best friend and i think she would go home with any family
Anyhoo, right now she is all sleepy, curled up on her mat looking adorable and tomorrow is another day. Right?

[HelgatheHairy]

MrsJay do you mind letting me know what they say? My boy is zonked after his nap now as well. I think it's just a thing with goldens. In laws have one too and they have the same issues. Any Golden in your boy?

Last Thursday I was on the verge of tears with him. I literally couldn't walk between rooms because he was jumping on me so much.

[Mrsjay]

of course i will helga it is frustrating and I was in tears the other night because he wouldn't leave me alone it is all about breaking their focus and that is what im having trouble with, when he isn't biting i can walk away and ignore him but when he is attached it is difficult

[Mrsjay]

no he is a collie cross (with the tazmanian devil )

[littlewhitebag]

helga Mine pup is a golden lab and she jumps and nips to get my attention or when she is hungry/tired/wanting out (or any number of other things). She has also started doing a very stroppy and petulant bark if she doesn't get her own way. Sometimes it is very tiring!

[HelgatheHairy]

mrsJay the focus thing is my problem too. When I have his attention I can say "sit" and he does it straight away but when he's in a "mood" then he just ignores me completely and I'm just not sure how to get focus back. He's a big dog and I can't just ignore him. He's already torn a big rip in my sleeve.

littlewhite it is tiring isn't it. The jumping is for attention sometimes, he just throws biting into the mix when he's having a tantrum.

[Mrsjay]

he focus thing is my problem too. When I have his attention I can say "sit" and he does it straight away but when he's in a "mood" then he just ignores me completely and I'm just not sure how to get focus back. He's a big dog and I can't just ignore him. He's already torn a big rip in my sleeve.

do you take him training to a class we take ours although it is a pain some nights he gets over excited and distracted it is socialising, i do think it is a puppy thing but I really need it to stop , I will let you know what the behaviourist says

[littlewhitebag]

We take our pup to junior obedience classes and she behaves pretty well there. I have more trouble one to one outside when i am walking her as there is so much else to distract her.
She did well this morning though. We met an older placid lab who was off the lead, my pup was on the lead. Pup went to older dog an said hello politely nose to nose (instead of pulling me over and trying to leap like a loon all over the other dog). She then SAT and wagged her tail in a very well mannered and controlled way. The other owner then said what a GOOD dog she was. I nearly died of pride!!!

[Mrsjay]

She then SAT and wagged her tail in a very well mannered and controlled way. The other owner then said what a GOOD dog she was. I nearly died of pride!!!

aww bless her for being a good girlie today new dog is very polite outside will say hello and then walk away and takes hints when another dog doesn't want to 'chat' but turns when he gets home i swear his face changes he goes all evil on us

[HelgatheHairy]

little what a goog girl! Bailey is good with other dogs, better with smaller ones than bigger ones, but can be a bit bouncy.

mrsJay I live in rural Ireland. The fact Bailey lives in the house with us and we don't hit him already raises eyebrows! Training classes are just too far away.

[Jingleallthejay]

I lost this thread monday went well behaviourist is emailing us an action plan a few tips she gave us is to challenge his personal space when he enters ours so we now step into him when he starts jumping and it is starting to work sort of , she did say dogs understand personal space she said when was the last time you saw a dog run into a wall also to trail some of his food around to see if he will switch on to food , she did say all dogs are different some can cope with being ignored some can't ours was probably ignored in his last home so she said try and distract, we have only had 4 biting/jumpin incidents since monday so hopefully we are on the right path,

not recieved my email yet but she works at the rescue so is probably busy she did say it can take months and months to train a dog

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

A pissed off bump. I have pleurisy, so walks have been a struggle. Managed to get Jas to the field today. All was going well until an older collie came bombing across the field out of nowhere and ran straight at him :( Jas reacted, understandably, and there was a bit of noise and rolling around before the other dog ran back from whence it came. We carried on, I saw a lab up ahead entering the field, so started off in the opposite direction. Of course the lab came bounding over. I tried walking away, the lab stayed with us. Ordinarily I'd have called to the lab's owner, but she was a football pitch away and I can barely talk. Inevitably, the lab got in Jas's face and he jumped at its face making noise. It backed off a bit, yelping. I marched away, keeping Jas's attention. The lab came back for more This time, Jas chased it off. More yelping from the lab, although I'm as sure as I can be that he didn't actually hurt it. At this point the owner decided to come over. I'm afraid I just marched off rather than deal with any confrontation I'm too freaking ill to deal with this at the moment

[littlewhitebag]

chickens the lab that came over sounds exactly like mine - she would have been over jumping around your dog. If she was to get hurt by an intolerant dog then i would have to blame myself for not noticing the other dog did not want the attention. I hate it when my pup won't come away from a dog and i am too far away to get to her quickly. Not sure i am being helpful here but i am trying to say i understand your frustration even if it is from the other side of the fence. Being a doggy mummy can be hard at times and especially worse when you are ill and you still need to get them out for a walk.