[suze]

OK, for those who did'nt read my previous post here's a brief history.
Tora is a pure black GSD who i adopted when she was 14 months old from a rescue, we were told she was boistrous and required training. 12 months of training with 4 different trainers, and 2 behaviourists came to nothing. various collars and leashes were used, and now she on a full body harness, all becase when she see's another dog, she'll bark like crazy, spin round in circles and lunge like crazy, purely because she's so excited to see a dog, she wants to go play. however ,, other owners dont see it like that..........

OK.... Update........ Tora is still a pain to walk ,,, and still going potty over other dogs... but with the body harness, she is no longer making her tongue swell up and go blue/grey. i've had nobody to walk with for a few weeks as everyone seems to have gone away for xmas and new year while muggins here ,, has been stuck in the glorius rain of the UK....

SO ,, several weeks of not being able to walk with another dog has made tora go backwards in trying to overcome her exciteability...... and she is now following me around the house everywhere i go ....... i go toilet,, she there, i go to clean the bedrooms, she's behind me .... i cannot leave a room without her being a step behind.
This new problem coupled with the existing issues she has is drving me to distraction,, and i have been having some really bad days when i've just wanted to take her back to shelter and wash my hands of the problem, but i also know if she goes back,, the likelhood of her being re-homed and kept is minimul. so i will perservere and shrug those bad day feelings off.

SOOOO.. peoples with all the answers i ask . how can i get tora to settle and not to constantly follow me around ........ and any more ideas on how to get his over-excitement issue sorted would be gratefully received.

[britishbandit]

Originally Posted by suze

OK, for those who did'nt read my previous post here's a brief history.
Tora is a pure black GSD who i adopted when she was 14 months old from a rescue, we were told she was boistrous and required training. 12 months of training with 4 different trainers, and 2 behaviourists came to nothing. various collars and leashes were used, and now she on a full body harness, all becase when she see's another dog, she'll bark like crazy, spin round in circles and lunge like crazy, purely because she's so excited to see a dog, she wants to go play. however ,, other owners dont see it like that...

Sorry to hear you are still having problems. First I have to ask, how do YOU react when your dog barks and goes nuts doing circles and such? Dogs take "cues" from their owners, and if you get nervous or worried before she actually does it, the dog will pick up on your nervous energy.

Don't try to settle her or tell her "it's ok" or scream at her for being "bad". Try to get her to sit, and be calm, if not, ignore the behavior and keep walking straight past those things that are making her excitable.

I'd say for now, walk her without distractions, concentrate on training, NILIF. Get her to a point where she walks nice, then start adding distractions. This doesn't mean don't socialize her, just do that at different times from when you are working on training.

Also when introducing her to new people and other dogs, make her "sit" and "wait" or "stay".......show her if she is calm, then she can play. If not, she doesn't get to see that new person/new dog. Also try and work with friends and family to NEVER pet her when she is excitable, not even look at her or make any kind of noise toward her. Don't make a fuss out of coming and going from your home either, the more you reward calm behavior, the more she'll want to be calm. She is young, so she will do, and does need to release that energy, but you should be able to control when she is allowed to be "spunky". Just make sure you allow times for her to do so.

[suze]

When she goes nuts, i "try" to make her sit an stay ,,, but as she a big strong dog,, that can be difficult especially as she seems to be in a 'zone' and ignores me and my hubby completely.

Without distractions she is perfect as regards training,, all my trainers have noted she highly inteligent and loves to learn and has really impressed them,, until another dog came into the equation.

We have been making her sit and stay when people come to the house, which is not always spot on,, but 90% of the time she will do it, and while outside if we training on the fields and another dog is approaching, i do get her to sit, and sometimes the other dog can get up to 6 feet away before she pops off on one.

could it be that she's just young and will grow out of it????

[FranMan]

What do you do burn off the dog's energy? What kind of collars did you use?

[suze]

i take her to a fenced tennis court as it's the only place thats secure and recall wont work if she spots another dog/motorbike/cyclist/jogger. we train and play ball......... we also leave treats hidden around the house for her to find to keep her mentally stimulated, but she usually finds them all by lunch.

we have used a wide flat collar, a check chain/choke collar a head harness and a gentle leader,, which is why we now on a body harness.

[britishbandit]

Originally Posted by suze

When she goes nuts, i "try" to make her sit an stay ,,, but as she a big strong dog,, that can be difficult especially as she seems to be in a 'zone' and ignores me and my hubby completely.


could it be that she's just young and will grow out of it????

She isn't in a "zone" and I can guaruntee you she can hear and understand whatever you say to her (provided she knows the commands you are using...LOL). I would work dilligently on NILIF, and establishing FOR SURE that she see's you as the pack leader.

It's possible that she is overyly hyper because she is young, but it should also be trainable. You also said you rescued her, so she may have had a lot of time to form these habits, and will take just as long, if not longer to break her of them.

When I got my dog PJ (at 7 months of age), he had SERIOUS food aggression, I mean I honestly thought he was going to rip me to shreds a on a few occasions. I went by trial and error and finally found ways to break him of it that worked, slowing, and gradually progressing, I now have a non food aggressive dog (apart with raw meat on bones, which I just do not feed him now). But he is fine with kibble, meat, rawhide.....anything else, so I figured it best to not push him by giving him that one thing that does make him go wacky. It wasn't easy either, and it took well over 3 months of working with him daily to get past it.

Also, I had issues with walking him when I first got him. He pulled like mad, and already weighed as much as I did. I evenutally had to resort to a prong collar (which I do know how to use properly), along with walking in zigzags, circles, anything to keep his attention focused on where I was going. We worked hard on the "watch" command, and kept at it, working daily. Within 3 months, he was walking loose, paying attention, heeling, but when I added distractions, things didn't go as well. We still work on all of this , and he gets better and better daily. The biggest downfall in training, is that if you stop even for one day, things can regress. So you have to keep at it, and do it on a consistant basis. Hey, if you have time for 4 walks a day, do that, if you only have time for one, so be it, but make sure you at least do the one. Remeber also that walking your dog is EXTREMELY important in more ways than one.

If she gets like this on walks, why not do some yard play/exercise prior? Tire her out so she's less likely to have so much energy for walks. Get her out chasing a ball/frisbee.........run around with her and have some play/bonding time.

[suze]

thank you britishbandit, all methods i have tried before but will try again, as what does not work first time may work the second,

Advice also for anyone in a similar situation in the UK, do not be tempted to use a prong/pinch collar as the RSPCA will drag your backside into court on cruelty charges and then you wont have a dog problem no more because you wont have a dog.

[FranMan]

Originally Posted by suze

Advice also for anyone in a similar situation in the UK, do not be tempted to use a prong/pinch collar as the RSPCA will drag your backside into court on cruelty charges and then you wont have a dog problem no more because you wont have a dog.

They'll also toss you in jail for 40 years if you get porn spyware on your classroom computer.

I am glad I don't live there

[suze]

40 years??? LMAO no chance, dont even go prison now cos they all full

you only get 15 for murder and only serve 10.

Law is an ass over here.

[FranMan]

http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/4346

Ah... It maybe in the states? Norwich?

[suze]

USA jail term ,,,,, not UK where i am

[britishbandit]

It is a shame if you cannot use prong collars in the UK. Provided they are used properly, they can be a great training aid. PJ would never have turned around had I not given in and gave it a try. I tried absolutely everything else, and nothing was working. It honestly took the prong to get him walking the way I wanted him to, and the way he needed to be.

I've also never had to train an older dog to walk loose on a leash before. I've always had puppies, besides my one rescue a few years back. And he was nowhere near as big as PJ. It was essensial that I trained him though. He weighs 120lbs, and I myself only weigh 108lbs, so I absolutely HAD to train him and have him under control. Nothing like giving people the chance to fall into the media's trap that Rottweilers are big, mean, vicious dogs. When the owner is being dragged behind it down the street. I can now proudly walk my boy (and the other two around), showing off my awesome, friendly, well behaved and trained Rottweilers.