What kind of police K-9 program will accept a fear aggressive pup for training? If this is a privately run school (that you will be paying for), you should do some homework before signing any papers that will commit you to a financial obligation. Given her early experiences, there is a very real possibility that she will never be suitable for police training.
A little different situation...
Hello,
I have a 4mo old puppy. I just received her 3 weeks ago. I got her from a local animal shelter. Now for everyone to understand my issue i'll have to explain her past.
Before the humane society rescued her. Roxy lived on a "farm" with 70 other dogs. Now the lady the owned these 70 dogs neglected and abused these dogs. She would by one big bag of dog food and throw it in the middle of them and make them fight for it. She would only throw food out once a week. So in the mean time the biggest dogs of the pack would kill and eat the weaker ones.
So now I have my puppy and she is very very smart and has came along way in the couple weeks that I have owned her. She now plays and knows how to heel, sit, lay, and stay. I am training her to be a police dog. In about 6 months me and her leave for college and she starts her training for it.
My only two problems with her is one: She will not eat at the food bowl, she is so used to taking her food and hiding it. She is not food aggressive by any means I just can't convince her that it's ok to eat at the bowl.
My second problem: She is very afraid and aggressive toward other dogs and people. (the people part I don't mind seeing as she is going into the k9 unit career.) I tried every trick in the book with her. It also makes things hard with her because of her past I can train her like a normal puppy.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
I have a 4mo old puppy. I just received her 3 weeks ago. I got her from a local animal shelter. Now for everyone to understand my issue i'll have to explain her past.
Before the humane society rescued her. Roxy lived on a "farm" with 70 other dogs. Now the lady the owned these 70 dogs neglected and abused these dogs. She would by one big bag of dog food and throw it in the middle of them and make them fight for it. She would only throw food out once a week. So in the mean time the biggest dogs of the pack would kill and eat the weaker ones.
So now I have my puppy and she is very very smart and has came along way in the couple weeks that I have owned her. She now plays and knows how to heel, sit, lay, and stay. I am training her to be a police dog. In about 6 months me and her leave for college and she starts her training for it.
My only two problems with her is one: She will not eat at the food bowl, she is so used to taking her food and hiding it. She is not food aggressive by any means I just can't convince her that it's ok to eat at the bowl.
My second problem: She is very afraid and aggressive toward other dogs and people. (the people part I don't mind seeing as she is going into the k9 unit career.) I tried every trick in the book with her. It also makes things hard with her because of her past I can train her like a normal puppy.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
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Sometimes it's the bowl itself...metal ones can give off static shocks, plastic ones can have a heavy petroleum taste (they also hold bacteria) and generally, the best are ceramic. Two options...put the food in the bowl and walk away...she won't starve herself or, you can toss the food on the floor.
For the fear and aggression do the normal socialization that she missed early on. Work at a good distance and teach calmness. Work on one fear at a time..don't try to rush the 'make-up' sessions by combining/trying to overcome multiple fears at once.
For the fear and aggression do the normal socialization that she missed early on. Work at a good distance and teach calmness. Work on one fear at a time..don't try to rush the 'make-up' sessions by combining/trying to overcome multiple fears at once.
For the food issue I would put the food down on the floor, in the bowl, and walk away. Leave it there for 15 minutes and come back. If it's untouched, take it up. Put it down again a few hours later, for fifteen minutes, and come back. She should not be given any treats in between these meals. She will eat eventually; she knows the food is there. Dogs can go a few days without any food at all, so don't worry about her missing a couple of meals. A healthy dog will not starve itself.
As for the aggression, keep up the socialisation. Don't force her to face her fears... work at a distance from them where she is calm and can pay attention to you, and then reinforce with treats, praise, etc. Even if that means she is 200 metres away from the other dog or the person, work at that distance until she can sit 190 metres away from the object of her fear. Keep working at it and decreasing the distance. As Tooney said, work on one fear at a time.
I would seriously rethink the police dog option for now. I'm not saying it will never be an option, I'm just saying that fear aggressive dogs don't make good police dogs... and right now you have a fear aggressive dog. You should NOT be okay with her being human aggressive just because she's going to be a police dog. Police dogs are NOT human aggressive. There is a world of difference between a police dog and an aggressive dog.
As for the aggression, keep up the socialisation. Don't force her to face her fears... work at a distance from them where she is calm and can pay attention to you, and then reinforce with treats, praise, etc. Even if that means she is 200 metres away from the other dog or the person, work at that distance until she can sit 190 metres away from the object of her fear. Keep working at it and decreasing the distance. As Tooney said, work on one fear at a time.
I would seriously rethink the police dog option for now. I'm not saying it will never be an option, I'm just saying that fear aggressive dogs don't make good police dogs... and right now you have a fear aggressive dog. You should NOT be okay with her being human aggressive just because she's going to be a police dog. Police dogs are NOT human aggressive. There is a world of difference between a police dog and an aggressive dog.
I think, given the history in this pup's short life and the fact that she is fearful/fear aggressive towards people and other dogs at 4 months that you should invest in a qualified behaviourist NOW to get hands on help and information on how to socialize and train your pup.
And I agree with the others, K9 dogs MUST have stable, yet drivey personalities. Your pup, at least right now does not possess the qualities necessary. If you wish to pursue this, you will need to get help now and have her properly assessed and be prepared that she may not be suitable for that kind of work. You won't know til you try of course, but expert assessment is needed for you to figure out where to go from here.
And I agree with the others, K9 dogs MUST have stable, yet drivey personalities. Your pup, at least right now does not possess the qualities necessary. If you wish to pursue this, you will need to get help now and have her properly assessed and be prepared that she may not be suitable for that kind of work. You won't know til you try of course, but expert assessment is needed for you to figure out where to go from here.
Forget the K9 training with this dog (for now). Bite work should NEVER be done out of fear aggression. Work on the Fear first.IMy second problem: She is very afraid and aggressive toward other dogs and people. (the people part I don't mind seeing as she is going into the k9 unit career.) I tried every trick in the book with her. It also makes things hard with her because of her past I can train her like a normal puppy.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
As previously mentioned, get a behaviorist in.
I also recommend a book called "Scaredy Dog" you can get from www.dogwise.com.
K9 dogs need to be confident and trained to bite.. not bite out of fear aggression. Most K9 dogs live with the officer as a member of the family. A Fear Aggressive dog could bite their family members or another officer, member of the public etc. Fear Aggressive dogs are nothing short of a liability.
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