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Hi, new to the forums and wanted to get some opinions on socializing my Catahoula.
So I got my Catahoula about a year ago from the SPCA (blah blah life story)
Anyways, had him about about 2 years, and had been training him pretty adamantly the first year, (when we got him he had already had some training) and he had very few problems. But I admittedly have been lax for many months.
Lately I've been noticing that he's been becoming more and more defensive (and he already was pretty high-strung), but only at my house and yard. I like the idea that if someone breaks in I'm going to know about it and his big bark is enough to scare someone. (pretty high break-in rate in my neighborhood.)
I don't think he would bite anyone at this point, but he is now very defensive of the yard and house (barking wildly and growling at neighbors and passers by). I fear what might happen if the gate gets left open/broken and someone gets to close. He seems espeacailly stressed over children. I feel I definatly need to nip this in the butt. He's always taken awhile to adjust to most strangers coming in the house, it's weird most people he barks at when they first arrive then he's a bit uneasy around them for awhile and I need to keep him near me but eventually he warms up. Then about 10% of people come in the door and he greats them like a long lost friend. On neutral ground he wants to play with everyone.
I've resumed daily training and my basic plan (as far as socialization) for this is to start at a local Petsmart, the one near me happens to be one of the busiest on the east coast, tons of different people, with tons of different dogs. Basically I want to take him on the weekends at the buissiest points of the day and just sit on a bench near the entrance so he can watch all the dogs and people come and go. I'd start by simply rewarding him for focusing on me when I say his name, then as he becomes more accustomed start with basic commands and so on. I feel once he's comfortable with strangers in a strange neutral place, I can transition into getting him used to strangers in a familiar place, that he feels he needs to protect.
Good idea? Adjustments?
So I got my Catahoula about a year ago from the SPCA (blah blah life story)
Anyways, had him about about 2 years, and had been training him pretty adamantly the first year, (when we got him he had already had some training) and he had very few problems. But I admittedly have been lax for many months.
Lately I've been noticing that he's been becoming more and more defensive (and he already was pretty high-strung), but only at my house and yard. I like the idea that if someone breaks in I'm going to know about it and his big bark is enough to scare someone. (pretty high break-in rate in my neighborhood.)
I don't think he would bite anyone at this point, but he is now very defensive of the yard and house (barking wildly and growling at neighbors and passers by). I fear what might happen if the gate gets left open/broken and someone gets to close. He seems espeacailly stressed over children. I feel I definatly need to nip this in the butt. He's always taken awhile to adjust to most strangers coming in the house, it's weird most people he barks at when they first arrive then he's a bit uneasy around them for awhile and I need to keep him near me but eventually he warms up. Then about 10% of people come in the door and he greats them like a long lost friend. On neutral ground he wants to play with everyone.
I've resumed daily training and my basic plan (as far as socialization) for this is to start at a local Petsmart, the one near me happens to be one of the busiest on the east coast, tons of different people, with tons of different dogs. Basically I want to take him on the weekends at the buissiest points of the day and just sit on a bench near the entrance so he can watch all the dogs and people come and go. I'd start by simply rewarding him for focusing on me when I say his name, then as he becomes more accustomed start with basic commands and so on. I feel once he's comfortable with strangers in a strange neutral place, I can transition into getting him used to strangers in a familiar place, that he feels he needs to protect.
Good idea? Adjustments?
