8 month old aussie extremely OCD/ADD around other dogs when training, help
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Today, I found a neighbor willing to help with Booms. She has a male bichon frise that is very laid back, which is awesome!
Every time we walked towards the other dog, if he started whining or pulling, id go "ah ah!" and turn the opposite direction. We'd walk further.. then start in their direction again. At a certain point i'd ask him to sit. If he sat and remained quiet for a few moments i'd use the clicker and say "ok!" and let him go run to see the other dog.
This seems to help but I do think it will take lots and lots of repetition and much time.
Oh... the times he got to play with the bichon he would squat and pee ALOT (still squats but lifted his leg once). I'm sure this is him marking. He had to have peed atleast 10 times in the area where this other dog is. Do males do that this much normally? Could it be that he's just confused since he's at that age where his horomones are going crazy? I've never really seen male dogs mark that much in one perimeter before.
Sometimes, when it was "play time" he would watch the other dog and just whine. I thought this was odd because if he wants to play, why not just go play with him? Maybe he wanted him to run?
Now I think I know a smidgen of what humans with teens feel! haha.
Today, I found a neighbor willing to help with Booms. She has a male bichon frise that is very laid back, which is awesome!
Every time we walked towards the other dog, if he started whining or pulling, id go "ah ah!" and turn the opposite direction. We'd walk further.. then start in their direction again. At a certain point i'd ask him to sit. If he sat and remained quiet for a few moments i'd use the clicker and say "ok!" and let him go run to see the other dog.
This seems to help but I do think it will take lots and lots of repetition and much time.
Oh... the times he got to play with the bichon he would squat and pee ALOT (still squats but lifted his leg once). I'm sure this is him marking. He had to have peed atleast 10 times in the area where this other dog is. Do males do that this much normally? Could it be that he's just confused since he's at that age where his horomones are going crazy? I've never really seen male dogs mark that much in one perimeter before.
Sometimes, when it was "play time" he would watch the other dog and just whine. I thought this was odd because if he wants to play, why not just go play with him? Maybe he wanted him to run?
Now I think I know a smidgen of what humans with teens feel! haha.
Zoom gave you excellent advice at the beginning of this thread, I think you need to re-read it:
The main purpose in the protocol that Zoom described is to keep your dog's attention on you while in the presence of another dog. You will need to start a long distance away, work to get and keep your dog's attention, and if you loose his attention you will need to back away from the other dog until you can get attention again. Throughout the session, you should be constantly asking your dog for behaviors - sit, eye contact, hand touch, shake, whatever is easy for him - and reward heavily for doing these simple behaviors. That way you are teaching your dog that even when you're around other dogs, the best thing is to pay attention to you, and it will pay off.
I would not suggest working on sit/down stays while in this session, they are way too difficult and not necessary.
Rewarding your dog by letting him go to greet the other dog is a good idea, BUT you do not want to do it after every session. Remember, you need to teach your dog how to pay attention to you around other dogs, not how to approach other dogs appropriately (that can come in another training session). Instead, I would suggest doing 2 or 3 sessions, THEN at the end let the dogs meet, stop the training session and leave. Vary it up too, so that your dog doesn't start to understand that after every two sessions he gets to go play with the other dog..... be careful to keep it extremely variable so he never knows when he gets to do it.
The main purpose in the protocol that Zoom described is to keep your dog's attention on you while in the presence of another dog. You will need to start a long distance away, work to get and keep your dog's attention, and if you loose his attention you will need to back away from the other dog until you can get attention again. Throughout the session, you should be constantly asking your dog for behaviors - sit, eye contact, hand touch, shake, whatever is easy for him - and reward heavily for doing these simple behaviors. That way you are teaching your dog that even when you're around other dogs, the best thing is to pay attention to you, and it will pay off.
I would not suggest working on sit/down stays while in this session, they are way too difficult and not necessary.
Rewarding your dog by letting him go to greet the other dog is a good idea, BUT you do not want to do it after every session. Remember, you need to teach your dog how to pay attention to you around other dogs, not how to approach other dogs appropriately (that can come in another training session). Instead, I would suggest doing 2 or 3 sessions, THEN at the end let the dogs meet, stop the training session and leave. Vary it up too, so that your dog doesn't start to understand that after every two sessions he gets to go play with the other dog..... be careful to keep it extremely variable so he never knows when he gets to do it.
Thanks, i'll try working on this.
One thing that has really gotten in the way of my training is my neighbors. Every time I go for walks, someone has their dog either off leash (where they run straight up to Boomer and he goes nutts with excitement) or I turn a corner where someone says "ohhhh what a cute dog!" and in a split second they walk their dog right up to mine. I try and tell them I can't have Boomer around their dog at such a fast pace, but before I can explain alot of the times they get this look on their face as if i'm being rude. Soooo many people have dogs here and our daily walks really mess things up.
So for the eye contact, do I say a command such as "look at me" and treat and click once he does? That's what i've been doing. His threshold is very very low right now. He will avert his attention from a very far distance.
I can see a huge difference in Boomer's personality this past month. He's marking constantly outside in the presense of any dog male or female. He's not interested in his frisbee as much when we're outdoors. He's constantly sniffing around outdoors, and pacing back and forth indoors. I know this would be seen in an un neutered male but i'm wanting to wait til he's closer to 18 months before we do that. My question is... do males eventually calm down a bit just from age? I wonder how people who breed dogs deal with their males.
This is my first dog that i've raised on my own (besides the farm dogs I had growing up). As you can see, im full of questions!
I understand pushy neighbors! What a pain. At this point, though, you might consider not taking him on walks in the neighborhood until you get some of the reactivity worked out. You could take him on walks at quiet times when there are less people out and about, or take him to another area to walk him.... like another neighborhood that might have fewer dogs around. When you get the reactivity under better control, then he'd probably be ok with walks around your neighbors.
There is nothing wrong with cuing eye contact, but at this point I would click him just for looking at you without you asking. This will help him figure out that focusing on you gets him rewards, rather than just doing what you tell him to do. I'm a big believer in letting dogs figure out on their own what they need to be doing, it tends to make the behavior stronger and uses more of the dog's mental energy.
Of course I'd do lots of repetitions of click/treat when he looks at you in an undestracting environment, and then gradually add distractions (start in the house, then work with someone else in the room, then have that person bounce a ball, then go outside, then go on walks with no other dogs around, THEN work with a dog a huge distance away).
I don't think your issue here is the fact that he's intact, I think you would see many of the same problems if he were neutered. I think the problem is simply his age. Yes, at this age the hormones are kicking in, and they wouldn't if he were neutered; but there are also a lot of changes happening with his brain chemestry as he's reaching adulthood, which also causes the distractablity and personality change. Many trainers agree that a dog's personality is not really stable until he reaches maturity - 1-2 years old - so it is very common to see him changing.
There is nothing wrong with cuing eye contact, but at this point I would click him just for looking at you without you asking. This will help him figure out that focusing on you gets him rewards, rather than just doing what you tell him to do. I'm a big believer in letting dogs figure out on their own what they need to be doing, it tends to make the behavior stronger and uses more of the dog's mental energy.
Of course I'd do lots of repetitions of click/treat when he looks at you in an undestracting environment, and then gradually add distractions (start in the house, then work with someone else in the room, then have that person bounce a ball, then go outside, then go on walks with no other dogs around, THEN work with a dog a huge distance away).
I don't think your issue here is the fact that he's intact, I think you would see many of the same problems if he were neutered. I think the problem is simply his age. Yes, at this age the hormones are kicking in, and they wouldn't if he were neutered; but there are also a lot of changes happening with his brain chemestry as he's reaching adulthood, which also causes the distractablity and personality change. Many trainers agree that a dog's personality is not really stable until he reaches maturity - 1-2 years old - so it is very common to see him changing.
I just thought of a neighborhood nearby that is pretty quiet. I'll start walking him there if at all possible. Good thinking!
This makes me feel more at ease. It's always tough wondering if the decisions you make now will positively or negatively affect a pup's personality later in life.
Thanks for the great advice!
This makes me feel more at ease. It's always tough wondering if the decisions you make now will positively or negatively affect a pup's personality later in life.
Thanks for the great advice!