Whisper almost bit the neighbor's daughter!!

[Spirit2010]

Yes, she almost did. I had her on a leash to go for a walk, and all of the sudden the snap came off!!!! :yikes: I then saw Whisper going closer to the neighbor's place... And then I tried to catch Whisper, because her recall isn't that great with distractions yet. We've been working on it. The little girl went nearer to her, and Whisper started barking at her!!! Her mother was telling her to stay away from her... But she didn't. I caught her right in time! Phew.. It scared the crap out of me! I did have her contained, the clip somehow got undone... I have no idea how, I think I might have accidently took it off, choking up on the leash. I have no idea whats gotten into Whisper... Shes been acting weird all day.. VERY clingy to me. Do you guys think she knows that I am tense right now? I haven't been very happy recently. Or do you guys think there might be some kind of natural destruction done again? Such as an earthquake? I don't know.. I just don't know.. I am just glad no harm was done. I have socialized her... Shes been to training class... What have I been doing wrong? Oh yes, the neighbor's daughter did nothing to provoke anything.. I told the mother I was sorry.. Which I am, that could have been bad.. I don't know what to do.. Any training advice? She VERY protective of me. Its like shes scared of the world right now. I didn't train her to become aggressive, or to be aggressive, all postive methods, and reinforcement. Thank you for reading! I hope to get quick answers.

 

[Renee750il]

Whisper is probably picking up on your emotions.

Something constructive to do is go back to basics with training. That will calm both of you and give Whisper more of a sense of security. Several short sessions on a regular daily basis. Lots of praise, lots of easy stuff so that she gets a real confidence boost - and so do you.

And baby steps on more socialization. Take her out and have her watch people and kids from a distance until she's totally calm on a regular basis. Only then can you start getting closer, repeating the process until she is calm on a regular basis. Work on that for a good while.

It would be a really good idea to get a lead like one that Becca (Ella's Leads) makes that has two clips on it, one for a collar and one for a harness, then get her a harness. That way even if one were to come loose the other would hold.

 

[SizzleDog]

Yikes! I agree with everything Renee said - back to basics, slow socialization around kids, and DEFINITELY an Ella's Lead!

 

[noludoru]

Bull clips are hard to un-clip, too, if that helps. Easy on, not so easy off.

 

[Spirit2010]

Thank you everyone! I just can't see why that little girl scared her... She loves my niece. Not so much my nephew though.. I will keep socializing! Thank you!

 

[Renee750il]

You have grown up so much, Spirit . . . in so many ways. Proud of you!

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

You can also get a loop lead. I use these in the show ring. No snaps to come undone, since I am handling the collar all the time when showing a dog.

Do keep in mind that if an incident HAD happened, that you (your parents) would be held liable, and Whisper could lose her life had she bitten that child.

This is a very serious issue, very serious indeed. Your anxiety relating to her behavior travels right down the lead, and will make her even more insecure and reactive.

Honestly I would recommend you working with this dog only under adult supervision and inside a fenced area.

JMO of course.....

 

[Renee750il]

Ordinarily, Red, I'd totally agree with you about the adult supervision, but Spirit doesn't have the kind of adult support on the training that we wish she had She's gotta be Whisper's adult in many ways.

Like so many of our kids, Spirit's a lot more aware and responsible about pet ownership than the rest of her family . . .

 

[Brattina88]

I agree with Renee...
I also have the notion that Whisper might have been just posturing, barking and making a lot of noise, rather than actually going to snap at the child.

If your can, Spirit, get a leash that your more confident in that will not release while walking Prevention & Consistency are key here

 

[corgipower]

You can also work on getting her to do an emergency down. I find it to be better than a recall when the dog is running after something.

It sounds like the situation may have been a bit chaotic, which doesn't help. Don't beat yourself up over the leash, I've had leashes pop off a number of times. The collar and harness idea is a good one.

 

[Renee750il]

Something like this: http://www.ellaslead.com/inc/sdetail/1018

 

[Spirit2010]

You can also get a loop lead. I use these in the show ring. No snaps to come undone, since I am handling the collar all the time when showing a dog.

Do keep in mind that if an incident HAD happened, that you (your parents) would be held liable, and Whisper could lose her life had she bitten that child.

This is a very serious issue, very serious indeed. Your anxiety relating to her behavior travels right down the lead, and will make her even more insecure and reactive.

Honestly I would recommend you working with this dog only under adult supervision and inside a fenced area.

JMO of course.....

I know that this could have lost her life, if she bit her. I'd hate to say this, but my family really not liking her wouldn't help much. My grandma loves Whisper, my brother hates her, my mom likes her, and bruce doesn't really like her. Of course I love her, and is why I am gathering info how to train her, and work with her. My goal is to get her CGC. Hopefully. My parents think its ridiculous to train her as much as I have. They think I've went up and above to train her actually. Thank you everyone for the useful information. I will use it, and update you guys on how she is doing. Oh crap... I just realized.. After I typed this. She hates people with long hair! :yikes: She did this to my friend's guy friend who had long hair........ Eep! I think he does the 3 leaf plant too.. And she remembered it. This little girl had long hair. But the thing is, my friend, (a different one) has long hair too, and she didn't care. A sober friend with long hair. I'll need to get her out to more places with long haired people, and kids. I thought you guys might need that bit of info so that we could get a good idea on what to do. I'm somewhat surprised she doesn't like men, because of all the stuff my brother and bruce do to scare the crap out of her. I tell them, and tell them not to do it, they do it anyways. I'll get to training asap. I have 2 months of free time! So, get her out in parks, and public places with people, right? And then a better leash that won't come undone. It is a horse leash, I think I might have slipped my hand down to much, to have control of her going by the horses, and the house. But still need to correct the behavior. Thank you everyone!