My issue is that I have a 1.5 year old GSD (Samson) who is a very dominate dog to begin with. He's also a rescue dog that I got when he was 6 months old. He always wants to walk in front of me and he doesn't always obey me if there is something else in the picture (such as another person walking a dog). He's really bad about mounting other dogs too. He's also a biter. Not a mean bite, just you typical herding dogs bite. It's annoying more than anything.
My school said I have to "jerk his choke chain harder". Doing that seems to have more of a positive effect on his obedience, but today he threw up and there looked to be some blood in his vomit. I'm curious if there is hope for such a dominate dog with this kind of training. I've been training him for 5 weeks for a minimum of 30 mins a day and I've seen slight improvement from day 1 but I'd say it's about a 10% increase so far. I also think he's may be one of the worst behaved dogs in the class. I know it's the handler and I take full responsibility, but I work hard at training and it seems I'm missing something. I have also taken him for a 60min walk everyday or the dog park since I've had him.
This is a basic obedience school where we are working on heeling, staying, sitting...etc. Does this kind of school work with dogs as dominate as mine? I will keep going to this school until it's finished but I'm wondering if I should look into a class designed for dogs with behavioral issues?
Thanks for reading and responding.
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dominant behavior is not a descriptor of a dog, it is situation dependent, so a dog is not a 'dominant' dog. Some dogs care about stuff more than other dogs. You need to find out about positive reinforcement training, trying to stop a dog from doing things is only part of the solution, you need to teach the dog to do what you want and obviously the punishment of the collar is not working. you need to stop putting your dog in situations in which he can practice this behavior. try adding something the dog loves to the mix, like cheese or chicken to not only get its attention but to reward it when it does something right. Praise may be the reward you think the dog should work for, but it may not be worth much to the dog. sorry. but rewards have to be based on what the dog thinks is a reward, not what you want him to find rewarding. imagine telling a kid that if they study for their test you'll let them have brussell sprouts for dinner. great if the kids loves them, but most don't. learn about clicker training, read some books and find another trainer or get one on one help, but don't think that escalating the punishment is the way to go. You need this dog to focus on you, not be afraid of you.
www.fearfuldogs.com/books.html has good resources even for non fearful dogs.
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- A pinch collar is more humane and less taxing on the dog.
As a professional trainer this is why I never offer classes. The students just don't get enough out of it. You should look into private training with a good trainer - When I first started, the studio used those techniques too... nowadays a lot of trainers are moving to more gentle/positive methods, but that still leaves the issue with your dog being dominant. Collar corrections might do the trick for your dog to decide you're the boss, however hopefully not at the cost of injury, which choke chains can cause.
Prong collars, although scary looking, I believe statistically cause less injury than choke chains, however as with either collar one must be trained in how to put it on/use it.
As for the dominanace, look up NILIF, nothing in life is free. It's a non physical approach to instilling an alpha relationship, and is supposed to be fairly effective with dominant dogs.
Good luck to you. - Hi Volvo,
I would be more concerned about Samson having vomit with blood in it. This is certainly not normal. Please take him to the vet and have him checked out or you may not have him long enough to train him and I am serious about this. As far as his training goes, watch the Dog Whisper on TV. I think he is on every day. Also buy the book. I did and it helped me a lot with my two Maltese. Please don't jerk on the choke to hard. Treat Samson, how you would want to be treated. I don't believe in the brutal training. Also check out Petsmart they have very good trainers and you can arrange a one on one with them. Good Luck, but please have him checked out for the blood in his vomit. Just love him and soon he will want to please you. But never pull his choke to tight or hard. PLEASE. And keep us updated on how Samson is doing. It just takes time and a lot of love and patience's and you are his master and he loves you, so just give it time. You are not trying to please anyone else except you so take the time and I can promise Samson will come around. He's tough, you gave him the right name, but treat him with respect, after all you are all he has. - I went to a K-9 training school in Germany when i was in the Air Force.If we had a dog with dispensary problems we used a spike chain on them.Looks like a chock chain,but curled spikes on it.It won't hurt the dog,but it sure get his attention.I know some people reading this thinks that's cruel but just like stubborn people,you need to get their attention first before you can teach them anything.I also us a shock collar on my lab. in the field.
- you need to establish you are pack leader.....he will not respect or mind you if he doesn't know you as his leader.....please do some research on NILIF.
Nothing
In
Life
Is
Free
this technique is a gentle way of using the dogs insticts with pack behavior to create a pack leader
another one is ALPHA BOOT CAMP
another thing is if the choke collar isn't working well try using another tool. there are lots of things out there....prong collars, gentle leads, sensi-harness.....sometimes you just have to try different things until you find one that works for that paticular dog and handler. but i feel if you get his respect first as pack leader....the rest is just learning communication skills......not just minding you.
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