We have done everything by the book.
Training and training classes. We put them through training so we wouldn't have this problem.We work with them every day.....we exercise them. But they are slipping and its things that have been out of our control that cause it.
And I'm scared. Now whenever they see a kid or another dog or just some man or woman in the breezeway they start barking at them like crazy. They are becoming extremely territorial and they can't be we live in an apartment.
I'm overwhelmed and I've done tons of research on how to fix this but the more I try its seems the faster they slip.
I mean I put them in classes to prevent this not for this behavior to become worse.
It all started when we moved to this apartment complex....we used to be upstairs now we are on the first floor.....there are lots of bratty kids who yell and shriek and throw things......they are nervous wrecks and I am too.I know they need a behaviorist but we don't have the money for that.....our one dog is sick and most of our extra money is going to vet bills..... We just can't afford a behaviorist.What can I do? I'm running out of ideas.
Its gotten to the point where at home I am isolating them. Only taking them out when no one is around, only walking them when no one is around.We can take them anywhere and they are perfect but in this complex they are awful and I don't know why?
Moving here was the biggest mistake we could have made because the cost could end up greater than it was worth....(it could cost us them)What can I do? What info can I find
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You need to re-assert yourself as the pack leader. Pre-empt the triggers for the unwanted behaviour and correct it with noise/touch/distraction (whichever used to work best for you) before they are allowed to carry it through.
Example, if you are walking with them and you see a man coming, you know they are going to bark so get there first. Put yourself between the passer-by and the dog on the inside, keep walking withou hesitation and correct any lunge or bark just before it happens with short quick tug on lead at the same time as saying "ah ah" firmly. When they pay attention to you, give lots of light voiced praise and maybe a chunk of ham/chicken etc.
Dogs will sense your discomfort and tension, maybe try to project an assertive, in control kind of energy to them instead of all the fear your feeling.
Like anything you want to be good at, face the fear and just practice practice practice. The more you do it the quicker they'll learn from it.
Hope this helps
Finding Careers in Dog Training
- Watch the dog whisperer episodes. He shows owners how to deal with this time and time again.
- I was actually having the same problem with my dog when we were living in an apartment. She wouldn't go crazy at people though--just dogs. (And there were a lot of dogs).
You said you've already done a lot of research so I don't know if there is much more that you can do. I would look again at the book the Divine Canine because there are some good ideas in there.
Also, if you can, be patient. I've heard that sometimes dogs are just being bad at a sort of adolescent phase. Keep up with the training you've already been doing. Be consistent. And try to stay calm when you are outside with them (***easier said than done I know!!***).
Another good thing to do might be to take them out--but away from your house someone more neutral--and work on training outside. Practicing all of their commands like sit, stay, down, heal (if they know it). That way that start learning that they need to pay attention even outside. Then try doing that outside of your apartment when nobody is outside. (Maybe really early in the morning when people aren't up yet). Practice again, and again. Try to reclaim the space as a training space.
You might also think about using some sort of lead where you have more control...and maybe taking them out one at a time? That might give you the opportunity to see which dog is the instigator!
I don't know, that is all I can think of.
Good luck! - Hi!
It sounds like you have a lot going on. Living in quarters like that is hard, when people are noisy!!
It seems like you need to work with them one on one, at first, to get used to the noise. Maybe bring one of the dogs outside to be walked, while you work on the territorial issues. Working with two dogs at the same time can be hard.
When the dogs bark at seeing people, you should make a loud noise that distracts them. Or, you can get a whistle, or a horn that makes a noise that distracts them. When they get distracted, move them away and give them a treat. This is going to take a while. Do this with the dogs one at a time.
What types of toys do you have in your apartment for the dogs? It is possible that they are bored too!! make sure that you have plenty of chewy toys, like Nylabone, and put some dog treats in a kong. It keeps my dog busy for hours.
You are the doing the right thing by walking your dog. You might also want to try www.cesarmillan.com or animal.discovery.com, and my vet also gave me veterinarypartner.com. Hope this helps! - I have 2 dogs myself (Beagle and Golden, who is a big suck!), and they still bark and pull, but they don't attack. If that's what your talking about, then I have a good resource for you! It would also help if your dogs are just misbehaving. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of Cesar Milan, but he has a show called the Dog Whisperer. It's crazy how good the dogs end up being. Now, you can watch his show on Discovery, or you can buy his book. I think you can also contact him. He takes all sorts of cases and you can get monthly emails from him. Just Google (or Yahoo I guess!) Cesar Milan, or the Dog Whisperer. You can watch his shows on Youtube. Also, if you have an iPod, and even if you don't, you can get something called a podcast. I think it's his show. No, never mind. It's actually little preview of episodes, but they'll give you some tips. You can read the ratings before you subscribe, but its all free. You can download thepod castt fromtuness,and downloadtuness from apple.com (Yahoo it!)
Hope this helped, and good luck!! - remember something marie they have had changes in their little lives lately moving home and then zack being so sick it maybe is that they are a little anxious as you were both so worried about zack and sasha may have picked up on it and they only way to let it out is to bark at everyone it could be a way of releasing the tension and anxiety they were feeling
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