raineth

Hi there, for this particular behaviour I'd recommend that he 'earns' getting out of the car by exhibiting calmer behaviour and by focusing on you. So he is not allowed out until he is displaying some level of calm. even as you are walking toward the park. Stop and go back if he gets to excited. When he's calmer go toward the park again. this way he learns that he gets what he wants by being calm. also teach him a reliable command for giving you eye contact. Also I would recommend that he has a big walk before the dog park. This way he enters the dog park with a better energy. You can still drive to the park if necessary but maybe take him for a good walk around that area before you enter the park. hope that is helpful I just want to add that you can't expect him to be really calm. Just start by expecting calmer behaviour and once he's got the idea require that his behaviour be even more calm; and then more calm again. Just keep going with it until he is displaying the level of calm that you want

well done Sasha, you and the vet I can imagine what a huge relief that is!

haven't read everything yet (will do so), but the thing that struck me first was it seems she is not receiving enough guidance about what to do. teaching a dog what to do is a lot more successful than teaching it what not to do. So think of some alternate behaviours for her to do at the times and situation she's normally be chewing your stuff and encourage/train her to do those things instead A simple alternate behaviour to chewing on your shoe would be to chew on a toy or a bone for example. ETA: o.k. so I've read everything now. I think Kiesha makes some great points Don't underestimate a walk either. Obviously I don't know your circumstances so yes you may genuinely be unable to take her for a walk sometimes. But if its not make sure you do it!

I'm not a breeder... so have to take my comments with a grain of salt. I wouldn't breed from a dog that displayed that behaviour. Unless I was 100% sure that it was the result of bad training/handling. I am a firm believer in the stress-diathesis type model. Which says that in regards to behaviour an organism will have a genetic tendency to behave in a certain way and then environmental factors will influence that. So you could have a dog that has a high genetic tendency to be a resource guarder, and it only takes a small amount of clumsy handling on the part of a human to bring that out. While another dog would be genetically quite unlikely to develop resource guarding and you would need a really big environmental factor to bring that out.

I have heard that a lot of Frenchies have food aggression. Which seems to indicate that it is heredity. I think they are only food aggressive toward other dogs however. Interesting from Annes post as i believe pug is one of the breeds used in the genesis of french bulldogs?

are they leo pups? need bigger pic!

good on you!!! I'm s glad that this boy is finally with you! I agree with what others have said. I think with good nutrition (a premium kibble etc) he will regain his health and a nice coat. And when the fleas finally leave him ofcourse! for the behaviour and training aspect: * no coddling * use positive training methods that build his confidence and * begin with the same rules you want eventually. For example if you don't want him on the lounge at a later date, don't allo him get on the lounge now. It will be confusing if the rules change. * also expect things to go slowly

oh he is the cutest!!!

just a thought - maybe the breeder accidentally said 12 weeks instead of twelve months? maybe you should call her/him and check?

this is just a guess, but I think it is worth considering... Jane could have become physically dependent on the Dap. With any drug given over a long term-period the body begins to compensate. If the drug suddenly stops being taken then you end up with the opposite of what the drug was doing. as an example: heroin causes constipation. Over time the body compensate for this; if an individual suddenly stops taking heroin you guessed it, they end up with diarrhoa (among other symptoms). The point is the symptoms are the opposite of what the drug was doing. Maybe by suddenly turning off the Dap meant she went super hyper active because her body had already been compensating for the presence of the Dap diffuser. I think seeking a professional would be the best way to go though and see what they think.

thanks for posting Aidan I had read about that experiment - I had never thought to look it up on youtube!

like the 2nd poster I see anything you train could be seen as a trick. I think the most important thing is that a dog is spending time with its human, learning and being mentally stimulated. If you achieve that through tricks then that's just fine in my opinion huski, I thought your heeling looked excellent - I loved watching it

its an interesting idea Nutro for us

oh my! that is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard!

walking my Dane the other day and we are bailed up by very aggressive oodle. I put the Dane in a sit and stood between her and the oodle - it seemed the only thing that would keep the oodle at bay. After five minutes the owner opens his front door and tries to call his dog away. She ignores him and continues to bail us. When he finally gets her I say: me: I think you should keep her in the backyard. he: No, I don't think so. me: An aggressive dog shouldn't be wandering the streets. he: I disagree. I reported him to the council.

When I read this I think of my old stumpy-tail cattle dog. We were given her when she was 18 months; so I actually don't know much about the breed ergo I don't know if she was typical or not for her breed. She was awesome with kids, gentle, and nothing bothered her. She had a very sweet temperament and was happy to do anything for praise and a cuddle. She was very trainable, friendly towards other people and dogs, had plenty of energy for running and loved swimming too. Good recall. She would bark if there was a knock at the door. Energy wise she could go forever if you wanted her to, but she was also quite happy to restful as well. As i said though, I don't know if she was typical or not

oh dear, I hope it goes o.k. poor doggie

Kate_Summer what did you think of my Dobe suggestion? just to add some more about Danes: Some danes have quite high prey drive, others very little, so you would have to look into lines about that :D Also you mentioned about being reserved with strangers; I think there is a fair amount of variation in that as well. My Dane thinks other people exist to pat/play and talk to her. She is certainly not reserved and would never tell anyone off So if you decided on a Dane you would have to look into lines to get what you want As for your 'happy to please but a bit independent too' requirement. Well I find Danes like to be with you and they like to 'help' you do things, and they are generally affectionate. But I don't think they will generally do something just to please you though, they often need something in it for them ;)

oh this thread is so lovely! thought I'd add mine, although they are not really good in a photography sense

Personally I think it is totally unacceptable that you have been put in this situation. This is your house and its meant to be a plcae where you are safe! Sounds to me like he's giving you some pretty strong warning signals, and you need to take them seriously. Call his owner up and tell him straight that other arrangements need to be made. In the meantime prevent the dog from having access to you. Maybe the owner will be willing to pay for the behaviourist which would be a good way to move forward. I'm a bit worried though that it sounds like the owner doesn't really care about this dog's poor behaviour, and that he won't be very helpful to you. Hopefully that's not the case.

Dobes are very trainable and have short hair. The ones I've met have been really lovely dogs here is an interesting link for you. its the results of a study done on the trainability of various breeds. Trainability is probably more what you're looking for than intelligence

Hi there, I did it with my Dane and it worked really well. I generally think its a good idea for any dog that likes digging. But my success with it might be due to a couple factors: firstly as soon as I realised he liked to dig as a pup (12 weeks), I directed him to a big pile of mulch and made it really fun - I made it so that it would be easily seen as the preferred place to dig Also I attached a command to it - which gave me a level of control over it. I could say "dig" and he would dig, and if I said my release word he would stop. then she can dig your holes for planting for you !to get her to favour digging in a sand-pit hide exciting things in there like bones and toys. Your dobe sounds like she is really into her digging though! I think that creating a spot for her to dig will be one of many strategies you may need to employ to curb her digging. There was a topic here recently about digging, and someone mentioned that some dogs do it because they detect beetles in the soil. If she is doing it for this reason then a sand pit will not help much!

well I take it that the method you're using works quite well, because she is recalling out the front of your house Sounds to me like you just might need to slowly build her up with distractions? Like Staranais said, the more rewarding it for her to recall, the more likely she will be to do it. let us know how you go

I just wanted to update: I took Digby to agility this morning - and you would never have thought he was the same dog I am speaking about in this thread! I was so proud of him I did the things in this thread and they worked really well. But he was so chilled out that we were able to join in with agility and he said hello to a few dogs happily. no freezing But more than that, he was just one chilled out mutt makes me think that it might be our neighbourhood that he is tense in - maybe he hasn't generalised his fear outside our neighbourhood?