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  #31  
Old October 15th, 2010, 01:06 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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Bailey is a trainer and maybe able to give you some sound help.

Last edited by GateKeeper; October 16th, 2010 at 12:04 AM.
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  #32  
Old October 15th, 2010, 03:18 PM
pattymac pattymac is offline
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I'm no expert here, but your dog sounds alot like my Bayley...shep/husky and maybe a few more thrown in but her mom was a sled dog. She's 4 and until recently it seemed the husky part of her brain worked more than the shepherd part. Until she turned around 3, she was a major handful. As a puppy she was a dog/shark all teeth. What do you mean walk nicely beside mom....ahahahah. One trainer where we lived told me that if you can get her trained, you can train anything! She still has her moments, but I take my time with her. Now she knows how to heel, she still prefers to be in front or behind but I let her as long as she doesn't pull!! I don't care where she is, as long as the leash or line isn't tight. She knows in town she stays close. She's also super smart so we work on tricks in the house. She learned not to grab treats and watch me with the closed hand with the treat. Sure you may get slobbered on, maybe gnawed on a bit but it works wonders and teaches them patience.

As for her recall, I will admit we've never had much of an issue but a long line and lots of praise and goodies works wonders. Also if we were say at a dog park, or just out on the trails, I'd call her back to me, give her some loveys or a little treat and send her off again. That way, she'd realize that just because I'm calling her doesn't mean that we're going home.

The tricks are great too, to help them focus on you. In the mornings, we work on her bringing me things that I ask for, so she gets her morning cookies. She has to bring me my shoes and slippers and anything else that I name that she knows the name of. If she brings me something I didn't ask for she doesn't get the cookie. She also can't just drop it on the floor, she has to give it to me. I don't use a clicker for that, just YES and a cookie. We do use a clicker for things like shaping, but I think to get to that they need to be able to be calm and think without getting too excited.

I don't know if that helps, I'm not a trainer and Bayley's just my 2nd dog. I remember one day when she still had her puppy teeth she nailed me good, drew blood and I really doubted myself for getting her. Now though she has awesome control over her teeth and while she does mouth when we're wrestling, there's never any pressure and most of the time she has a toy in her mouth.
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  #33  
Old October 15th, 2010, 05:34 PM
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Edited by Mod - Issues between members should be taken to PM not in open forum

Have a great day.
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Last edited by GateKeeper; October 16th, 2010 at 12:11 AM. Reason: Should've been a pm
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  #34  
Old October 15th, 2010, 06:43 PM
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bendyfoot bendyfoot is offline
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Of COURSE she was speaking negatively, she's frustrated as heck, and she was venting. It doesn't mean her intentions aren't good and that she doesn't deserve support; that's probably why others didn't respond to it. If you've never had to work with a very, very difficult dog then maybe you can't understand that the negativity is not about the dog, but about the situation. I love my dogs to the end of the earth and would do anything for them, but you can be sure that I've used the words "that dog" and "a-hole" and "jerk" to describe them when I was at the end of my rope. It doesn't make me a bad person or bad dog owner, just an exasperated one. These comments are not helping the dog or the OP reach a solution. Please offer something helpful or refrain from commenting.
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Last edited by GateKeeper; October 16th, 2010 at 12:12 AM.
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  #35  
Old October 15th, 2010, 07:00 PM
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bendyfoot bendyfoot is offline
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I think maybe I just know where she's coming from. Sometimes I couldn't even stand to be in the same room as Gracie, even though I loved her tremendously. I would get THAT upset about her behaviour. I respect the OP for working as hard as she had and wanting to stick it out and find a solution. She's not saying she's giving up, she saying she desperately wants to fix the problem...she's looking for help, not criticism about the words she's using. We're all only human...sometimes we say/think things we may not be proud of later when emotions are running high.
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  #36  
Old October 16th, 2010, 12:34 AM
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GateKeeper GateKeeper is offline
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Let's keep this thread on track and on topic please. Rudeness will not be tolerated by any member, issues between members should be taken to PM.

Thank you,
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  #37  
Old October 16th, 2010, 03:23 AM
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marko marko is offline
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Yes please. The OP came here for help. If you cannot help in a friendly way...
PLEASE do not post in this thread. It is obvious that this person is not a troll and has come to us for help. The name she called her dog out of frustration is not important here, so please choose to help in a friendly way or choose not to post.
Please do not respond to these above comments but feel free to help move the thread forward in a positive way.

Thanks in advance
Marko
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  #38  
Old October 17th, 2010, 10:34 AM
Mogsmum Mogsmum is offline
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Thanks Marko and Gatekeeper.

I appreciate the helpful comments that you all have made. I know Rexx can be worked with, I know he's a smart dog, I know he'll get "it" one day.

I think, more than anything, what I'm questioning is, am I the right person to teach him to get "it". Would he have improved faster with someone else? I dunno. Does he need to improve? Definitely.

My goal for him was to pass the canine good neighbour test, maybe do agility or flyball, and just be the tag along dog, the dog who could go anywhere because he behaved so well. Maybe that's reaching a bit high Right now I'd settle for a decent 5 minutes of walking without going berserk over a squirrel, or trying to pull my arm off and constantly staying ahead of me.

And I know dogs can sense frustration or anxiety or stress, but he behaves like this even on days where the house has been completely calm and cool for days.

I've got a few more options to try with him, so, as I said, he's not going anywhere tomorrow, next week, or next month. If I reach the end of all the things I can think of to try and get him under control, and we're made zero progress, then I'll start considering finding him a new home.
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  #39  
Old October 18th, 2010, 12:23 PM
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Quote:
I've got a few more options to try with him, so, as I said, he's not going anywhere tomorrow, next week, or next month. If I reach the end of all the things I can think of to try and get him under control, and we're made zero progress, then I'll start considering finding him a new home.
Keep us posted. As Bendyfoot mentioned, sometimes all it takes is finding the right niche for you AND your dog. Have you been able to find any local agility courses starting soon?

Whatever comes of it, if you need to rehome your dog as the absolute last resort, there are some very great reputable rescues here that can help - and people on this forum that can refer you to some.
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  #40  
Old October 18th, 2010, 02:46 PM
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pbpatti pbpatti is offline
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Mogsmum, hope that your weekend was good and that Rexx behaved himself. I am training to become a Tellington TTouch practioner and perhaps some of these techiques can help you. There are body wraps that help calm animals and touches that may also help. I believe there should be some practioners in your area that may be able to give you some help. It is worth looking at at the least. One other idea is the Thundershirt, this is a "shirt" that fits tightly and makes the dog feel secure, brings the anxiety levels right down. It was designed using the TTouch body wrap ideas. pm me if you want further information. patti
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