Hi, i have a 4year old black labrador of which i rescued from a family member. She hadn't been socialised much as a pup nor had any lead training, We also have since found out she was treated wrongly by a young 12year old lad whilst in her previous environment. I have had her for 2 years now and have completely turned most of her behaviour around, however I'm still struggling to crack some points, any help, hints or advice are much appreciated! I've tried all sorts and she just doesn't get the training! 1) pulling on the lead on the way to a walk, but when you get there she calms and can walk properly, she is walked at regular times everyday. 2) extremely hyper behaviour in the car which is leading to her choking herself, she is restricted to the boot of the car and has a guard to keep her in there, she makes excited squeals for the whole journey. 3) as previously said, she did have wrong treatment from a 12year old, however she now barks at anything from buggies to 14year olds, all her shackles are up and she really goes for it, however she never snarls or growls or gets into a defensive pose just barks. If you take her to a child's house she is absolutely fine and becomes their friend and if they come into her territory she barks but as soon as the child picks up a toy to play with her she instantly stops barking and plays and then remains calm. It is embarrassing when we are out because we can't go anywhere where children are around because she barks and its a deep bark so people worry, how can i prevent this? i've tried the leading her away with her back to them, i've made her wait for the children to pass, i've tried positive reinforcement with treats to keep her focused of me... nothing seems to work! she is fine if they want to come and stroke her also on or off the lead! HELP!!
Re: HELP! a few training points i can't seem to crack! Hello Jo , welcome to the forum I also have a rescue dog and so can understand some of the issues you face , but it does sound as though you have already come a long way with your girl Pulling onlead when on the way to an off lead walk is very common, my lad Sam was a shocker when younger . There are some excellent articles on this forum, in the puppy section and the behaviour section too . What I did was to stop the moment he pulled, made him sit and then set off again , sometimes even changing direction , making for an interesting walk at times : It must be repeated , it can take some time but it does work , the penny will drop . Would she be better in a crate in the car ? Just wondering if she needs a little more security ? Re children and the barking , this could be a mix of fear and excitement and most likely due to the mistreatment by a youngster , poor girl . Do you have a school that you could walk past ? She will no doubt bark, but if you could keep walking her past , she might just decide that children arent so bad after all , it is strange that she is fine with them in the home though .It is hard I know, my rescue terrier came with no history at all so, as often the case with rescues, its just patience and love that sees them through .
Re: HELP! a few training points i can't seem to crack! Hi jo I have two 3 year old labs,Scott and Scout, with a very similar problem. Their problem isn't children it's people. They panic and bark if people they don't know come too near and have a complete melt down if they try to touch them. : It started when they had to have a long course of veterinary treatment when they were young pups. At the start of the treatment the usual friendly, sociable lab pups by the end snarling monsters to anybody they didn't already know!!!!! We have made a lot of progress but after a particularly horrendous vet visit a few weeks ago I decided I need to do more. Have you heard of BAT behaviour adjustment training ? I've been doing my own variation of it. Basically you help the dog teach itself it doesn't have to panic and react to get what it wants 'functional reward'. In my dogs' case they bark to get distance so I reward looking at me instead of barking when they see a stranger by giving them the distance they want from the stranger. Then because the dog doesn't go into panic mode they learn (hopefully :) there's nothing to fear. A dog wont/can't learn in panic mode. Unfortunately the best way to use BAT is doing set ups. This isn't practical for me I can't just drag strangers off the street to help. If you could borrow a friends child though you could do the set ups they suggest. The book says a basic problem could be resolved in 20 set ups !!!!! I started a thread BAT tips in the behaviour section. People have given me lots of helpful advice you might find useful. Grisha Stewarts web site about BAT is www.empoweredanimals.com I started with the web site although I have recently bought the book BAT by Grisha Stewart it's £5 on kindle. Most of it is on the web site although there is a chapter about her dog with similar problems to mine and yours. She had to desensitise it to adults and then children. Good luck I know what it's like. : Jen
Re: HELP! a few training points i can't seem to crack! Thank you Kateincornwall and Jen, i shall give both of these a try! will update to let you know how we get on! trouble with my pooch is that she genuinely doesn't quite understand training, she forgets to associate it, i've tried the sit and stop when she pulls and changed direction but she didn't associate it with her pulling! but will try again she's beginning to hurt with her pulling, she broke my boyfriends hand a couple of months ago from pulling! I shall try and walk her at school times as where i live there are lots of children who come home so ill try and take her out while they are walking home! With the children it is strange, once they've thrown the initial toy, they can even have their hands in her food bowl while she eats... and theres no reaction at all from her! so i know it's not an aggression as such, i think because i worked with her so that she would play with children to overcome her fear, she may bark at them now because she expects them all to play! who know's! will keep plodding on and trying hard! Thank you again for your hints and tips
Re: HELP! a few training points i can't seem to crack! from a tiny black 5 1/2 year old Lab known as The DivaDog and her pet human
