Excessive Barking at Strangers - Page 2

**JakodaCD OA** · 11-19-2009, 05:45 PM

HI Gretta, I had a von hena c dog myself, he passed away last april @ the age of 12

(( miss him he was a great boy..I now have a Reiko von hena c granddaughter that I got from a friend of von hena -c's..

Anyhow, there are a few here that have von hena c dogs.

Allie that posted above, has one, and has been working with her girl to, you might want to check out some of her training threads, (we love to read her updates!) about her experiences with Athena.

It sounds like Gretta didn't get much exposure to the big outside world of 'life'. Definately stay in class, definately get her out in the big wide world, I would expose her to a different 'place' every other day if it's viable for you.

Definately get her around kids,

Always carry good treats and hand em out to people willing to treat her.

As for her barking/behavior and going into the "zone"..(been there done that)...as well as redirecting, start moving in an opposite direction ..keep her 'moving' even if it's circles, this may snap her out of her 'zone'..

Does she like toys? like tuggies?? start tugging with her, mine tends to always be carrying something in her mouth

) something IN their mouth can work on keeping their mouth shut

))

The most important thing is to socialize, socialize socialize, and class, class , and more class !!!

Good luck with her, if I remember seeing her pic, Gretta was a pretty sable girl??

GSD07 · 11-19-2009, 05:59 PM

You got great advice above! My 2 cents. Stop worrying about neighbors, there is nothing embarrassing in the process of training a dog. Also please don't correct her when she's already reacting, in the zone as you say. Instead remove the dog from the situation without a word. The correction has to be warranted, understood by the dog first, and then timed properly. I don't think it's time for correction right now but for learning and working with treats and socializing.

grettagirl · 11-20-2009, 12:50 PM

thanks!
Yes, Gretta is a pretty sable.

Your advice is the same as our trainers last night. He said redirect her by walking her in a circle - when she looks up/calms down praise her and give her a treat. He demonstrated before class when she was barking at classmates coming in and it worked (hope I can do it too!). He said not to correct since it's out of fear.

She was great in class last night -did all the commands and was playful with the other dogs.

He said these dogs are Czech/East German and were bred for defense/border patrol so she has that instinct in her. We just have to be mindful and work on it now. I'm glad he's our trainer because he knows a lot about shepherds (breeds some and does shutzund training).

Thanks for the advice.

**JakodaCD OA** · 11-20-2009, 06:19 PM

it sounds like you have found a GOOD trainer,,stick with him !!! they are rare!!

And yes, Masi is czech/east german and I have found she is much different from my east german boy..not a bad thing, just have to learn how to deal /work with it to our advantage

)..

I wrote in another thread,,I just bought a book called The Cautious Canine by Patricia Mcconnell,,,short and sweet, cheap to,,6.95 I am a few pages into it,,I like it,,it may be something that would help you with gretta too...

allieg · 11-20-2009, 06:35 PM

I read that too along with Fiesty Fido and one other one I can't remember right now.They all gave me good insight into the behavior.

debbiebrown · 11-21-2009, 01:58 PM

sounds like she could turn into a reactive pup....my hena c female is reactive......she is better now with age, but i had to redirect, desensitize, and practice being calm, alot of long downs, etc. other than that i am very happy with her.

debbie

grettagirl · 01-12-2010, 01:06 PM

Thanks - sorry it's been a while since I've responded. Work and holidays became insane!

Gretta has calmed down a bit. We do have an excellent trainer who loves and breeds shepherds so he seems to take special interest in our classes (he trains all breeds in his classes). She is very good at focusing and loves to do her exercises. She's about ready to finish intermediate, then we will move to advanced. I think we need to keep her in training just to keep her from getting bored.

I took her to a busy downtown a few weeks ago and worked on letting her pass people without barking. She did well about 80% of the time (barked at a few people - mainly those in groups). And she LOVES kids. A group of 8-10 year olds were playing on the sidewalk. I was a bit nervous but Gretta was happy and wagging her tail. A little girl ran right up and started petting her, and Gretta was in heaven! My husband said the same thing on his walk the next day - she was so happy when she saw kids.

I think it will be daily work but we are enjoying it.

11-19-2009, 05:45 PM	#11 (permalink)
JakodaCD OA Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Location: Old Lyme, CT USA Posts: 14,237	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers HI Gretta, I had a von hena c dog myself, he passed away last april @ the age of 12(( miss him he was a great boy..I now have a Reiko von hena c granddaughter that I got from a friend of von hena -c's.. Anyhow, there are a few here that have von hena c dogs. Allie that posted above, has one, and has been working with her girl to, you might want to check out some of her training threads, (we love to read her updates!) about her experiences with Athena. It sounds like Gretta didn't get much exposure to the big outside world of 'life'. Definately stay in class, definately get her out in the big wide world, I would expose her to a different 'place' every other day if it's viable for you. Definately get her around kids, Always carry good treats and hand em out to people willing to treat her. As for her barking/behavior and going into the "zone"..(been there done that)...as well as redirecting, start moving in an opposite direction ..keep her 'moving' even if it's circles, this may snap her out of her 'zone'.. Does she like toys? like tuggies?? start tugging with her, mine tends to always be carrying something in her mouth) something IN their mouth can work on keeping their mouth shut )) The most important thing is to socialize, socialize socialize, and class, class , and more class !!! Good luck with her, if I remember seeing her pic, Gretta was a pretty sable girl?? __________________ Diane Danger Danger vom Kleinen Hain aka Masi "Angel" Jakoda's Bewitchen Sami CD OA OAJ OAC NGC OJC RS-O GS-N JS-O TT HIC CGC "Angel" Steinwald's Four x Four CGC HIC TT Harmonyhill's Hy Jynx NA NAJ NAC NJC RS-N JS-N HIC Jakoda's Jagged Edge

11-19-2009, 05:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
GSD07 Elite Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,763	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers You got great advice above! My 2 cents. Stop worrying about neighbors, there is nothing embarrassing in the process of training a dog. Also please don't correct her when she's already reacting, in the zone as you say. Instead remove the dog from the situation without a word. The correction has to be warranted, understood by the dog first, and then timed properly. I don't think it's time for correction right now but for learning and working with treats and socializing. __________________

11-20-2009, 12:50 PM	#13 (permalink)
grettagirl New Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers thanks! Yes, Gretta is a pretty sable. Your advice is the same as our trainers last night. He said redirect her by walking her in a circle - when she looks up/calms down praise her and give her a treat. He demonstrated before class when she was barking at classmates coming in and it worked (hope I can do it too!). He said not to correct since it's out of fear. She was great in class last night -did all the commands and was playful with the other dogs. He said these dogs are Czech/East German and were bred for defense/border patrol so she has that instinct in her. We just have to be mindful and work on it now. I'm glad he's our trainer because he knows a lot about shepherds (breeds some and does shutzund training). Thanks for the advice.

11-20-2009, 06:19 PM	#14 (permalink)
JakodaCD OA Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Location: Old Lyme, CT USA Posts: 14,237	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers it sounds like you have found a GOOD trainer,,stick with him !!! they are rare!! And yes, Masi is czech/east german and I have found she is much different from my east german boy..not a bad thing, just have to learn how to deal /work with it to our advantage).. I wrote in another thread,,I just bought a book called The Cautious Canine by Patricia Mcconnell,,,short and sweet, cheap to,,6.95 I am a few pages into it,,I like it,,it may be something that would help you with gretta too... __________________ Diane Danger Danger vom Kleinen Hain aka Masi "Angel" Jakoda's Bewitchen Sami CD OA OAJ OAC NGC OJC RS-O GS-N JS-O TT HIC CGC "Angel" Steinwald's Four x Four CGC HIC TT Harmonyhill's Hy Jynx NA NAJ NAC NJC RS-N JS-N HIC Jakoda's Jagged Edge

11-20-2009, 06:35 PM	#15 (permalink)
allieg Crowned Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: NH Posts: 4,413	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers I read that too along with Fiesty Fido and one other one I can't remember right now.They all gave me good insight into the behavior. __________________ Allie owned by: Athena 5/4/08 http://www.dogster.com/dogs/925796 Lexi 6/1/07 Puggle of some sort

11-21-2009, 01:58 PM	#16 (permalink)
debbiebrown Crowned Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: maine Posts: 7,599	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers sounds like she could turn into a reactive pup....my hena c female is reactive......she is better now with age, but i had to redirect, desensitize, and practice being calm, alot of long downs, etc. other than that i am very happy with her. debbie __________________ url

01-12-2010, 01:06 PM	#17 (permalink)
grettagirl New Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	Re: Excessive Barking at Strangers Thanks - sorry it's been a while since I've responded. Work and holidays became insane! Gretta has calmed down a bit. We do have an excellent trainer who loves and breeds shepherds so he seems to take special interest in our classes (he trains all breeds in his classes). She is very good at focusing and loves to do her exercises. She's about ready to finish intermediate, then we will move to advanced. I think we need to keep her in training just to keep her from getting bored. I took her to a busy downtown a few weeks ago and worked on letting her pass people without barking. She did well about 80% of the time (barked at a few people - mainly those in groups). And she LOVES kids. A group of 8-10 year olds were playing on the sidewalk. I was a bit nervous but Gretta was happy and wagging her tail. A little girl ran right up and started petting her, and Gretta was in heaven! My husband said the same thing on his walk the next day - she was so happy when she saw kids. I think it will be daily work but we are enjoying it.

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
German Shepherd Advertisement