i'm sure this has been conquered somewhere else already

[Dr89]

Originally Posted by cta

Dr89...my dog does the same....he puffs up and starts prancing like he's the king of the sidewalk. commands work some of the time (which i hope will lead to "all of the time")...like i said, the food doesn't sway him much, as his focus is too instense. i also use a prong collar. i have to admit i was anti-prong because it looked so harsh, but boy that thing has helped me be able to train him.

as for the sit, we have a huge field by our house where people let their dogs run, so if i see one there, i will make him sit on the sidewalk and watch the dog from a distance. when we do this, he is able to sit quietly..as training continues, I will decrease the distance between them. Right now he is too intense gets excited very easily.

Yep our dogs seems to be from the same cloth haha. Rambo trains nicely with treats but they mean absolutely nothing once another dog was around.

Keep a tennis ball or something similar as a "high prize" toy, one that he only SEES or even smells when its time to play, then it goes back up (thats if he does have high ball drive) this is a good focus keeper for my boy, take it to the vet with me, etc. haha

But yea don't be afraid to really jerk the prong collar when he perks up like that, right along with a very firm no. then give a command, doesn't listen, jerk again, you can also body block. (as long as this doesnt mortify the dog, because then you're getting no where)

[cta]

soooo the past few times i've taken chobahn out for a walk i've noticed a real difference in his behavior when we pass dogs. i posted about it the other night on the random thread, but after today i'm very proud of him and wanted to share our success with everyone. today i decided to take him out in the afternoon. typically, we walk at night when there is less dog traffic. pretty much since i started this thread, i have been working with him on the reactivity. i used to not be able to break his focus on another dog. but NOW if i say "look" he will look at me, even in the presence of another dog. i know, it doesn't sound like much, but for me it's a huge victory! he used to make such a scene, i can't even believe how far he's come. today we were coming up on a house that had an off leash dog running around the front yard. the owner saw us coming, gave us a scared look and ran to his dog to hold him. in my head i was thinking, ohhhh pleaseeee chobahn, please listen to me and don't cause a scene because clearly this guy already thinks GSDs are monsters . so as we are passing, he listened every time i issued the command and didn't make one peep. i then thanked the man for letting me use his dog to help mine during training because honestly, i thought he was gonna run if we got too close. this happened every time we saw another dog. i can see his posture is still a little stiff when he spots one, we're not completely out of the woods, but again...we are at least on a path to overcoming this behavior. i guess i feel the best about how our bond has changed through this whole process. i think he now can look to me as his leader and i'm super excited to see how much further we can go together. thanks for listening to my babbling

[cliffson1]

Find a good trainer, preferably one very familar with German Shepherds, and have the reason for his behavoir identified. Once you know that then embark on the course. Different reasons need different appoaches or you will see little improvement.

[cta]

i wish i still lived in nj, i'd bring him right to you cliff (that is if i'm remembering correctly that you are in jersey). but seriously, i want a trainer, i'm just nervous i will pick the "wrong" one. i don't want to screw up my dog more than i already have.

[Twyla]

Originally Posted by cliffson1

Find a good trainer, preferably one very familar with German Shepherds, and have the reason for his behavoir identified. Once you know that then embark on the course. Different reasons need different appoaches or you will see little improvement.

Yes!! This is so very true. A good behaviorist will search for the cause of the behavior and train from there. It's even more important they know and have experience with GSD. Many will train the symptom, but to often a point is reached and it can't be passed. I've learned this the hard way

[cta]

Originally Posted by Twyla

Yes!! This is so very true. A good behaviorist will search for the cause of the behavior and train from there. It's even more important they know and have experience with GSD. Many will train the symptom, but to often a point is reached and it can't be passed. I've learned this the hard way

by no means is this over, trust me. at best, i probably just broke the tip of the iceberg with all the time i've invested on this issue...i know we have a lot more work to do. i'm on the hunt for a trainer experienced in GSDs.

thank you tho for the advice...you guys are right.