Disappointed with Vida (long!)

[Kaity]

I don't know where to start! I don't even know why we're having these problems or how to go about training for it. I need serious suggestions here so I can help Vida!

-She has dominance issues. I don't know why, yesterday she went after my moms 12 year old dog that she grew up with because she didn't want him in the car that she's never even been in.. I knew from the get-go that Vida is more dominant than him, but how do I correct that behaviour? Also, when I leave the car she flips out and hops in the front seat (which I don't exactly mind, people around here aren't going to steal a car when they see dogs sitting in it) and whines.


-WHINING! I can't friggin stand it. It's unacceptable to me and she not only does it in her crate half the time when I leave (at which point I will wait at the door outside and listen for her then tell her to hush) but also if we're somewhere and somebody goes outside. When we're around a lot of people she just wants to run around with everybody and I can't have that. Then she whines jumps and barks. This is getting progressively worse and worse to the point where I don't want to bring her to family outings anymore because it's embarrassing that I don't know what to do in these situations. I tried to calm her, I myself was calm but not completely calm inside I think she sensed that and everybody else's stress and how hectic Christmas was at my sisters. I had to tie her on the balcony, left the door open and sat by it and whenever myself or my boyfriend left she'd flip out about it. Other than that, her tail is lethal and knocks over everything at tail level so she stays with me on a leash at my sisters. I tried to put her in the bathroom with the light off for well, a longer time out to get her away from everybody and okay I tried to talk my dog down and calm down myself but she still was whining and freaking out so I had to take her out of there so she didn't damage anything. So I tried to take her outside and play, blow off some energy. Worked a bit but still.. being a brat and I don't know how to help the situation so I try to stay neutral with things, snapping her collar doesn't work, she won't listen to me, exercise doesn't work and neither does putting her in a room by herself or switching handlers (myself and my boyfriend.) Vida's 2 years old, spayed, if that helps..

-Another thing is how to teach her to be calm around other dogs. I do not know anybody with other dogs I can train with. I socialized the crap out of her when she was younger and don't know what happened here, but she's always been excited to go see and greet other dogs. If she's not on her prong, she will try to run over and pull me. Doesn't listen to commands to stay or lay down. When she's on her prong, I have more control but not total. If we're walking, she's fine and can ignore most dogs. This problem usually occurs when she's closer to a dog and when we're outside in the strata yard. I've never seen aggression from her towards other dogs (one time, with a very poorly trained husky pup that doesn't live here anymore thank god..)

-Last thing is establishing an order in the house. I'm going to read other threads because I'm sure there are tonnsss. My problem right now is her feeling entitled to MY furniture. I don't lay in her crate, why does she lay on my couch and bed and lay on ME (yes she will lay on me, across my pillows and try to push me out of the way [so it seems]. ) or on my legs. Is she aware that she's doing this, is it just cuddling or..? Vida isn't a fan of the 'off' command either. Vida, off. Looks at me. More serious voice... Vida, OFF. Doesn't work so boyfriend tells her to go lay in her crate (which is in the living room, I don't know if telling her to goto her crate is punishment? I know the crate shouldn't be used if she does something we think is wrong but we do it anyways.. does it really matter?) I would ideally like her to only come up on the couch or bed with us when she is invited. It's harder to figure out how to go about anything since theres another person here with half the knowledge I have about Vida, her behaviour and what I feel is the right way to go about it. You can't have two people contradicting things, shepherds need the same hand, so to speak, every time to get the point it seems. She's very stubborn, oh how I wish I got a boy..

I won't be able to train until 2012 with our trainer, and besides that I don't exactly have the funds for it right now so I'm on here to try and remedy the problem before getting more input from the trainer when she is available. I know it's not her, it's me and not knowing how to go about these things.. Thanks!

[rblanshan]

My dog will whine in her kennel unless I put a blanket over the whole kennel. The blanket covering the kennel really helps. If we have friends over with a young child, I put Irsa in the kennel as I just don't feel comfortable with a dog her size around a 2 year old. If I don't put the blanket over the kennel, she will whine & bark. I then have to cover it. She may bark or whine a little bit, but I ignore her and it's nothing compared to when it's uncovered. I also like to keep a stock of bones or treats to put in her kennel at the same time I put her in. I do use the kennel as a time out. I view it the same as sending my kid to their room. It seems to work with the dogs I have had, and they always continued to like their crate. You are going to have to ignore her 100% when she whines while in her crate. Even telling her "NO" is giving her what she wants. Do not respond to her at all. Silence is key...your voice, even telling her no, is a reward.

I wouldn't allow the dog on your furniture at all right now, if ever. Sounds like you have a very stubborn dog. I understand you only want her on the furniture if you invite her on, but it sounds like she is not trained enough to know the difference between being invited and not. I would not allow her on the furniture at all, period, until she has become well trained. Even then I would not be suprised if she didn't always respect the "wait till you are invited".

Look into NILF. Definitely start training with a professional. There are others who can offer tons better advice then I. However, I would say she needs to learn that you are in charge and make the rules.

[rblanshan]

By the way, my dog Irsa has been a crotch sniffer from the day I got her. The breeder I got her from was over a few weeks ago and asked when she started doing that, and I told her from the first day. She said Irsa never did it when she was with her. Then I heard her a little bit later tell Irsa to stop, only her stop voice was a lot more stern then mine. So I have made a point to lower my voice more and make it more severe instead of my normal every day voice. The breeder also told me that when I told Irsa "No", I needed to follow it with a word pertaining to what I don't want her doing. As in "Nein Jump" or "Nein Sniff" instead of just telling her "Nein" so then she knows what I am saying no to. I have noticed a difference....and a lack in crotch sniffing in the last few weeks! Hope this helps a little!

[Kaity]

She is VERY stubborn. I do NILIF, she isn't fazed by it. I'm starting to think that she NEEDS to work do agility or something.. ball games are no longer wearing out her mind.

I keep my voice down and do this voice when she really isn't listening that she hates and puts her ears back and lays down soon as I do it.

I know even speaking to the dog is a reward. With the crate, she only whines sometimes when I leave, if only for a few minutes but still.. we live in an apartment, and I try to respect the others on this floor as much as possible. When I tell her no, hush through the door she calms down. Is this rewarding her or making her more comfortable or just making her think okay, she's still there now I have to be quiet or else? Vida is completely fine with little kids and grew up with my nephew, I trust her as much as you can trust a dog with a baby without leaving them unattended.

She jumps up and gets super excited when my family or anybody comes over, if she doesn't hear the key open the door she will bark like theres no tomorrow then run up and see if it's a stranger or not. I've had her growl at one person that came over, I still don't know why.

I will make it a point to keep her off of the furniture, and not invite her up. I may have incorporated her too much into the family in some ways.

[msvette2u]

Have you tried these things?
Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong

[rblanshan]

Thats good you trust her with kids! I got mine when she was 1.5 years old and she didn't have experience with kids. I trust her completely with my 3, though she has been known to nip when my kids are playing rough with her. Usually she is just trying to get her ball out of their hand...but still, we start one on one training soon for that! I don't trust her 100% with other kids. Adults, yes. However, I have noticed that if I take her outside to greet people before they enter my home, she adjusts so much quicker to them. If I allow the person to walk in the house first, and then allow Irsa to meet them, she is more weary.

If Vida actually quiets down when you tell her to, then no problem. I thought she was still whining after you told her not too. You may still want to try covering the crate with the blanket. It made night & day difference when she was in her kennel at night.

Other then one on one training, I would just try different ways of handling things. Also, hours spent on this forum gives me new ideas on how to handle things with Irsa, some work..some don't. However, one thing I am learning is I really do have to treat her like a 5 yr. old child. I have to be firm, but loving. Good luck!

[BlackPuppy]

I can't help much, but I feel your pain. I have a pushy young male, but not as bad as yours, it seems.

First, all my dogs will sit in the front seat of the car if I run into the store. A good cure for this is a crate. It's safer, anyway. I confess to not using the crate all the time, I should, though.

I did talk to a behaviorist about being calm around other dogs. We even worked on it a little with his reactive catahoula and my reactive DS with good results.

His suggestion was to go to a place where people like to walk their dogs. We have a lake with a walking path around it. The big point is, not to take the dog where the other dogs are, but to park far away and just stand where your dog can see the other dogs in the distance.

Bring a lot of treats. You need to be far enough away that when you call your dog's name she will look at you and take a treat. Then you work with gradually moving closer AND moving back. When your dog looks at the other dog, call her name so she looks at you. If she fixates, you are too close! Move back until she is calm again. Repeat often. I also do this with a clicker at agility class. It's working good for my dog, but there are different levels of reactivity.

My DS also really wants to rule my house. When he gets annoying, he just gets put into the kitchen and ignored. Though, my other dogs are wary of him, order is kept. I impose my presence as a block if he gets too annoying with another dog, or tries to eat another dog's food. At least he respects me.

[JakodaCD OA]

How much outside exercise is she getting? Whiney, jumpy, barky young dogs are looking for attention whether it's good attention or bad, it's attention.

A TIRED dog is a good dog. And something that works well in public situations is called a LEASH, keep one on her, and work her when your IN those situations as well as controlling her jumping.

Some gsd's are whiney, it's just 'them'..

A GOOD obedience class will teach YOU how to manage her. Right now I would be upping her outside exercise as well as mental stuff for her to burn off some energy.

It sounds like she is a bored dog with alot of energy and is seeking attention from wherever she can get it.

[Kaity]

She gets tons of exercise, 90-120 minutes throughout the day. A tired puppy is a good puppy, I always said that.. I use a LEASH always, what am I supposed to do when she's on it and we're sitting in a room and somebody leaves and she flips out until she can go follow them, every single time? How do I remedy that situation and help keep her calm and why does she do it? I've removed her from the situation and put her in a room with the light off for a bit and brought her back out and she's back to the same old stuff.

I can understand and accept if she's whiny, but I need to know how to control it because the amount that she does it when around lots of people and when she wants to greet another dog is unacceptable. I can't do an obedience class because I have no way to get to and from and am out of a job right now.

I disagree that she's bored. If she was bored, she would be acting up 24/7 in our home which she is not. She's generally VERY calm at home and lets us know when she needs to go our for a potty or when she's hungry and brings toys if and when she wants to play otherwise she's following me around while I tidy up or sitting beside me on the floor while we watch a movie or something. She "acts out" when there are people around, even one person that doesn't live here. If I crate her, it's no good because she's whiny and since her crate is in the living room and general area, seeing everybody does no good. Or when she's at my sisters house and well come to think about it she's worse around my sister and her family I think it's their energy because I start to feel off as well but who knows!

[Kaity]

By the way, do I reward her when she listens to 'off' commands? Or just leave it as it?