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15 months and a few changes

845 views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Dnr2d09 
#1 ·
I feel like I'm full of questions, so bear with me ?

Cash turned 1 in Feb. I got him at 8/9 months, the breeder picked him for me because he was always the laid back docile dog in the group and I was looking for an older puppy. I brought him home with some concerns about no real socialization aside from his 'pack' but he settled in beautifully, I consulted with a trainer before bringing him home on some things to help me decide if he would or wouldn't be a good fit.

He's not a dog park dog, which is fine, he's actually very standoffish and I'd just as soon avoid a scuffle that could result in dog aggression . I've always leash walked him and never had issues considering he had never been on a leash.

Right around the time he hit a year, he was much more sensitive to his environment if out of a familiar place. I've taken him everywhere with me and he never had an issue with new things. Now, he seems squirrelly when I walk him outside of my subdivision (to be fair, there is heavy traffic when we're walking) or at my parent's place, which is also familiar to him. We have a local river side walking trail which I would like to take him down for walks and to work on his training but there are two issues with it. If I take him alone, he seems nervous of other dogs, and kids on bikes, etc., all things he has had very limited exposure to. If I take my other dog, he is more relaxed but much more reactive to other dogs. He doesn't like when other dogs approach him on a leash, it's a total 180 from his passive dog park attitude. It's worse when I have my female dog (9 year old, fixed).

So I guess the questions all boil down to...what would you do if it was your dog? I feel like having positive exposures to the things that make him nervous will fix his nerves, but that comes at the risk of having negative experiences and I'm afraid of doing long term damage. Is this normal shepherd behavior for his age? He is not fixed. In addition to that, he has become much more insistent about chasing the cat and all around more pushy and stubborn.

We have him in obedience classes and will be attending a week long training seminar at the end of next month. I fully admit my anxiety about doing the wrong thing is probably a handicap for him at this point. Just hoping that if we can continue with training, he will settle with time.
 
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#2 ·
I noticed that my she-pup needed more walks by herself. While she was growing most of the walks were with my big boy and she hadn't learned to decode human / dog behavior from strangers for herself. I also noticed that she went through a couple of periods when new situations were more startling than before. If your dog has a stressful day, it is good to let your dog have a restful day following. Some people suggest that a stressful day fills your dog with hormones that take awhile to deplete. Having back to back stresses just makes it harder and harder for your dog to think clearly.

Also it is common for a dog to behave differently on leash than off when it comes to possible threat. They might feel as if they have less options and become more defensive. I tend to be more proactive trying to let my dogs know,"you can relax, I've got this covered". I took a group class with each dog when they got about 1 1/2 so that we could work in a room with other people and dogs in a calm and controlled atmosphere. I think it helped show them how I expected them to behave around other dogs. On walks, meeting random people, it is much harder since Joe Public might just have that annoying leash tugger coming straight for you. Not a good place to start.

It is also common for young adult dogs to try and throw their weight around. Like any intelligent creature they will try and find ways to get what they want. It is not that they want to be in charge. They are just trying to make the house rules suit them. Be calm, be firm, laugh a lot.
 
#3 ·
Thank you for the input! I am glad to know spacing out the new experiences was the right call. It's also a relief that this isn't entirely uncommon behavior. He can be very stubborn and downright pushy when he wants something. Example, I don't let him have free access to water because he's a guzzler...if the bowl is empty and he thinks it shouldn't be he will drag it around the kitchen and bang it into things for attention. He's quite the clown so there's some entertainment value to it, but I get the message loud and clear and put the bowl up until I'm ready to fill it. Same with the food bowl. He is not at all food aggressive but I have noticed him getting a little defensive with my older dog of his empty bowl or stray pieces of food that fall out of his crate so the bowls are up when it isn't time to eat.

His trainer really likes him and works him in classes to show demonstrations and he's spot on. He knows what's expected of him and hits the mark every time. He's great with the other dogs, quiet and observes from a distance though he's come across a dog or two he didn't care for, but he's easily controlled in that situation. The river walk, on the other hand...it's exactly what you mentioned, other people's leashed dogs rushing him sets him off. He's never been a fan of dogs running up on him, even in play, but in his former pack he was very much the low man on the totem pole. I guess I can't blame him for not liking that, but I'm trying to be more assertive and let him know I am the boss and he doesn't need to react. He's great with 'no sniff' when he passes dogs in class so it's likely just the need for continued exposure.

Overall, he's a good dog and we've had a stretch of days lately where he seems to have calmed down (I quit working overtime so we could have evenings and weekends and he seems more relaxed) which has helped to put my mind at ease. He was so good from the start, it was a little unnerving to see some of the behaviors pop up but I think it'll just take time and work.
 
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