I am stifled, embarrassed, anxious about my dog.

[JenJay]

Hello, this is my first post on this very intriguing forum ! I hope that discussing my problems with other GS owners, I will recieve better insight and empathy than has been my experience with general dog owners.

First off, our dog's name is Emma, she's four years old, spayed, went through basic training at 6 months old, but I had to pull her out at 8 mnths as she began to act agressive and domineering. Around thenm, I took her twice to the Marin Humane Society training facility to have a consultation with a trainer there and I just don't know if that did much. The trainer set me up with a Sensation harness and a few wise training basic techniques, books to read, like "Culture Clash" , etc. but I went away in a total confusion.

How can I say this without rubbing people the wrong way? Trainers are too expensive for us to afford, I am not a book reader, need more interaction thatn that. Emma is a force to be reckoned with ! A dynamic alpha wannabe, who is totally hyper highstrung around other animals, including dogs. She is wonderful around people, including my very young nieces. She is extremely smart, always outsmarting me, but she has so many things she needs to learn in the way of socializing, but I gave up when she started acting out at about a year. I've tried a tieing her down and using Calming Cap (hood) when taking her int he car, but she just seems to bark so loud and is scary when let loose. Without getting into the major details about how and when she started to become unmanageable, I'd like to focus on what I can do now.

Basically my husband works long days and doesn't /hasnt' had time or interest to train her. I am a housewife and do. I'm afraid of her agressive behavior away from home... but know that she is an albatross in my life at this point, though I love her dearly. I want her to be a companion and come places with me, like to the beach, etc.

I think I'm really really bottled up, and this is going to be difficult to talk over, but I'd love it if some gentle empathetic souls could help me face in the right direction.

Thanks so much, in advance.
~Jen

[Mary Jane]

Dear Jen,

Welcome, this is a wonderful place to learn about GSD and their people.

Other people know tons more than I do about training and reasonable expectations but one place you can start is Nothing in Life is Free. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

This is a very simple, humane method to let Emma rely on you for direction. By waiting for your cues for all kinds of day to day behaviors, she learns to look to you in general.

Again, others will say more and better. I just wanted to welcome you and congratulate you for helping Emma be the great dog she can be.

Mary Jane

[Jax08]

That's so sad. First, she wasn't being aggressieve at 8 months old. It seems to be a common age for their brains to fall out, kind of like the terrible twos.

Second, what correction collar are you using? I've never heard of a Calming Cap but it doesn't sound like a good idea. You should start practicing NILIF (nothing in life is free), which is very easy to do and a very easy concept to follow.

There are several ppl on here that have a library of knowledge in their heads that can help you soooo....Cheer up!! You'll get there!!!

[JenJay]

Thank you MaryJane, I will look into that link very soon. I'm starting to cry, I can't believe this. I just knew that bringing this up would be a very emotional thing for me. I was afraid of a GS dog on the road we lived on growing up, and here I am loving our dog, like a daughter (my fur child) but am still afraid of her, rather, hyper sensitive to her domineering energy, and she is a great source of anxiety for me, which doesn't help my temperment.

Jax , that's the thing, she's not had any 'correction' training.... all positive, treat-oriented , which has not proved very effective, as she only comes when she feels like. Still, we don't know what to do, as we were so impressed by the non-punative methods from that one trainer. The calming cap is only a hood that goes over her eyes so she isn't so hyper stimulated when out and about. Does't really work, she has xray vsion !

I hope I can laugh about these things later, but right now they really make me feel like a failure.

[Jax08]

First, I would get rid of the hood. She's always going to be hyper stimulated if she isn't desensitized to things.

You can't be a failure if you are here trying to learn!!!

[JenJay]

I failed to mention in my original post, which I spat out in a fury, that we live in the backcountry, on a moutnain, and most everyday Emma and I are out hiking, and she gets a chance to really run and get into nature and we bonded that way. She pays attention to me well some of the time, like when it's time to change direction on a trail or something, she will look for instruction from me, and I can actually command her with a hand gesture at quite a distance. SOme of it really works, when she is motivated and happy running around. When she is running about though, I just let her run and don't try too hard to command her , knowing she's likely to blow me off. It's like, our time out there is her time to be free and run and she maintains great athletic fitness that way. Most importantly, if I had her on a line, she would not get to vent so much of the energy she needs to vent.

[Jax08]

Where does she sleep? Sit when you are all together? I would put her on the floor until she starts viewing you as her Alpha.

[JenJay]

Originally Posted By: Jax08First, I would get rid of the hood. She's always going to be hyper stimulated if she isn't desensitized to things.

You can't be a failure if you are here trying to learn!!!

Haven't used it much as I haven't taken her out much. We use it when we drive to the Sierras , on backpacking trips , (she carries a backpack)....especially when we were just starting out on a road trip, but we haven't done that in well over a year... maybe two. If she had her way, she'd be in the drivers' seat !

I'll hear your advice, and not put so much importance on it. Props and tools can just be inhibiting to me anyway.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Just popping in while waiting for something to print-saw this-don't be upset about being upset! Dogs you love are dogs who can bring you to tears in so many ways-happy, sad, scared, upset...

I don't think you have to resort to correction training. She needs to know her boundaries and limits very much, and also that she can't get away with behavior in different places that she wouldn't at home (the car is hard to correct a dog in or to shape a behavior-can't exactly explain to the trooper that you were clicking your dog and you missed the stop sign). But you can shape it and do it mostly in a positive way...

Your dog is made nervous by your energy but it's all fixable! Right now you are in a behavior loop with each other-that's rough.

NILIF is great! Just wanted to give you a little support, and a you can do it before I left for another meeting!

PS-I tried the Calming Cap for my Mario's carsickness. I can see it could be a success-nothing worked for him until they developed Cerenia for that problem.

[JenJay]

Originally Posted By: Jax08Where does she sleep? Sit when you are all together? I would put her on the floor until she starts viewing you as her Alpha.

At night she sleeps with us in our bedroom (or else she'd bark all night at critters outside) on the floor on a pad. During the day she goes between doggie beds we have around the house, including one old dusty beat-up chair we allow her to have. She stays off the couches and beds pretty well, but has snuck in opportunities when we're not around (always pushing her boundaries) .