Barking & jumping

Slevine · 07-01-2011, 10:08 PM

Could use some advice - Luca my 8 months old 84 lbs spayed GS female is having issues when we are out on our walks - without any pattern she will suddenly become agressive on our walk to other people, dogs and even small animals such as birds and rabbits - it is not constant just at times. At home she is loving non-agressive pup - she greets my friends in and out of house without any agression what so ever - i walk her on a harness - clasp is on the chest - i am sure you can imagine it quite hard to control her due to her size when she goes into these sort of commotions. She has been socialized and in training class - my trainer has me trying to soothe her with treats when we are walking and see people coming. Any thoughts on the matter would really be appreciated.

onyx'girl · 07-01-2011, 10:33 PM

I would stop walking and put her in a sit, have her focus on you, if she doesn't comply pop her collar, then praise her, treat, and continue on with your walk. Keep on with your training class!

Do you practice the LAT game? This helps redirect(8 months seems to be the age when pups are going thru a reactive stage).

Elaine · 07-01-2011, 10:34 PM

I don't know, but this sounds just like bad behavior to me and I would not tolerate it. I would stop with the silly harness and treats and move to a prong collar and learn to use it. Huge dogs can be easily controlled with a prong once the handler learns how to do it so the size of your dog doesn't matter. You can always praise her afterward for good behavior, save your treats for then.

Slevine · 07-02-2011, 05:57 PM

that seems to be a problem - once she is in this mode honestly i cannot get her attention back to me until the person/dog passes us or we turn and go another way. I totally understand what you are saying about "pop" the leash to her attention but on the harness i dont quite get her attention when i pop or yank it. i have thought about switching her collar but i like the harness because she does not pull. I see a lot of mix opinions about the prong collar and i have never used one before - i have though used a choker collar on my previous gsd back in the 80's.

Verivus · 07-02-2011, 06:03 PM

Since you say this is unpredictable I would go with a prong collar. Just be sure a trainer helps you learn how to fit it and use it correctly. I see dogs wearing prongs incorrectly all the time..

07-01-2011, 10:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
Slevine New Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 11	Barking & jumping Could use some advice - Luca my 8 months old 84 lbs spayed GS female is having issues when we are out on our walks - without any pattern she will suddenly become agressive on our walk to other people, dogs and even small animals such as birds and rabbits - it is not constant just at times. At home she is loving non-agressive pup - she greets my friends in and out of house without any agression what so ever - i walk her on a harness - clasp is on the chest - i am sure you can imagine it quite hard to control her due to her size when she goes into these sort of commotions. She has been socialized and in training class - my trainer has me trying to soothe her with treats when we are walking and see people coming. Any thoughts on the matter would really be appreciated.

07-01-2011, 10:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,611	I would stop walking and put her in a sit, have her focus on you, if she doesn't comply pop her collar, then praise her, treat, and continue on with your walk. Keep on with your training class! Do you practice the LAT game? This helps redirect(8 months seems to be the age when pups are going thru a reactive stage). __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo Last edited by onyx'girl; 07-01-2011 at 10:35 PM.

07-01-2011, 10:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Elaine Crowned Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,785	I don't know, but this sounds just like bad behavior to me and I would not tolerate it. I would stop with the silly harness and treats and move to a prong collar and learn to use it. Huge dogs can be easily controlled with a prong once the handler learns how to do it so the size of your dog doesn't matter. You can always praise her afterward for good behavior, save your treats for then. __________________ Elaine and the herd

07-02-2011, 06:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Verivus Master Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 701	Since you say this is unpredictable I would go with a prong collar. Just be sure a trainer helps you learn how to fit it and use it correctly. I see dogs wearing prongs incorrectly all the time.. __________________ Chrissy Pookie the Papillon 4/17/09 "Kaiser" aka Exodus z Jirkova Dvora 4/14/11

07-02-2011, 05:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
Slevine New Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 11	that seems to be a problem - once she is in this mode honestly i cannot get her attention back to me until the person/dog passes us or we turn and go another way. I totally understand what you are saying about "pop" the leash to her attention but on the harness i dont quite get her attention when i pop or yank it. i have thought about switching her collar but i like the harness because she does not pull. I see a lot of mix opinions about the prong collar and i have never used one before - i have though used a choker collar on my previous gsd back in the 80's.

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
German Shepherd Advertisement