Sid Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Hello Folks, I am new to this forum and have really enjoyed reading all the great information this site has to offer. I have a couple of training issues that I have not been able to correct with my BC. Camie is 3 yrs old now. I have had her for the past 2, I adopted her from the human society. She is a wonderful dog but I have two issues that are concerning. 1st ...She is very afriad of any "popping noice" either cracking from the fireplace, cracking nuts, or someone just making a loud noice. She will run off and hide very quickly. The fireplace is really an issue since we burn a lot of wood in the winter and use it often. She has gotten a little better recently but I think that is just because the wood burning season has just started again and she hasn't gotten herself worked up about it as much yet. The only way I have been a little successful at keeping her in the room is to call her to me immediatley when I see her fleeing and try to distract her with a toy or petting but most of the time she will just sulk away. 2nd concern is that we have an older dog that is a BC mix and she is pretty slow at this time in her life. But Camie being the young dog will jump on her or "body slam" her to try and get her to play. The only way I can get her to stop is by putting her leash on and keeping her restrained. Am I just not being firm enough with her to get her to stop. Verbal correction does not work, blocking her does work but I am usually not fast enough most of the time to correct in this manner...any advice would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 Camie - I would strongly suggest going to see a board certified animal behavior specialist. If there are not any close enough you can do a remote consult through your vet. I used to be very anti medication until I saw how much of a difference a combination of meds (like Prozac) and training can make in a dog's life. Training would include exercises like only playing with an extra special/fun toy while burning wood to make her associate the sound with play time. (It worked too well with one of my dogs who still thinks when I run the vacuum cleaner it means that it's time to play, which means he will pester me if he isn't locked up while I run it.) I saw one shelter dog go from a nervous wreck that would hide behind her master in public to a confident service dog by using a combination training and drugs. (Most drugs do NOT make your dog tired, dopey, etc.) The animal behavior specialist can give you training exercises and if he/she feels your dog could benefit from it will recommend certain drugs. Older mix - It's my personal belief that you owe it to all your dogs to protect them, especially when they are senior citizens. If you can't stop Camie verbally it means she does not respect you. In other words, she knows when she isn't on a leash she can get away with bad stuff. (Always remember, fear is NOT respect.) Put her on a leash in the house, even if it's a long one. Implement a "nothing in life is free" training plan. If you give her a command and she doesn't listen calmly make her obey. For example, if she is on the lead and you tell her to stay but she gets up and walks away, pull her gently back to you, have her lie down and put your foot on the lead so she can't walk away again. When you want her to get up praise her then use a release command. Once she is very reliable on lead start to give her chances off lead. If she disobeys a command put her back on the leash right away. She will learn that the price of freedom is obedience. I'll even do that with mature dogs; I start out on walks with them off leash but as soon as they ignore my commands they have to finish the walk on lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 1) Tweed is noise phobic as well. He was terrified of the flyball box when we first started training flyball because it would go "bang" when he hit it. So for about three months, the flyball box shot cookies at Tweed. It took a bit, but eventually he learned that the box offered him snacks, and he overcame his fear of the box. However, dogs don't generalize too well and that has not made a difference to the other noises in his life that are scary. For the last 7.5 years, Tweed has heard the 9 o'clock gun go off every single night of his life, and every single night he barks at it and gets all worked up about it. I should probably do something about that. 2) Don't let your dog do that. It's not very nice for your senior dog. Offer your young dog more one on one exercise and brain games to give her another outlet for her energy so she is less apt to solicit play from your old dog. When one of mine goes to jump on RD I tell them "ENOUGH" and stop them in their tracks. RD is to be unmolested in his old age. RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoku's mum Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 You've gotten good advise, not much to add except to really emphasize that your older dogs needs your intervention, you must protect her from Camie's rough play. Manage their time together, and stop any rough play the second it starts. Make sure that Camie is getting enough mental and physical exersize (not just play with your other dog). Maybe try and find a playmate for her to roughhouse with. Step up your training time with her. If you are not doing it already, start strict NILIF with Camie. Good luck, and keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy in AZ Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 I had problem #2 between my old gal and my younger, energetic bc. The problem resolved when I ended up keeping a stray Aussie that I found, and he and my bc became best buds and playmates. Just sayin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painted_ponies Posted December 13, 2007 Report Share Posted December 13, 2007 The only way I can get her to stop is by putting her leash on and keeping her restrained. Am I just not being firm enough with her to get her to stop. Verbal correction does not work, blocking her does work but I am usually not fast enough most of the time to correct in this manner. I don't know - how have you been trying to get her to stop? For instance, suppose you correct her verbally, and she blows you off? What do you do next? I don't know that it's necessarily a lack of respect on the dog's part. My two will generally ignore me unless they think I can enforce whatever command I've just given. And why not? They're having fun, why should they stop? Once they figure out I can and will insist on compliance, though, they give in. My younger dog, Faith, was determined to chase the cat. So I began crating her for five minutes every time she did it. She finally caught on - at least with my older cat. My younger cat, Clawdia, actively tries to get Faith to chase her so I've decided she's on her own. (I'm not worried since the day I saw what happens when Clawdia decides the game is over. Clawdia screeched to a halt, turned, and smacked Faith upside the head. Faith retreated with a "gosh, I'm sorry" look on her face, and all was well.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJ Posted December 16, 2007 Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 This in in respect for your senior buddy: what I did with both dogs is to have them on a leash and when either would go toward my cat I would redirect them not with a harsh snap or choke collar or anything along those lines, but just went in the other direction with a firm "NO CAT"... I sure am no expert but it worked. Eventually they got the picture and they were always praised and given treats when they made the right decision. I concur with Liz Ps advice. Aside from a behaviorist (and there are many whack job behaviourists out there-trust me-so check them out throughly first) there are some good books about behaviour modification. I have done a lot of desensitization work with my Aussie for barking at the fence, thunder, gun shots (hunters) and fireworks and a slew of other things. He's still not thrilled but not terrified either of the noises now. I have employed Rescue Remedy or Alprozolam in the past if I knew there would be noises that scared him when I wasn't around to play and treat during noise situations. One thing I don't agree with with some +training is the use of words like "no" or "leave it" or "off". Those commands for me are an important part of my vocab. But anyway, I digress. as a quick place to start I thought this was useful: http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogT...arOfThunder.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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