help needed asap with my gsd!!!!!!

CrazyGSD

New Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
1
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Manchester, UK
#1
hi ,
i have a 10 month old german shepherd dog who is driving me and my husband mad , everytime we take him for a walk on the lead he goes mad barking at other dogs also the problem gets worse if me and my husband take him together i cannot walk away even a foot in front of him because he just goes crazy barking and howling , when off the lead he is fine only when he is on it , we have taken him to several training classes with no luck , we have even had one to one training with him and a trainer and still no change , i hope someone can help as he is driving us mad and we dread taking him out ,
any advice would be great!!!!!!
 

bogolove

New Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Messages
4,157
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Tennessee
#2
You will probably get a lot of help here. Renee has a GSD, and BigDog has gone through a lot trying to train his GSD puppy, so I am sure that he can help you too. Debi has one also, and there are several other members who have them that will be able to help you.

Have you used positive reinforcement with the training such as food? I am sure you praise him when he does good, but a little treat would help a great deal also when he does good. I have a book that I had been studying when I decided I wanted a GSD a while back. It has a lot about training a GSD puppy with the leash. The dog hooks everything in its environment to learning. The leash is a very visible part of the environment. If you train with the leash in your hand it will make a huge difference in the dog's performance when you have to remove it. So, it is much more desirable to train the dog without the leash being visible. The most efficient way to do this, and still retain some control over the dog, is to drop the leash on the ground and stand on it. So when you are trying to teach him commands, he is paying attention to you, and will not connct the command to the leash, but to you. So, if he doesn't see the leash, eventually he should listen to you whether the leash is there or not. Learning to step on and off the leash will take some work on your part, but it will be worth it. In addition to control, another benefit of letting the lead stay on the floor is that it foces you to interact with the dog rather than continually using the lead to overwhelm it. the hand movements you develop in teaching the dog into position with the food become your communication link that helps you to communicate with your dog. I know you were basically talking about walking with the dog, but it would be better for the dog to learn that you are the one to obey, and not necessarily the leash. A lot of his barking problems may be that he feels trapped on the leash and if another dog came to attack him he could not flee if had too he would just have to fight so being on the lead may make him act out and try to warn others off, you have to help teach him it is a positive experience and maybe every time before you go for a walk, praise him and give him a treat before you go. I am sure some others will have some great advice, so don't worry you will figure it out. I tried my best to help, and I hope it helped some. Having a puppy is a learning experience for both you and the puppy, you will all figure it out together and it will work, puppies can be very difficult in the learning process, but it is worth it when they are older and listen to you, and have become your best friend.
 

Doberluv

Active Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2004
Messages
22,038
Likes
2
Points
38
Location
western Wa
#3
I'd start by keeping him away from distractions. Teach him how to walk in a civilized fashion at home or someplace where there are no dogs or other large distractions. If he isn't walking nicely, give no attention. If he's pulling, stop and stand there silently until he gives you slack in the leash. He doesn't get to go forward if he's pulling or acting crazy. Make random turns, frequent sits when you stop. Have treats in your hand and when he is walking along fairly nicely, praise him and give him a treat while you continue walking. Praise him whenever he has good behavior, or even 1/2 way good...just to give him the idea that he's getting there. Later you can withhold the treats until he gets it even better still. Do this for a few weeks, a few times every day. Get him in the HABIT of walking nicely on a lose leash. Also teach him to "watch me." Hold a treat up by your face and when he looks at you, praise and give the treat. You can practice this several times, even inside when you're doing chores or whatever. His looking at you = treat. Focus on rewarding good behavior and more or less, ignoring bad. Give no attention for bad behavior. When you speak, yell, jerk....it's all interaction on your part and the dog may still go for that, rather than nothing. Emphasise the reward for good behavior and the bad will self extinguish, as long as there is NO payoff for it. Sometimes we don't see what that payoff is. You have to think about it. Sometimes the dog is self rewarding or finding a way to have a payoff that we aren't even causing and we aren't noticing as a payoff. You have to always be on your toes and thinking while interacting with your dog.

Then take him somewhere where there might be one dog. And try to keep at a distance and get him use to seeing another dog without flying off the handle. Have him sit/ wait. Get him to look at you and focus on you. If the dog walks by, try to keep your dog's attention on you. If he stays calm and the other dog walks by and away, praise your dog up one side and down the other. If he gets crazy, you can't do anything. Scolding only assoicates the other dog with a rotten time and will increase your dog's dislike of other dogs. So, all you can do is wait and try again. Never throw your dog into distractions that he hasn't learned to handle at a lower level. Start out with no distractions.

Your dog also probably needs to respect you more and your rules. Here's a site that might help. You don't have to be finatical about these suggestions if you're not having aggression issues, but doing some of these can help, along with obedience training to show your dog that you're in charge and he is to follow your rules.

http://www.sspca.org/Dogs_TANSTAAFL.html

In order to have a well mannered dog who is a joy to have around, you need to work with them every day. It doesn't have to be long periods and in fact shouldn't be longer than their attention span allows. You can work with them for short periods a few times. There's a lot of info online and even on some threads in this forum to help you train your dog.

Here's another one for all kinds of stuff.

http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/dog.htm

Good luck!
 
Joined
Dec 20, 2003
Messages
94,266
Likes
3
Points
36
Location
Where the selas blooms
#4
Has he been neutered? The next question is how much experience do you have with dogs, especially larger breeds? That can make a difference. We need to know a bit of your background is as well as your pup's.

German Shepherds are wonderful companions, but they won't automatically give you respect just because you walk on two legs! You've got to earn it.
 

BigDog2191

Big German Shepherd
Joined
Jan 26, 2005
Messages
3,749
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
#5
It's a hard earning too.

Thing is, I dunno it kind of sounds to me like he may not have had enough socialization as a pup towards other dogs.

He is only barking angrily at other dogs, right?

This is a bit of a problem I had.

What I've heard is to keep him kind of at a distance from other dogs you know let him kind of see them. And then, if a dog passes by him you give him a treat. This has to be a treat used ONLY for this occasion.

And keep doing it.

I think this might be your problem but I'm no expert.

Good luck. :)
 

bridey_01

Kelpiefied
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Messages
760
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Australia
#6
We have many german shepherds at our training club and a few have the same problem as yours (though every case is slightly different).We find that a gentle leader (halter) is great for solving the excessive pulling and gives you a whole lot more control. However, the process of aclimatizing the dog to a halter takes time, and if it is done wrong the dog may become fearful of the halter, therby increasing problems! If you do buy a genlte leader it should come with a CD on how properly to fit the halter and make it a positive experience for the dog. I think this could wery much lessen your pulling problems and give your dog more time outside on walks. It worked wonders for my hyper kelpie.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top