Bella's Momma

So with the help of a week of taining sessions, and lots of walks, we are making progress on the pulling. Her trainer said 6 months of DAILY walks and we should it much better. Well we are ahead of the curve on that one. So the next thing - leash aggression. Please.Help.

We worked on it with the trainer and after lots of work with a particular dog in one session, it was great. But obviously that doesn't translate to the great world out there.

Sometimes she is barking a playful yippy bark, though this AM we were in our front yard (on a leash) and she went nutso on a golden (isn't it always the old calm golden she goes crazy over! They barely acknowledge her). She reared up, yanked at the leash, serious "big girl" barking. I brought her back from the sidewalk up to the porch (losing my shoe in the process - what a sight we must have been!), I tried to block her view, I put her in a sit. It was chaos. I finally even muzzled her with my hands, but it didn't seem to matter, she still tried to bark. She is not making poodles look good, people! Even after they were far far down the road, I brought her back off the porch to the grass (only when she stopped yapping) and she continued to then look in their direction and bark or yap. She was so keyed up. I will admit they did take us by surprise (we now live one house down from the corner so they rounded the corner). But this is far from an isolated incident. THE BEST response I get from her when we're walking is the yippy-yapping and pulling.

fjm

I've found that plenty of exercise - at least one off leash walk a day, and preferably two - plus simply turning and walking away at the first yap has worked best. It sometimes takes several turns, but increasing the distance from the other dog, and turning so she can no longer see it, has worked with the rather reactive little terrier I regularly walk.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

outwest

If she isn't listening to you when you tell her to quiet, then she thinks she is the alpha dog and you her subordinate, otherwise she would listen. Talk to the dog trainer about how to make yourself the boss rather than her. Once you get that straightened out, it should be easier.

JE-UK

I doubt very much she thinks she is dominant. As long as she can't work the can-opener or the doorknob, there's not much chance she'll be the dominant one in the relationship.

If she isn't listening to you, it's because her brain is consumed with something else that is terribly exciting and engaging and she hasn't been taught through much happy repetition that listening to you leads to Good Things For Poodles.

I don't have a problem with other dogs, but I do have a problem with my dog with sheep. He had one very embarassing (for me, not him!) incident of chasing sheep while we were hiking in the wilds of the Welsh hills, and he still thinks that it would be SO much fun to try again.

We walk through sheep fields a lot. Plus the farmer that keeps my horse has sheep and doesn't mind if I occasionally annoy them.

Start at the distance from the distraction (sheep, other dogs, whatever) where the dog still CAN listen to you. Work on heeling, loose leash walking, sits and downs, tricks, whatever, with lots of happy encouragement and yummy treats.

When the dog is solid at a distance, gradually (GRADUALLY) work closer, rewarding even more for the dog keeping her attention on you as the distraction gets closer.

Even now, when we go through a sheep field, I put my dog on a heel, even if the sheep are far away. We practice slow heeling, fast heeling, turns until we are past the sheep, and he gets lots of praise and treats for paying attention.

It helps if you can work on it every day, even just for five minutes. You need to give her a reason to listen to you and to reinforce, reinforce, reinforce the HABIT of listening to you.

FJM's comment about exercise is spot on. A tired dog is much easier to work with on distracting, compelling things.

Is she in any sort of training? Obedience, agility, flyball? These things give the dog the habit of looking to you for direction, because you are the source of praise, toys, treats, and fun.

fjm

Good post, JE - there have been experiments that have shown that an animal that is totally concentrating on something is not ignoring you, they simply don't hear you. Think of when you are absorbed in a book or a game, and someone has to ask you a question several times (anyone living with teenagers will be particularly familiar with this phenomenon!).

I've had to go through a very similar process with Poppy and sheep - if they are too close I still put her on a lead, but I can keep her with me the rest of the time, especially if she knows I have treats in my pocket. We are now working on being able to call them back from chasing rabbits - now that one is a challenge, especially since Poppy and her terrier friend Jill actually managed to catch one (and yes, they knew EXACTLY what to do, and it was not nice!).

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

JE-UK

Yes! I read that study too ... they actually showed through brain scans that animals that were completely focused on something literally couldn't register other stimuli. Very interesting. Although my S.O. latched onto that with a vengeance, as an explanation for why he doesn't hear me until the 97th repetition .

So no need for dinner when Poppy catches her own? That's about as genuine a raw feeding experience as you can get!

My (so far unsurmountable) challenge is calling Vasco off squirrels .... completely obsessed. Someday, probably when he's 20 and too blind to see them!