I am currently training a German Shepherd. The first time I met him I thought I would never be able to get close to him. The minute he set eyes on me he started barking and lunging - trying to bite me. He was so upset that he was foaming at the mouth. I did not know anything about him except that he was two years old and when people needed to get him under control they needed to be strong and tough with him. His "dad"/owner said that his dog acts differently when he's around - it seems he likes showing off when his "dad" is around, so I sent his dad away. That did not help, his behaviour towards me did not change.
So I sat down and started "courting" this dog. After about 15 minutes he calmed down enough to come near me but when I stood up he started barking and lunging again. It took me another 15-30 minutes before I could even hold his leash. He started walking around calmly when I got hold of his leash so I thought the worse was over. When he realized that I was holding his leash and he started barking and lunging again. At least he ended this behavior quickly - I don't think I would have had the energy to hold on to him and prevent him from biting me for more than 5 minutes. When I started training him I realized that there were a lot of things he was afraid of, to the point he could not even look directly at me out of fear. I started training him at the same time trying to find out what makes him happy. I tried treats, toys, his own food and I finally realized he loves to be rubbed. After almost a week with him he treats me differently now. He jumps around when he sees me and tells me what he wants to do before training starts. He looks directly at me, he chooses his treats, he complains when I rub him too hard (he likes the gentle touch), he gets really excited about hanging out with my dogs, he tells me exactly where he wants to go but takes into consideration when I give him commands. He is willing to make friends with people, especially when we are walking around. We still have a long way to go but it really is fun being able to play chase and hide and seek with him now. He even cries when Charis and Keegan go for a walk without him. He turned out to be a real gentle and sweet dog who just needed the gentle touch in order to see me and the world differently.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJoy has had 17-20 dogs, four cats, at least a dozen rabbits, three to four chickens and one turkey in her lifetime. She was close to her brother's bear cat and the snake, who she rescued from the attic. While in Canada she decided to get a cat and ended up with two. Since she lived alone she had to find ways and means to develop a harmonious peaceful relationship with her cats by "training" them. Eventually she decided to get formal training and invited dogs to join her family. Archives
May 2012
Categories
All
|