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1561285 tn?1295448863

behaviour problems

my husband and i rescued a 4mnth old bull arab spayed female from the AWL in QLD, Aust. and after the first month or so, she stopped chewing, destroying everything and she was very good on the lead, we only needed to use a collar. she has always been great with other dogs and she is in no way agressive to anyone or anything. we walk her in a dog on lead area and she is getting worse, she charges... NON-agressivley at people on bikes, scooters ect. which she has never done, she loves to run but whenever someone on a bike used to pass, she would look at us as if to say "run?" but now she just goes for it. and she loves children, she is so gentle around my 2yr old cousin, but now its the same as the bikes, she wants to play with them, same with other dogs, if theres not too many people around and the other dog is interested, we stop and let her have a sniff but now she just lunges (playfully throwing her front legs about) at every dog she sees. we have had to use a choker chain latley and she just keeps pulling on it, choking herself until shes coughing. she has a bit of sepperation anxiety but its a rarety that shes home alone. she used to be the perfect puppy, she still listens when we walk her but it takes her a second to realise we're talking to her, we have tried tapping her back leg to break her concerntration and she heels when we do so, but as soon as she sits down at heel, shes up again at full length of the lead.

i would really apreciate any advice, but remember, she was well trained and we havent changed our walking process or anything like that shes just snapped...

thankyou
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1561285 tn?1295448863
we are constantly correcting her and the training hasnt stopped, every few days we start a new trick so she doesnt get board with roll over or stand up.

thankyou for your advice, i have tried the library but theres hardly and dog books lol ill google it all :)

thankyou
Helpful - 0
82861 tn?1333453911
She didn't suddenly "snap."  Your dog has been slowly figuring out her place in your pack and learned she can get away with certain behaviors because they haven't been corrected.  She no longer sees you as her pack leader and is beginning to assume that role in your family.  Dogs abhor a leadership vacuum, and even the most laid back dog will rise to that occasion.

Training doesn't stop at the classroom door.  Throughout your dog's life there will always be new situations that require correction, so you need to learn how to correct properly and more importantly, WHEN to correct.  Training is also more about training the human than the dog.  You have to learn to recognize the signs of unwanted behavior before it escalates.  Dogs always project their intentions with their body language.  Some might be lightning fast about it, but most give an attentive person plenty of time to correct.

On the charging business, once her feet are off the ground any correction will be too late.  Keep an eye on her body.  The second her head, ears and/or tail go up, that's when you need to correct her and get her attention on you.  

Rather than allow your dog to determine when and how she can approach another dog, you take control of the meetings.  Set her up with a calm, well-behaved dog.  Hopefully you have a friend or neighbor who can help you out. Put her in a sit while the dog approaches.  The idea is to keep your dog's attention on you, her pack leader for further instruction.  The second her ear even twitches in the direction of the newcomer, correct with a pop-release.  If that doesn't work, either your correction was not timed correctly or it was too weak.

You can do the same thing with the bikes.  Set her up and have someone ride by on a bicycle.  Correct her as soon as her attention goes to the bike.  The goal here is to get her to completely ignore it.  If you can get her to relax enough to flake out on the ground while the bike goes back and forth, you're there!

Forget about sit, stay, heel and all the rest of that stuff.  Yes, they're helpful commands but what you need is to learn about dog psychology.  Not all trainers focus on that aspect of training, and it's actually more important than those basic obedience commands.  It's very worthwhile to hire a veterinary behaviorist and get some hands-on help.  Now is the time to do it before she escalates into even more dominant behavior.

My walks with my two dogs used to mean me getting dragged down the street wherever they wanted to go.  Attitude is everything where dogs are concerned.  I gathered up my ego, put on my "Great Wazoo" hat and started over.  The dogs had to wait at the door until I went out first, and only come through when invited to do so.  THAT is the beginning of the Walk.  You establish yourself as the head honcho right out of the gate.  They also have to be calm.  Don't encourage excitement over the walk.  It's like having a child with ADHD and they really can't pay attention to what you want them to do if the excitement level is high.

That first outing with my new attitude was like a miracle.  I couldn't believe the difference.  My dogs always loved to charge squirrells, which would leave me dangling at the end of the leash while they bounded up in someone's yard.  No more.  The second I see a snout or an ear turn to a squirrell (or anything else I want them to ignore) they get corrected.  No more charging.  Nowadays I usually don't have to bother with a leash correction.  A calm, "leave it" diffuses the situation and we continue on our way.

If you absolutely can't afford a behaviorist, check out some books on dog psychology at your local library.  All you need are some tools to help you understand what's going on in your dog's head so you know when and how to regain her attention.
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