Need An Easy Way To Train Dog (:

[biokid101]

Ive had my dog for a year and 2 months. She came from a breeder , which is why i dont understand her fear of other dogs. The only time we ever kept her with other dogs was when we went to our grandparents house and they have 2 and they didnt fight at all. She was just scared. Anyway i need help on an easy way to get the fear of other dogs away. She barks at dogs coming down our street and barks at our neighbors. But she is not even close to aggressive she just needs time to know they r safe. Plz help i tried everything clickers and all ..shes rlly easy to train to ive taught her alot of stuff just cant seem to get this right

 

[gruffalo]

Lots of questions for you I'm afraid! How old was your dog when you had her from the breeder, did she go to puppy socialisation classes? How much contact has she had with other dogs since living with you? When she barks at dogs in the street how do you react?

 

[biokid101]

She was 6 months when we got her and we socialized her with people and dogs right away..but she never cooperated good..she was very timid when we got her. Well she sees dogs every single day because our neighbors have dogs but close contact not that much..when she barks to the oter dogs in the street i grab a toy and get her attention and she starts playing..shes a spanish water dog and likes alot of exercise a day...but when i look away she barks again. Also every time the neighbors dog gets let out across the street in their yard she barks..they do not like each other at all.but i make sure shes safe in the yard

 

[Harlequins]

Sounds just like my abby,she a border collie,shes highly intelligent,does what you ask her,knows all her commands and ball colours on retrieving...

But her downfall,is barking at dogs,scooters,skateboards,walking sticks(seriously tries to grab them)barking at the neighbours etc!

I've tried everything from barking collars to clickers,dog behaviourist,training classes but still she does it!!

So i know what you're battling with!

 

[biokid101]

Yea and my parents want me to fix it so i trying to find the best thing..when we r on a walk she is terrrified of other dogs also when i walk her she does not stop looking around she is soo nervous idk wat to doo

 

[gruffalo]

I think that unless the breeder put the effort in to ensure she was well socialised in the first few months of her life her nervousness probably stems from this. If it were me I would start clicker training her to look at you, click and treat for making and maintaining eye contact. When you have got this mastered in the home environment start working outside. I would then establish what sort of distance she can be without reacting to other dogs, e.g. does she start to bark when they are 100m, 200m away? I would then start to work with her just outside this distance, getting her to focus on you and run through a sequence with you of different commands, sit, down etc. Then gradually start to reduce the distance between both dogs. As soon as she starts to react to the dog, turn away and increase the distance again until she calms. This is obviously much easier if you have a friend with a dog who could help you work. Do you have any good dog classes in your area? It does sound as though she would benefit from some help from a trainer who could help build her confidence. Just as an afterthought, be aware of how you are reacting when you see a dog approaching, if you start to get stressed and worried because you are expecting her to start making a noise then she will pick up on that stress and regard the other dog as something to worry about. You have my sympathies, I know that things sound easy in theory but in reality it is difficult to iron out different behaviours, wishing you lots of luck

 

[Baccus]

As above said, but also when your dog freaks out do you try and clam down by patting her, picking her up or sweet talking her? Any of these responese just re-inforce her already confused mind. I would definantly try taking her to some dog classes, try and find one that knows dog physcology and not just sit, stay, come etc as there is a huge difference in understanding a dogs behaviour to just teaching it a few commands. I would also try distraction to help keep her mind off other dogs that are appoaching, does she love a particular toy that she will focus totally on and watch it instead of the other dog? My old dog Sam was MAD about tennis balls and would ignore thunder storms and fire works just to play with a ball. Or perhaps your dog is food motivated, or has a favourite stuffed toy. Also what type of dog is she? The breed can often determine how best to work around its "bred for genetic make up" , eg. working dogs have a strong desire to chase and herd and go mental when not given the stimulation they want, a walk for them is just not enough, while a sledge dog was bred to pull and believe me they enjoy nothing better than running at speed with something in tow.
I would also find out more on the breeders set up, did they keep all of their dogs seperate all the time? Where the pups only ever with their mother and thus never knew any other dogs?

 

[biokid101]

Well she is a spanish water dog.im not sure what they were bred to be but shes adorableee..and the lady seperated the mother with her babies for a little bit tilm the babies were big enough to socialize with the other dogs. My mom said when they went to pick her up the first day she was playing with other dogs and getting along.but when ahe came home to us she was rlly shy and scared and missed her family but now she loves us with all her heart..i can tell because she wants to spend the entire day with me also thanks for the advice im going to try the clicker training again unfortunaly i have no other ppl that have dogs to help and train her ..classes r in another town so im on my own but ill try my best

 

[Baccus]

You could try putting a notice up on a local notice board saying something along the lines of

Wanted other dog owners with calm peaceful dogs to meet ....... so our dogs can socialise at ...... (I would use a large public park over anyone persons personal yard, as not all dogs will tolerate their yard being over run by strange dogs) on a weekly/ fortnightly/ monthly basis.

Who knows you might get some other takers who can and will be able to help you get your dog over her fear issues.
Good luck.

 

[Baccus]

Ok, a Spanish Water Dog was bred to Herd sheep, goats and sometimes cattle as well as retreive ducks and even fish from out side of a net. They will dive under water and have webbed toes that help them swim. Because she is basically a working dog she will need lots of mental stimulation to keep her from starting bad habits like excessive digging, barking and other obscure habits some dogs develope. I would even try to find a dog agility club nearby as she would welcome the mental activity involved.

 

[biokid101]

We try to keep her occupied no matter wat..she lovess to swim but shes not the best swimmer aha and she loves to run for an hour or so..then we take her for a walk but when we walk her she seems to pay more attention to the surroundings ..i try calling her but she doesnt wanna look at me..i tried the clicker training again today ..luckily my aunt has 2 dogs but today was a lucky day for us to practice..but she didnt work well with it but im gonna keep trying thanks for the help!!

 

[Tolak]

Start clicker training from the beginning, which means loading the clicker.