my dog is a german shephard x akita. she is about 110 pounds. when she was about a year old she went through a phase where she would pick random fights for apparently no reason. she stopped for a while so i thought she grew out of it.recently it has started again.some people say if you pick her up by her cheeks right after and look her in the eye and say NO it will help.i have tried this and now as soon as she picks a single fight i just put her on her leash for the rest of the walk cause she hates her leash. what other techniques might work to help subside this bad and embarrasing behavior?
2007-02-18 06:25:17 · 5 answers · asked by hardwoodsolutionscalgary 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
You're on the right track in terms of controlling the consequences of undesired behavior by putting her on leash. But I fear that your smart dog will predict this and run away from you. Can you work on her recall away from other dogs, so that no matter what, she will come to you when you call? You always want to make coming to you a happy, rewarding experience. Be sure to work well away from other dogs - a dog who gets to practice aggression and get better at fighting is not what you want.
Punishing a dog with the cheeks pinch thing is not going to be effective, since you can't get to her in time for this to work. She'll never connect the pain of the correction with what she did. This is why it's better to always look out for the good things your dog does (in this case, that would be looking at other dogs calmly, while staying with you) instead of having to react to the bad stuff.
I'm sure you're aware that your dog must be very intimidating to other dogs (and owners!). This makes positive dog/dog interactions harder to do - but again, look for calm interactions and reward her like crazy for those. Be sure to explain to other dog owners what you're trying to do and hopefully they will help you.
2007-02-18 06:38:29 · answer #1 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only way to change behavior like this is to avoid the park until your dog knows basic obedience commands and will reliably come when you call her. A dog that large could cause injuries, so be very careful when you do let her off leash that there is noone around. Once she goes through some training classes she will be better behaved all around.
2007-02-18 13:05:56 · answer #2 · answered by Sparil_00 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, your dog is behaving poorly, showing alpha behavior. She is telling all dogs out there, especially same sex dogs to bring it on. Try Bak Flower,you can get it at the vet's or a health food store. It is safe for dogs and people, know any cranky people? You just put a couple drops in their mouth, it works. My St.Bernard can get pretty territorial, and with her size and weight it is hard for me to hang on when she would want to go fight,so got the Bak flower,she is mellow now. She does however, still want to fight the female dog next door, they growl,scratch the ground, are just plain evil to eachother. I don't know why it doesn't work for that situation, I'm thinking because she is so territorial about her home...........she doesn't like anyone coming through the gate without knocking,she freaks out. Good luck.
2007-02-18 06:32:39 · answer #3 · answered by fisherwoman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know how you are going to get there, but somehow you need to get it through to her that only YOU (as the real alpha here) have the right to start or stop fights. So both dominating her and assuring her that you will look out for her seem essential. And what the other bloke said-- she has to be fixed, or kept away from the world.
2007-02-18 06:48:38 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't know about an Akita. But my experience with "female" german shepherds has been that they can be very tempermental and aggressive. Has she been spayed? If not, that might help to calm her down. Or you just may have an "overaggressive" type. Is there some other area you can walk her without encountering other dogs? This might be an option. good luck
2007-02-18 06:35:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well I can tell you its definitely not her Akita side, my dog is a pure blood alpha male akita, hunts with me, but never picked a fight with another dog, he is very well behaved and always was. Its probably German shepherds...I dont know, I never had one... But my akita is adorable in every single way.
2007-02-19 04:24:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had a german shepard named zeus these dogs are big and they know it. we brought zeus to dog training school and never had a days worry with him he was a gem. behaved perfectly ,only barked at people who he thought were intruders, always obeyed command even off the leash and cuddled up at night.he loved us but knew we were boss. good luck with it
2007-02-18 06:39:38 · answer #7 · answered by karen l 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋