How do I tame an older dog?

Question

My friend has taken in a German Shepard who used to be abused when he was younger. When he is taken out for a walk he gets scared of some people and acts viscious towards then sometimes. How would we fix his behavior?

Answer 1

You need to be paitient with him. Make sure you walk between the dog and the road or other people. You say he only reacts to some people, these people are likely to remind him of his previous abusive owner and he retaliates with agrssion.
The best place to start with him is to reward him with a treat or praise everytime he walks past someone and doesn't get agressive. By rewarding this behaviour he'll learn that if he walks by someone without agression, he'll be rewarded and if you are consistant about it he'll soon be too busy lookign forward to his treat to attack anyone. If he does try to atttack or becomes agressive simply stop him, have him sit and wait until the person is gone before continuing. If you notice him getting agressive before a person gets to you, stop him and have him sit until the person passes him by. If he sits quietly give him a treat and praise him but if he becomes agressive, don't say or do anything, ignore his behaviour and wait until he's calm beofre continuing the walk. This teaches him that he need to stay calm if he wants to go for walks. It may take some time as abused dogs find it very hard to overcome fears like this one even if they are in a loving home. Just be consistant, patient and gentle with him and he'll be okay.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You may not be able to fix it completely but you should be able to get some control over it. Take him to an Obedience School that specializes in behavioral problems. Audit a couple of classes if you have to, to make sure that they are the kind of instructors that you want to train your dog.
As a trainer I know that this dog is in a bad way. He needs to not only have his level of confidence raised, he needs to know that your friend is his leader and protector.
In the meantime you can try one of these methods to help him realize that the people he meets are not dangerous. When you're walking him and you see someone approaching take a tighter grip on his leash and pick up your pace. Walk rapidly past whoever is approaching. Greet the person vocally if you have to but don't stop to talk. The dog becomes so intent on keeping up with you that they tend not to acknowledge the person approaching.
The second method is to simply put your dog in a sit and wait for whoever is approaching to pass you. Again, greet the person, if you need to but encourage them to keep on going and to not stop and chat.
Don't allow people to greet him because he is definitely not ready for that yet.
When you adopt a pet, you adopt their baggage.

Answer 3

Alyeria has a good idea using treats. I had the same problem with my dobbie mix. He would go after bike riders on the sidewalk or skateboarders. I taught him the 'look at me command by putting a small cube of cheese or hot dog in my mouth and say look at me. When he looked at me I let the treat drop from my mouth and he would catch it. From that point on my face was very important to him. After that we went walking and every time someone would approach us I would give the command 'look at me' and let the treat drop from my mouth after the person past by. My dog was so busy focused on my mouth waiting to see the treat drop that he didn't pay attention to the person walking by. The dog has to get really good at catching a treat for that to work.

Your friend should try this with relatives or friends first until he/she can trust the dog. I think an obedience class would really help also. Find one that teaches you how to walk your dog past other dogs with out any lunging at people or dogs.

My dog got so used to looking at me every time a person passed by that I didn't even need treats. I would just praise him instead.

Answer 4

First of all, do not take this dog in public unless he is muzzled! If he breaks free and bites someone, everyone will be in trouble and the city might force him to be euthanized!!

Try using a harness on him instead of a collar, it won't choke him when he pulls and there is less chance of him pulling out of it. If he likes to jump on people there is a special harness you can buy that will not let him jump, the same for dogs that pull and tug at their leashes, a special harness is available.

When he does act vicious please tell him it is ok and talk quietly while you pet him until he calms down. It is not only reassuring to him, it let's him know that you/your friend does not feel threatened by the stranger. {but keep your face away from his mouth, it could startle him & he might bite just b/c he is startled or scared}

Do NOT let him sit close to where people will pass by, the chance of him actually biting someone is too great.

If he isn't neutered then please tell your friend to have that done immediately...it should mellow him out a little. {the humane society might be able to help if money is a problem and will at least know where low cost neutering is available in your area} Also, if he is going to be put in a cage at the vets take something with the family's smells on it, even an unwashed t shirt and be positive it goes into the cage with him as a reassurance that he is not being abandoned. {tell the clinic it's ok if he wets on it or they might not put it in the cage after his neutering & it's most important he can smell his family as he wakes up from surgery}

Try only walking him in the same few block area for at least a month, he will become used to the smells and sounds in that area & then you can add a block or 2 at a time.

If you see another person or animal coming towards you, by all means, please cross the street!

You guys are doing a very nice thing by giving this dog a second chance at life but you do need to be patient and realize that he is still trying to recover from a bad life and does not understand that his behavior needs to change.

Take some sort of small treats with you on the walks, beef jerkey cut into small pieces would work, when he does calm down after becoming aggressive, tell him he is a good boy & give him a small treat. Be sure to do this each time you take him out & when he acts up tell him NO! but not too loud or sharp, you don't want him to become afraid of you.

Remember, if he was kept in a yard and never saw anyone else but family then the world is a huge scary place to him and he feels threatened himself, like everyone out there is going to hurt him.

If it was a man that hurt him then he is likely to act up around men more than women, pay attention to who or what kinds of things upset him the most and try to avoid it. NEVER let anyone {a stranger} touch or pet or get too close to him physically.

When he goes to the vet you should have him muzzled and even tell the vet you will stay outside with him until it is time to take him into the examining room to lessen the chance of a fight with another animal in the office. {or him biting someone else in the waiting room} Also, tell the vet tech {and the front office so they put it on his chart} who might try to pick him up that he might bite, I have had my face inside more dogs mouths than I care to remember when an owner doesn't disclose the possibility of biting.

Good luck with your rehab & don't give up, be patient!

Answer 5

Have your friend watch the Dog Whisperer. The guy on the show is very helpful. He helped me teach my dog the right thing.

Answer 6

He wont forget the abusing, dogs dont, he's afraid/thinks that your gonna abuse him, when your not, after awhile he should start getting used to u and all

Answer 7

Over time the problem might improve, just love him or her and care for your dog. The problem might never go away. Good luck.

Answer 8

Put him in dog training classes.