Exercise R Us

Question:

Benson) writes: >     I couldn"t agree more holehartedly.  I have a wonderful german shep/mix >that I got from the pound.  I’ll tell you quite frankly that I did everything >wrong with this dog.  I didn’t take her out until she was 4months+(following >my vet’s well ment advise) and am suffering from that decision.

I didn’t take my pup out until he was a little passed 6months old because of the chance of a virus.  After this I socialized him intensively and he is now pretty even tempered.  Aggressive at home but great when just hanging around elsewhere.   I do not reccommend taking young pups out all over, especially where other dogs have been.  Probably the best idea is to put the in puppy kindergarten thus they can have socialization but in a controlled environment. I’m sorry your situation turned out badly.     – Jas

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > <snip>she started fighting with other >dogs.  This is NOT play fighting, but she has never actually >of a couple.  <snip> and she will growl and snarl and try and pin them.  She is >very friendly around humans and has never shown even the smallest >sign of aggression.  With people she just licks and licks and >wags so hard that she whips people with her tail. >Can a fix her dog socialization problem? > <snip> > Joanna: > my dog is very similar. She’s 9 months and we just got her from the > pound. HELP! Let me know if you get any good input on this, and I will > do likewise for you. > Barbara

I’ve had the same experience with my GSD.  It’s been getting gradually better over the past year.  Here’s some stuff that’s helped or is currently helping:         We put him in obedience class.  He didn’t "go off" at the dogs there         and it began his socialization process.  (Who knows whether our dogs         got to be around littermates or others when they were small??)           Siggie would lunge and bark at other dogs so hard that he pulled me around         at the end of the leash (I’m *not* a weakling — he’s just huge and determined).         I got scared because I thought I’d loose control.  He could, of course, sense         my fear.  As a result of my "vibes", he probably thought he needed to         protect me.  So the snarling got worse.           I worked on relaxing and becoming very calm if we met other dogs on walks.         "Siggie, say hello".  He’s to the point now where he just barks and stands         in a fairly aggressive stance.  (It can be hard for fear-aggressive dogs         like Sigs to be leashed and meet off-leash dogs.)         If I see the other dog soon enough, I can turn and walk the other direction.         When I can, I get him involved in active obedience stuff, like doing turns and heeling         in zig-zag. (Down or sit stay is pretty much out of the question for this         guy.  At this point, anyway)  Then, when he sees the dog, we go into "say hello"         mode.  Sometimes he’ll sniff noses, sometimes he just stands stiff legged and         shaking while the other dog sniffs him.         Anyway — my husband and I had felt it necessary to walk him at night when         other dog encounters were at a minimum.  We’re now walking him at the dusk         and he’s done really well over the past few week.         Good luck with your dogs & keep us posted. Lyn

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<snip>she started fighting with other >dogs.  This is NOT play fighting, but she has never actually >of a couple.  <snip> and she will growl and snarl and try and pin them.  She is >very friendly around humans and has never shown even the smallest >sign of aggression.  With people she just licks and licks and >wags so hard that she whips people with her tail. >Can a fix her dog socialization problem?

<snip> Joanna: my dog is very similar. She’s 9 months and we just got her from the pound. HELP! Let me know if you get any good input on this, and I will do likewise for you. Barbara

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><snip>she started fighting with other >dogs.  This is NOT play fighting, but she has never actually >Can a fix her dog socialization problem? >Joanna: >my dog is very similar. She’s 9 months and we just got her from the >pound. HELP! Let me know if you get any good input on this, and I will >do likewise for you. >Barbara

Our 4 month Shiba was the alpha and took on every dog she met, it was mostly just rough play. It looked funny to see a 10 pound puppy baring teeth and wrinkling her nose at 100 lb. GSDs! But we quickly realized socialization was important if we didn’t want to have to deal with a confrontation with every dog she met. So we got her into `puppy playgroup’ through a local pet store. Once a week, 5 or so similarly sized puppies are put in the same room to romp and play to their hearts’ delight. But the woman running the show makes sure they know she is the lone alpha. Any dog that gets too aggressive is quickly put in it’s place (she’ll work with them 1-on-1 in these situations). Otherwise, she’ll let them run around and socialize however they want. Initially, we thought it almost frivolous to do a playgroup in addition to obedience training, but it turned out to be a great outlet for the pup and in a few weeks she’s socialized to the point of knowing how to act around other dogs. -Peter

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Dear Tessa, Your mom doesn’t like this yapping you do toward other dogs, but I suppose you’re a big girl now, and you feel your oats.  Want to dominate the world, right?  O.K.  Maybe you need correction, a firm "No barking" command with a tug at your collar.  Maybe you need to be told, "Tessa, sit."  And kept still and yet comforted and praised as you hold back that bark and lunge. Tessa dear, help your mom.  Ask her to give you another run at obedience class in which other dogs are present.  Or trips to AKC match trials where you can walk among the throngs of dogs and have lots of chance to bark AND BE CORRECTED. But tell your mom, patience is very important.  You will learn as she does. Your friend, Theresa

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     I couldn"t agree more holehartedly.  I have a wonderful german shep/mix that I got from the pound.  I’ll tell you quite frankly that I did everything wrong with this dog.  I didn’t take her out until she was 4months+(following my vet’s well ment advise) and am suffering from that decision.      She has a fearful personality.  I love this dog to death but am now forced to give her up because she bit a child.  Fortunately, the parents of the child were very understanding and insisted that I not put the dog down. But the fact remains because of my ignorance about dogs, a child was hurt.   She is not a vicious dog and is very loving with my children but she will not tolerate anyone outside of her family in or around the house.        I promoted this behavior by cuddling and loving her when a stressful situation came up instead of relaxing and letting her see I was unconcerned.   I didn’t take her out to meet people and expeiance new situations.  Therefore her fear turned into agression when someone she doesn’t know gets to close.      I can’t stress enough how important it is that you start from the begining, at the earlist possible age.  If you don’t feel comfortable taking the dog out for fear of infection, carry him/her.  It will be worth the time and effort on your part.      I have never posted on this board before and am grateful for a place to tell my story so maybe someone can avoid the pain, guilt and heartbreak I am going through now.

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ogs need socialization, that is, from puppyhood, to have experiences in :which they come into contact with other dogs and people.  Without this, :dogs grow up lacking very necessary social ease, i.e., appropriate canine :behavior in various circumstances.  I recently visited a friend in Maine :and witnessed the lack of socialization in two beautiful animals, one ten :months old, one five months old.  It gets worst. :Opinions welcome on this topic.  Serious thoughts, only.  Thanks. I agree wholeheartedly.  I got a chow/shepherd/doberman when I was 19 years old, and I took her with me everywhere.  We even travelled across the country together.  She was my constant companion and my best friend. She met all sorts of dogs and people and had a wonderful disposition, and I think she had all of the very best qualities of all three of the magnificent breeds from which she came. When she was about two, I happened upon her sister at a park.  This dog seemed to have inherited all the worst qualities of her breeds, really aggressive, suspicious, unfriendly and in my opinion, very unpleasant generally.  Her owner didn’t seem very pleased with her dog, and I had the impression that she regretted ever having gotten the dog.  I learned over the years that most of Lizzies siblings were pretty aggressive and unapproachable.  Most of the mutual friends that we had could hardly believe that Lizzie came from the same litter. My dog was friendly, serene, intelligent.  She liked to play, and she was protective of me, but she was not aggressive in a frightening way, and only three times did she ever frighten anyone, and those were times when people tried to walk in my house without my having opened the door for them.  Even then, she just sort of sat there and snarled at them, and as soon as I came in she was fine.  Had these not been acquaintances of mine, but intruders, she would have possibly saved my life by intimidating them. My point is that I knew what she was, I knew that there was the potential for her to be vicious, and I tried to expose her to lots of people, dogs and situations so that she would not be a frightening dog. So I agree, again, socialization is very important, and so is time, guidance, and love.  She died last year, and made my twenties wonderful. I miss her still.

Response:

Dogs need socialization, that is, from puppyhood, to have experiences in which they come into contact with other dogs and people.  Without this, dogs grow up lacking very necessary social ease, i.e., appropriate canine behavior in various circumstances.  I recently visited a friend in Maine and witnessed the lack of socialization in two beautiful animals, one ten months old, one five months old.  It gets worst. Opinions welcome on this topic.  Serious thoughts, only.  Thanks.

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We have an odd socialization problem with our 2.5 year old, spayed female lab.  As a puppy we took her to a park regularly where she would play with other dogs although she has always been more interested in retreiving than playing.  She sometimes ignored the other dogs but we never had any problems.  At 6 months old, we took her to obedience classes where she never had problems with other dogs even though she was (and still can be) extremely hyper and happy/excited, even for a young lab!  Now for the problem When she was about one year old, she started fighting with other dogs.  This is NOT play fighting, but she has never actually of a couple.  Of course, we never go to that park, and if we let her off the leash we are extremely carefull to keep an eye out for other dogs, and concentrate on retrieving with her to give her a chance to run.  She is also extremely obedient while retrieving and ignores other dogs that may suddenly appear. I can’t figure out why she is such a jerk around other dogs. All they have to do is timidly sniff her rear (even on leaash) and she will growl and snarl and try and pin them.  The is very friendly around humans and has never shown even the smallest sign of aggression.  With people she just licks and licks and wags so hard that she whips people with her tail. Can a fix her dog socialization problem?  There is one dog that she adores, they play so hard that one of them squeals every few seconds, and they end up covered with each other’s slobber, but she is nasty to every other dog!!!!!! Any suggestions? Thanks Joanna and Tessa (curled up on the floor beside me)

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