# (Re)socializing?



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

You might want to re-take a basic obedience course. That would be especially helpful with walks because it puts you with other people and dogs in a controlled environment where you can reinforce good behavior. 

For inside, I suggest the "You've Won a Prize" technique. It's working beautifully for Brandy's excessive barking in just a couple of days. 

You can do a search for the link that katieanddusty gave. But basically each time he acts crazy around visitors, you would get all excited and happy and tell him "Woody, You won a prize!" And stay excited as you kennel him. 

When he calms down, let him out. The second he starts up again, repeat the procedure. He'll quickly learn that this is one prize he doesn't really want.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Interesting concept... does it really work though? are there any unwanted side-effects that develop such as a 'bummer attitude' when visitors drop by? what about the occasional times when you actually want to get your dog excited and revved-up... will it still be possible? We 'power-walk' Sidney everyday and this seems to have done wonders when it comes to obedience... he really seems to respond to commands given in a low, calm voice... or maybe he's just growing up.

MegB... I gotta ask this... how much exercise is Woody now getting on a daily basis?


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## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Well, exercise is a tough issue with Woody. He really does not have a lot of stamina... I am not sure if it is due to his hip (FHO for hip dysplasia), the warm weather we've been having, or also that his elbows seem a little weak (his front feet turn outward excessively). Whatever it is, two miles is about his limit, and that has to be at a walking pace. Sometimes I have walked him 3 miles, but by the end, he is going SO slow, so I am afraid that is too much for him. I would absolutely love to exercise more with him--ironically, I first looked into getting a dog because I wanted a running partner, but running and long power walks are just not something he can do.

To answer your question, we walk either 1 or 2 miles in the morning, depending on my work schedule, then another 1 or 2 in the evening. On weekends, we walk on trails, so he probably goes a little further those days, but he is off leash and going at his own pace. I usually take him swimming in the pond on weekends too.

Probably this is not enough exercise to really tire him out, but with my schedule, I think it is all he can handle. Ideally, I could give him several short walks throughout the day, but I work and have kids, so that is tough. 

Maybe I could add in some indoor or frontyard exercises during the times I have to stay near the house with the kids. Also, I am hoping to get into tracking (see that thread), and I am hoping the physical and mental stimulation will also calm him down a bit.

The suggestion to repeat obedience is a great one. I have really let that stuff slide. I am thinking of starting up at the beginning of summer, once school is out, and working toward his CGC. At the rate we're going now, that will probably keep us busy the whole summer  !


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I understand the concept with the "you won a prize" technique. It hard for me to manipulate my mind through it, and things are such that if Lucky is out of control he just goes into the crate, albeit not with me acting in a punishing mode. That actually helped though it wasn't my intention to use it as such. (I was just desparate) Now when visiters come over Lucky is making that mental effort....you can see him reallllly try even though he's exploding inside. He wants to stay out with the folks.

But he is once again "out of control' with the neighborhood kids...wanting to jump and charge while on leash.. This had actually improved sigificantly last month. I believe Lucky has deteriated because we take much fewer walks due to a rampant case of stray packs of dogs I've been running into. Much fewer....and much shorter walks. And my kids can no longer come. Totally sucks! This month the pepper spray is in the budget!

Megb, compared to my Lucky, Woody is getting quite the workout. I think these BIG puppies just need constant work til they grow up. Lucky rubberbands back and forth on things but I still see a general move forward.


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## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Lucky's mom...thanks for the encouragement.

So, when you use the "you win a prize" method, how long do you crate Lucky before he can come out and try again? Do you just keep at it the whole time you have people in the house? And when he does do a good job and stay calm, do you reward him in some way? 

Thanks again!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Megb here is Katy's link
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002/prize.htm

I never used this method...basically I just crated Lucky when he was out of control and eventually he put two and two together. 

If I had done it over I would would have given him another chance after leaving him in his crate...but my husband didn't want to deal with it. So Lucky spent the whole time in the crate at first. He was near the visiters...but not with them. Everytime visiters came my husband and I had a scrap about what to do about Lucky. I wanted him out. He wanted him in. Thank God we don't fight about that now. 

Lucky may start to jump but then he collaspes to the ground and calms himself that way. He tends to approach visiters with great excitement but as if he's measureing every move. That is why I say he has a great "mental" effort involved. 

I would try the "you won the prize" as it keeps his crate from becoming "punishment" but helps him understand bad behavior has a consequence.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I might add......Lucky had no 'consequence" for charging and leaping at the neighborkids while on leash. So that is a whole other deal. I think alot of his issues are a lack of exercise and lack of self-control. I think the self-control will build as he matures...though I work on it each and every time.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

MegB... it sounds like Woody is getting exercised for at least 2 to 4 miles everyday, that's very good. When he goes to the pond can he swim for an hour or more? Swimming shouldn't stress either hips or elbows much and can be an indicator of whether Woody has the stamina or not. Our Sidney has front legs that at times appears to turn slightly inward and at one time I too was worried that this would hamper his running abilities... but though he's not as fast in an all out run as many dogs I've seen, he can put on some speed when he wants to. Sidney also appears to run, fetch, play hard for only a short while before wratching down his energy level but on our bicycle 'walks' he will go the full 10-14 miles, albeit with him setting the pace, which alternates between short sprints and then meandering/sniffing for a while... with the bottom line being he is on his feet and moving for an hour and a half. Whenever the weather turns colder he will sprint for much longer and 'meander' faster but with summer coming on and his winter coat still firmly attached, his stamina is also affected on the warmer days, however when we go to the water, he can swim and fetch for an hour and half without hardly a pause. And about the school thing... I can relate... I've been overwhelmed with school stuff as the semester is winding up, in fact its taken me until today to finally get caught up and after this week IT"S OVER!!!!! TIME FOR SUMMER VACATION!!!!  

I don't know if you are familiar with Cesar Millan's concept of the 'power walk'... but basically its walking with your dog at a brisk pace while you keep your dog at your side or behind you on a relatively short leash. Its purpose is to exercise the dog's mind because he has to continuously stay focused on your movements and cannot stop to sniff the ground or lead you on the walk... it also reinforces, everyday, the leader/follower relationship roles in the pack... its what a 'real' dog pack does, EVERY SINGLE DAY. With Sidney, I attach a 12" leash and I walk him with his head within a foot of my left hip... I use the commands Halt, Heel, Left, Right, and About. We usually walk to downtown, around and back (pop. 2200)... all of about 1-2 miles taking about 20-40 minutes and right after that we go to the park to play fetch or do some agility or go for our bike 'walk' or go hiking, whatever. I basically use the 'power walk' as a warm-up for him but as we get closer to summer's heat, the power walk will probably be enough for one outing (unless we go to the water). Since we've been doing these power walks (almost 3 months now), I've noticed Sidney listens to both me and my wife more and is far more observant of our actions... or as I've said before, maybe he's just growing up, I don't really know for sure.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

Lucky's mom... what's this about stray dog packs running the neighborhood? are these dogs dangerous? are they attacking your kids??!!!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

monomer said:


> Lucky's mom... what's this about stray dog packs running the neighborhood? are these dogs dangerous? are they attacking your kids??!!!


I had a past thread on this. Suddenly I started running into pairs of aggressive dogs...not the normal strays. Four encounters in 10 days. Three different pairs of dogs. I believe they all have owners. And yes....holding on to a powerful GR puppy, while corralling two small children with two dogs charging or chasing is a bit much. The most dangerous ones...and I considered their intent ominious.... were distracted by a car who started honking at them to distract them and we got away unscathed. Animal control is giving that owner one more chance...but this weekend I saw one out. So I plan on making an effort to get them gone. This week.

Not to mention the lab in the yard behind me has been climbing the fence everytime I take Lucky out in our yard to throw the ball. Thats not a problem...he's a friendly fellow, but his friend the German Shepherd starts making an effort to climbout to follow and that scares me as he HATES my Lucky and is very aggressive. That has stopped since the owners have tied up the lab. So one dog problem down...a few more to go. 

I've been very limited on walks but would feel safer with pepper spray, and will probably just keep the kids at home till I feel more comfortable with the environment. They are really small (like me). My four year old is the size of a 2 or 3 year old and my 6 year old is very tiny as well. They tend to lag or run ahead and I dont' feel like I could protect them if I had Lucky as well.


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## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Just wanted to let you know things are improving, and I appreciate all the advice. First of all, I just started at the beginning by giving Woody some simple obedience commands while we are walking--heel, halt, sit, stay. He did great! My plan is to make him heel while we walk, then sit when a car or person walks by. So far, we haven't met any people (I walk really early during the week), but this weekend, when people are out, we'll see how it goes. I think I will even bring some treats to give him for sitting nicely. 

We haven't had anyone over to the house yet, but when we do, I think I'll just try to make him sit then too. We'll see how it goes...

Monomer, as for swimming, Woody doesn't really have lots of endurance for that either. Or maybe he just gets bored, I am not sure. When I take him, I throw something out for him to retrieve (usually just a stick, in case he decides not to bring it back). He will do 2 or 3 retrieves, and then be done. Sometimes he has done more, but definitely not an hour. He just gets out, and won't go back in. I think he is in good health, he had pretty extensive bloodwork before his surgery, and everything was OK. Just not an endurance athlete .

Thanks again for all your help!


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## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Lucky's Mom--I feel bad for you. Doesn't it make you mad when you spend so much time and energy to be a responsible pet owner, and a few irresponsible owners ruin it? 

We have some neighbors with a lab mix and big German Shephard that they often have running free outside. I don't know if they are aggressive, but when I walk Woody (on a leash), they chase him and bark at him. They are so loud and dominant, it makes Woody really nervous. He starts foaming at the mouth, and when I walk away from them, they just follow us. There have been some complaints from other neighbors, but so far, it hasn't helped much. The husband is a friend and coworker of my husband, so we are in a little bit of a spot, as far as saying something to them. So for now, I just walk the other way if I see them out. But it is so unfair.

I hope your situation gets resolved soon!


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Thanks Megb. I could have it a lot worse with the German Shepard. He loves to layout by the fence to be as close to my kids as possible. He's not aggressive to children at all and has no usual tendency to want to get out of his yard. It it wasn't for that darned, sweet and overly friendly Lab, the Shepherd wouldn't be a concern. When Lab comes over and visits the kids, thats too much for Shepherd. He's trying to get over too.

When its just the kids out, German Shepherd is happy as a lark. When Lucky is out with the kids, German Shepard is not happy. And when I'm throwing a Ball to Lucky, German Shepherd is looking and sounding like a junkyard attack dog. Several times while we are playing ball, Lucky walks over, with the ball in his mouth, stares at the shepherd as shepherd is hopping and yapping and snarling, and then pees. German Shepherd really goes rabid and Lucky trots off looking happy. Needless to say, I try to keep Lucky away.....as he doesn't help at all.


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