Ali

I always knew I wanted a protective dog as I researced I wanted something I could hunt with as well. These are some of the other factors Stable Temperment Easy to keep Short coat not overly energetic would love my kids could handle being outside alone in the night wasnt an insane sloberer wasnt a massive shedder something a little rare Dogs I considered Dogo Argintino GSD Doberman English Mastiff BullMastiff Presa Canario Boxer Dogue de Bordeaux Neapolitan Mastiff Rottweiler Tibetan Mastiff Cane Corso Alot of those got striked off the list pretty fast but reading and reading I fell in love with the Dogo Argintino which we dont have legally in Australia and I could find one illegaly if they exisit same with the Presa Canario which I love but upon further research is probably has to much drive anyway. The middle ground was a Cane Corso which is what I ended up getting and he is fantastic. Even though they werent considered I'm dying to own a Mamalute or a Siberian husky maybe when I have a bit more time to manage their energy...

Do some reading about containment systems. http://www.k9pro.com.au/categories/Containment-Systems/ The dog wear a collar that is linked to a virtual fence with sensors placed around the perimter of the yard. When ever the dog approachs the perimter it is given a uncomfortable stimulant to deter it away from the virtual fence. Apparently its all the rage in the USA and easy

Actually this is a critical period for the puppy's socialisation. The puppy should be with its new owner and experiencing as many new sights and sounds(including meeting as many different types and ages of friendly dogs) as possible. Unfortunately this period cooincides with the puppy not beng fully vaccinated so some care should be taken eg carrying the puppy, only letting it meet fully vaccinated dogs etc. I agree that it is not good (from a training persepective) for a dog to have a very high value for other dogs. But most importantly, the dog should have a higher value for the owner/handler, than it does for other dogs- then there is no reason why the dog shouldn't be allowed to play with others. Are you saying you don't let your dog have contact with other dogs at all or that you just don't let him play with other dogs? BTW to the OP= my dog growls when I play tug with her, I don't discourage it, its all in fun, its does not mean she doesn't respect me as "pack leader" :rolleyes: I agree totally, The general rule is I dont let my dog play with other dogs and like you picked up its for training purposes. As for contact with other dogs I'm very careful I want my dog to to have the confidence to be around ANYTHING and keep its cool. The fact is though I dont know anyone apart from the breeder who has dogs I can trust. I mean a dog can go from sniffing butts to a fight in seconds and that is what worries me most especially at such a young age for my pup. Same I play tug with my dog and it growls which I encourage as he is getting to the level of drive I desire and he is in the right type of drive.

I would say no to the puppy pads if you want the dog to pee outside, dont give them an avenue for peeing inside. whether it be on a pad or paper. This is tough for the first week. But honestly not THAT tough. When I got my pup I just watched him constantly when he was inside, infact I wouldnt let him be alone, which in some case required him to be leashed inside. Pups will ussually need to pee After a meal and when waking up. So I would take him outside after each of those times to the same spot and give him a couple of minutes to do his business if he didnt I'd take him away and bring him back in a bit and try again. When he was inside I'd wathc him if he started sniffing around I'd take him outside and let him pee marking the behaviour with "toilet" and praise. With the above I've had 2 accidents inside both number ones and honestly both were my fault when I brought the dog in after a meal absent mindedly and looking away for 30 seconds.

Socialising, doent mean playing through right.... My dog is a pup right now and when he meats another dog he is calm and confident, will allow the dog to come up and sniff with being nervous,

Right, so you've rewarded orienting to you on cue. Nice. So now your cue to orient to you heralds a leash pop. What's he going to make of that? If you heard something that may mean you'll get a reward or may mean you'll get a leash pop, what would you do? Assuming he heard the cue when you corrected him. I won't comment on the turning his head around because I don't know what it looks like and what kind of dog he is. He was doing something when you corrected him. It wasn't not responding to his name, because a dead dog can do that. What was he doing that a dead dog can't do? Looking at something interesting? Whatever he was doing, that's what you have corrected, assuming you have corrected something. To the OP, avoiding behaviourists that call themselves 'behavioralists' would be a good start. ;) Sandgrubber. Cheers for that I get it.... so the question is what is the appropriate action in this case. Like I said I dont correct him at the momment for not answering to his name, I'll praise and pat when he does. lol I would never call myself a 'behavioralists' but I will say what I believe and in this case I'm glad I did because now I have something to think about. Any advise given on a forum should be researched independently maybe my post should come with that disclaimer

I wish we could do that, walk up to a ferrari piss on it, "yep that mines now" go up to a house you like... MINE a girl mine...man life would be sweet

I agree with the above.... just be straight up that these visits are not on... especially if your poor dog is getting so distressed...

he may not be dominant...but maybe he leart this and is now trying to assert some dominace? especially if there is another dog in the house...and especially since he marked the other dogs bed hahaha Doesnt marking mean the dog claiming owernship of the think marked..this bed is mine, this bin is mine, this letter box is mine etc...just becareful he doesnt mark you ;)

So yeah it makes sense your dogs diddnt have littermates to socialise with so they may have imprinted on the humans...but do you find your dogs still have instinctual actions like ears back to show submissevness one growls when not happy these are still dog behaviours....

What's the purpose of the correction? Is it to suppress a behaviour or is it meant to get the dog's attention? Are you trying to create a conditioned punisher? I use the dead dog rule. If a dead dog can do it then it's not behaviour. Can a dead dog not pay attention to their name? The correction is to force it to give me its attention which is defined by the dog looking at me.. the process as I see it would be Rex! if he look at me reward him with a pat, praise or treat what ever the practise is.. but if I get no responce I say REX! and that the same time I geive a pop on the leash enough of a pop that he turns and looks at me. then when he turns and looks at me I mark with yes and reward. So if I understand your definition this is no behaviour, does it then fall under obedience? Is my logic correct. If its only with you I still think its a dominance issue, I think the dog feels like it has to take control of the situation with you and with your OH it doesnt feel like that. IMO

So just to add: you arent correcting the protective behaviour your correcting the non complienc of the "attention command" which is calling the dogs name. does that more sence or am I still off? Becau

I would still not call it and then punish it for not responding - the dog probably has no idea what you're punishing it for. Are you punishing the aggression or the non-compliance? Or both? If it's over-aroused, it may not even be able to hear the handler. Best take the dog to see a professional Dee-al If Jane has helped you before, there's your first port of call! or you may get re-directed aggression ? Ok I'll try and explain a little better, You arnet calling the dog when its already in the sate of protectiveness (aggression) if the dog is barking and growling its to late for the correction I'm talking about. What I'm saying is you need to read your dog when its starts to show signs of protectivness it may be that it is fixated on the other dog at that time you call it sternly so that you distract it and you have its attention... if you call it and it doesnt respond you call it again with a pop on its leach to force it to look at you. Then when its done this you reward it. The pop on the leash isnt a punishment its a correction so the dog commits the desired behaviour so you can reward it. Like you guys have both mentioned though if the dog is alreaydy in a hightend state this probably wont work.. and your right its best to take the dog to see a profesional, but since she posted it on a forum I posted my view, I'm glad I did because I'm being corrected by some of the knowledgable people here...

You aren't pregnant are you? I have seen male dogs suddenly become very protective of pregnant owners before. Wow serious! thats pretty amzaing.... Does the dog do it when both OH and you are walking the dog?

I dont know if they ever forget, but due to conditioning they may exhibit human or other behaviours to get a set reaction from the master. Maybe in cases where you take a puppy away from its m other at birth (obviously wrong) and it becomes imprinted onto you....but part of the reason for leaving a dog with its mother and liter for 8 - 12 weeks is so that it learns that it is a dog... thats just my take on it... Have you had an experience where the dog just doesnt act like a dog at all, I suppose you'd need to define a list of base dog behaviours :s

Don't diagnose aggression over the internet please. meh....

You would correct your dog after the use of it's name? All you'll teach the dog is to dislike it's name because it comes with a correction. My advice is to go and see a behaviourist who can see why your dog is acting the way it is and who can come up with a rehabilitation plan to fix it before it escalates. Aggression shouldn't be dealt with over the internet and a lot of aggression problems have nothing to do with dominance. I had a lot of people tell me my dog's aggression was a dominance thing - it wasn't, it was fear. Worked on the fear (and got him to look to me for cues) and the aggression went away. We went to see k9pro - he was amazing. In Victoria, maybe you could get in contact with Erny? I've met her and she's lovely :D If she can't help, she might know someone who can. Sorry I meant call it and if it doesnt respond give it a tug....

I dont let my dog play with other dogs, I belive to much can go wrong...in I'm conditioning my dog to be totally alloof to other dogs and people apart from me and my family. Can I ask why? Its really horses for courses, but I hope to ingrain alot of specific behaviour in my pup, and a negative experience from another dog especially an aggressive experience could make my dog "dog aggressive for the rest of its life.... Also I dont want my pup to instictivly bite someone while playing which is the normal way pups play with one another. I teach my pup to chase and play with my kids but the bite is always on a toy and never our clothes or body. I also dont want my dog to look at another dog as a source of fun.. this can lead to distraction when there is another dog around during training. I want my dog to look to me and my family for all positive experiences we are its pack and its world.. People I'm not a strict with that because my breed (Cane Corso) is normally aloof to strangers, but the goal is to make my pup neutral that is he doesnt care if people are around or not rather then look to other humens as treat depensers or pat machines.. all that stuff should come from me and my family. These are my views which I have understood from alot of the Leerburg training stuff. You don't understand Neutrallsation from the explanation you have given it. Isolating a dog is not Neutralisation. So not playing with other dogs = isolation :rolleyes: Is that really how black and white you see the world? Dogs needs to learn to be a dog? really...I would have thought that would be the most natural thing in the world to a dog Especially since you leave the dog with its mother and litter mates for the first couple of months of its life... Has my dog forgotten all of that already.... The fact is a naturally a dog wont go and start playing with random dogs, naturally something as stupid as that could cost the dog its life... To a dog its pack is its life and if I'm the leader and I dont want the dog to go and play with random dogs it obeying me is the natural thing for the dog to do... Like I said horses for courses...just try not being so judgemental...there is a whole rainbow of colours out there so dont paint the world black and white....

Oh and the dog isnt being protective, its being aggrssive.. the difference is the dog is protective when there is a threat... if your dog is the insitigator its aggression.... where if the other dog is showing aggression first and your dog responds to protect you then there is the diference..

To me it sounds like a dominance issue, the dog is compelled to become a leader and hence the growling while he is with you and not OH.. Your OH has established the leadership role between the them.. I would suggest everytime you see him getting to the stage of growling or the slightest aggression you correct your dog with a stern name call and a pull on the leash. you need to establish yourself as the leader and make the dog feel you have the situation under control. so the dog doesnt have to worry. If you dont correct the behaviour now I believe it will get worse....

I dont let my dog play with other dogs, I belive to much can go wrong...in I'm conditioning my dog to be totally alloof to other dogs and people apart from me and my family. Can I ask why? Its really horses for courses, but I hope to ingrain alot of specific behaviour in my pup, and a negative experience from another dog especially an aggressive experience could make my dog "dog aggressive for the rest of its life.... Also I dont want my pup to instictivly bite someone while playing which is the normal way pups play with one another. I teach my pup to chase and play with my kids but the bite is always on a toy and never our clothes or body. I also dont want my dog to look at another dog as a source of fun.. this can lead to distraction when there is another dog around during training. I want my dog to look to me and my family for all positive experiences we are its pack and its world.. People I'm not a strict with that because my breed (Cane Corso) is normally aloof to strangers, but the goal is to make my pup neutral that is he doesnt care if people are around or not rather then look to other humens as treat depensers or pat machines.. all that stuff should come from me and my family. These are my views which I have understood from alot of the Leerburg training stuff.

I dont let my dog play with other dogs, I belive to much can go wrong...in I'm conditioning my dog to be totally alloof to other dogs and people apart from me and my family.

Maybe trainers could have better but you could try marker training your dog during the chase.. Maybe chase the ball and follow your dog once the dog picks the ball up and drops it make sure your hand is under the mouth to catch and mark with a clicker or a YES! and reward. Do this until she inderstand that pick the ball up and dropping it in your hand = reward. then take step back so he has to pick it up take a step and drop it keep increasing the distance until bam doesnt matter how far you throw it she will fetch it.... Of course you never reward her for not dropping it in your hand Thats my thought...

Its sad, but if you concentrate on the crate I think it would be the best thing for both of you... He already sleeps there in the night so thats a great start. I'd suggest that you start putting the do in the crate for short period of times during the day slowly increasing the time you leave him in there. for eg, take him out in the morning..make sure he isnt crying or whinging when you approach him... feed him do your morning routine and then put him back in there he will whinge for how ever long he does you'll have to put up with it as soon as he is quite (you'll have to be quick as it ussually wont be for long) go over and reward with a treat through the crate... and leave again the next time he is quite approach the crate and let him out but make sure he doesnt charge out but comes out wiht your permission. Keep doing that and slowly slowly increast the time so the first time he is quite you reward hime once and walk away and the second time his is quite you take him out, then you may increase that with 2 treats in the crate and then an out and then 3, 4 and 5 before an out. The dog will soon realise that being in the crate gets hims treats and will be happy to spend the whole day in there if required...You will probably need a good weekend to get some result. Cheers

thanks for the reminder, I should send my papers off before I lookse them for my dog too....