raineth

man, that sounds really tough indigirl... I feel for you. I have a kind of reverse idea of what you're doing: Rather than a concreted pen, you could make a pen that just has dirt in it (or sand or mulch) and just let her go for it in there? if you put shade cloth on the fence, that will keep the dirt from flying out and you can just smooth it over when she's done. I understand you are worried about her somehow causing herself damage from digging - I don't know, is it really likely that the hole will collapse on her? I'm not sure? (genuine query) Maybe you could keep a bit of an eye on her while she's in her digging pen.

o.k. thanks Corvus, I am seeing a plan forming here from all these responses! One of the problems is that he is too frightened in these situations to eat. So the plan that's developing in my mind is: keep as much distance as possible keep myself in between him and the dog then hopefully with increased distance he will be less frightened and I can do a some simple commands with high value treats

cool thanks Tassie - honestly singing a nursery rhyme to my dogs would be exactly the sort of thing people have come to expect from me will definitely give it a go thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Much appreciated It helps to get some fresh perspectives

What the others have said - and in relation to this particular point - if you see this situation coming up, just swap your boy over to your right, so that you can be between him and the other dog. There's no rule (except in obedience competition) that the dog has to be walking on your left. thanks Barb I will definitely be doing that from now on I find it quite funny that something so simple didn't occur to me while i was out walking him

I don't normally make him sit. I was unable to do much else in the situation I described above, and I did place myself between him and the other dog. I will make sure to put him on the other side when I walk past dogs from now on though. thanks for the suggestion.

I have enrolled him in the local training club, but the grounds are closed because it has been too wet. thanks for the suggestion of keeping distance. I will try an be proactive about that. He weighs more than me, and so when he does freeze I can't get him moving again

Hi training people - I am after some ideas please my dog is very soft-natured and has a tendency to easily get frightened about things. When he was in foster care he was bitten by another dog. He had been nervous about being around dogs after this; and I put in work and he gained confidence. Then about a month ago we were in a narrow ally when a lady came running toward us and her dog was being very aggressive (barking, snapping and lunging) at Digby. I didn't have time to get out of the ally. And so instead we moved as far away as possible, and I told Digby to sit and stood in front of him as they went by. He was very frightened. Since then when we see another dog (that he is not already friends with) he freezes. He does this even if the other dog has relaxed friendly body posture etc. When we come across another dog on a walk, I make him walk behind me. This has helped a lot. He won't freeze if I do this, and seems overall a lot more confident. But this only works if I am in between him and the dog. So if I pass another dog on our left he will freeze. I would be really interested to hear people's responses on how they would handle this situation?

no, i don't think that is what Corvus was saying... Corvus (and I hope corvus will correct if I am wrong) was saying that different dogs are suited to different styles of training. For instance you probably would not do so well training a dog in play/prey drive if it did not have any play/prey drive. (for instance, if you throw a ball at my Digby he ducks - I wouldn't get very far if I expected I could reward him with a toss of the ball.)

oh no, poor little baby

koalathebear, I completely understand what you are saying, and Jacqui835. There are wonderful breeders out there, no doubt about that. But there are also a lot of dodgy things happening with the registered breeding of dogs. It will get better if it can be talked about more openly. I do find it interesting that breedings that have so much effort and thought put into them, don't always result in a dog that is more sound in body and more sound in mind, than their non-pedigree counterparts. I love pedigrees, and admire so much those breeders that do things properly. I just think that there is such variance among pedigree breeders and the not-so-good ones 'let the whole team down', so to speak.

I have seen a lot of labs with the wavey hair down their back he is a cutie!

nawwww so so so cute! thanks for the photos! I met a golden pup the other day he was 9 weeks old and destined to be a service dog should have seen his little jacket! way too big

Digby is so passive that we actually refer to him "Digby the Passive" he is very easy to live with a really lovely dog

If a dog has the urge to dig, I think its generally quite strong. I think the best thing to do is set aside a space for them to dig. Maybe sand, or mulch. Encourage him to dig there (dig in it yourself and make it fun, they usually get the idea straight away. Then you can also bury things there for them to find, which is a great game and keeps them occupied. Think of it like housetraining. We don't expect a dog to not eliminate at all - we just teach them that there is a right place to eliminate, so they don't eliminate in the wrong place. I have done this, and it worked exceptionally well. Also it enabled me to attach a command to it ('Dig') which then meant I could tell him to dig a hole for me to plant plants in

for me it was a cocker - I begged and pleaded. but no! as for my kids: my son desperately wants a black labrador. and my daughter desperately wants a papillon. Although she says when she's grown up she'll have 2 danes, 2 wolfhounds, and 2 Papillons

ahhh right, I know what you mean now! thanks for clarifying

that's really interesting about the distinction between gurading a person or guarding a territory. I'm not quite sure I follow you? Sandra77 said that I should have referred to a mastiff as a guardian breed, I understand that now. But the act of "protecting their owners" is what "guarding" means? to me guarding means, watching over and protecting. What is your definition? ETA: I never actually refferred to the dog's behaviour as guarding; I just refferred to guarding breeds.

. But shouldn't a guarding breed also have some idea as to what truly is a threat and what is not for instance it sounds like his biggest reactions are toward other children. they are hardly a threat. I have two dogs with guarding heritiage (Dane, and Mastiff x Dane) and neither of them carry on that way. if someone knocks on the door and I am in another room they will bark once to let me know. Othersise they don't bark at all. They hover at the door whle I answer it, but there is no more barking and there is no growling or snapping or anything like that. Furthermore, they are entirely friendly to anyone I bring into the house. I didn't think a guarding dog was meant to behave the way OP is describing unless the situation is actually a threatening one? I am curious to hear people's responses. Maybe I have the wrong idea about this?

thanks but aussielover, it was the only thing he did with skill and co-ordination yeah, it would have taken me ages to dig that hole! I was very appreciative

so as I was going about today I was reminded of things that Delta does that is related to this topic. Delta learned that when I get in the shower before bed, then that is a great opportunity! For a while I was putting her outside so she could chew on a bone while I was in the shower. But then it just got too cold - she was shivering out there even with her coat on, so i let her in. so her latest thing to do is go and be a bucking bronco on our bed! prior to the shower: Delta will be laying innocently on her bed in the lounge room By the time I get out of the shower: My bed is in complete disarray. Sheets are torn, the dooner is in a mound in the middle, the fitted sheet is half off... Delta is laying innocently on her bed in the lounge room Mr Raineth caught her in the act the night before and he is now under strict instruction to keep her on her bed in the loungeroom when I'm having a shower! she is way too sneaky and clever! and its my fault for not giving her an alternative behaviour Because Delta is very excitable, I have adopted the approach that she has to lay quietly on her bed while she is waiting for something exciting to happen. (so she waits on her bed while I prepare food, she waits on her bed while I get leads ready for a walk, she waits on her bed while I get things ready for training etc.) This is all working very well thankfully. Also I am hoping that going to her bed might become a default behaviour for her. But yeah with her curious, persistant, reward oriented nature, I find I have to be much more organised, thinking what will i tell her to do, rather than waiting for her to do something (which will usually be something I don't want )

aww isn't he beautiful! actually giving a dog who likes to dog a sandpit can actually be a good way of managing their digging. You can encourage them to dig in the sand pit, and then when they feel the urge they can do it in the sand pit rather than your lawn or in amongst your plants. just thougt I'd let you know! My dane liked to dig and so i encouraged him to dig in one area of mulch. attached the word "dig" to the behaviour. Then when I needed a hole dig for planting - he would dig it for me and if you don't believe me this was taken when he was about 7 months old:

I really feel for you (Original Poster). Sounds like a very stressful situation to be in. I urge you (like others have) to find a behaviourist. I also think its not right to say it's all your fault, and that you are responsible for your dog's aggression. You have identified a problem and you are asking for advise to fix it, that says to me that you are being responsible. Also I don't think it is accurate to say "well you wanted a mastiff, what did you expect" etc. How do we know that this dog is not especially difficult and would be difficult for even a very experienced person? If you read that mastiff thread in breeds 101. It doesn't really portray them as a dog that is quick to aggression. They are described as being very good with kids, tolerant, and understanding of their immense size.

i just realised I forgot to say something really important. You have to teach them to have "down time". Unless to taught to chill, they will keep going and going! They really need to learn that there are times to just hang out and do nothing.

hello, firstly I will admit I haven't read others replies, so sorry if I am doubling up. I fostered a young GSP last year and I know where you are coming from! boy that energy just blows you away! The thing with exercise is, that the more he does, the fitter he'll get and, the fitter he gets the less he will tire from exercise. As a mere human you will never be able to keep up with that I reccommend that you rethink the entire way you are doing things with him. Make him work for everything, make things a challenge that he will love. For instance I would aim to make his dinner times more challenging. buy kongs and other things that mean he has to do something to get the food to himself. You can freeze food in a kong for instance and that will keep him occupied for a long time. You can also get balls that they have to nudge in order for just one or two kibbles to fall out. Also consider hiding his food in the backyard so he has to search for it to begin with. if you have a sand pit you can bury things in there for him to find. Then mainly I would get really stuck into traning - always be teaching him something new. I would use a clicker and do free-shaping as well as teaching complex behaviours. These sorts of things make him feel that he is working (and also build a lovely bond between you). lastly, don't just practice obedience at home, practice them wherever you go. You want a dog who will behave everywhere afterall So if you are going for a walk, once a block stop and do sits, drops, stays etc. Exercise is important, and not to be neglected. At the moment he is still a bit young so you have to be careful. But also try and make the things you do with him feel like they are 'work' for him. Because he wants to work :D

This is really good for me to read actually! As I have only had Delta for about 3 months, so I haven't figured it all out yet. that bit cracks me up :D I have taught Digby to close door and everytime she will stand in the doorway and he will close the door and it will hit her, but it never stops her from standing there she is too interested in watching him close the door. Also she knows my daughter's bedroom is full of teddies, and so every so often during the day she will hit the door with her snout very hard - just in case it will open. THe door has a problem with the jam, so if you hit it hard enough in a certain spot it will just open. But often I lock it so that it can't open without the handle being turned. But she will hit it very hard, its hard to believe it wouldn't hurt!