dididog

No? She is very good with people in our house and we have people over a lot and she is always happy to seem them, much more affectionate. I think maybe you are getting confused with a time when I opened my bedroom door and my brother's friend's dally was randomly on the other side of it and Didi barked at it aggressively. I took them both out the front and they said hello and they were fine after that and played together. This happened months ago and is the only time Didi has even really barked at another dog, let alone aggressively. If I woke up from my nap and opened my door and a complete random stranger was in my hallway I'd probably get angry too.

We got her when she was 9 weeks so I highly doubt it and as a pup she was quite fond of several elderly people who asked to pat her. In fact for the first 3 weeks we had Didi my elderly grandparents were staying with us and she loved them and had only good experiences with them, even my grandpa who has dementia so slightly erratic she was very fond of. I have thought perhaps her issue with elderly people is they tend to stare kind of vacantly and move very slowly/awkwardly. I have also noticed she will pretty much always ignore women who ask to pat her but falls in love with most men who do.

Thanks, I know in the big picture I'm doing the right thing by Didi, it is her who will ultimately pay the price if she hurts somebody. I'd much rather feel a bit embarrassed now than possibly deal with something that terrible later on. Re genetics I'm assuming Didi is the result of someone's cocktail mix to achieve a 'bull arab' type so who knows what went in there. I have met her mother and she is lovely and very sweet and trusting but it seems there may be a temperament issue with some of the puppies? (one was recently returned to the rescue and another is seeking help for issues with greeting guests) though that is speculative and could just be down to training or lack thereof with those puppies.

DOLer Cosmolo aka Underdog Training :) Thanks! I already had Underdog in mind, looked at the website again and I am pretty sold. It's probably dumb but I feel like I've let Didi down and done something wrong, I can't understand why this is happening, kind of a kick in the teeth when I've put so much work into her hopefully a consult can shed some light.

On that note, does anybody have a recommendation for behaviorists in or near Melbourne?

Sorry, I worded it a bit wrong. To clarify I mean that normally, before this behaviour developed she was just aloof, couldn't really care if she got attention from a stranger, though with some people quite affectionate will mostly ignore pats/move away after a brief sniff and want to keep walking.

Not to me. You've had a dog display aggression to people. If pushed or cornered, you have to wonder how far she'll go. I think you need to start being far more careful and assertive with people who want to interact with her. I also would invest in a muzzle for her next trip to the vets. If she was mine, I'd be concerned enough to seek some qualified professional advice about this. She's a big dog. If she escalates to biting, she'll do a lot of damage. You will now also be on edge and she'll read it. I'd suggest you call in some help so you know what you're dealing with. How much obedience training has she had? I was afraid it may be serious enough to warrant intervention and you're right she's so big, I don't want to chance somebody getting hurt, even if she's been provoked to that point. Unfortunately I won't really have the funds for the right sort of help until next month. Could it just be a fear period thing though as it's all very recent and only when she's felt unsure/threatened? I will be managing it very closely until I can do something else, I am as I said pretty restrictive about people interacting with her but after yesterday I don't want to take chances. Hard to manage that though when somebody comes up behind you and pats your dog without asking. Hopefully the man from the vet will think twice before patting a strange, large dog in a vet's office without asking again. Didi's had quite a bit of obedience training, went to puppy school and goes to obedience club nearly every week. She can reliably sit, drop, hold a rock solid stay in both, let go on command, wait for food/at doors/whenever else I ask her to. She sits at the lights and has a pretty good 'stop' and 'look' command, her recall is good and she knows to settle in a drop at my feet if I'm waiting or at a cafe etc. Loose lead walking is still a work in progress but at the moment very good unless in a new/highly stimulating environment. I'm just a bit disheartened by this new behaviour because I put a lot of effort into socialisation and she hasn't had any negative experience with strangers to my knowledge. She's great with other dogs (even the rude ones) and will always walk away from confrontation. She's not fussed by a lot of things that spook other dogs and has been exposed to lots of different things, places and people so far and not been concerned, it just doesn't make sense

According to the K9Pro development calendar she's recently come to a period where they seem to have weaker nerve then previously noted/spook easier which makes sense as these incidences have only occurred in the last month. And yes unfortunately try as I might to prevent anyone who pleases from interacting with her, many people go for the walk-by pat attack because she's so tall. I had been thinking of getting a harness for 'no pats' and 'training' patches so that people stop doing this.

I was debating whether or not to post this but I've decided I'd like some insight/advice. I had to take Didi to the vet yesterday to check her microchip number. Anyway the vet is a 30 second walk from our house and I got in and the (very small) waiting room was completely empty. The receptionist (I don't think she was a vet nurse) came out and I told her I needed Didi scanned so she went into a consult room and got the scanner. Now Didi didn't know this lady from a bar of soap, all she said was "hi puppy" before leaning over Didi with the scanner which made Didi back up quickly behind me because she was unsure of either the strange lady/the weird thing in her hand. I asked her to wait a sec so I could put Didi in a sit and distract her with treats/pats but instead of waiting the receptionist just lunged quickly over Didi while she wasn't looking with the scanner to try and get a reading and Didi jumped back this time and barked at her (Didi usually doesn't bark outside of our property). I was pretty annoyed because you'd think someone working at a vet would know leaning over a dog that is scared of you is a no-no plus there were no other customers or phones ringing, it wouldn't have killed her to wait 30 seconds for me to calm Didi down. Didi has a pretty neutral/good association with the vet as we've only ever been in there as a puppy for vaccs or to weigh her and she always seems excited to go (hopefully that's not ruined now). After this I had to go stand at the counter while we figured out what was wrong with the microchip. I had Didi standing in between me and the counter since my back was to the door and the waiting room is very small, I didn't want to have to worry about keeping her out of the way of someone coming in. While I was talking to the receptionist an old man walked in and since he was animal-less I didn't really worry about him.. that is until he just came up from behind and said 'hi doggy' and stuck his hand over Didi's head to pat her and Didi jumped back and barked/snarled at him quite angrily. As soon as he stepped back she went back to normal but I have never seen Didi react like that to any person/dog so was a bit upset afterward. I tried to rationalise that she was on edge after the receptionist scared her and didn't know what the man was going to do to her but I must admit it has shaken my confidence about her and strangers. Didi is relatively aloof with strangers. If we've invited them into our house she's all tail wags, kisses and belly rubs but out in public, especially on lead she's pretty picky with being affectionate and will usually ignore pats or step away from people once she's sniffed them. She's growled twice at strangers. Both were old women who were staring Didi in the eyes intensely and kept coming toward Didi even though she'd backed away to avoid them though it was only one short, grumble rather than the growl she uses when she thinks something's off. But at the same time I've seen Didi sprawl out at a man's feet for a belly rub on the train and almost fallen asleep when a guy gave her a head massage outside Coles so I don't think she is wary of or dislikes strangers, more just put off by confusing body language? I suppose I'm just trying to figure out where do you draw the line between a dog being aloof and a dog being anti social and therefore a worry? In the few instances Didi has growled/barked which are only the times mentioned above there's been an understandable reason why but obviously nobody appreciates a large dog barking/growling at them. Unless somebody asks to pat her (which is rare) then I don't really let Didi interact with strangers onlead, normally because the people who don't ask are the ones who do things like boink her on the head or stare her in the eyes but I'm not sure if I should even let people who ask pat her anymore (even though a lot of the time she really likes those pats). She's fine being in public with heaps of strangers around, no worries, she's very relaxed and calm. It's just with actual interaction, that I am now a bit worried about. Not because I think she'd hurt someone, more because if she happened to bark/growl it would probably scare whoever it was directed at. Also I haven't corrected Didi in these circumstances, just stepped in between or asked for a 'look' to distract her because if she ever feels uncomfortable I'd rather her feel like she's allowed to vocalise this before she gets pushed too far. I don't know does her behaviour sound relatively benign/reasonable given the circumstances? I'm new to the whole having a dog thing so anything that deviates from how dogs are 'supposed' to act pops up like a red flag for me, especially because of her size and breeding.

Baby is 10 months old now! 40kg+ and 68/70cmish at the shoulders Didi hates going outside at the moment since it's wet and cold unless it's a for a wee or a walk so when the sun was out I forced her to get a little Vitamin D into her. Full Body Being a sleepy puppy

Didi loves snuggles and will sit next to you on the couch and shove her nose into your armpit so can wriggle her head in and lean into you for a hug. I don't think I ever really pat her on the head but I do massage behind her ears/along cheeks and she will close her eyes and lean into it. That said it'd be really great if non-dog savvy people read this list, a lot of them really don't get how perceptive dogs are and for the most part I would say most dogs would not appreciate strangers doing those things. I have found that Didi really does not like elderly people as they generally hold eye intense contact without really realising and very slowly reach out to pat her which makes her uncomfortable and she will grumble at them and back up especially if they are trying to touch her head. I've also found that those that don't ask to pat her are generally the ones who will keep persisting to do something that makes her uncomfortable because you know, it's their right to pat my dog regardless how either of us feel about it! It's harder still when Didi is quite an aloof dog and isn't really interested in strangers in the first place and now that she's at a very convenient hip level people just stick their hands out as they go past. I'm seriously thinking of buying a harness jusy so I can put 'do not pet' on it. Good thing Didi is so large and to most people scary when she gives off her warning signs like a grumble and opening her mouth. I feel like with smaller dogs many people are less put off, might even think it's being cute and 'grumpy' and keep pushing the dog until it bites instead of backing off when the dog first showed it was uncomfortable.

Didi was a really good pup, only ever destroyed a crappy pair of thongs that lived outside anyway. However in the last two days something has snapped in her and she's destroyed a brand new (expensive) hairbrush and eaten the shoelaces and inner sole out of my boots! I'm being much more careful now but it's a bit of a pain since most surfaces under 1.5 metres are easily within her reach. Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

It's her dainty lady legs that bring her down :laugh:

Weighed the puppy on the weekend... 38kg will probably hit 40 by the time she is 10 months in two weeks time. A lady thought she was a greyhound the other day 'beacause she's so skinny'! Decided to take that as a compliment??? This is her this morning BEFORE she decided to eat the shoelaces and innersoles out of my boot!!! (that's what I get for trying to sleep in) Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

Thanks SG! I was thinking along the same lines of mixing up the rewards so she doesn't get to dependent on it and to mark the good walkies more (since we are getting them for longer stretches without pulling). I'm a bit worried about moving too fast so will just keep this steady pace up for a bit, even though she's doing so well I'm in no rush. I want to do this properly since I think our first go at it was very shaky in her actually grasping the concept and being able to apply it. Yeah Didi really is great to work with, she can be a little "what's in it for me?" at times but when you put the work in and make it fun for her she will do anything you want, plus she's very smart and observant and picks things up quickly (which is bad if it's not something you want her to do!)

Lil update. So I've really taken our walks, even around our local area back to basics and pretty much don't use corrections rather stopping or turning around and gaining her attention. I've noticed improvements in our normal walking and now if we hit the end of the lead she will walk back to me and around me so she is back on my left side for the most apart. Other times I will have to stop and wait for her to stop being distracted but she doesn't try to keep pulling once I've stopped, she might try to sniff around her but mostly sits and looks back at me or looks at me and backs up a few steps. Still slow going and our walks are becoming much shorter because her brain is working harder on focusing on me which she does a lot more and I'm finding it slowly easier to pull her focus around distractions. One thing I am worried about is when we do stop or the collar tightens and she sits/comes back to me how will I know that me marking and rewarding these moves toward me are translating as me rewarding her for a loose lead? When we are walking along and she's walking nicely I tell her "nice walkies" and she looks at me for a reward because I mark her for 'nice walkies' when she eases the lead tension but sometimes though I feel like she pulls on the lead so that I'll stop and she can then get a treat for stopping/coming back?? Either way I do think it is paying off. We went to obedience today (which I haven't gone to since we overhauled the loose lead walking) and while she pulled when we first got out of the car she was great on the field and we did a lot more walking around (not heel work, just walking) in class than we normally do. Normally she loves to sniff on this field but I noticed way stronger eye contact with me and being much more responsive to what I wanted and we were on a loose lead for most of the time. By the end of the class though her brain was mush and the walk back to the car was a bit more laborious, stop start most of the way because she just couldn't concentrate and was fed up with listening to me. Then after obedience we went to the pet store to weigh her and I was a bit worried to go in there because it's the same place we did puppy school and everyone there loves her and always gives her treats and pats so normally she loses her mind as soon as we walk in. Today though she was a bit excited as we first walked in and tried to pull but I just asked her to sit and gave her a minute to calm down and asked her to concentrate on me and for nice walkies and she did! She has literally never walked on a loose lead in that store and I don't think it was just because she was tired because we normally go there after obedience to weigh her anyway

There's a lovely old man I encounter on walks sonetimes and everytime he sees us the only thing he says is "Got a lovely, healthy dog there love" and it always makes me way happier than people just saying she's cute or pretty. He never stops to pat her or say anything else, just smiles and looks at her fondly and continues on his way. On Friday I was waiting for my friend on a bench outside the bank and Didi had her front paws on the edge of the bench and was resting her head on my shoulder and another old man walked past and just said "best friends!" and kept walking. It was nice but odd and I had no idea how to respond! Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

18 might be a bit excessive... by those rules I would not be able to exercise my own dog and I have to say I probably have better control over my dog/perception of situations than most adults at my local offlead reserve. 16 might be a bit more realistic but no younger. I watched a twenty something woman let her Golden Retriever run right into a soccer match this afternoon then run over to us. I told the dog to beat it only to have it follow us again. Lady finally clued in that I didn't want her dog following us around the entire reserve trying to jump all over Didi and called it back, not before it jumped all over me too. It didn't quite make it back to its owner and darted off to the next dog it saw. Tried sneaking past it on our way back but even after making it clear the first time that I didn't appreciate her dog's attention she let it run over again!!! I have turned into the biggest no nonsense grump about dogs running over to play, especially when the owner is looking the other way with no inclination to call it back anytime soon. At least I got to meet an adorable 4mth old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier pup and we ran into our Bassett Hound friend Wilbur to make up for the annoying Golden. Reminded me why I don't like going in the evenings, full of people just wanting to drain their dog's battery and would rather let others babysit than I don't know spend some quality time with their dog after it was alone all day.

didn't even think about that... maybe we can just watch haha.

grrr double post**

Haha it's more the pointers that we have to watch out for :p He's over 41.. probably 43 - 45.. The scales didn't uh like our combined weight.. awkward.. Racing season finishes late august early september.. But serious training for him won't start really til next year.. Just getting the basics sorted. Now I know what I need to work on! Sadly only 1 more race in SA.. August has a few big races that we don't like to clash with, including the snow races and the Canberra race. But I won't do any more travelling this year as Esky's not in good form Big boy! Didi might be 38kg-39kg (is it weird that I think that's not very big?) I can get the travelling not being worth it, just getting to Victorian races will probably be a stretch for me... at least the snow is kind of close! Glad all your early work has paid off with Fritz, he looks so confident in those shots considering it was his first race

What a machine! Me thinks the huskies will have to watch out next year when Fritz is on the scene. How much does he weigh now? Didi looks like a wimpy little noodle compared to him :laugh: How much longer is the racing season?

Didi is also pretty toy driven, I will usually do training sessions with a ball though obviously I won't be able to throw it for her when she is on a lead. All our tug toys are getting a bit manky so I might go get a good one and only use it for walks so that it's extra special and exciting :)

Usually when Didi comes to the beach with us we just wade at knee length but one day I went for an actual swim and turned around to a little submarine puppy swimming out really deep to get to me. She then realised she couldn't touch the bottom and freaked out and wrapped her paws around my neck (ouch) but it was still sweet she ventured all the way out to get to me. Didi sleeps on my bed and will often snuggle into the crook of my neck and sigh but everytime still makes me melt a little.

go Fritz! I decided based on how good that run was and how short the tracks were at this weekends race that we would enter. I entered Fritz and Esky ( my sibe girl) as a 2 touring team. Was a lot of fun, but the last 1/4 of the race Esky just got dragged. So I had to take off the neck line and she ran beside the scooter while Fritz ran in front.. Today I scratched Esky and ran Fritz solo as a '1 dog touring team' same track as yesterday. We still need a little work on corners and a LOT of work on passing. But had I just run him solo both days we would have come away with a win ;) Some photos to go up in the GEEFORCE thread when they're uploaded by our weekends photographer Sounds like you're going to do really well with him! I'm unsure if Didi will be ready by next season as I'm focussing on other training things at the moment but I'm still really keen to do it :)