Diesel dog aggressive

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Postby donnynannette » November 28th, 2011, 12:16 am

Nothing makes you feel more loved then getting home from a week long trip and a big pittbull comes over wagging his butt and kissing you saying mommy i missed you lol. I went to my friends for thanksgiving. Diesel is a mommy's boy he has been since he was little. My other dog scrappy is a daddys boy. Diesel is fully house trained even when hes sick he will go to the door and cry so he can get out fast enough. My husband had to care for diesel this weekend and diesel had two accidents in the house. Guess he couldnt take the fact that mommy wasnt here. :| Poor thing. He's laying at my feet sleeping like a rock. I love my big baby!! :)
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Postby donnynannette » December 5th, 2011, 9:23 pm

Im in need of some opinions. I feel as if where i live when i sit outside with diesel and wait for dogs to pass by so i can do the treat thing when he sees other dogs he just doesnt see enough. When i walk him there are plenty of dogs but i do not have enough control over those situations. So i was thinking about calling our animal shelter and asking if while they are closed i could take diesel over there and sit with him far enough away that he can hear the dogs and treat him and gradually progress to where he can see the dogs. We ran into some money issues so i wont be able to afford training until income tax time:( I feel like i really need to start working on it now because he is getting worse when i take him on walks. Just the other day when he saw another dog who came around the corner very quickly with his owner. He was lunging he has never really lunged before just cried and whined. Now he lunges its my fault i dont take him out for walks as much because i am worried about seeing other dogs. Please help :|
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Postby Tubular Toby » December 6th, 2011, 1:32 am

I know people have written a lot to you, but sometimes it helps me to *SEE*. I just found this video recently and it may help you out. I have not watched the whole video and while I can't comment that every exact thing they do is perfect, most of what I saw was a good visual for training. Personally, I like to keep Toby even lower under threshold than they had Brandi at times. I like for him to look, but not swirl and bounce around. Mostly because his isn't cute, hyper-active dog, it's terrifying "I'm going to tear your face off" dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kHsaUSylQ

Do you have friends with dogs? (Sorry, it's probably apparent I haven't read all of this. :( ) If you have friends with calm, non reactive dogs, maybe you could schedule to meet up with them in more secluded/less foot traffic areas. Sorry if all of this has been suggested already. I'm not feeling well and off to bed, just wanted to offer what I could think of off the top of my head.

I would also strongly strongly suggest reading the book 'Control Unleashed' by Leslie McDevitt. It's geared towards agility type dogs and working them off leash, but the exercises and understanding of how dog's think is invaluable even to people in our situations (my dog has the same reactivity as yours).
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Postby donnynannette » December 6th, 2011, 9:26 am

Some of my friends do have dogs but he is good with all of them he sees them alot lol. I have done many sessions with them but i feel as if he needs the next level thanks for the advice. I will try getting that book when i get some extra money. Maybe i can tell my husband i want it for christmas. Lol. Thanks for your advice i will watch the video.
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Postby donnynannette » December 6th, 2011, 1:19 pm

That was a great video. Thats what i want to do with diesel. The problem is finding a place where i have control of how far away we are from other dogs. I live in the city so when i go to the parks there are always to many dogs. This is why i thought maybe animal rescue league when they are closed would be a good idea. Hmmm... any other suggestions of where i good place might be to get away and futher distance if we have to. Thanks again.
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Postby Tubular Toby » December 6th, 2011, 2:40 pm

Personally, I'm going to start trying to work with Toby right next to my car at the lake. That way if an off leash dog comes up, I can quickly put Toby away. It's just too busy right by my house with all the foot traffic these days.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » December 6th, 2011, 3:14 pm

If you have a pet store close to you, park at the furthest spot from it and work with him there. Easy to move up as needed.
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby Tubular Toby » December 6th, 2011, 4:57 pm

Oh, and do you have a library nearby? I got Control Unleashed sent in from another library to my university's library for free. You may see if local libraries have or can get it in. =)
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Postby donnynannette » December 6th, 2011, 5:16 pm

I do have a library nearby and great idea with the pet store. Never thought of that. Thank you so much. I just wanted to say. I am so happy with diesel right now. If you could see my face you would see the biggest smile ever. I just got done watching the video earlier and i am a very visal person so this helped alot. I went out on the porch and before doing this i told myself to relax i can always get away if i need to. It was rainy here today so i figued we wouldnt have alot of dog activity. Id figure we would see the normal dogs we see every day. I kept watch down the block and then walking down the other side of the dog was a dog we dont see the neighbor across the street owns her but he is an older man so he doesnt walk her much. So it was show time. Diesel looked at her. I said yes and treated i continued treating until she was out of site inside her house. Diesel did no cry he did not lunge he looked and then looked at me for treats. Yippie. I could not believe it. It did help that i had yummy chicken as treats. LOL. I decided to only use chicken when i know we are training for dog reactivity, I am so happy.
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Postby Jenn » December 6th, 2011, 9:37 pm

Congrats!
I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure....
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Postby Tubular Toby » December 7th, 2011, 2:34 pm

Sounds great!! Sounds like you're doing things well, great call on the high value treats. =)
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Postby donnynannette » December 30th, 2011, 1:43 pm

So this morning I was laying in my bed and Diesel was running up and down the steps and then jumping on the bed. He had so much energy im sure alot of it had to do with the holidays and i havent had him out for a good walk in while. I've just been playing in the back yard and doing some other games in the house. Hes become a pro at hide and seek. LOL. So i figured diesel could use a good walk. I took a deep breath and told myself no matter what happens i need to be relaxed I can control him even if he makes me look like an idiot sometimes. I got our treat bag ready and leashed him up. We walked a couple blocks and then i figured id try to run with him. I never really took him for a run because he pulls me on a walk and i figured if i try to run with him it would be worse. We started running and he ran by my side. He only tried to pull ahead a couple of times. I have squeaker that he tore out of a toy and i squeak that and hed come back to my side and then id give him a treat. I was running too so i was less stressed because i didnt have time to think about stuff. There were alot of people out and all of them kept yelling how handsome he was. LOL. Diesel just wagged his tail and kept going. We were about two blocks away from home and there was blue nose pitty across the street. I saw him but didnt get stressed like i usually do i just kept running. Diesel looked at him looked at me and kept running. I kept praising him calmly and when we got further away i treated him. But inside i wanted to jump up and down and give him the whole bag of chicken. LOL. :dance: I was so happy. We are getting somewhere. In february when i get my taxes diesel will be going for training. He is very good with his basics but this will be to help him with his other dog issues.
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Postby amalie79 » December 30th, 2011, 2:01 pm

:dance: :dance:

Feels good to see them make progress. :)
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Postby donnynannette » January 26th, 2012, 7:16 pm

Today was kind of rainy and not a very nice day so i figured it would be a perfect day for me and Diesel to take a walk. LOL. I figured not alot of people would be out. SO before taking walks i have been taking diesel into the back alley to burn off some steam before we walk so hes more tired and less likely to react when we see dog. I let him run around and play with his giant ball he has is actually for horses he loves it. I had him on his long lead there was a cable guy in the back alley. Diesel did not care he was doing his commands like a pro so well in fact the guy asked if i was a dog trainer. I told him know i have been getting lots of help on line on training him and i have put in lots of hours with him. Ive also been working on impulse control with diesel. Normally when he knows we are going out back he stands at the back gate i tell him stay but he will howl and cry until he is let in the alley. Normally im excited to get him out there so i just take him out after he stays so i can check the alley. Today i made him sit and stay and he was howling and crying like always i just looked away and waited until he stopped when he stopped i said yes and let him come out. So after running in the alley we headed out on our walk. I got down our front steps and he started crying so i stopped and and waited until he stopped then said yes and continued. Even though it was rainy there were lots of people walking dogs. When we saw other dogs I dropped the chicken on the ground and he ate it up while the other dogs passed. When other dogs passed i moved out of the way and acted super excited so that i was more exciting then the other dogs. He did great today but when we got home a little bit later while i was cooking i was playing with the dogs. Normally my older dog scrappy doesnt play to much he has arthritis and he would rather cuddle but tonight he was in a playful mood he normally plays with diesel on his own but he started jumping up at me and playing. We were all playing and scrappy was jumping up at me which is how he plays and then diesel let out a big loud bark. I yelled HEY really loud it was my instinct i guess because he never barks at scrappy. Then diesel got that O crap :shock: look on his face and went out into the other room. I honestly think he thought scrappy was hurting me. But who knows.
My question is should i have handled the situation differerntly?
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » January 27th, 2012, 8:29 am

It sounds like you're making a ton of progress with Diesel! That's fantastic!

Regarding the bark, you'll need to learn when to tell it's a playful bark vs. an aggressive/annoyed bark. What was Diesel's body language like when he barked at Scrappy?
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby donnynannette » January 27th, 2012, 9:59 am

It was for sure his aggressive bark. Diesels play bark which he does with the dog next door because she is a very vocal dog when she is playing is very different. This is his bark he does if he eating his food and the cat tries to take some. He will let me anyone else near his food without a problem even people he doesnt know even the ferrets for gods sake but for some reason the cat is not allowed near his food. LOL. He does the loud bark but now when diesel is eating i put the cat somewhere else so i havent heard this bark in a while. Its a very loud bark and its only one. I think just to give a warning but it through me off because he lets scrappy be in charge. :|

And thank you for saying we are making progress i feel like we are too. Next week i should be getting my income tax so i will be taking him for training to help out a little more. YIPPIE!!!
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » January 27th, 2012, 12:32 pm

Since it was his irritated bark, maybe he should be put in his crate with a yummy bone or Kong while you and Scrappy are playing. I'm always hesitant to correct outward displays of irritation as those are early warning systems - you never want him to stop telling you when he's getting irritated.

Perhaps if you start tossing some tasty treats his way while you're playing with Scrappy, Diesel will learn that Very Good Things happen when you're interacting with Scrappy.
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby donnynannette » March 21st, 2012, 7:12 pm

I havent wrote in a long time. I just wanted to update everyone on how diesel is doing. I finally got the book control unleashed it took a very long time to get it because the library had to order it. We have been playing the "look at that game." he is doing very well with it. We actually had a pet expo here last week and diesel has been doing fantastic when seeing other dogs he looks at the dog then looks at me for a treat. This is when we are on our porch. Havent done much of the porch. So i decided that i would park in the way back of the parking lot and let him see other dogs. He did fantastic a couple times he whimpered but not his all out barking and crying crazy dog bark. LOL. I have been so proud of him. Im going to try doing the give me a break game with him next week. We will see how it goes. I have been working so hard with him We are going camping towards the end of april and i do not have a pet sitter for him so i was hoping to be able to take him. I would take his big crate and would not let him play with other dogs except his doggy friends that are going with. I was going to take lots of toys and kongs to keep him occupied and its not that far from home so if it doesnt go well i could always bring him back home. But im hoping he will be used to seeing dogs at that point and wont be worried when they walk by.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » March 21st, 2012, 8:45 pm

That's outstanding! You're doing a great job with him. :)
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

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Postby pocketpit » March 22nd, 2012, 4:00 pm

Congratulations on your progress! It's so nice to hear that all your hard work is paying off :)
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