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Post by tracilg on Jun 11, 2008 20:24:12 GMT -5
We've been trying to work with Babe, and I'd say that she responds about 75 percent of the time to positive rewards to control her biting. When she bites, we pull our hands out of reach and refuse to play with/interact with her until she behaves. At home, this actually works close to 100 percent of the time. However, when we are out, there are times when Babe is like a whole other dog. She gets in this bitey mode where she just nips and nibbles at and sometimes downright chomps on whatever happens to be near her mouth. Your hand, your foot, leg, arm, chair leg, the leash, etc. When she is like this, you absolutely cannot pet her without getting nipped. And that is totally unacceptable to me - especially when we are out in public and people are approaching her to pet her.
I've been following all the tips for positive rewards and like I said, they generally work very well at home.
What is causing such a difference in her behavior when we are out in public though and what can we do to control it at the time she is acting up? Last week when she did this, I put her in the car for a doggie time out and she instantly stopped and mellowed out. This week, that wasn't an option and she continued to basically act like an idiot, even after being taken for a nice long 30 minute walk.
Help!!!
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Post by mcgregor on Jun 11, 2008 21:39:29 GMT -5
Your dog must know that mouthing is not acceptable, most pitties are like that but it can be controlled . when your dog has his mouth over your hand /leg etc...voice an ouch ouch and say no ..and walk away from him...ignore him when he wants to playbite.....it takes time......
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Post by tracilg on Jun 12, 2008 7:27:08 GMT -5
That is what we have been doing and it works great at home. But when we are out and she is confined on a leash next to us, that's when her behavior gets bad. And we can't walk away from her then.
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Post by mcgregor on Jun 12, 2008 8:32:06 GMT -5
Actually you dont really have to walk away but simply ignore the dog ..... sounds like your dog is hyperactive.....teach him to relax........ my own pitty as a young pup was a horrible hyper thing until I trained him to relax by telling him no no when he gets too active and ignoring him ...... it takes time but it works with patience..... my Yogi is not 3 yrs old...your dog I asume is a young pup?.
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Post by tracilg on Jun 12, 2008 11:00:36 GMT -5
She is 10 months old. I am assuming part of the problem is the setting we are in coupled with the fact that she's confined to the leash. Last night she acted up at our son's baseball game. There were balls rolling and kids running everywhere, so of course she wanted to chase balls and kids. But she has to learn that there are times she can't do these things and that it's not acceptable to bite us instead. We are starting obedience class on the 21st and I hope that helps some.
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 12, 2008 12:15:06 GMT -5
Traci, it's all about training and generalization. "At home" is a completely different thing than "Out at a kid's baseball game". The process is the same, you just have to make sure you Follow the Rules. Sounds like Babe is getting overstimulated in these high-distraction environments, too, so the more you get her out and about, as well as do basic training in a variety of environments, the better you'll be.
I think everyone I've ever worked with has the mistaken belief that a dog that is well-behaved in the house will automatically be a well-behaved dog everywhere else. In reality, it's like starting from scratch. The more you work in a variety of places and distractions, the better trained and more well-behaved Babe will be.
Lots of noise, people, other dogs, or even just new/strange environments are things you have to TRAIN for. Dogs do not generalize well, at ALL.
Also, don't discount the need for general training - sit, stay, walk nicely on leash, polite greetings. Lots of these 'problem behaviors' aren't really problems, they are just normal dog behavior, and the dog hasn't been taught anything else yet. Basic obedience training often solves lots of these issues just by virtue of the fact that you have your dog doing lots of behaviors on cue, and she's not making things up as she goes along.
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Post by emilys on Jun 12, 2008 13:35:26 GMT -5
What Mary said.. and patience! and remembering you basically have the equivalent of a human 2 year old. Her brain cells aren't fully functioning and when she gets excited by exciting things, the few she has simply stop functioning entirely. ;-)
And consistency And gentle firmness
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Post by tracilg on Jun 12, 2008 15:28:27 GMT -5
I totally understand that she needs to be exposed to all kinds of situations and surroundings, which is why I keep bringing her to the games twice a week every week even though she's sometimes a pain in my tush. lol
I guess I was just frustrated because she was having a bad day and I ended up with a 2 inch long scratch on my leg from her rough behavior.
I'm just at a loss in these situations how to effectively correct her behavior. If she's on a leash and stuck right there next to us, it's hard to effectively ignore her. We always bring toys for her and were eventually able to redirect her to her tennis toughie, but it took a long time and not until we had both been nipped more than a few times.
Was that the right way to handle things? Do we just keep doing things like that - redirect and pet/praise when she behaves properly and hope that overtime the good behavior overtakes the bad?
To be honest, I get hyper conscious about any bad behavior she shows in public because she is a pit. I'm just waiting for the "well, everyone knows pits are bad dogs" comment from someone who sees her acting up.
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 12, 2008 16:21:29 GMT -5
What kind of collar are you using on her? A headcollar may be in order.
Does she know "sit"? The best way to curb this sort of behavior in public is to cue a "sit, stay". This goes back to teaching obedience behaviors as a means of management. If your dog sits on cue no matter what, you have an automatic insurance policy for curbing unwanted behavior.
Being prepared by bringing food rewards, and doing lots of reinforcement for alternative behaviors is a good idea, too.
Lastly, I truly believe this is stress-induced behavior, and teaching a 'relax' cue would be a good bet.
Leslie McDevitt in Control Unleashed talks about three types of interaction with your dog:
1) Passive attention is attention you give to your dog without requiring anything from her (massage, walking with awareness, any interaction that does not put social pressure on your dog)
2) Active attention which emphasizes handler focus and awareness - you will reward attention from your dog, plus any exercises that help your dog focus on you and not her stressful environment (targeting, Leave It games, Watch Me! etc).
3) Management - in environments with high levels of distraction and where your dog tends to get aroused, if you can't manage one of the above, you need to think about management. In the outdoor setting of games, BBQ's, etc, something like a head collar which gives you ultimate control of the dog and her head would be considered management. In other words, you are keeping your dog under your control, and she is not able to engage in activities that would be considered 'bad manners'.
I suggest you visit some areas that Babe has trouble with, with the intention specifically of training time.
Some books you may find helpful:
Clicking with Your Dog by Peggy Tillman Click for Joy! by Melissa Alexander
and although it is meant for aggressive dogs, there are some great training exercises in Click to Calm by Emma Parsons.
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Post by mcgregor on Jun 12, 2008 17:49:09 GMT -5
I MEANT yogi is now 3 years old ... which i posted he is "not" 3yrs old...typo here... hes actually 3yrs old
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Post by tracilg on Jun 13, 2008 10:35:25 GMT -5
We just use a regular collar with her. She is not pulling or trying to get away from us or anything like that. It's just that she can't sit there next to us without nibbling and she can get obnoxious about it. I'm sure it's just an expression of her energy or frustration and desire to be running free and playing. So I can sympathize with where it's coming from but it still needs to stop. lol Maybe I am just expecting too much of her in her early days of training? We've only had her for a month now and she had NO training before she came to us. She does know sit and generally responds to it unless she is super excited. The problem now is that she sits and nibbles.
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 13, 2008 12:02:02 GMT -5
A head collar will prevent her from nibbling. You can easliy use gentle pressure on the collar to turn her head or close her mouth. Using pressure on the leash when a Gentle Leader is a great way to gently and without hurting your dog gain quick control. You can stop the unwanted behavior, and then reinforce the good behavior like crazy.
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Post by tracilg on Jun 13, 2008 12:39:02 GMT -5
Any brand recommendations?
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 13, 2008 13:55:56 GMT -5
Gentle Leader by Premier.
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Post by maryellen on Jun 13, 2008 14:51:53 GMT -5
you have only had her for a month? invest in obedience training.. find a local group near you and enroll her and you in weekly classes. if she came to you with no training you should start from scratch and pretend she is a baby and start with the basics..
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Post by mcgregor on Jun 14, 2008 8:51:18 GMT -5
Mary Ellens point is well recommended , every pitbull owner should go through basic training, its the rules of being a responsible pitbull owner ; without it there would be chaos as pitties are very hyper dogs and need socilation and training and most of all patience, this is one reason "WHY" pitties end up in the shelters because of pitbull ignorance
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Post by maryellen on Jun 14, 2008 13:12:32 GMT -5
honestly, if she was in foster care for 6 months she should have been trained in the basics by the foster home.. if she was in a shelter, then that explains the lack of training.. definitely start classes asap, and instead of taking her everywhere, start small and work your way up to bigger more noisy places...
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Post by tracilg on Jun 14, 2008 17:52:25 GMT -5
She was in a shelter. And I did note that we are starting classes next Saturday. We're trying a few new techniques with her here at home that, so far (knock wood) are working very well. Hopefully things will just get better once we start classes.
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Post by maryellen on Jun 14, 2008 22:08:50 GMT -5
dont worry once you start class things will pick up... dont be upset if she acts like a dork at class the first few sessions, most all dogs act like dorks and embarras their owners the first few classes..
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Post by tracilg on Jun 15, 2008 6:22:28 GMT -5
She acts like a dork all the time so that won't be anything new.
Thanks everyone for all the advice and tips!
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