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 Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 9:17 pm
(Yes, its a bit long. I'm sorry if a few things are underexplained/over explained/unclear/disorganized. I'm a bit tired. I'll try to edit things that really confuse people.)
I have a shetland sheepdog, her name is Zoe and she's four or five years old. (Not really an "old dog" but I used that title more to imply that she's past the puppy stage where you're supposed to train them a lot.)
Now, to be perfectly honest, when we first got Zoe my family didn't really know how to PROPERLY train a dog. The only one that maybe did is my dad.
So for a long time she didn't come when called (unless she felt like it, she decided when she came), tugged on the leash, etc.
I didn't know how to correct lots of this behavior. Then I found places like this and helpful websites.
(Please don't think of me and my family as irresponsible dog owners, we could only take examples from what we knew.)
But, once I found out that my dog could be taught to listen better, I set out to change things.
Now, I feel as if I could ALMOST trust Zoe off leash. I have spent time teaching her to heel.
Except there are a few little problems. Namely:
Skateboards, bikes, rollerblades and basketballs.
She barks, lunges and pulls at these things. ESPECIALLY skateboards.
She also barks at anything else. People walking or people at the door, etc. (Mind you this may also partly be because its a sheltie trait, the whole watchdog thing. It probably can be toned down a bit though.) And annoys the hell out of my mother who yells at her (which I've read is NOT helping the cause at all. And I have told her that yelling only makes it worse but she tends not to listen to me.)
I read somewhere that this also may be part of her lack of real socialization. She tends to be afraid of other dogs, and runs away from dogs less then half her size once they get close. (She pulls me towards them, and then once they get to close she moves away.) The only dog she's not afraid of is my Uncle's dog Buddy, and thats because he's old, slow, (poor guy) and generally doesn't bother her.
Keep in mind my town is small.
Meaning, we have no dog park, no place where she can go and meet a lot of other dogs. The closest thing I know is bringing her to see my families dogs. And thats only about... two.
Does anyone have advice on how to:
1) Stop her lunging and barking at skateboardsboards/rollerblades/etc.
2) Stop her barking at every little noise/person walking down the street/etc.
3) Show her that she has to listen to me, like she does my father. That whole "being the alpha dog" thing.
4) Help her become more socialized and show her that being with other dogs can be a positive experience.
(Is it possible to socialize an older dog?)
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:58 am
All right, getting her to respect you is the first thing. My advice is to spend a lot of time with her. If you've been the main one training her, good! That's one of the best ways to make sure the dog looks to you first. Spend a lot of time playing ball with her, groom her, spend about fifteen minutes working over her commands a day. That sort of thing. Make sure that you decide everything--when you start playing, when you stop the training session, at what time she gets treats (once the dog learns the commands, she should not be getting a treat every time she does the trick, but make sure to end the session with a treat so it ends on a good note).
When you tell her to do something, do not include ANY element of questioning in your voice. You need to be calm and confident at all times with her, especially when you take her on a walk (more on this in a moment) because this will reassure her that you really are in charge. Try not to get down on her level, because if you're standing, that's another sign that you're above her in the social hierarchy.
It is definitely possible to socialize an older dog. Actually, in the last obedience class I attended, there was a eight-year-old dog that was already fully trained sitting in--she was there solely to improve her socialization skills. I have been working on socializing a year-old to two-year-old mutt myself this year. (His age isn't certain as he was found on a highway.)
The best thing you can do is to take her out on walks, since this will help her to see more things. Be calm and confident and have her heeling, and when she barks, immediately give her a leash correction (a swift yank on the leash, nothing that will hurt her--the idea is to startle her out of barking) and tell her 'No.' When she lets a noise or person going by without barking, or when she stops barking because of the leash correction, immediately praise her. Do NOT reward fearful behavior (shaking, tail down, etc.) by trying to soothe her. That just tells her that it's right to be scared. Ignore the fearful behavior, correct the barking, and praise any calm behavior she shows. You might never be able to get her to play happily with other dogs, but eventually using this method you should be able to get her to be around them calmly.
For barking in the house, you can use the a similar technique. You have the dog on leash by the door and you have a friend or neighbor walk by the door. When she barks, give her a leash correction; when she stops or when she lets them pass by quietly, praise her. If you can get someone the dog knows first, great! Try it with them until she's calmly tolerating them walking by, and then move on to strangers.
You can also teach her to speak on command, which means that you can also teach her 'No speak!' or 'Quiet!' Speak is taught by gently frustrating the dog until she barks (I had a treat in plain sight and used my hand motion until my dog barked in frustration after trying every trick he knew to get it) while performing a hand motion or using a new command. When the dog barks, praise her, then repeat until she has the idea. I've found that after learning Speak, my dog was less inclined to bark randomly (although somewhat more inclined to bark at me if I had something he knew was tasty to eat, such as carrots or apples).
The command Quiet is a little different. My family teaches this one by waiting until the dog stops barking (do not instigate barking for this one) and then say 'Good quiet! Good boy!' in a happy voice and then giving the dog a treat. We repeat this every time the dog stops barking on her own until we can tell the dog 'Quiet!' and the dog will be quiet. This has been a lifesaver, as we live with terriers (as notorious for being barky as Shelties are).
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:34 pm
Thank you, this information all sounds very helpful, I'll get right to it! smile
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Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:34 am
Another idea to teach her not to bark would be when she barks rattle a can of stones (or simmilar - so long as it makes a loud noise!) or spray her with some water (a washing up liquid bottle or small water pistol works for this) this should put her off, as you do this assosiate it with a command such as 'quiet' or 'leave' - hope this helps!
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