Posted by Doreen Simpkins
on May 12, 2008, 3:58 pm, in reply to "Frightened Great Dane"
It might be best at present to consider having the dog on a long line when out walking, and in that way having more control over the situation than if he was running free. I am not condoning the behaviour of the other dog owner, but he may genuinely have been concerned that a large unknown dog was approaching his own dog, and it may even be that his dog has been previously attacked by another dog.You do not say how long you have had the dog or what training you have done, but training the dog at a young age is important so that you do have control and the dog knows what the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are although training is always best done kindly and with consistency. Try practicing in your garden with the dog on a lead, and the dog on your left side. Start walking and then ask the dog to sit. Give a small reward when the dog complies, to reinforce that doing so brings treats! Once you can get the dog doing that consistently, try asking him to sit/stay, and using the length of an ordinary size lead walk out in front of him and then ask him to come to you --again rewarding the behaviour you are trying to reinforce. Eventually, with practice you can work up to doing that off the lead. Then when you try this out on a walk a long line will mean you have a safety net should something attract his attention. As a young dog of a giant breed it is important that you are able to keep him under control when out on walks-- although even the best trained dogs have off days, and there can be setbacks with young dogs who find it difficult to concentrate and are easily distractable. Staying calm when things are not going well will help the dog gain self control and you may want to look up a book on clicker training by Karen Pryor called Clicker Training for Dogs. You will also find information on the Kennel Club web site about the legal reponsibilities of dog owners to keep their dog under control . Hope that is of help, if we can do anything more please e mail agai. Doreen Simpkins www.bestfrienddoglistener.co.uk
--Previous Message--
: Our 9 month GD was really friendly, but as he
: gets bigger people are starting to be louder
: and more strict with him and he's getting
: nervous. He went to greet another dog in
: the woods this morning, and the dogs owner
: shouted at him. He turned and ran back to
: our car. I told the man that he'd
: frightened him, and he laughed!
: What should I do?
:
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