US Episode 101 - Cooper

Any time new episodes of It’s Me or the Dog are airing on Animal Planet in the US, Victoria will answer questions about that episode later that week. Post your questions to Victoria about the most recent episode here anytime.

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ckranz
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Post by ckranz »

That works well. I have used that myself on several occasions. Its even good to use for parents who don't want to control their small children.

My favorite question though is "Does he bite?"

Well yeah he is a dog you know and all dogs bite....that usually back people off a bit.

Another is to make a complaint with your local Animal Control office, reporting dogs at large wandering the neighborhood. If your office is good they should send someone out at some point to Observe the problem.
agilityqs
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Great episode

Post by agilityqs »

First, thank you for going to an hour format! I love the show and it's nice to finally a training show that isn't old fashioned correction based training.

I loved that episode about Cooper. When watching it I too saw what Victoria saw in the dog when he was at daycare. I felt bad for him being forced to be there.

He really came a long way in just a week's time!

I already use a lot of techniques that you use, but I have learned a lot form watching your show and I strongly encourage my students to watch It's Me or the Dog.
Lauralyn
Cheyenne (Lab) MX MXJ, MAD SAD JM GM RM
Lakota (BC) AX AXJ, AAD SM TM, PT
APACHE (BC) PT JHD
agilityqs
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Post by agilityqs »

lablver2 wrote:Yea me too. I am having one problem with Belgian though and the leash. He decides that all of a sudden he can stop moving or sit his butt on the ground. I don't know what to do. Sometimes I get him to go with a guick jog making him want to chase me other times I have to sit there because he sits like a statue. People think it is funny but I think there is nothing funny about a dog misbehaving.

I am glad a real dog trainer is finally on TV and not some fake one.

What about bringing a toy along and stop every once in a while and just play? Make walks fun!
Lauralyn
Cheyenne (Lab) MX MXJ, MAD SAD JM GM RM
Lakota (BC) AX AXJ, AAD SM TM, PT
APACHE (BC) PT JHD
Fundog
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Post by Fundog »

zeus'fostermom wrote:
How do you all deal with walking a dog you are trying to work with on dog agression issues when there are loose dog running around? Unfortunately in my neighborhood too many people let their dogs loose even though it is against the law. It's hard to work on training in this situation
to Herdingdogs

I've had this very situation, first with my German Shepard and now with my Great Pyrenees. Both became reactive because they had too often been agressed toward by other dogs. And you're right, if off-leash dogs are approaching, uncontrolled by their owners, it may be difficult to apply some of the training techniques discussed here.

I found I got the best results by immediately stopping and calling out to the owner "please call and leash your dog". You may find owners respond with "my dog is friendly". You can then say "my dog is not friendly. Please obey leash laws". It may not be true that your dog isn't friendly but who cares as long as you can get the other owners to control their dogs.

Hopefully, you can then get on with your training.
In my area, not only are the dogs off-leash, but they are out "walking themselves," no owner in sight-- people here are simply too lazy to walk their dogs at all, and simply let them out the door-- their excuse is always, "But he always comes back." :shock: Seriously? That's the only thing they're worried about? Fortunately for me, my dogs are not aggressive. So, being the vengeful person that I am, I have a tendency to lure the independent dog home with me, and call animal control to pick him up. It's a $50 fine for the owner to bail his dog out of the shelter-- in my area, money talks. There is also on a specific street, an aggressive/territorial dog that is not restrained on his property. So when I'm walking my dog down that street, this dog comes out of his yard and scares the poop out of both of us. After one of these incidents, I came home, typed up an anonymous note for the dog's owners, reminding them of the leash laws and the bite laws in our state (in my state, if a dog bites anyone, the victim can order the dog pts-- no matter what). The next time I walked that street, the dog was tethered to the porch. But that didn't last long. We don't bother walking that particular street anymore-- it does make me angry that those people have effectively restricted my right to walk down a street because of their disrespect for the law.
LIRAY
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Location: Hamilton, NJ

TV Shows

Post by LIRAY »

My husband and i really enjoy the shows, and it has gotten me interested in going back to obedience shows, I have been asked to judge a obedence Match show and can not wait.

I have also changed some ways of training and i also tell people to watch the show.

We would love to see more up to date shows, we have seen some of the same ones and then again came across others we have not seen.

I know all to well that not every dog gets along with others, and wish they would get along. we have to keep one dog out alone because she is 12 years old and is very strong headed.

the way we figured this out was she would start to play with the other bitches and then start fighting with them.

We wish we and seen some of these tv shows alot sooner then this.

Lisa and Ray - LIRAY Kennels
Lisa and Ray
LIRAY Kennels
we have been breeding springers for 15 years, we have 4 springers who are 7 years to 12 years of age, two english cockers, 2 years old and 5 months old and AM Cocker who is 6 years old, all dogs live and raised in home.
Salistra
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Location: New Jersey (USA)

Post by Salistra »

I loved watching the Cooper episode as well. It was fascinating. What Victoria says makes so much sense to me. I even trained a couple of friends' dogs using her techniques. I was amazed how effective they are. Even though dogs are not humans and don't talk human, there's alot to be said with body language. The trick is learning how to properly read body language which I find a true challenge and am a little nervous that I will misread a dog.

Everyone says I'm a natural with dogs and I'm like the "pied piper"; they single me out and follow me around and watch everything I do lol. I'm truly flattered by this but I guess it's the deep love I have for animals and the strong desire to always want to help. But for some reason, with my own dogs, I sometimes feel lost and like a total idiot. It's like I'm wearing blinders at times but that's when I reach out to some really great people in these forums who have truly given me some very good feedback. Thanks to all my new-found friends on these forums. You guys are wonderful.
Salistra
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Location: New Jersey (USA)

Post by Salistra »

In New Jersey where I live, I never see any unleashed dogs on the streets which is a good thing.

The only time we unleash our dog is in an open field and when no one else is around. It's true that one person's dog may be friendly but you don't know about the other dog. My husband tells me to relax but I make our dog return to us and stay with us or we just leave. I'm not a gambler and I don't plan on taking chances now that could endanger any dog or person.

Anyone that let's their dog run loose in the streets doesn't deserve to be a pet owner .... end of story.
LIRAY
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Location: Hamilton, NJ

cooper

Post by LIRAY »

Hello:

here in NJ where we live alot of dogs are off leash and will not take our guys out for works and if we do it is only at certain times, we have dog parks. not sure if i would do that either.

we have leash laws! and people ignore them and many times i would say something like you can have a well trained dog,, however if they see something they will still take off.

Lisa and Ray - LIRAY Kennels
Lisa and Ray
LIRAY Kennels
we have been breeding springers for 15 years, we have 4 springers who are 7 years to 12 years of age, two english cockers, 2 years old and 5 months old and AM Cocker who is 6 years old, all dogs live and raised in home.
Salistra
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 11:23 am
Location: New Jersey (USA)

Post by Salistra »

I lived in NJ all my life and yes we do have leash laws and people in my town are very good and obey those laws.

We only let our dogs out in the field when no one else is around. I would never take our dogs off leash when there are any other dogs or people around. I have mixed emotions about the Dog Parks. There are some really great dogs there and then there are that few I feel would get aggressive unexpectedly. I am not going to subject my dogs to that.

Our town you don't see any unleashed dogs roaming the neighborhood. The police are very much on top of that.
bmcghee
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Reactive boxer

Post by bmcghee »

We have a 3-yr old boxer very similar to Cooper. Was found as an emaciated stray in the NV desert. He is VERY reactive- even used to attack garden bronzes, gnomes, lights or peculiar looking rocks.. We have taken him to classes, even a class for"Growly Dogs". He does well there, once he gets used to the other dogs and people. But taking him for walks is still a challenge: dogs remain an impossible obstacle if they come any closer than 60 to 70 feet. I do my best to keep him away from those situations. With people his comfort zone is about 30 to 40 feet and I can get him to sit and focus on me and the treat - but after they pass, he releases his anxiety on me by jumping up on me or grabbing my ankle. So far he has shown bite inhibition, but I fear we might run into a situation where he cannot control his fear and will bite. We have been using all the counter conditioning and desensitizing techniques we learned in class and from watching every IMOTD episode. At home he is very sweet and after over a year he actually can truly relax and cuddles with our other boxer. Before this point he attacked (without breaking skin) our other dog when he saw a stray dog over 100 feet away running in the fileds behind our house or when he got startled by something. We seem stuck and need help.
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Noobs
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Post by Noobs »

Are there any behaviorists in your area? You can check this site if you need to look it up:

http://www.apdt.com
bmcghee
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Post by bmcghee »

Yes, we were with a trainer recommended on this website. She used a method very similar to Victoria's and we had her even out for a private lesson. Took at least 20 tries, and I believe Jackson just gave up out or went into shock. After that I just walked him at times and in places where we would not meet anyone or could escape. After months of this I am now trying to get back to walking the main trails in the daylight, but it turns out things have not changed. We are even using Tryptophan and homeopathic calming remedies.

Thanks for the reply.
Smillin'Sammy
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Post by Smillin'Sammy »

lablver2 wrote:I can't wait to watch this episode on my DVR. I saw the end and was so happy. I honestly don't trust kennels or day cares with Belgian. Belgian already has panic attacks at the vet and becomes a totally different dog there. It is sometimes scary but he was severley traumatized as a pup when he had a emergency surgery and was left overnight. It takes the vet, a nurse and me to calm him down enough for shots when he goes to the vet. I don't know what would happen if he was at a kennel/day care and had a emergency. I would be afraid he would bite someone just because him and vets do not get along what so ever. As he has gotten older he has been getting better but still he still gets very uncomfortable and has these panic attacks.

Belgian is left with friends and family members if I have to leave him. Some one who is familiar with him makes it easier. The people who he is left with know how to control him and understand that he can become easily frightened if he was left at a vet.

The day cares around me I personally would never trust. Some of them cramp dogs into a home all together. Another one takes the dogs to neighbor houses to swim. That's fine but I am a little picky who takes my dog out places. I am not there and Belgian can be a little tricky. He's well trained but he only listens to some people and doesn't listen to others.


That being said I need to go to my DVR and watch the new episode. I am really excited. I saw the end of the episode but I need to watch the rest especially since I love boxers.
You could try desensitization. Start with a white lab coat, maybe teach him to point it. Then try the smells, just a tiny amt. of cleaning fluid or some such smell at the office (you could probably ask them what they use to clean surfaces). Remember, dog's sense of smell is much better than ours, so tiny amount is enough. Then maybe records some sounds and play those at a barely audible level. Then work outside the office on obediance training, getting him to watch you, and so on. Then maybe enter and exit, enter and exit, staying in longer times each time he shows a good response (but if he shows stress move back!). Then maybe waiting in the office for a little bit. Another useful bit is to play on the front lawn if there is one, etc.

And of course bring treats to real visits and give him a high prize reward immediately after the vet finishes (One second!) This can really help, but don't do this for too long and don't stress out the dog. Take your time.
Smillin'Sammy
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Post by Smillin'Sammy »

lablver2 wrote:Yea me too. I am having one problem with Belgian though and the leash. He decides that all of a sudden he can stop moving or sit his butt on the ground. I don't know what to do. Sometimes I get him to go with a guick jog making him want to chase me other times I have to sit there because he sits like a statue. People think it is funny but I think there is nothing funny about a dog misbehaving.

I am glad a real dog trainer is finally on TV and not some fake one.
Make sure nothing is hurting him and that he is not scared. He may have sore paws, the sidewalk may hurt, etc. There could be something that frightens him, so observe where he stops and see if there is antything in common, such as certaint cars, dogs, cats, people in their yard, etc... Note his body language to see if he is uncomfortable or scared.

If none of that works, just sit on the ground with your back facing him, and wait until he gets bored and comes to you. This could take hours, but be patient. When he gets up and comes to you, praise him and continue on your walk. Should he sit down again, repeat.
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