Bit of help if you can

CiaranK

tk123 wrote: »

What qualifications does your trainer have out of interest?

I don't know what the exact qualifications are, he was recommended by a friend so I just went with him. I haven't been back since I seen him about a month, maybe 2 months ago.

CiaranK

Also that is not all he says it should be noted, I explained to him everything I tried: Swapping for treats, Shouting no, Putting him on his own, Coins in a can, Lemon water spray, pepper/mustard on the things he shouldn't have, ignoring him totally when he comes over... the list goes on. And he said they are the things that he would first recommened doing, and because none of them didn't work he suggested slapping him.

I didn't just try these things once and give up, I would go for like 2 weeks on each thing, sometimes longer and nothing worked with the little fella.

boomerang

I know it's your dog, your family and your decision, so I don't want to come across like I know better. It's just I think it's unfortunate that you happened to get this trainer, and not one of the Dublin behaviourists I could recommend. Your dog's behaviour has improved, but only because you threatened him. That suppresses behaviour, rather than changing it. Also, while a man like yourself might be able to intimidate the dog, it doesn't follow that a child or even a woman could.

Contrast the dog's experience following this trainer's method with that of a qualified behaviourist. The dog would have learned that giving up the things he values brings him rewards, so that anyone in the home could take something from him and he would do it happily and willingly. Wouldn't that have been a better outcome for all? Rather than simply punishing the dog, the whole family could have been involved in a teaching process that would have bonded him to you all even more and would have been pleasant for all involved. The change in your dog's behaviour would have been deep and long-lasting with no harm done to the dog.

It's not that the advice given here didn't work - it's just that sometimes you need the help of a behaviourist to tweak, refine and practice the exercises with your dog and monitor progress. It takes an awful lot of repetition to create new behaviours and sometimes as dog owners we're not consistent enough or we give up too soon. (Not saying this about you, but as a general rule.)

Edited to add:

None of the things you mentioned would be effective to treat resource guarding - the shouting no, putting him on his own, coins in a can, lemon water spray, pepper/mustard on the things he shouldn't have, ignoring him totally when he comes over. I'm just sorry you didn't get better advice, sooner.

CiaranK

boomerang wrote: »

Contrast the dog's experience following this trainer's method with that of a qualified behaviourist. The dog would have learned that giving up the things he values brings him rewards, so that anyone in the home could take something from him and he would do it happily and willingly. Wouldn't that have been a better outcome for all? Rather than simply punishing the dog, the whole family could have been involved in a teaching process that would have bonded him to you all even more and would have been pleasant for all involved. The change in your dog's behaviour would have been deep and long-lasting with no harm done to the dog.

We did all try together, we all worked together, as I said above what we did. It wasn't a case of just giving up either. It was probably 6 times a day, and we would try each method for 2 weeks+, That's on average 60/70 times for each method, and it wasn't changing anything at all. It is no down to once or twice every 2 weeks, and he is dropping it when we shout at him. And then we give him a treat to praise him for dropping it.

CiaranK

boomerang wrote: »

Edited to add:

None of the things you mentioned would be effective to treat resource guarding - the shouting no, putting him on his own, coins in a can, lemon water spray, pepper/mustard on the things he shouldn't have, ignoring him totally when he comes over. I'm just sorry you didn't get better advice, sooner.

I had rung a vet and that is what they suggested doing. It is also advise I got on this forum

barbiegirl

For resoyrce guarding the reainer I pmed you, recommend throwing treats at the dog, whenever you passed by the him and the item he was giarding, continuosly doing this, getting slightly closer each time, so he woudl have learned that you going near something he values resulted in treats. It's a long process but it does work.
The time out of for biting, nuisance barking, jumping etc.
Please call a proper trainer/behaviourist.

boomerang

CiaranK wrote: »

I had rung a vet and that is what they suggested doing. It is also advise I got on this forum

The degree in veterinary medicine doesn't cover animal behaviour, or even dog behaviour and training. Behavioural advice from a vet is pretty much always a matter of personal opinion, same as the man on the street. And a lot of the advice you got here was not very helpful. We all love dogs here, but we're by no means experts.

I guess I'm trying to say if/when you need a dog professional again, I hope you'll get a qualified one and not a shyster. I personally know a few APDT-accredited behaviourists in Dublin worth their salt who would have seen you right.

All the best

tk123

barbiegirl wrote: »

For resoyrce guarding the reainer I pmed you, recommend throwing treats at the dog, whenever you passed by the him and the item he was giarding, continuosly doing this, getting slightly closer each time, so he woudl have learned that you going near something he values resulted in treats. It's a long process but it does work.
.

This is what I did with my guy - I started introducing bones into his diet and he must have thought it was too good to be true :pac: and was wary of us even passing by when he had them. The difference in my approach is that I gained his trust - he knows he can give me the bone (I'd rather he didn't though lol - YUK!) and get it back or if I'm going to keep it he'll get a treat in return and lots of praise.

You don't seem to have this OP - what are you going to do when you're outside and he finds something gross/dangerous? How will you approach him if he knows he's going to get a slap and runs off or worse stands his ground and bites you? You need to build a bond with the dog so you both trust each other and respect each others boundaries - slapping and shouting isn't the way to go and I think you know this yourself and resorted to it in desperation?

Apologies if I'm coming across as telling you off but we've had a run of threads like this recently where people have gone about things the wrong way and they've ended up in disaster. Nobody on here wants that to happen to you and your dog.

The Sweeper

The problem with carrying out instructions you receive over the internet is that, without the intervention of someone qualified in dog behaviour and training, you can be doing it wrong all along and then just assume it doesn't work.

Imagine I ask two people to make me a cheese sandwich. I explain the process - bread, butter, filling, cut it in two. What are the chances the two sandwiches I get will be identical? Slim to none unless I'm standing there giving guidance on precisely what I want.