Member Gene
MemberForum Replies Created
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One more thing I forgot. It is important to continuously hand feed her at this age. This indicates that good things come from you, it also builds respect as she sees you as a provider. There are plenty of puppy videos on the website and hand feeding is always streesed.
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I don’t have the access to a video, so from your post I don’t think it is a good idea to deal with this behavior in a harsh manner. If this is a working line Malinois you have your hands full. She may be starting to teeth at this age so she wants something to chew on. It is probably a high drive dog and is burning off some energy. Give her frozen wash cloths, frozen bananas etc the cold is a pain reliever. Nine weeks is too young to use harsh corrections.
She may be trying to show affection or initiate play. At such a young age I would try some dog language: a) 1 or 2 fingers to bop her on the head, b) pick her up and lay her down on her side (gently) hold her there until she calms down, that’s what her mother would do. c) when it hurts AAAEEH! turn and walk away , playtime is over for 5/10 minutes, then resume. Her litter mates would yelp and go to the other side of the pen indicating she is playing too rough. I’m sure the breeder knows more about the breed than I do, but at nine weeks the dog probably doesn’t know what it is being corrected for. Also as always there are great videos on the sight to get more info.
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Robert has addressed this issue a few times in the AMA section. There is not much you can do actually, if it gets toooo bad you just have to get the dog in the car and go somewhere safe to walk him, Sad but true.
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The name of the video is Prong Collar and Leash pressure
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It appears that maybe he is being triggered by the movement as opposed to each individual distraction. On the early morning walks when you see the car or something else approaching have him sit, if his ears go up or you can see him tense up he gets corrected.
At 5 months he can be corrected for this behavior, use a martingale or choke collar if you are not using one of these. Also if this doesn’t work you may want to introduce him to a prong collar just around the house for an hour a couple of times a day for a few days for him to get used to the pressure then take him out early in the morning for a walk. At 6 months or so he can be introduced to this collar as you will bond with the dog while walking. BE SURE TO WATCH ROBERT’S VIDEOS on the use of this tool, on being fair to the dog and teaching the dog how to relieve the pressure on his neck. There is a lesson on this now I think Robert is working with the owner and a dog named Sadie.
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Agree with Stella, after exercise, treats, goes into crate, with no interaction after entering crate. They learn that there is down time and it is in the crate.
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I don’t think there are any exact rules as it may sometimes depend on the breed. This may be a bit much though. I’m thinking walk around the block then a few minutes of play 3 times a day. AKA rule of thumb for a German Shepherd is 5 min for each month so 15 min. per session. If you have to carry the her home she is telling you too much. Too much exercise can be harmful to the joints.
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Hi Christy, it does take a lot of work, who knows what he has been thru.
One thing with Reactivity is that the main thing is to work with the dog in a calm setting
where he can be controlled and maybe one other calm dog of a friend. Maybe the running is still a little much for him now. Watch the Reactivity videos. Three main takeaways
1) loose leash 2) NO CORRECTIONS, the dog corrects himself when you abruptly turn away walk 5/7 steps and return 3) You will notice in the videos for Reactivity that Robert does not use treats for these exercises. When ZEKE looks at you a gentle pet for 2 seconds and a calm Good Boy is all. Treats can excite and giving a treat may indicate to him that his behavior is being rewarded. Naturally there is somewhat more to it than this but these are the 3 basics.