50 replies to this topic

[dahle50]

I am looking for a mentor to see if my BC had herding ability. I live in central NJ..I can trade horseback lessons as I am a certified trainer. My BC is from Karen Thompson in Virgina..

Thank you

Chris McC

[Amelia]

Can you explain why you perceive/treat it as always the pup's fault in an aggression scenario (that is possibly fear based) but always the trainers fault in a working scenario?

Regarding agression, I don't think in terms of blame, I simply don't allow it.

Regarding training, I once went into a lesson firmly beliving it was my dog's fault. It wasn't, and it took Bobby Henderson about 45 seconds to determine that. He explained, and the solution was so simple, it was embarrasing. Ever since then I've looked to myself first, and it's been very beneficial for my dogs.

Cheers all, especially you Donald!

[terrecar]

Regarding agression, I don't think in terms of blame, I simply don't allow it.

I should probably stay on the porch but... I think this is an excellent response.

[juliepoudrier]

Personally, I think stating "I don't allow it" is a bit simplistic. I would venture a guess that most of us "don't allow it" under most circumstances but when you deal with a fear agressive dog, how you go about disallowing it might be very different from how you'd handle, say, a simply dog agressive dog (and you might certainly handle a pup differently than a fully grown dog). It's very easy to lump everything together, but I don't think that approach does all dogs justice. JMO of course.

J.

[juliepoudrier]

Chris,
There are folks in NJ, MD, or NY who could help you. I don't know that any of them would be interested in riding lessons, and I'm not sure how far you'd be from any of the other locations. Maybe try the NEBCA website. They don't list trainers, but there are some upcoming clinics listed, and you could look at the directory of officers and try contacting any near you to see if they have suggestions.

J.

[dahle50]

Thank you Julie, appreciate your help!

Best
Chris

[terrecar]

<snip>but when you deal with a fear agressive dog, how you go about disallowing it might be very different from how you'd handle, say, a simply dog agressive dog (and you might certainly handle a pup differently than a fully grown dog). <snip>

Well I agree with this, of course, and in fact have used the distance/reward/desensitize approach with my dog in a fear/reactive case with much success. I agree the origin/cause of an aggressive response drives the method. For example a (non-physical) correction for overzealous guard barking has worked for me as well.

I was taking the statement as more a response to the idea of assigning blame rather than origin, though I know the distinction has more to do with the mental/emotional state of the handler than the dog.

[Amelia]

Personally, I think stating "I don't allow it" is a bit simplistic.

You can dissect it 9 ways to Sunday, but it really is that simple for me.

It is true, however, that my correction would be different towards an adult dog trying to take my arm off, versus a pup startled by the garbage truck, but the bottom line is the same. I make the rules so my dogs don't have to.

Cheers all

[juliepoudrier]

You can dissect it 9 ways to Sunday, but it really is that simple for me.

It is true, however, that my correction would be different towards an adult dog trying to take my arm off, versus a pup startled by the garbage truck, but the bottom line is the same. I make the rules so my dogs don't have to.

Cheers all

Exactly. So if you're offereing *training advice* to someone, you might have to consider the dog, the situation, and actually do a little bit of explaining. Otherwise, the "advice" isn't very helpful. Which was my point.

J.

[terrecar]

I apologize for opening this up again. Should'a stayed on the porch. Live and learn.

[Maralynn]

My dogs are not allowed to be aggressive to me, my dogs are not allowed to be aggressive to other people, each other or the other animals that live here.

I have no issue giving out a "what the heck do you think you're doing" correction when needed, and have had a couple of instances where it solved the issue quite nicely. Bratty behavior just isn't tolerated.

But I've had two dogs now that came with fear aggression issues. Perhaps it was my fault for not being on top of it from the get go with one of them, but with the other she had huge issues because somebody tried to correct them out of her. She was totally shut down - cowering in her crate didn't even want to go outside. That's what correcting her out of aggression did for her.

With both dogs, once I dealt with the fear issue behind the aggression and taught them what I expected, the aggression went away.