Hi, Im 14 years old and  got a job so i could get a dog i went to the pound once a month for a year then i found shiloh sitting in her cage looking so sad well 3 days later  had my dog her name is shiloh she is boader collie pitbull mainly but shes got some lab too she was very frightened of guys until i managed to show her they won't hurt her its ok but my huge problem is she hates other dogs besides my moms dog and my friends 2 pugs she freaks out and i pratically have to drag her away which is hard cause shes like 70 pounds but sge gets right in their faces and lunged and barks she never bitten another dog but shes bitten me a few times and my dad says im going to have to get rid of her if i don't solve the problem soon ive tried a halti and a muzzle but those just cover the problem not get rid of it :'( i really don't wanna loose her shes like my best friend

How old is she sweetie?

Warm regards Susan

Susan- shiloh is 8 months and a few weeks

Hi Sweetie,

This is quite a serious problem and one that you need professional help with. Please contact your veterinary surgeon and ask them to refer you to a qualified dog behaviourist, who will be able to give you all the right advice and support. You really need to do this fairly urgently.

Best wishes,
Patty

I take it you are in the states Sweetie ? You really need to either go to a dog training club with a knowledgable trainer or a one to one trainer

Something has obviously happened to your puppy with other dogs before you got her & you need to get her socialized with other dogs so she no longer sees them as threats

Well done for asking for help. It seems that you have done very well on your own so far but the others are right, you need help now. Im sure its fairly curable with the right support and guidance as long as you do it quickly. Well done for giving her a loving home.

Take the advice given and let us know how you get on.
Good Luck xxx

Hallo Sweetie,

You need to be careful who you go to because some of the training methods in your country are very harsh and not what is recommended.
I'd suggest you join "Clickersolutions" which is  a Yahoo group (think it's www.clickersolutions.com to start with). There are some really good trainers and behaviourists on there who could help, and who could also advise you as to how to find the best trainer near you. That way you can avoid the dodgy ones :)

Hth, good luck with Shiloh.

Lindsay
x

thank you for all your help and suggestions but no i do not live in the states i am canadian :P but my dad beleves in the kohlar method and i find it cruel and believe there must be another way than to pin her to the ground by her throat when she barks

That's awful. If your dog is punished when she barks at other dogs, of course she's going to hate them. :( She'll try to bark even more to make them go away before she gets beaten up again.

Have you tried teaching her to sit whenever you see another dog? If you can do that, then you can praise and reward her, and after a while (though it'll take a long time for her to 'unlearn' that the presence of other dogs means she gets bullied) she'll begin to realise that other dogs=nice things, and she'll start to tolerate them and not bark.

I wonder how your dad would react if someone punched him every time a car appeared? I bet he'd soon learn to dread the sound of an engine, and maybe shout at the driver to go away ...

Now ask him politely if you did that to him in the prsesence of sya cows would he like cows or would he expect something unpleasmat every time he saw a cow?

If you distract her/him and reward for paying attention to you rather than the other dog then you may actually find him/her looking for a treat every time they see another dog.

Have you tried using a gentle leader head collar?  Not only will this give you more control (should be attached to a check chain or Martingale collar), but if you control the head you can break the eye contact with other dogs, get the dog lookign at you for which you can reward.

Also with Bull blood in your pup she may naturally not be particularly good with other canines.  This doesn't mean she can't learn to behave well when out for walks and ignore them, even if she doesn't want to be freinds.

even my dog hates other dogs,,, i forgot to mention that..!
he barks and growls every time.. there is not even onnce when he has not  done that while seeing another dog.. he's young and v r not to expose him to other dogs yet.. but i am worried if he'lll do well with others.

Kinla, what do you do when your pup barks and growls at other dogs? How old is he? What breed is he?

Thank you so much for your help ill give these suggestions a try tho i have tried a halti she looks so defeated when she wears it oh well i guess she can get used to it

Oh no - the Koehler method is terrible

No offence to you or your dad, but you are so right, it is cruel. It's also not effective as the dog is repressed rather than obedient. I would rather not have a dog than have to train it this way.

Please, do go to Clickersolutions, I hope they may still be able to help you :)

Also try reading some modern up to date books such as Jean Donaldon's "The Culture Clash" and books by Ian Dunbar so that you can try to advise your father. He may just be ill advised and stuck in the dinosaur age, but treating a dog this way is unfair and usually makes things worse in the long run.

Re the halti, be careful she doesn't get her neck pulled if she lunges, don't let your dad hurt her with it as it could seriously injjure her skeletal structure.
Try giving her food treats when she has the halti on to help her feel better about it.

I believe actually, Jean Donaldons IS Canadian!! She has helped many a difficult dog, and knows what she is talking about. You may also find her book "Dogs are from Neptune" very good as she discusses dogs who are dog aggressive - it's better in some ways than her "Fight" which is a bit technical.

I feel so much for you and your dog :(

Lindsay
x

I've managed to find some possible help for you -

Try: www.sfspca.org

If you look near to the bottom of the home page there is a list of humane trainers who are in California! :)

I so hope you can get in touch, some of them may to one-to-one's at your own home, or you may be able to  get your dad to go to a training class with you? Or let you go?

Lindsay
x

thank you sooo much lindsay and everyone i will try your suggestions