I'm not convinced about the chain Teagz, I'm not sure that would address the actual underlying issue, if that makes sense - I'd love to hear from one of the animal workers on this one too, great question Kaz!
The dog poo in the hole worked for us - escape artist beagle X would routinely dig her way out of the yard until DH put poo in the holes, filled them over - she wouldn't dig there again. Gross but effective.
I've heard the chain works because it's a scary noise. You have to growl in an assertive dog voice at the same time. I've used it on the dog over the back when it was aggressing thru the fence whenever the kids went near there. BARK - scary noise of chain on fence - me growling. Seems to have fixed the problem. But I don't think it would work for a habitual, bored hour-after-hour barker, kwim?
Okay the poo thing is a myth, but its worked on every dog that I've had digging issues with. Most dogs don't like their own poo, so using their poo is very effective.
The chain thing... I've seen it done in training seminars and around 10 years ago it was something that was considered a proper training technique.
Its not something I would suggest to 99% of the public, definately not something I would suggest online without being with the dog and knowing the owners. Its very effective for guard dog and police dogs. Dogs that are being trained to be aggresive and have to learn when to be aggressive and when not to be.
For a family pet, its not something I would ever recommend. Its incredibly harsh, and doesn't have a long standing effect. It simply doesn't last... it teaches the dog to fear the person holding the chain, and fear can lead to aggression pretty quickly. In dog's chemistry, there is a fine line between fear and aggression. Their cortisol levels are exactly the same. I have seen family pets turn aggressive in a once off reaction to something fearful. Certainly not something I would ever suggest to households with small children who interact with the dogs on a regular basis.
I dont have a myth, but wanted to ask is there something or what should i be doing when my dog Kock's his leg and wee's in the house?
He has just turned one. I had planned to get him de-sexed at 8 months but his breeder said not too, to wait until he starts kocking his leg, thats when he is ready to be de-sexed (to do with his growth apparently), anyhow, december 08 came and went and he hadnt started.... then bam, before i knew it, he is kocking his leg and peeing on EVERYTHING he can.
He used to spend alot of time in side but not anymore, not at all. And i am so about it... for us but for him.
I have'nt tried much as i honestly didnt know how to punish him or deal with, so we have just keot him from being inside. But i dont want it to be like that always..
I will get him de-sexed within the next few week's... so that means he would of been K'ing and Pee'ing for about 2 months.. (DF says he Kocked his leg but nothing came out for about 3-4 weeks to start with.
We have a 2 year old german shepherd that we have used the chain on. We had to use it twice max and he never jumped up at anyone again. He is a very placid dog and play mate to 4 children between 9 months and 5 years old (obviously never unattended though, regardless of how placid) and using the chain has had no affects on his personality. He is still very outgoing and extremely playful and in no way timid or flinchy to sudden movements or loud noises.
In saying this though, I think when it comes to training you need to use something that suits the dog because each one is going to react differently to certain techniques. What works for one dog, may not work for another.
Papillon, my pups must be a late bloomer, he's 2 and still squats! :shyface:
Papillion, unfortunately you didn't get the best advice there from the breeder. Its actually better to desex them behaviourally before they start to adult behaviours. This is because sometimes the behaviours are difficult to reverse once they have started. Some do work.... so the first thing to do is get him desexed and hope that will stop the behaviour. If that doesn't work there are more in depth training things that you have to do. Its best to desex first and see if that works.
ETA: Teegz I don't mean to disrespect the way you have trained your dog, but I think as someone who has worked in the industry for over 10 years that its a dangerous technique to suggest anyone to use. I have gone to multiple seminars regarding the chain throwing technique, some were for guard dog training, and some were passionately anti chain throwing. I do know a lot about that particular technique.
Great thread Christy!
Pappilon - I agree with Christy. Behaviourally it is far better to desex before they hit this stage. Otherwise you then have a potential habit to break. And territorial marking is a strong natural instinctive behaviour. Hopefully the desexing will reduce that drive.
As for the chain throwing. From memory I think this was originally developed by John Fisher as a distraction technique because of the exact noise it made. The problem with it is that it was then turned by other people into a dominance technique (hence the addition of the 'bah'). It resulted in dogs being actually hit by the chain and dogs losing eyes etc. I agree with what Christy said in that it is now considered generally inappropriate by vet behaviourists. Additionally it is a pretty useless tool in itself. Tools that tend to work very quickly usually do that because they either have a large effect on the dog, or the behaviour itself is very new. Otherwise what you tend to find is that without supportive training in addition to a tool the dog becomes quickly habituated to the tool use.
Just a note - I am not a veterinary behaviourist. I am a wildlife biologist that specialises in animal behaviour. However I worked with domestic animals for a long time (as a vet nurse and in an animal shelter) so can speak with some understanding but techniques and current theories in this field are constantly changing. Which may go some way to explaining why dog owners are often given different opinions by different people. If you see someone for dog training or a dog problem it is important to see someone who is up to date with current knowledge. That is why you may have heard Christy or I talk about going to someone who is accredited by the delta society. But when looking for someone even within this society check to see how often they are upgrading their knowledge. The top of the domestic animal behaviour chain are veterinary behaviourists. They are who you need to see if you have a severe behavioural problem (eg. severe anxiety, aggression). Next I would recommed Delta Society dog trainers who have been trained by vet behaviourist. They are who you see if you have a small behavioural problem or need some training help.
My neighbour said that to stop a dog eating poo (their own or their mates) you should put pineapple in their food. Theory was something like it does something to change smell/taste of the poo dogs don't like. It didn't work for their dog but the person they heard it from swore by it. Any truth in it?
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