[nagdu] Dog problems

Sun Dec 8 15:53:46 UTC 2013

I agree with what has been said so far. I am not trying to be harsh, but,
JMHO, you should not be giving someone else's dog corrections. And your
frustration probably is not helping as the dog can probably perceive that.
To add to what Raven said about not yelling, I have heard that this is
especially true when you are trying to get the dog to come. It works if the
dog is being out right stubborn, but it sounds as if that is not the case
here. No matter how much you like the dog, I would recommend just leaving
him alone for a while and trying not to be frustrated. 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven Tolliver
Sent: Sunday, December 08, 2013 6:22 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dog problems

I agree with Steph.
And if the only way you can get the dog to come to you is with treats, this
method might not last long either. Frankly, you have scared this dog.
Before I got a guide dog, the first thing a seasoned guide dog handler
advised me to do was never, ever, ever, ever yell at my dog. The school even
told us not to. Dogs perceive yelling as you barking at them, and depending
on the situation, they will perceive your barking as aggressive. This is how
O'Malley has perceived this behavior, especially paired with the stern
talking and corrections.
Also, when is it exactly that you give him corrections? Do you correct him
when he finally comes to you? Or, do you go up to him and correct him? Would
you yourself want to obey and play/spend time with someone you felt was
aggressive toward you?
How do you do a correction on this dog with no leash? Do you go up to him
and just hold his collar tight for a few seconds? Do you drag him toward
you? Or, do you yank on the live ring of O'Malley's collar?
No matter what the answers to these questions are, the primary solution is
to stop. Stop it because it's not working, and it's not making the situation
better. Give this dog time, and if he decides to approach you without any
commanding or coaxing, make sure your boyfriend praises him. Your boyfriend
is his leader, and he must give O'Malley the assurance that you are okay.
Or, start approaching O'Malley with gentleness. Verbal corrections do not
have to be yelled, or even spoken sternly most of the time. When you
approach O'Malley and he is not reactive, your boyfriend should praise or
treat him.
Again, your boyfriend must be the one giving the rewards because he is the
leader who must provide assurance.
I myself have a good friend who my dog did not like. My golden displayed
very anxious behaviors around her, but she loves, loves, loves my dog.
However, I chose to not take my dog into her apartment.
If he did not want to be there, I wouldn't force him since it was something
that upset him. I improved this by rewarding him for following me inside, or
even approaching her alongside me. If he followed me inside, I praised him
up and tried to make this one act seem as though it was the best thing in
the world. And you know what, it worked. My dog is gaining the appreciation
I have for my friend.
Essentially, this is what your boyfriend needs to do.
Next, some dogs will not listen to other people reliably, or at all.
My golden is very loyal to me and will obey me from across the room.
However, he does not reliably listen to other people. I don't know if it's
that he doesn't take them seriously, or he just feels that only cues given
by me should be obeyed.
Take it slow with this dog. No matter what he is doing, you need to be easy
and gentle with him or things will not get better.

On 12/8/13, Stephanie <naturelovingmom at gmail.com> wrote:
> Why not just leave the dog to your boyfriend. It's his dog, not yours.
> Steph
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: minh ha <minh.ha927 at gmail.com>
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Date: Sunday, December 8, 2013 7:03 pm
> Subject: [nagdu] Dog problems
>
>>
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I am at my wits end about an issue and I'm hoping to get some advice, 
>> especially from those of you that have a partner who also has a guide 
>> dog.  My boyfriend and I both have guides and our dogs are very 
>> attached to us, meaning that they will listen to either of us when we 
>> give them commands (out of harness, obviously.) However, O'Malley, my 
>> boyfriend's guide has started exhibiting some very strange behaviors 
>> towards me lately. It's almost like he is afraid of me. When I tell 
>> him to come, he won't do it; he will just sit there and thump his 
>> tail, acknowledging the fact that he hears me, but he refuses to come.
>> When I go to grab him to give him a correction, he will run to his 
>> bed and hide in the back and will not come out, no matter what I do. 
>> I've tried everything--corrections, talking in a stern voice, 
>> yelling, treats-and none of it seems to do anything. Doing obedience 
>> with treats doesn't work either because he knows treats are imminent 
>> so he'll come flawlessly. The situation is made extra frustrating 
>> when he plays keep away with me; I will call him and he'll get really 
>> close, but not close enough where I can actually touch him or grab 
>> his collar. And when I do try to grab him, he will run back to his 
>> bed again. The other thing that is really distressing both my 
>> boyfriend and I is that O'Malley seems to prefer his bed over any 
>> spot. If his crate is open, he will go lay in there and not come out 
>> unless you call him or it's food time. Viva will try to engage him in 
>> playing and he plays sometimes, but most of the time, he will just 
>> lay in bed and does nothing else. One last thing, when we do manage 
>> to get him to come out and play, he has been yelping a lot whenever I
play with him.
>> We do play a little rough, but not any more than when my boyfriend 
>> plays with him and he never yelps then. I'm just so frustrated at the 
>> situation and I honestly don't know what else to do. I love this dog 
>> and I spoil him to death, but for some reason, he is just acting so 
>> weird with me that it has brought me to tears more than once. If any 
>> of you has insight into what is going on, I would really appreciate 
>> it. I will try anything at this point.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Minh
>>
>>
>> --
>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the 
>> dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was
vanity:
>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on 
>> their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>
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>
>

--
Raven

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