Fear Aggression
Our lab of 16 years passed away this past January. The first of August we adopted a roughly 2 year old lab mix from a rescue organazation. We know she was from a divorce couple and neither wanted her....
Forum Discussion
Doug, thanks for the idea of vet school. And we have been working on basic training. I will probablt be asking you some more questions as we go along. We are checking some more trainers in area to see their thoughts. I think the biggest issue with the last trainer was when he tried to walk Sahara away from me she thought she was being taken away and didn't like it. I think we are the first time she has been shown love and she likes it. His wife came out and stood beside her and was petting her within a few minutes.
I will keep posting updates as I am very proud of her. In the short time we have had her, she has came a long way. When I tried to take her on our first morning walk, she got about 100' from the house and turned back. She would pull the leash, and would even lay down to keep from going. I knew she was scared but would keep telling her it was OK, using positive reinforcement. We know walk 3 miles every morning and she never pulls on the leash. The first time a bird flew from a tree on our walk, she locked up and cowered because she was afraid. Yesterday a flock flew from some trees and she didn't even pay attention. I still remember when she saw cows the first time on our walk. She turned and was ready to run away. It took us over 1/2 an hour of going back and forth before we were able to walk by. Yesterday she stopped, looked at one, barked one time and kept walking. So I can see with time she is getting more comfortable.
I have been using some techniques from Upstate Canine Acadamy training videos. I like this guys methods and thinking. Showing that the things she is afraid of and that I am not. An example is if she sees someone walking toward us and becomes scared, I get in front of her and turn my back to them and talk positive to her. This shows her not to fear them, and she will calm down. I would like to find a trainer that uses the techniques he does.
Here are a couple of pics from her first camping trip.
I will keep posting updates as I am very proud of her. In the short time we have had her, she has came a long way. When I tried to take her on our first morning walk, she got about 100' from the house and turned back. She would pull the leash, and would even lay down to keep from going. I knew she was scared but would keep telling her it was OK, using positive reinforcement. We know walk 3 miles every morning and she never pulls on the leash. The first time a bird flew from a tree on our walk, she locked up and cowered because she was afraid. Yesterday a flock flew from some trees and she didn't even pay attention. I still remember when she saw cows the first time on our walk. She turned and was ready to run away. It took us over 1/2 an hour of going back and forth before we were able to walk by. Yesterday she stopped, looked at one, barked one time and kept walking. So I can see with time she is getting more comfortable.
I have been using some techniques from Upstate Canine Acadamy training videos. I like this guys methods and thinking. Showing that the things she is afraid of and that I am not. An example is if she sees someone walking toward us and becomes scared, I get in front of her and turn my back to them and talk positive to her. This shows her not to fear them, and she will calm down. I would like to find a trainer that uses the techniques he does.
Here are a couple of pics from her first camping trip.
