URGENT!!! need help with training!

[KioCO]

I have an approximately 22 month old female Cane Corso, she's half the size she should be (50 pounds) and I'm having trouble when she's not on the leash.

Until a month ago we lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia where letting a dog off the leash is illegal under all circumstances and there are no dog parks whatsoever so I didn't have the chance to do any off-leash training(other than in my friends garden with his dog). Now that I've moved to Austria (where there are many great "dog zones") I'd like to be able to let her play with other dogs. However she is being extremely possessive of me, as soon as any dog her size or larger comes near me she chases him off, and I have no idea of how to get her to stop.

The second problem is that when new people come into the dog park she immediately approaches them to check if their a threat by sniffing them, if they get scared she starts barking at them from a distance until I come near them, after that she stops paying attention to them.

I want to buy an E-collar and enroll an obedience class however until I find a job I'm on a budget and I can't afford either. And I don't want to wait for that to happen to start letting her off the leash

On the leash her behavior is great, however as soon as I let her off she starts misbehaving, can anyone give me any advice on how to stop this?

PS: she plays and behaves perfectly fine as long as the other dogs don't come up to me.

 

[JamieHalverson]

Personally, I don't take my dog to dog parks, ever. He is a very friendly Am Staff/Mastiff X, and I've had other breeds from Rotties to a JRT and I believe dog parks are not good environments, period. Too much can happen, and "our" dogs will likely be blamed when/if it does.

That said, in order to work on her training "off leash" I would get a long line and start working her general obedience with that in a less stimulating environment than a dog park. I use parks, tennis courts, etc. That way you have control of her while she has a little more freedom and you can reinforce your training with the long line.

Her behavior twords people coming in to the park, in my opinion, is indicating she's probably not dog park material...

 

[gilles]

i would avoid off leash in a dog park ...many things can happen. train her with a long training leash.

 

[DennasMom]

I hate to agree with the others - as I love going to the 'dog zones' around here... but some dogs just aren't good fits for dog parks, and it sounds like yours might be one of those. It could be that since she didn't get a lot of off-leash socializing as a puppy, she didn't learn doggie-manners. BUT, it also could just be who she is. Many mastiffs are family dogs, and if you're not family, they're not interested. period.

I would visit the dog-zones during times when there are very few other people and dogs there, and just work on her off-leash commands: recall, "leave it", maybe some fetch or scent games. Just let her learn to have fun and behave while off-leash. THEN you can start introducing her to other dogs. Maybe see if there are some dog-groups around where you could meet some known-friendly dogs in smaller numbers, and make sure your dog is OK with the other dog before letting them romp off-leash together.

If you can teach her a command for "He's OK by Me" - so you can introduce people and dogs to her that have your stamp of approval, that might help her not try to intimidate them or shoo them away. But, you may never convince her playing with strange dogs is fun. It just might not be her thing. You should be able to get her to ignore other dogs (as long as they're far enough away to not pose a 'treat'), but that might be as far as she's willing to go.

I'll also add that using an E-Collar really takes a knowledgeable hand. I wouldn't advise trying that by yourself without a trainer. Your timing needs to be perfect, and sometimes that's hard to achieve. You might be able to get similar results just using a clicker and/or a whistle (which would also be cheaper).

 

[Bob Felts]

I don't know if this is helpful. We have worked with a professional trainer, and it has made a world of difference. She worked with our EM puppy for 20 minutes, and his pulling on the leash is almost completely gone. Even though you mentioned things are tight currently, when you have ability to get some 1 on 1 training, it really works, if you find the right trainer.

 

[irina]

I would also suggest long line training in deserted areas. We have given up on the dog parks as well. Also I have learned from personal experience that mastiffs, having high pain tolerance, a lot of perseverance and thick muscle around the neck, do not respond to the e-collar as well as some other breeds. We had a couple of episodes when Ajax ignored the e-collar being in a highly aroused state, even though he is correctly trained on it. Just saying, do not expect it to fix all your problems.

 

[season]

Dog parks are a recipe for disaster. I'm assuming dog zones are too. Too many people want their dogs to "play" with other dogs....in my opinion it's very overrated. I could care less if my dog as dog "friends" and I don't take him on dog "dates."

 

[season]

And if your dog is being possessive of you then you've got bigger problems. If your dog feels safe and protected by it's owner/leader then they won't feel the need to be in protection mode when they are with out. It's your job to protect the dog not the other way around. When a dog feels the need to protect it's owner you have a nervous, anxious, fearful dog....which isn't a good thing ever. So I would be spending a heck of a lot less time worrying about what your dog is doing and worry more about what you're NOT doing.

Leerburg Dog Training | The Ground Work to Becoming Your Puppy's Pack Leader

 

[karennj]

Dog parks are a recipe for disaster. I'm assuming dog zones are too. Too many people want their dogs to "play" with other dogs....in my opinion it's very overrated. I could care less if my dog as dog "friends" and I don't take him on dog "dates."

I agree. Dog parks can be a mess really and your dog sounds not to be a good fit for the environment right now. Other dogs are going to want to say hello and your dog has to be ok with that. Also, your dog should not be protecting the park. My swiss mountain dog is the same. After 20min of being in a park she now thinks she needs to guard it and any new person who approaches would get barked at. Since your pup is better on leash start looking for some dog walking groups. We have a bunch here and they post walks/hikes and everyone meets up with their dogs. I don't let my dogs interact with other dogs but it is great for exercise and getting my dogs used to being around other dogs without getting to play with them.

 

[JamieHalverson]

I agree. Dog parks can be a mess really and your dog sounds not to be a good fit for the environment right now. Other dogs are going to want to say hello and your dog has to be ok with that. Also, your dog should not be protecting the park. My swiss mountain dog is the same. After 20min of being in a park she now thinks she needs to guard it and any new person who approaches would get barked at. Since your pup is better on leash start looking for some dog walking groups. We have a bunch here and they post walks/hikes and everyone meets up with their dogs. I don't let my dogs interact with other dogs but it is great for exercise and getting my dogs used to being around other dogs without getting to play with them.

I really like the dog walking group suggestion. One of the biggest struggles with my Yogi has been to train away from the desire to meet every dog he sees. He's totally fine in classes and during therapy visits, now, but outside and especially if the other dog is excitable or unruly (which my LORD there's a lot of those) he can still kind of forget about me at the other end of the leash. And then there's the inevitable, "is your dog friendly, can they meet"? People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I don't let him meet other dogs...

 

[season]

Take him around the dog park but not in the dog park. There are great opportunities to work with your dog around distractions. I do it all the time with Solo. You need to work on getting your dog engaged with you.

Leerburg On Demand | The Importance of ENGAGEMENT in Dog Training

 

[gilles]

^^^^ good suggestion by season

 

[Gabriel's Dad]

You can get an e collar on Amazon for $45 with two collars when my bull mastif was 9 weeks old it took me two days about an hour each day to teach him to come to me and sit whenever his collar vibrates. The collar gas 100 levels of sound, vibrate and shock. I am training him that vibrate is the same as a leash pull.


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[Gabriel's Dad]

I have only used the shock a couple times to correct him before he got into the road. The vibrate mode is fantastic. Start with a leash and use the vibrate feature everytime you make a correction with the leash.


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[Gabriel's Dad]

It won't take long and vibrate is the same control as a leash. The collar I bought for $45 is good up to 330 yards. I high recommend it. Even when he's having a puppy A.D.D moment and not paying me any attention 200 or 300 feet away one push of a button and he will stop what he's doing and run strait to me sit down and wait for a command.


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