New Family Member, Pics to Come Soon.....

[cchase85]

I'm curious to hear how this works out.

Hope everything works out!

[Lonewolfblue]

She did pretty well for the first day. Because she seems to have had some obedience training in the past, we were able to go directly to having another dog around on the first day. They usually don't do that, but because they felt her training was further along than expected, it's a good thing.
She still tries to go after the other dogs, but it's not aggression they say. They showed me her posture when she did it, and they tell me it's due to fear. Even with another dog at a distance, she still has the fear. So that is what we are working on. She said it's pretty easy to correct the problem, just takes some time. I thought it was going to be expensive at 30.00/hr, what I didn't realize is that the class is only 1 hour long. And she said even if we are there longer, it's still just 1 hour. Next Monday is our next class, and I have a few things to work on with her over the week.

After we work on this problem, and start getting things under control, I'm going to see what is needed in maybe getting her in on some agility training for competition. The gal seemed to think Betty's a good candidate for possible future competition. She said she can start on some training in the near future, but as for the jumping, doesn't recommend it until she's 1.5-2 yrs old. She said she's still too young to jump train, as her joints are not fully developed yet, and if started too early, she will have arthritis problems much sooner than most dogs. But the running and obsticle coarse are ok, as they don't have any jumping, just tube running, running around cones, etc.

The other option we have is when we get her comfortable with other dogs, can start the advanced obedience and competition obedience. Not sure what direction to take, any ideas?

As for the trainer, she's been doing this for well over 30 years, and holds several championships, and also has 2 new dogs she uses for training, and one already holds one Obedience Title. That's the Sheltie. Her border collie is a bit younger, but she hopes to start the competition training in the near future. But both dogs are excellent training dogs. They do very well with other dogs, and are awsome. I had a blast at todays class.

[MOsborne05]

That's great news! Let me know how it goes, because my dane has the same problem. Even though she looks angry, I always thought that it was fear aggression. She's mellowed out in her old age though, she will be 4 in November which is middle-aged for a dane

[IDunnoWhy]

That's great news LWB!!

I'm glad to hear the training is working for her!

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by MOsborne05

That's great news! Let me know how it goes, because my dane has the same problem. Even though she looks angry, I always thought that it was fear aggression. She's mellowed out in her old age though, she will be 4 in November which is middle-aged for a dane

My homework til next Mondays class is to take her out a couple times a day and allow other dogs to get closer, and at the same time, if she tries to charge out of fear, tell her to sit. And if she does, give her a treat. The purpose is to get her to understand that if another dog approaches, there's nothing to fear, and if she sits or doesn't bark or charge, good things happen, such as treats or lots of affection.

[Lonewolfblue]

If things go well, I may start another training when she's a year and a half or 2 yrs old. It's K9 Flyball. But the trainer doesn't recommend it because of the jumping til at least a year and a half due to the leg joints not being fully developed til then. But check it out and let me know what you think.....

about flyball


This one is close to me, it's over in the Seattle area....
About Flyball


And here's a video.....
MySpaceTV: First NW U-Fli flyball event! by Lyndi

[MOsborne05]

I think flyball is a great idea, in fact I've looked into it before with my young energetic boxer mix I'm pretty sure Jess (FishGeek) bought her Aussie to compete with, so she might have some more insight for you.

[Lonewolfblue]

Class #2 was good. She's learning alot, but still is quite fearful of other dogs. The trainer said it's going to take a little while, but she will get over it. I hope so.Told her if possible, I'd like to get a 2nd dog. Wanted to see what her reaction was. She said there'll be absolutely no problems with getting another dog. I thought I'd get a lecture that I shouldn't, lol. When she asked, I told her I was looking at getting an Australian Shephard if I did get another dog, and have 2 dogs that could possibly be competition dogs. She said it's doable.

[MOsborne05]

Yeah, it would probably be better for her if you did get another dog because then she could see that not all dogs are bad Getting a puppy helped calm my dane down alot, although now she's very protective of him!

[HMarcks]

Horray for perseverance. I'm glad you found someone to work with. I am suprised that alot of trainers wont work with dogs that are agressive toward other dogs. But I guess its better they refuse then do something they can't handle. She is one lucky dog.