coptleigh Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Hi, As some of you will be aware, my dog was attacked by another some time ago, since then i have gradually, tried to get him re socialised with other dogs, but he is having none of it, he will tolerate one near him,and after a time be OK, but still wary and submissive to them,but the other day, when out doing some whistle work with him in a deserted(or so I thought) field, another dog appeared off lead, as soon as he saw it he took off across the field, taking no notice of the stop/recall whistle or verbal command, eventually stopping and hiding behind a gate, till I got near to him, yesterday, basically the same thing, a greyhound ran up to him, he again ran away, this time, running all the way home, craossing main roads, I was petrified as again no listening to any command, worried in case he got knocked over by a car, at 48 and carrying a bit of excess, no way to be able to keep up with him, even the greyhound only just managed to keep up with him till they got to a fence!!!!!!!!!!. He also manages to defeacate himself each time, He was recalling well until this recent time, and getting the hang of the stop whistle also. Then tonight on a walk, i let him off on a grassy area, no dogs anywhere, two lads appeared, just walking past, he ran and hid , after they gone away, he reluctantly returned to me, so I put him on his lead and continued walking, till they had disappeared, letting him off again to have a run and clean himself, as soon as he saw the way we walk back home, he took off again, ignoring all requests to stop, finding his way home again, I'm at a loss to what to do, is there anything I can do, or is this a time for a trained Dog Whisperer?, or a combination of both, If he does not make a gundog then so be it, but its really worrying that he will get injured, crossing roads etc. Its would really be a shame to have to keep a springer on a lead all the time, even an extendable one and not allow him to be able to hunt in cover,retrieve etc etc. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecooper1 Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Hi mate, had this problem with a beagle, family pet, if you have anybody with a small dog type, no frieindly pit bulls, because they can be power freindly. Take them a walk down some country lanes and dont let them off the lead for a few times, then let your mates dog go, walk on for a while, then let your dog go, thats how i sorted my problem, they became best of mates, its a confidence problem. Cheers Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 It sounds like a difficult one, what has been suggested may work, I don't know, but I would be talking to a dog behaviour specialist to try and understand how to sort him out. Don't leave it too long mate, it will become "learned" behaviour rather than instinct and will be much harder to sort out. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeksofdoom Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Sounds terrible I hope you'll be able to get him sorted. Sorry for being nosey but what happened to the dog that attacked him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted April 17, 2009 Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 shame its the wrong time of year but try and get him out beating, the chance in an exciting environment to mix with lots of dogs that won't be be agressive. Tilll then just socialise him with other dogs as much as you can, in enclosed areas and try and find another dog you can walk with him. If he's going to bolt you may also need to keep him on a long lead for a while as obviously you don't want him blindly crossing roads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coptleigh Posted April 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2009 Nothing happened to the dog that attacked him, ploice couldn't find any trace at the address given, and have not the time or inclination to follow it up, so left there. I had him out tonight on one of the long retractable leads and he was fine, I'm awaiting info back from a trainer who deals with this kind of problem, but looks like its going to cost about £30 an hour to sort, he will be going for some sort os canine assessment first, then they will be able to tailor a behaviour programme to suit his needs, not bothered aboput the cost, just as long as it stops him being so fearful of other dogs, quality of life and all that!!! I have had him out walking with my brothers Lab, who he shows not the slightest interest in at all, he is not at all aggressive to other dogs, I was worried he might go that way, get the first one on in a manner of speaking. We shall wait and see how things go. Cheers Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADFEET Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 , quality of life and all that!!! As hard as this sounds, it seems like the dog may be ruined for working........if thats the case and you need a working animal then you may be better to look for a pet home for the dog and start again with a pup. Also, if its a pedigree dog, these can develope a lot of faults physically and mentally which never get corrected in the breeding as breeders breed names to names to make the best money........never good!! They wont try and breed out any faults as an outcross would mean losing money if the "names" are not right. I dont put much faith in these dog whisperer type people, they never seem to know as much about dogs as they claim to. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbo33 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sorry to hear of your problem. Dog training is full of hurdles. All the suggestions above are helpfull. It may sound a whacky idea, but if you have freeview on your tv, check out the "dog whisperer" I have trained 4 spaniels and hope I have a little understanding of how dogs think. This chap really knows what he is doing, and understands the dogs psychology. Trauma induced fear is a common problem. Watch him and I feel sure you you find the answer of how to deal with it. Hope it goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinois Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Hi, something like this happened to a friend of mines cocker. He started to come to my house twice a week and we would lock his dog in a kennel with 3 or 4 cocker bitch's and spend an hour having a coffee and chatting. When he eventually got through the to beating season the dog came around with the excitment of hunting and the fac *** was burning off nervouse energy. Now it is very stable and gets on well with other dogs. Also bear in mind your dog may be going through what is called a fear impact stage where it is unnaturally frightened of obvious things. This is natures way of teaching all dog relatives to run when they are afraid. Don't underestimate socialisation. Get you dog out to places like Supermarked carparks where there is loads of bustle and noise. Don't let people stroke you dog as it may be under such pressure that it bites out of fear. Having said all this, I see it more and more in springers now. The drive is making them faster and the nerves are making them weaker. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Find a dog training class near you and take him along. The training side will do him no harm and the chance to socialise with other dogs in a controlled environment will help no end. My wife takes our hound once a week to the "Youth Club" (been going for over 2 years) and whereas she once use to want to dominate every dog she met, now she is far more relaxed in their company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeksofdoom Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Find a dog training class near you and take him along.The training side will do him no harm and the chance to socialise with other dogs in a controlled environment will help no end. My wife takes our hound once a week to the "Youth Club" (been going for over 2 years) and whereas she once use to want to dominate every dog she met, now she is far more relaxed in their company. I agree 100% with you there, socialising with other dogs in a controlled environment is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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