Doggy bootcamp

thorsoak

It could be that he was neutered a little on the early side - personally, I don't automatically neuter my boys - though only a couple have ever been used at stud (after hip-scoring, I might add). If they are not particularly confident as adolescents, then early neutering can sometimes fuel aggression - but there's nothing you can do about that now.

I agree about contacting referees - and going along to see just how the training goes.

krlyr

Just as another point. There is a group in Surrey that use stooge dogs in a similar-ish way, but you visit for a session rather than leave your dog there. A friend used them for her dog with issues, she went several times but think she ended up stopping as she reached a point where she wasn't seeing the improvements in sessions affect his behaviour outside of that environment.

Just worth bearing in mind - your boy may learn to be OK around this guy's pack of dogs, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll come back OK around all other dogs


Have you ever see Emily Larlham (aka Kikopup)'s videos on YouTube? She does several for reactivity, having had reactive dogs herself, and even has a DVD out that puts her free videos in a good order along with unseen footage and commentary spanning the two DVDs. I recently bought it and it's fab for giving you a sense of direction - lots of the exercises you teach in the home as a foundation first, and she addresses points that are not directly the dog's reactivity but things that may contibrute. For example, training your dog not to react at knocking at the door/the doorbell, so the dog is not getting anxious prior to walks (adrenaline can remain in the system for quite a while).
http://www.youtube.com/kikopup has her videos if you haven't seen them

Raksha

krlyr wrote: »

Just as another point. There is a group in Surrey that use stooge dogs in a similar-ish way, but you visit for a session rather than leave your dog there. A friend used them for her dog with issues, she went several times but think she ended up stopping as she reached a point where she wasn't seeing the improvements in sessions affect his behaviour outside of that environment.

Just worth bearing in mind - your boy may learn to be OK around this guy's pack of dogs, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll come back OK around all other dogs


Have you ever see Emily Larlham (aka Kikopup)'s videos on YouTube? She does several for reactivity, having had reactive dogs herself, and even has a DVD out that puts her free videos in a good order along with unseen footage and commentary spanning the two DVDs. I recently bought it and it's fab for giving you a sense of direction - lots of the exercises you teach in the home as a foundation first, and she addresses points that are not directly the dog's reactivity but things that may contibrute. For example, training your dog not to react at knocking at the door/the doorbell, so the dog is not getting anxious prior to walks (adrenaline can remain in the system for quite a while).
http://www.youtube.com/kikopup has her videos if you haven't seen them

http://www.dogcommunication.co.uk/home.php

krlyr

That's the one

MallyGirl

I am afraid I don't have any answers because I am going through a similar thought process myself at the moment so thanks everyone for the suggestions. Part of me thinks that a residential solution I have looked into would get quicker results with my Malamute but I would hate her to be away for weeks, as would our puppy. Also I know that I also need some training, as there are 2 ends to the leash, and this would be better achieved by working together with someone.

notisis

Wasn't there a tv program at some point that did both the training in boot camp style and then reintroduced the owner too so they did exactly the same? I can't remember the name of the program but it seemed effective as dogs and owner went away with skills.

Raksha

It appeared to be effective because it was editted that way. I don't remember there being a follow up to show the owners were keeping up with the programme...

Paypeanuts

bruciebounus wrote: »

This is the reply I got. It does sound positive, but I am sure my dog will fight and i'm just scared of putting him into the deep end (both dog and trainer)!


Bootcamp is normally 2 weeks minimum as the first week in a new enviroment is about trust building and can take a dog a while to settle in.
the longest i have had a dog for is 6weeks but she was very nervous of everything and everyone.
an assessment has to be done on your dog to determine the severity of the situation.

in bootcamp it is all positive training and your pooch will live with my pack of dogs who have exceptional social skills and are proven stooge dogs. they will learn how to act and think like a dog and help gain there confidence. Why? does he not think like and act like a dog at the moment, does he currently smoke a pipe and read The Times and cook you a curry when you come home from work and then just slums it for a bit of rough stuff when he goes out?


i have 4 dogs they will be living with.
on a daily basis your dog will be coming along with me on my morning jobs where i look after a pack of 7 well balanced and behaved dogs to furthur gain social skills. everywhere i go your dog will go and will always have a buddy with him. Just no...an aggressive dog with a pack of 7 others??

as he progresses in bootcamp i will start bringing him along on jobs with me where i need dogs assistats so he learns how to help other dogs with issues and becomes a stooge dog.

he will be taken to many different places and situations to help further boost his confidence. It might not actually be his confidence tthat's the issue. It might be, but it also might not be.

the reason bootcamp is so good is because they learn to live as part of a pack of dogs.

once bootcamp is complete i will return the dog to you, give you a run down of all the training and tell you what you need to do to keep up the good behaviour. i will also bring him home with a group of dogs to make sure he behaves the same way on his own territory Very few dogs are going to 'start it' when they meet a pack. Doesn't mean he isn't still going to start it when you take him out and meets another dog...

I have had dog aggressive and human aggressive dogs in my house . I also specialist in extreme aggression and work with the dogs no one else wants to.
dont worry about my dog s they are all trained stooge dogs abd no how to act around aggtessive dogs.
The reality is and this is more common than you think, when a dog is taken away from the influence of his owner, put in a new environment and confronted by a pack of dogs 9 out of 10 of them dont want to fight and there common sense kicks in. Um yes but that doesn't mean it's going to work when he gets home?
I WOULD not advertise such a service if I was not confident I could fix your dog . Aggression and extreme fear are what I excel at abd why I have such a good reputation.

My two pence in red. How expensive is this going to be, by the way? And does this bloke have any qualifications of any kind except experience?

Maybe it'll work...but I'd be really cautious.

MallyGirl

I have opted to give the dog communication people a try rather than bootcamp as they seem to have a better approach and it will be done with me so that I can learn too. I will let you know how it goes.

MrsAtobe

Mallygirl, one of the dog communication people is fellow member of a breed specific forum, she is a lovely, genuine person. One of her dogs suffers from the same disease I do, so I could give her the human perspective of what her dog was going through, our PM's ended up getting rather gruesome at one point.

They've trained with Angela Stockdale, have a look at her website as well.

http://www.dogpartnership.co.uk/index.htm