# I refuse to take my dog outside the house



## thegoatgsd (Dec 13, 2020)

It's simply too dangerous. She will lunge at cars, people, other dogs. We are forced to use a prong collar because with a normal flat collar. She will and has pulled my family and I to the ground. If I take her outside there's a chance the leash or collar could break and someone (or her) could be hurt. I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel because it's a vicious cycle. IT gets so bad that I can't even get her attention with her favorite treats. The only way is to forcefully move her away from the situation. Which isn't helping the issue. Please help.


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## cagal (Sep 3, 2013)

Consider getting a behaviourist. You need to figure out why your dog is behaving that way to know how to correct or change the behaviour. Django is hugely fear reactive but we’re working with strategies which while slow are paying off. We need to know triggers and not get too close. When he’s calm he gets treats for that behaviour. We’ve managed to slowly close the gap for human reactivity triggers. He still can’t be touched or within about 4 feet but before it was more like 10 feet a few short weeks ago. We’ve been able to make some human introductions outside the family with patience. He is totally comfortable now with those people. He also no longer freaks out at cars unless they’re too close and going really fast. You may consider muzzle training to help. We are not using aversives yet due to his age but may add in a prong soon but more for being a jerk as opposed to fear reactions. We were told of you use the prong at the wrong moment you can reinforce the fear/reaction. We also use a harness. It takes a lot of patience and repetition but it can be done.


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## drparker151 (Apr 10, 2020)

Find a GSD experienced trainer to teach how to use the prong collar to do a correction. If your dog is constantly pulling on the leash with a prong collar you are doing it wrong.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

You might start by saying how old the dog is, was she from a reputable breeder or a BYB, how is her regular training going and how experienced are you with large herding/working breeds?


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

thegoatgsd said:


> It's simply too dangerous. She will lunge at cars, people, other dogs. We are forced to use a prong collar because with a normal flat collar. She will and has pulled my family and I to the ground. If I take her outside there's a chance the leash or collar could break and someone (or her) could be hurt. I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel because it's a vicious cycle. IT gets so bad that I can't even get her attention with her favorite treats. The only way is to forcefully move her away from the situation. Which isn't helping the issue. Please help.


This is precisely why I say, as do many many others, that you teach a dog what to do, not what not to do!

When young puppies you show and tell them what you want and you make it rewarding for them! Fun!

Or you wait, without any training at all, then you allow bad behaviors to develop, usually because of lack of exercise, and engagement, and then all you want is to train the bad behaviors out of them. Well, quite frankly, that ain't how it works!

Either find a good trainer, or give your dog to someone who will!


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## Clipper (May 7, 2021)

My previous GSD had the same behavior. I sought out a trainer who has a skill set of dealing with aggressive dogs. He showed me how to use the Dogtra collar. We had eight hourly sessions but we we were successful.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

you are correct that you should not go far from the house if you cannot control your dog. Posting here won't help much. We need more details but honestly you need a good face to face trainer. A good balanced trainer who knows how to give fair corrections and well timed rewards can make a huge difference. 

But to start you off, watch your dog. Learn her body language. If you try to stop a behavior, like lunging, with a treat it won't work. You need to stop the behavior at the first ear twitch, the first Huffing breath, the first hard stare. Imagine you decide to go off on someone and your friend offers you chocolate. You might say ,"Great, I'll take the chocolate after I'm done here". or not even see the chocolate at all. 
And for every NO, it is best if you can follow it with a YES. No you cannot chase the cat. Yes, you can sit by me and look (if it isn't leading to a hard stare). No, you can't sit on the couch. Yes, you can lay on your dog bed.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Here's how I'd deal with this, step by step.

You start indoors, with no distractions. Tell the dog to 'look at me', and use a treat to get their attention. Make sure the dog is looking at YOU and not the treat - hold the treat near your face to start with, to make sure you have their attention, then progress to hiding the treat until the dog gives you its full attention. When they obey, say "YES! Good boy!" and treat immediately. If you prefer, you can use a clicker to mark the correct behaviour instead of 'yes'.

Gradually add distractions. Once the dog fully understands what it's to do, you correct it for failing to obey - first with a 'no', then with a collar correction. You say the command only once, before correcting, and correct at the FIRST sign the dog's attention is wandering. Repeat the command only once when correcting: "NO - look at me!". A dog will stare fixedly at a distraction long before it actually lunges. Learning to read dog body language is a very, very important part of training, as is properly timing corrections. Once you get the dog's attention off the distraction and back on you, give tons of praise and treat as soon as possible.

Once the dog is good with doing this while sitting, you progress to doing this while walking. Make sure you correct IMMEDIATELY when the dog starts to fixate on a distraction. Don't pussyfoot, and if the dog has dragged people off their feet, don't be gentle, either. Meet force with force, and imagine what would happen if the dog dragged you out into traffic, or attacked another dog or person! Your life, and the dog's life are on line here, and this is a situation where treats and praise obviously aren't enough.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Their are videos on leave it practice with no distractions once it’s know inside and out then use it with distractions. Leave body language yes and remind them before the dog starts to anticipate anything tenses up. If the dog has a ball drive or a toy drive it works better with then food if food is not helping in regards to focusing.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

I used this method with a dog that was very reactive/dog aggressive. We practiced it at home. Then, a week or two later, I took her to a class. There was only one other dog in the class, and this one was EXTREMELY dog reactive, It would go off on my dog when we passed each other on the far side of the room. With the instructor coaching that dog's owner, and me correcting my dog when she reacted, by the end of the class, both dogs were lying in a down-stay about 6 feet apart!

So, yes, it WORKS!! And if you are consistent with your corrections, and reading the dog's body language, it shouldn't take that long to fix.

Since you aren't experienced, though, you may need help from a 'balanced' trainer, one that isn't afraid to use corrections on a dog.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

This dog should be 9 or 10 months old. The OP has been having behavior issues from pretty much day one, posted about needing a prong and reactivity about 4 months ago.
I don't foresee this ending well and OP does not seem responsive.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Sabis, just checked OP's previous posts, and yeah! Wow, she obviously isn't able to get a handle on this dog's behaviour, and things have been escalating from day one!


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## cagal (Sep 3, 2013)

Timing is everything. It’s very easy to make the correction or the reward at the wrong time and reinforce the wrong behaviour. I really hope the OP gets help from a good trainer. If the dog is as young as it 9 to 10 months there still should be time to fix the behaviour fairly successfully. The longer this goes on, the harder it will be and the more time and effort will be required.


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