I would like to teach her to stop chasing birds, people, bikes and soccer balls. When she sees them she gets really excited, if i tell her to sit she will get really agitated and keep looking at me to realsese her, then she will start yapping and pulling on the leash. I'v tried to tie her up and keep doing it infront of her (supposingly if they can't win they should lose there drive for it). I was going to try desensitizing and counter conditioning along with with negative and positive reinforce ment when she does the wrong/right thing. Can some one tell me exactly how to do it or if there is another way. TY
Answers:
Sound like you chose the wrong dog for your needs.
Cattle/Hearding dogs are bred for chasing things, and you will never be able to stop her from chasing things, its bred in her.
You could do one of 2 things,
You could keep her entertained by regularly excersising her, teach her to chase a ball or frisby or something, this may curb her obsession of wanting to chase things, or
You may need to think about finding her a good home and picking a dog who is more suited to your needs, she is naturally a high energy dog and punishing her will only make her and you misreable.
What breed are you working with, is this a Heeler or a shepard? The methods I use are very different for the two.
Tying her and teasing her will just increase her desire to chase and persue pray.You need to increase her obeidiance training by enrolling her in a O.B school. Your dog has limited control. Even though she will sit when you tell her to her drive is to high for her to contain herself. One way I have found when I have trained a dog with this problem i.e (Bike riders) and be able to controll themselves is to have some one ride around her in circles while you hold her leash and her be in a sit she will begin to see that the bike will not hurt her and build her confidence, More than likely she is acting this way towards bikes out of stress or fear (Fight or flight) lack of confidence phylosophy. She feels more confident with you there holding the leash so she is trying to appear intimidating In hopes that the bike will go away When she gets aggresive like that are her hackles up? If so that is a sign of unsurity and a lack of confidence.When you try this with her and she starts to act that way ? Correct her by lightly but firmly(OXYMORRON I know) tug on the leash and tell her NO! SIT! when she does this give GOOD GIRL and give her calm praise. Have the person on the bike keep going around in circles until it becomes easier and easier for her to stay calm. Remember be consistant with the firm corrections and calm praise through out this exercise. The people issue is pretty much the same thing. She has not been socialized properly with other people. Group obeidiance classes are the perfect way to socialize and build confidence in your dog. You and your dog will be around a substancial amount of other people and other dogs. As well as to teach her manners when she is out with the family. While at the classes you and your dog will be around experianced trainers that would agree with me when I say socialization and exposing your dog to different situation and environments is the quickest and best way to build confidence in your dog so that he will be more responsive to you and be more stable. Not to mention give you more piece of mind that your dog will not be an out of controll pet.The Bird problem? Well That is another issue in its self. Herding dog are almost always geneticly imprinted with alot of pray drive and he may never loose the desire to chase birds and you should not try to break her of her drives because you could very easily end up with a skittish dog or one that has a broken spirit.Instread what you want is a dog that has control over her drives. And thats where the obeidiance and controll come into play. With the proper O.B training? When your dog starts out after a bird or a rabbit you should be able to recall your dog back and she should return emediatly. The ball issue is what we trainers call play or ball drive this is pretty normal for dogs that have lots of drive and there is nothing wrong with it. GET THE GIRL A BALL!! And then play fetch with her untill her tongue is draging the ground or she is so tired she drops. Which ever comes 1st?? Of course you dont want her to chase just any old ball she sees. Again obeidiance and control. If she runs after someone elses ball recall her emediatly and get her focus on you and then throw her ball as a reward for obeying you when you recalled her. This will work. good luck and keep us informed.
You sound like you have a pretty good instinct for training. Like with little children, you need to "pick your battles" with your training. It is her nature to chase things or try to herd by yapping. That said, I haven't tried this, but it makes sense. It was suggested for barking, but it may work for chasing, too. For barking, first teach the dog to "speak." Once you can get her to bark on command, you can teach her to stop. Once the speak command is easy, then teach "quiet" or some other clear command. You might simply wait until she stops barking and then quickly say "quiet" and reward her. Repetition is the key. Chasing various things is going to be much harder, but with creativity and persistence on your part, maybe you can get her to stop chasing SOME things.
Now, about pulling on the leash; do you use a regular collar or are you using a training collar (sometimes called a "choke" collar)? It is much more effective for controlling a dog and very humane when properly used.
Maybe instead of asking her to sit and look at the object and struggle to control herself, you should distract her and give her something else to do.
CESAR MILLAN, the Dog Whisperer has many good solutions. There is even a website where you type in your specific question.
Cesar says, "The choices you have are to block or ignore the behavior."
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