# Please help with 6 month old Czech GSD



## Ryan Westfall (Mar 23, 2018)

I just got a gorgeous 6 month old male from Czechoslovakia and plan on doing IPO with him. He does a great job barking and posturing but he does it to every dog he sees. In our house, he does it to our female 9 year old GSD to try to entice her to play. I do not want to stop a behavior that is also desired given the correct time and place. I don't mind if he does it when stangers come to the house. I have only had him for 4 days so I want to encourage our bond and keep things positive but I also feel like I want to make him respect me when I say stop. I can deal with it in with strange dogs but doing it constantly to our older dog in the house is getting old. How do I stop him selectively? Currently I just try to reward him when he pays attention to me instead and displays calm indoor behavior but sometimes all he wants is the other dog.

Thanks!


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Reverse engineer it. Same process you use to get a pup/dog to bark can be applied by inserting a command to stop or be quiet. I have two commands to interrupt something. Noise = quiet. Fractious behavior = stop.

There's obviously many ways to approach it but as long as you understand the motivation behind the barking that you want to stop/control and aren't overlooking essential information and compounding a problem that needs a different approach, you should be fine.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

What Nicole said!

If you got him at 6 months you possible don't understand where this behavior came from.

My work is "Quit" for things he's doing at the moment that may not always be bad. 

If it's something I absolutely don't like it's a firm NO!

Keep him on a leash even in the house and when he starts the noise give a command of your choosing and then a correction . 

Tiiming is critical. 

The command has to be before the correction.

The correction has to fit the temperament of the dog. 

To light and the dog ignores you. 

To heavy and it's unfair and could possible hurt a pup. 

As the pup matures it will figure out, with your help, what to bark at and what to ignore.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

great to see someone asking for help, but i think you are confusing a lack of control over bad manners with IPO

- i see nothing beneficial in the behaviour you are describing....NOTHING

to take it a step further.....
a deep firm grip is also beneficial in IPO
- if your dog also reacted with that behavior to every dog it saw would you also be trying somehow to "preserve" it for later use ????
- i certainly hope not !!

and you've had it for a total of FOUR DAYS.....???
come on get real !

your Q should be how do i stop BAD BEHAVIOR

of course if you have already joined an IPO club i'm sure the members will give you lots of good advice about how to handle your dog ... when it's on the training field 

please tell us how you selected this dog and what your basic level of experience with these types of dogs is. that might help too in deciding whether you actually have a problem or not with this particular dog


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## Khoi Pham (Apr 17, 2006)

Sounds like the pup just want to play with the other dogs, you could use electric at a very low stim, just enough for the pup to feel it, start at a very low level and nick him, keep going up until you see some kind of a reaction, like his ear twitching or his head turns around or he scratches his neck, then that should be the level you are working him with, everytime he barks at the other dog, you should press down on the continuous button and let it go when he stop barking, be sure to NOT give a command or say anything or even look at him, let him learn that this behavior is causing the discomfort, you can just repeat the process when he starts to bark again, when he is quiet for a while, call him to you and reward with food. You will be teaching recall under distraction at the same time, kill 2 birds with one stone.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

E collars can work to stop bad behaviors but it's not the kind of tool you can just go out and buy and put it on a dog and start using it. and you haven't said whether you have used them before.

overly social dogs can be pushy too and you have already said it's bothering your other house dog. THAT makes it unacceptable behavior, in my opinion, plus a play bark is not what you will be trying to promote in IPO. i don't know what you mean by "posturing", but a dog barking and trying to get another dog involved usually postures by bowing...is that what he's doing, or is it another type of posturing ?
- your house dog may eventually run out of patience and fix the problem for you  ... or create a new one you will have to deal with :-(

by the way, when you said you could deal with it around other dogs, does that mean you could stop it or that you could "handle it", as in allow it without it bothering you ?

it could be something as simple as not building up a proper relationship with your dog yet (mutual trust/respect)...in four days that might have happened yet. i find it hard that you could have built up the proper kind of bond you need with your pup in four days. usually it takes longer

- or it might be a simple case of not exercising the pup enough physically AND mentally, and that's why he's blowing you off and getting 'doggy' so quickly


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

if your dog ever bows when it's barking in front of a blind, you will be embarrassed and might even find it posted to one of those IPO blooper youtube videos //LOL//

sorry, i just couldn't help myself 

best of luck !


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## Ryan Westfall (Mar 23, 2018)

Thanks to those of you with constructive recommendations. I knew some would come out with the I'm not worthy of the dog responses and that's OK. I have been out of the dog game for about 20 years. My previous GSD was only obedience trained and no bite work. Training methods are much different today than they were 20 years ago and I was told to avoid negative interactions with the dog for the firs 3 weeks until we are bonded. Therefor my hesitancy to punish him. I will be starting extensive training to learn how to do this right but the trainer wanted me to get through the first 3 weeks first. I know that I will be learning my role as much as training the dog. I just do not want to confuse the dog unnecessarily. Thanks again to most of you.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Be firm, fair and consistent and you probably won't need to worry about much. Also, go with your gut. I sometimes think all these new ideas about what to do or not to do creates handler impotency. 

I'll apply that same statement to some of the radical changes over the past 20 years. Are our children better off today than 20 years ago? In some ways yes and in some, most certainly not.


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## Ryan Westfall (Mar 23, 2018)

Thanks Nicole!


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Ryan Westfall said:


> ....years ago and I was told to avoid negative interactions with the dog for the firs 3 weeks until we are bonded.



I would take this with a grain of salt. Me, personally, "negative interactions" can be a host of variables. If I got a dog that, say, started peeing and marking in the house you can bet I would not just ignore that and let him pee up the house for 3 weeks. This time is when both of you test the waters. Be a little flexible but there are always basic rules of the house. 

The best thing you can do it spend time with the dog. Play with him and go for long walks. Get to know each other. That's my 2 cents.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Ryan Westfall said:


> I was told to avoid negative interactions with the dog for the firs 3 weeks until we are bonded.


Curiously, and I know I am not alone in this… some of my strongest bonds have been formed through some of the worst hardships I've experienced in my life. And, I agree with Sarah.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Ditto on Sarah's post!


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

re : "I was told to avoid negative interactions with the dog for the firs 3 weeks until we are bonded"

that may be necessary but it certainly is not sufficient ... in my mind. you came here describing a problem and asked how you could fix it. small problems are easier to fix then allowing them to grow larger. one method was suggested. the Ecollar. well, what is your opinion on that approach ? (it came from a very well respected owner/trainer)

- and exactly what IS a bond (to you) and how do you get one ? there are many ways but just trying to avoid negative interactions for three weeks is not a very good approach .... again in my mind, but i could elaborate on why if you would want to consider my opinion

i hope you know that being INTERACTIVE with your new dog also includes giving it some crystal clear simple rules on what will and won't be tolerated ... but that doesn't mean it needs to be smacked when it does something that doesn't agree with you. but those rules can and should be introduced and included in your play sessions at VERY low levels of conflict for the dog. but again, we don't know what you do in your play sessions, and i have found (in the real world) that the way owners play with their dog can and usually does vary WIDELY. sometimes it's interactive, but more often it's not and does NOTHING to build/enhance a proper bond

just because you've been away from dogs for 20 years doesn't mean you have missed anything. sure, there are some "newer" approaches, but dogs haven't changed a bit. the same things that motivated them 20 years ago to trust and respect their owners are present in their DNA today.

since no one has seen your dog, all we have to go on is your verbal descriptions. it would be highly suggestive to even say your dog has a problem, except for the fact you have said its a problem....in some situations. 

unfortunately this site is not too pic/vid friendly. i've only been a member of a photography site a few months but posted WAY more pics there than i have here in the many years since i joined. all you have to do is drag it off your desktop into the post 
- but i hope you know the BEST way to get help is to SHOW the problem one way or the other

also surprised not to hear of a progress report on what you have been doing, but 'liking' some responses and 'not liking' others hasn't helped your dog one bit


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i also agree on the bonding by working thru hardship analogy. for me it's been seen in a couple cat relationships, and they just happened simultaneously, so it's not something that can always be done 'by design'.....much more 'situational'

i don't know if you will understand this (verbal) explanation, 
.....but if you can learn to put pressure on the dog, but at the same time also learn how to immediately praise it when it works thru that pressure, you will build up a stronger bond quicker. i'm a "bond freak", and use the term frequently, but i have never thought of it as strictly unconditional mutual trust and love. for me, it's been trust and respect. when you start BOTH of these early on, and keep it crystal clear to the dog, it builds. when you show and/or nurture too much love, it' harder to develop the mutual respect, and that is what is crucial when it comes time to disciplining the dog or correcting what you don't want to tolerate, whether that is responding to a command or stopping a bad behavior. for most dogs that won't happen consistently with just treats and a stern voice
....and i know many will disagree with this //LOL//

but for me this starts on day one; regardless of what you intend to do with the dog or what kind of job it's going to have. it's often explained by the one liner : "sit means sit", etc etc .... but one liners have never been sufficient to me since i feel they leave out too many necessary and important details


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

I'm with you on that rick. Pretty much all of it.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

No disagreement there at all. Bonding, for me, is all about daily life with the puppy or dog. 

That means house manners and just meeting the world an exposing the dog to everything possible. 

I have no issues with corrections if needed

Yes, the stern voice and treats are a big part of this but it starts with slow exposure (depending on the dog).

Obedience and competition training (depending on the dog:twisted: ) needs little to no correction. 

No two dogs are trained in exactly the same way. :wink:


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## Ryan Westfall (Mar 23, 2018)

My dog definitely does not have any problems. He just has not been taught appropriate behavior and does things that have not been communicated to him as wrong. We go on walks 3-4 times per day, play tug or ball multiple times per day following Michael Ellis's techniques to keep him interested, and spend focused time before these activities with obedience training for 5-10 minute bursts. I start working with the breeder/trainer on more advanced concepts next week but he has been our of the country for the past 3 weeks. I have communicated negative behavior to the dog and he is responding very well. Thanks


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