I Need Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sassy_luvr]

that is how sassy is but sometimes it takes her a lttle bit longer depending on if she has ever seen that person before.

[micki76]

Originally posted by Sassy_luvr
sometimes she will get aggressive (believe or not) but that is only when she does something she knows is wrong and i pop her.

I don't mean this as sarcastically as it's going to sound, but if someone "popped" me, I'd get aggressive too. Aggression breeds aggression, and in basic terms, you're starting it.

A much more productive way to show her that you're the boss, would be to put her on a program called NILIF - Nothing In Life Is Free. Anytime she wants ANYTHING, water, food, a treat, on your lap, outside, to go for a walk, anything at all, she must perform a sit or a down for you. Feed her only AFTER you've eaten, and don't let her sleep in your bed.

I don't know if any of those apply, but if you're letting her in your bed, or on the furniture, you must stop.

YOU must be the boss, but that doesn't mean hitting her at all.

Hope that helps some.

[bckrazy]

I agree with Micki! She needs intense NILIF, calm 15-minute training sessions daily, and she needs to be taught that jumping on people is not acceptable (doesn't it stop bieng cute when the puppy grows into an adult?).. ignore her completely when she jumps on you, no petting, attention, touching, anything until she has her butt on the ground. Then give her lots of praise/treats. Don't "pop her", ever. Especially while she is greeting another person... she will inevitably associate new people with being hurt and punished, and she *will* develop agression from that. You should not allow people to pet her or talk to her in public before she is sitting calmly, then have them give her a treat and pet her.

You need to go to Obedience. This is an essential thing for dogs and their owners, especially unruly puppies. Sacrifice your Starbucks or whatever for a few weeks, just set aside $10-20 a week and you'll have enough money in no time! And, I do not suggest PetSmart. at all. Search for a reputable Obedience club or Obedience classes which emphasize in positive reinforcement and that offer behavioral advice. Ask about the education of the teachers, if they have any credentials, etc. You can find a lot of good trainers through your vet, too!

[Summer Magic]

Hi try redirecting her attention. Start inside your home with some yummy smelly treats and teach her to "watch me" (I use the word focus) Show her the treat and say watch me and bring the treat up to your face. When she looks up at you give her the treat. Do this over and over until she looks at you instead of the treat. Then take her out where she will receive the stimulus you want with a pocket full of small yummies and try it there. If she obeys the watch me command give her the treat. If not, turn her around and walk away from what she's barking at and give her the command again. It shouldn't take too long for her to understand that "watch me" = GOODIES!

[rebeccarichardson]

As a Guardian of a "rescue" dog w/fear aggression towards dogs while on leash, I recommend a couple books which has helped me:
"Click to Calm" Healing the Aggressive Dog. Author: Emma Parsons
Or another book: "Bringing Light to Shadow"From Aggressive Rescue Dog to Canine Good Citizen. Author: Pamela Dennison.

You are not alone---many of us have had to deal with the same issues w/rescue & shelter dogs. 'Hang in there. It is fixable w/compassion and patience and two excellent books.


Jasmine's mom.

[Sassy_luvr]

thanks 4 all of your inputs!now i spend about 15 min. a day training her to be calm and not 2 jump.believe it or not my mom and i see a HUGE difference in her attitude! thanks again so much for everything ya'll have wrote!

[Corinna]

If costs of calsses are a problem got to your local 4-H office and see if there is a club around if not ask to buy their training manual. Its a good one I started with it and went on to show springers in AKC shows.

[bckrazy]

I'm glad Sassy is improving! plenty of exercise and mental stimulation should calm her down more, too. I'm sure she would improve 100% with (at least) a 6-8 week obedience class.

[Sassy_luvr]

i have got GREAT news!!!my neighbor (Jason (has 3 dogs)) is going 2 help me train sassy.i still don't know how much it will $ be but i am still so very grateful that he would do that.i will probably start getting him 2 train her in about 2 weeks (we r leaving 2 go 2 alabama wednesday).he also has a choker chain that he is going 2 let me use!!!btw thanx 4 all yur helpful replies!if u were @ my house sassy would be giving each and every 1 of u wet slobery kisses 4 all the help and suggestions y'all have given.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by wolfsoul
I agree -- goldens are actually one of the most common dogs to have aggression problems these days due to their overbreeding.

Where does this statistic come from? I don't agree with it at all. If I see a truly aggressive Golden, I look at the owner and see someone who doesn't understand the breed or hasn't trained the dog appropriately.

Sassy_Luvr, you stated Jason is going to help you train and is even going too give you a choke chain. Beware, you have the potential to make your dog fearful of you by using the negative choke method of training. If you really don't have the money to take a training class and you want to train your dog the best way, forget Jason and his negative ways of training and just buy a good positive training book! There is even a TON OF INFORMATION on the internet about positive training and apparently you already have access to the internet! If you really want to train your dog, you will find a way. Cost is not an excuse!

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
Where does this statistic come from? I don't agree with it at all. If I see a truly aggressive Golden, I look at the owner and see someone who doesn't understand the breed or hasn't trained the dog appropriately.

Yes, it's the owner's fault in every case, but I feel that BYBs have produced many unstable goldens. I have met more shy, fearful, and aggressive goldens than ones that would be a good respresentation of the breed. I did a breed bite list this year for English, and golden retriever was one of the top biters on my list. It could possibly be because they are more common than alot of breeds, but for a place where small dogs are particularly common and large dogs not, those statistics are pretty incredible. We have many backyard breeders here in Kelowna and I feel that it is their fault more than the owners for breeding dogs with tempermental flaws -- if it wasn't for them, the dogs wouldn't be there in the first place and we wouldn't need to blame an owner. There are no accurate statistics for bites last year in Canada -- I'm not sure about the US.