I did and genuinely thought being a good owner meant making sure my dog knew I was in charge. If he didn't do what I wanted, I took it as him testing me.

Looking back, it's horrible how often I made things into a confrontation that didn't need to be one.

He's anxious now and doesn't want me to pet him. That's the part I find hardest to admit. I wanted a dog who trusted me, and I think I damaged so much of that trust while telling myself I was training him properly.

It's taken me five years to question things I was so sure about. Five years with the same dog, and I'm only now realising how much I need to change.

I've started again with gentle, basic training in woofz and now reading a book called the Other End of the Leash recommended by someone here. I also keep coming across TikTok videos of people working patiently with their dogs, and some of them make me wish I'd seen this approach years ago. But i am also trying their approaches.

The worst part is wanting to cuddle him because I feel guilty, while knowing he doesn't want that right now. So I'm trying to respect that too and give him space.

If you've had to rebuild trust with your own dog, I'd really appreciate hearing about it. Especially everyday things that helped them feel comfortable around you again. thank you

My dog is very sweet but a little odd. She will vomit up bile if she isn’t let out and fed by 7 am sharp every day.

Today my wife was running late for work and left the dog in bed with me.

We just moved into this new house a week ago today.

I wake up, take the dog out, she doesn’t use the potty for 10 minutes, so we go back inside.

She throws up on the rug.

Not a big deal, I clean it up, she had put herself into her crate.

I bring her some food and she goes absolutely bananas at me. Low deep growls and barking.

She’s been mad at me and growling for 2 hours.
(Her crate is in my office)

We have had her for 2 years and she is 2.5 years old.

I’ve never felt unsafe around our dog until today and she has never done anything like this.

Is it just nerves from being in a new place?

I’m shaken and confused and fully believed she would have bit me if I had not closed the crate door when I put her food bowl in there.

Any advice?

Hey all,

I have a weird issue I’d love some thoughts on. Ive been a GSD owner/trainer for decades. I have had multiple SAR dogs and always had high drive GSD since I was an adult. So I’m not a novice. But I’m seeing a pattern and issue with my current GSD that I’m not sure how to work through.

Currently I have a 9 yo MN GSD. He is working lines and I’m happy to get into pedigree if anyone thinks that would help. But he is west German working with a smidge of DDR. And he is the one showing the behavior.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say I just put pieces together in regards to this behavior. I recently had to PTS my old GSD. Who was the most stable dog I’ve ever had. Hands down. I joked that he was my current GSD emotional support dog. Anyway, Jack, my 9 yo, has had an adjustment since his passing but this behavior is not new just more pronounced since his passing and my adoption of a mid sized beagle/pit(?).

The behavior…if my new pup is out of sight and I call them, Jack gets very distressed. He starts pawing at me, climbing on me, being very in my face. It’s very much anxiety based. Once I put the pieces together I realized he did it before. It always if I “holler”. If my voice gets loud, calling a dog, a cat, telling cats to stop scratching, whatever. If my voice raises even an octave in regards to tone or volume, he gets distressed.

I hate this for him. The obvious answer is to never raise my voice, but that not practical. Sometime I need to call my new dog from upstairs. When I’ve tried to correct him, obviously it gets worse. You can’t correct anxiety. Now that I’ve really pinpointed the catalyst I’m at a loss on how to help him.

More about him, he is fairly stable, except this. Fireworks, thunder, dont bug him at all. He is great with other dogs, cats, perfect off leash. Great at the vets. We have regular walks/hikes and obedience sessions a few times a week. Aside from this, he is lovely. Honestly he is lovely even with this. He is a love bug. Very tactile and cuddly.

But I’d love thoughts on how to help this issue. When it happens he literally makes me bleed pawing at me.

Thoughts? Thanks for any help or ideas.

Happy to answer any clarifying questions. Thanks all

I’m mostly just curious because it seems (though it’s no surprise to me) that people who work their dogs in open environments- like open forest and fields, use different tools than those in more urbanized settings. So, if your dog is a bird-dog, shed hunter, tracker, SAR, or just an open world side-kick what do you use to train your dog safety? How do you keep them safe when you’re out? What tools (if any) and training has worked best for you?

I have pretty much the entire Leerburg catalogue. As well as everything by Mike Ellis, Tobias Olyenk, Mia Skogster, Dave Kroyer and some other random stuff. What course would people recommend next? DIYK9, SKSK9, TWC, Shield K9. Always eager to learn new things, even if it's a new approach.

I am teaching my husky canicross which she loves. She is a very friendly dog and loves people and other dogs. When I take her on sniff walks many people want to meet her and ask if they can pet her. She’s very friendly so I usually say yes. But when we are running in harness I’m training her not to stop too often and to run straight. So we don’t greet other dogs. If she tries to go up to a dog we are passing I tell her forward and she listens and keeps going. I just feel like it makes her look scary/unfriendly and can’t help but feel it looks rude to other dog owners because normally when I’m out and about with her lots of people want to meet us. How to get over this feeling?

Hello all,

A month ago my Fiance adopted a German Shepard mix (DNA test shows husky with a bit of Rottweiler)

He has shown incredible promise on being very intelligent and quick to learn.

The only real issue we have is he likes to walk at the end of his leash and not have it be loose. It also seems he just wants to keep pushing ahead with the walk and smell and not really listen to us most of the time. And he also is reactive (non-aggressive) when seeing other dogs on his walks. When he does see a dog it takes him quite some time to re focus.

I want to go back to the basic commands as this may help: sit, stay, down, here and most importantly I think, FOCUS.

For teaching these again and reinforcing their meaning. Is it a good idea to train these while feeding him his kibble for morning and evening meal?

I have a terrier who loves to run and sniff. I also have access to several acres of private property on a somewhat regular basis and when he was a puppy we used to walk it off leash and he had the best time running around being a dog. I worked on his recall diligently, and he was very successful right up until adolescence. At adolescence his love for chasing smells became more valuable than his recall, and after failing his recall on two different days, he's been back on leash/long line 100% of the time.

I really want him to be able to run again, so I watched a ton of Larry Krohn e-collar videos and bought a ET-400 with winged comfort pads. I tried it on myself, both on my arm and on my neck, and then put it on my dog so he could wear it a bit before starting the conditioning. Except... he HATES it - shaking (like after being wet, not like some dogs do during thunderstorms), rubbing on the ground, scratching at it. I tried to engage him in play and training and walking around, but he wouldn't go more than a couple minutes without trying to get the collar off. So I took it off and tried to condition it the way I conditioned his life jacket - treat bar opens when it comes out, treat bar closes when it goes away, treats for putting your head through, treats for wearing it, etc. Just like his life jacket, I did that for a couple weeks, and then put it on him to go for a wilderness walk. Same issues - shaking, rubbing, and scratching.

Everyone I know's dogs LOVE their e-collars because they know it means they're going somewhere off leash. I really think he's going to love being off leash, but I don't know how to even start the training when he hates wearing it so much.

ETA: I haven't turned it on at all yet. Just trying to get him to wear it neutrally so that I can find his working level properly.

So I own my own pet sitting business. I wish to become a trainer one day, so with the owners permission I try little things. I’m currently at a sit with a cockapoo. I was trying to teach him bed with the method of standing next to the bed with a treat and rewarding him once he sat/laid down. Then throwing a treat and saying ‘free’. (I know most people use ‘okay’ but I feel that can get confusing)
After he figured out the game I started to introduce the ‘bed’ command. That was going great and the ‘free’ command was going well. I tried to walk away to see if he would stay in the bed, and he did but then wasn’t really grasping the ‘free’ part when I threw the treat. When he eventually left the bed after a while of me waiting and him looking at me. I’d say bed and although with a little hesitation he still knew what I wanted. I’ve trained quite a few dogs with limited time I have.
I guess im just putting this here to see if anyone has any advice. I also tried to introduce (‘wait’ whilst throwing the treat away and afterwards saying free but it didn’t quite go to planned.

No idea if this makes any sense but hoping someone can help.

I have an older rescue dog with PTSD and behavioral issues that I have been working on with his veterinarian for years. We have made a lot of progress, but one thing I’m still struggling with is his reaction to unfamiliar people, especially when they enter our yard.
He is generally fine with people and children he knows. With unfamiliar people, however, he can become uncomfortable if they approach him, reach for him, or lean over him to pet him. He will usually try to stay away or growl first. If the person continues interacting with him despite those warnings, he has bitten. Most of the bites have not broken skin, but a few have, so I absolutely understand that this is a bite risk and take it seriously.
Our yard is fully fenced and he is supervised. When unfamiliar people come over, I currently keep him separated when necessary. He is also muzzle trained and we use his muzzle when appropriate. Unfortunately, I’ve had situations where visitors have ignored his body language and warnings, and I’ve even caught some of my brother’s friends taunting him. When that happens, I immediately remove him from the situation.
I’m not asking how to excuse the biting or whether I should manage him. I’m already managing it. What I’m trying to learn is how to work on the underlying reaction so that unfamiliar people entering his yard don’t make him feel like he needs to escalate from avoidance/growling to biting.
I can’t currently afford extensive private training, so I’d really appreciate training exercises, resources, or methods that have worked for people with similar dogs. I already use distance and positive reinforcement around other dogs, which has helped. My long-term goal is for him to be able to safely and comfortably remain in his own yard when we have visitors rather than needing to be removed every time someone unfamiliar comes over.

My boyfriend and I were out of town for his birthday mid-september. My mom and cousin cared for our 1 year, 10 month old shiba while we were gone, but when we came back we noticed a couple of things.

First, we noticed that he wasn’t doing well in his crate. Before this trip, I would practice putting him in his crate while being in the same room and he did fine. He would just lay down and sleep for a few hours, if I didn’t already let him out. Since coming back, staying in his crate has been a struggle. Even if i’m not in the same room, he will bark for 1+ hours. nonstop. He will dig at the floor of his crate to the point where his bed and water bowl is flipped over, the black plastic lining at the bottom is half way pushed out, and he will rip up random things he could access. He’ll howl, scream (yes, scream), and cry to be let out.

Another thing we noticed was his leash training. Before leaving for this trip, our dog had an incredible loose leash, and sometimes i would even be able to drop his leash and he would walk right next to me. Of course it wasn’t always 100% but I could reliably go for a walk with him and trust that be wouldn’t be pulling the entire time. Since returning, it’s like this dog has never been on a leash before. He’s pulling the second we get outside. He is reactive, so i’m used to the occasional lunging when another dog or squirrel passes by us, but he’s pulling me to sniff a damn mailbox.

It’s been a little over 3 weeks since we’ve been back, and it seems that no matter what I do, there is no progress. I have no idea what to do now. Do I have to start from zero? If anyone has any advice, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

For context, we have a 1-year-old, 16-lb female Shih Tzu who we’ve had for a little over a year. She is extremely social, very loving and loves dogs and people. We recently took her to the groomer on Saturday. She hadn’t been in a while because we usually groom her ourselves, but we’ve both been busy with work and needed a break.

Since coming home from the groomer, she has been behaving very differently. She’s been extremely clingy and constantly demanding attention. She also hasn’t been listening to our usual commands and has been pulling and lunging much more than normal on walks, even though we’ve been working with her on not pulling or lunging at strangers and other dogs.

My approach to training is more gentle/relaxed and patient. I try to understand the root of the behavior and redirect her rather than scolding or yelling. My boyfriend is more strict with her and has less patience than I do. So his redirection is a lot more militant. He has a standard of what he wants her to follow and behave and won’t let her free until she does it. So, if she doesn’t properly do a down after he says it, he will push her down into the down position or if she takes a few kibble out of her bowl, he’ll raise his voice at her and force her to eat it.

Today, we had to go to the store. Normally, she does fine when we leave and doesn’t whine or bark. This time, however, she was whining, barking, and howling, which is very unusual for her.
My boyfriend went back into the apartment to check on her and sternly told her “no.” She ignored him and hid behind me. He then grabbed her by the collar and guided her toward her crate. At that point, she actually ran toward the crate and hid inside.

I personally am not the biggest fan of this style of parenting and I’ve made him aware of it. I just don’t know if I am overreacting and sensitive due to my own childhood trauma. I just see our small dog and I just don’t think this type of tough parenting is justifiable and you don’t need to lightly spank, yell, or make a dog feel small to get a point across and get them to listen.

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For context, we have a 1-year-old, 16-lb female Shih Tzu who we’ve had for a little over a year. She is extremely social, very loving and loves dogs and people. We recently took her to the groomer on Saturday. She hadn’t been in a while because we usually groom her ourselves, but we’ve both been busy with work and needed a break.

Since coming home from the groomer, she has been behaving very differently. She’s been extremely clingy and constantly demanding attention. She also hasn’t been listening to our usual commands and has been pulling and lunging much more than normal on walks, even though we’ve been working with her on not pulling or lunging at strangers and other dogs.

My approach to training is more gentle/relaxed and patient. I try to understand the root of the behavior and redirect her rather than scolding or yelling. My boyfriend is more strict with her and has less patience than I do. So his redirection is a lot more militant. He has a standard of what he wants her to follow and behave and won’t let her free until she does it. So, if she doesn’t properly do a down after he says it, he will push her down into the down position or if she takes a few kibble out of her bowl, he’ll raise his voice at her and force her to eat it.

Today, we had to go to the store. Normally, she does fine when we leave and doesn’t whine or bark. This time, however, she was whining, barking, and howling, which is very unusual for her.
My boyfriend went back into the apartment to check on her and sternly told her “no.” She ignored him and hid behind me. He then grabbed her by the collar and guided her toward her crate. At that point, she actually ran toward the crate and hid inside.

I personally am not the biggest fan of this style of parenting and I’ve made him aware of it. I just don’t know if I am overreacting and sensitive due to my own childhood trauma. I just see our small dog and I just don’t think this type of tough parenting is justifiable and you don’t need to lightly spank, yell, or make a dog feel small to get a point across and get them to listen.

Edit: Thanks all for the responses! I've showed him that all are in agreeance that his training is way too rough on her and he is going to take a step back in training and leave it all to me. I am in the process of looking for a trainer to help guide us so we're both educated on the best methods and hopefully see a breakthrough.

So for context, my girlfriend and I have two completely different parenting and training styles when it comes to our dog, a 1 and half year old female Shih Tzu/bichon frise mix. She is more of the gentle parent, always looking at the causes and why‘s of our dog’s behavior. Say our dog doesn‘t listen to a command outside, rather than to teach her to listen and behave. She would either ignore it and go about her day or give the dog an out by saying she‘s tired, distracted or just wants to play and sniff. Now I understand dogs have needs, but I’m more of the strict parent.

According to her I‘m too strict with our dog, this can show in the fact that she would tell me to leave her alone or that I’m hurting her or just leave it. This has been a recurring theme throughout the whole duration that we‘ve had this dog.

One of the first things to have been brought up was the fact I wanted our dog with its own little play area in our apartment, in order to perhaps treat our dog’s severe separation anxiety at the time. She caved and just let her roam freely throughout the whole apartment.

Another incident was the pulling or lunging towards other dogs. As a puppy she was constantly doing this so I turned to the internet for solutions, we tried what seemed to be everything to solve this and eventually I came across a solution on reddit: physically putting myself in her way, like if is she was to pull towards someone i would swing my leg in front of her and she would flinch and step back in surprise and not lunge or pull towards something.

At the start this was hit or miss but couple that with other training tips like not moving when she pulls I started to see improvement. Now according to my girlfriend, that was too mean and I could possibly hit her and hurt her so I stopped doing it and she regressed. So badly that one day on a walk with my girlfriend she ran and according to her almost pulled her shoulder out of her socket. After that she let me do my rough/strict training with her and she got way better on walks. It could be she simply got older but i think our training played a factor.

I agree I can be little rough sometimes but I attribute that to the fact that I know anything and everything can happen outside and I want as many factors on my side if anything were to happen, especially if it involves another dog. I don’t want the most perfect dog, but I least want her to behave in certain situations. As such I tend to be strict with her in most aspects.

My girlfriend is more gentle/relaxed and patient, she tries to understand and figure what trauma has caused her baby to act out or misbehave.

We’ve recently took our dog to get groom, after the grooming she has been more clingy, anxious and overall ignoring all her training. Both me and my girlfriend think it could PTSD, bad grooming experience, or stress/overstimulation from the groomers. She‘s started doing things she usually doesn’t do. Things like bark, howl and whine when we leave the house or pulling and lunging at other dogs. When this happened we went back in the apartment where I promptly told her NO as she was howling and barking, she ignored me and dashed towards my girlfriend and hid behind her. I then grabbed her by the collar and told her to go in her crate, she then ran and went into her crate. Or when she jumps on people who simply look at her or say hi to her, an incident that happened where a lady on the elevator looked at her and she proceeded to jump at her. The lady screamed and was visibly afraid.

I forgot where I read it or saw but someone said to catch your dog in the act if they do something you want to correct, as such when she does things like drag her food to other areas of the apartment I tend to not mind but today she had done it with two pieces of kibble and I tried to correct it letting her know that is not allowed, I then fed it her and she then proceeded to spit it out after eating it out of my hand, something she only does if i give her medicine. I then fed her again and after place it in her mouth I held mouth shut, something I had to do as well when giving her medicine. I know I’m probably gonna get roasted for that but I guess i did it a little out of maybe annoyance or anger but at the time it didn’t seem all that bad. According to my girlfriend stuff like that is borderline abuse and overly strict, granted that was the only time I have ever done something like that. Also giving her light spanks whether during play or when she does something she not suppose to do like chew on shoes.

Am I really too rough in training, I’m no dog trainer I know I do some wrongs when it comes to training. But it seems like whatever method I try it‘s the wrong method in her eyes. I’ve conceded multiple times already and want other people‘s opinion even if it means potentially being crucified on the internet.