jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 6:53 PM |
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I sure hope someone can help us.
We have had our rat terrier, Claire, for almost 2 months. We got her from a shelter. She's generally a very sweet dog and well behaved. We have taught her how to be mostly a good dog....except, we fail miserably, when it comes to going on a walk. She's beyond hyper. She becomes a very different dog - it's as if she has ADD for dogs. She barks and leaps into the air when she sees a bird, squirrel, car and sometimes for no reason at all. When she's not barking and leaping she's whining. Constantly. She freaks when we pass other dogs as well. We try to teach her not to do these things....we have used a harness, gentle leader, treats, we try making her stop and sit. But we get nowhere. My husband says...maybe she's just not meant to walk. But we all know, a tired dog is a happy, well-behaved dog.
Someone...anyone...we don't know what to do.
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Lucy's Colleen
Bratty Ratty
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| 04/26/2007 7:16 PM |
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| I really do hope someone on here will have some helpful hints. The only thing that I could think of is try clicker trainer her. Meaning use a clicker to click every time she does what you want her to and then treat her. The click identifies the desirable behavior. So for instance when she walks next to you click, then treat. I'm sure others will have more helpful tips. |
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Colleen
Flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7797281@N05/ |
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jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 7:24 PM |
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| Oh I forgot to include that. Yes, we've tried that too. |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/26/2007 7:36 PM |
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Wow...may be Nora (our training moderator) will have some good tips for you. I know she's very busy right now, but she checks in fairly often. Have you tried a professional trainer?
By the way, welcome! And bless you for rescuing a rattie  We'd love to see her pic!!! |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 04/26/2007 7:38 PM |
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| ...yes...WELCOME to you and Miss Claire. How old is she? Could it be that maybe she was never walked before? My Cookie used to be very ADD on the leash, but she has calmed down quite a bit now (she just turned 2). But as Tracey said...Nora should have some great advice for you. |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 04/26/2007 7:40 PM |
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| ...and also, not to make light of the situation, but reading your post gave me a visual of her "leaping into the air when she see's anything" that just made me laugh. Gotta love the ratties!!! |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 7:45 PM |
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Thanks Nat. Yes, I'm sure our neighbors watch us walk by and laugh. It's a freak show!
And yes, we are currently enrolled in school at Petsmart. We are doing everything that we know how to do. We just don't know how to handle this! |
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Nat
Rat-A-Tat-Tat
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| 04/26/2007 7:54 PM |
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| Do you have an offleash dogpark...or somewhere you could take her to let her run it all out of her system before you walk her? |
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xoxo,
-Nat
http://www.NatInAustin.com
http://www.myspace.com/cookieinaustin
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jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 8:17 PM |
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| The only thing is...she doesn't do well with other dogs either. And I'm not sure we have one of those. The other day we went to the park early and let her run around the gated tennis courts. The only problem...she saw a crack in the fence and escaped! She ran around the park for a while, ignoring us until she finally got thirst and drank water from a ditch. We were then able to catch her. |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/26/2007 8:25 PM |
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| I see her pic in your profile She is beautiful !!!! I just know Nora will have some good advice for you - if I "see" her here, I'll point out your post so she can give you some tips |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 9:01 PM |
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| On another note...how do I get her picture to appear on my messages? |
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DaisysMom
Moderator
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| 04/26/2007 9:30 PM |
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| Go to My Profile, Edit Profile - the same place where you added the pic to your profile, there is a place to upload a pic for your avatar. |
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Tracey - Darlin' Daisy's Mom
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rattytatty
Newbie
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| 04/26/2007 11:21 PM |
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| Your rattie is beautiful ! I'm wondering if this is a behavior Claire has had since you got her, or is it a new development? It's hard to know from your words how bad the situation is... but it sounds pretty severe. I very definitely use a prong collar in situations such a this, but I do NOT recommend someone going out and purchasing one who doesn't know how to use it. I would recommend you find a trainer in your area (not someone from Petsmart... I'm talking about a personal one-on-one dog trainer). It may cost more, but it's well worth the investment! Get him/her to show you how to use the prong collar as a training aid. You should not need more than a few sessions, and I guarantee you .. you will see a difference! But please consult a trainer and don't go out and purchase a prong collar and try to do it yourself. Find out how to use it... then use it to correct the behavior issues you are experiencing with Claire! These are smart little dogs and they catch on quick. With the right (and consistent) training, this behavior can be corrected. |
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swatson6
Attention Starved
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| 04/27/2007 7:25 AM |
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| Not a lot of help here, just wanted to say welcome and she is a cutie!!! |
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Sarah
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jennabella36
Newbie
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| 04/27/2007 7:30 AM |
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| Thanks for the help Nora. We'll definitely have to look into that. Nice meeting you all! Right now Claire is challenging herself in the mirror. Funny girl. |
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CrazyMan
Ratterific
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| 04/27/2007 8:28 AM |
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| if you are looking for good training i think bark busters is the best....a little expensive but we enrolled my dogs and they come to your house any time you want for the life of the dog to work on anything! we did petsmart too and although they are good and helpful i found bark busters is what really worked! it sounds weird but they teach you to growl at the dog and it works wonders! on walks they have you use these kind of choke collars and it has worked for us...but i agree don't use these unless you know the proper way!!! Good luck....love the rattie craziness! |
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betspath
Rattie
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| 04/27/2007 8:31 PM |
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We had a heck of a time getting Maggie to follow our lead when walking. She was also a rescue dog. She was found on the side of a highway eating a pinecone!
It comes down to patience and not backing down to her "Alpha" mentality. She simply didn't know how to walk. She'd been on her own and had no concept of what walking with a human meant. We just took her for small walks, not moving forward until she understood we were not moving forward until she honored the lead/leash. We held the leash just about waist high, creating a line of boundary. Pretty soon, she got the hang of it and now the word "walk" brings complete and utter excitement. If I get her harness out with velcro and pull it apart, she runs from where ever she is in the house, knowing that sound means a walk. Patience, and making her small walks into longer walks did the trick. Use the word "Walk" as an incentive. Make it fun and she'll do anything to get out there.
Best of luck,
Betsy and Maggie |
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Susan
Terrier Terror
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| 04/27/2007 10:35 PM |
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Posted By betspath on 04/27/2007 8:31 PM
We had a heck of a time getting Maggie to follow our lead when walking. She was also a rescue dog. She was found on the side of a highway eating a pinecone!
It comes down to patience and not backing down to her "Alpha" mentality. She simply didn't know how to walk. She'd been on her own and had no concept of what walking with a human meant. We just took her for small walks, not moving forward until she understood we were not moving forward until she honored the lead/leash. We held the leash just about waist high, creating a line of boundary. Pretty soon, she got the hang of it and now the word "walk" brings complete and utter excitement. If I get her harness out with velcro and pull it apart, she runs from where ever she is in the house, knowing that sound means a walk. Patience, and making her small walks into longer walks did the trick. Use the word "Walk" as an incentive. Make it fun and she'll do anything to get out there.
Best of luck,
Betsy and Maggie
 She must be part of the pinecone cell phone Rattie club! |
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ANYTHING WORTH DOING IS WORTH OVERDOING Mom of eight, only three left at home! Pack leader to ten ratties: Maggie, Mysty, Berry, Simon, Ceecee and five puppies, Star,Sari, Bluebelle, Double stuf,and Snortie. As well as Ginger the Border Collie and a herd of turkeys! |
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