Ben Attacked A Small Dog!

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

Ben is our 5-1/2 year old very quiet boy. Never demonstrated any aggression towards anything (other than a nip at Mercy for bugging him). We went to our second group training lesson on Saturday (more on that in a minute). I was alone with both of them as my husband was out of town. We were sitting there chatting nicely with a lady who had a tiny poodle when completely out of the blue Ben went for the poor thing (the poodle, not the lady!)! I was so shocked! Not five mins later the rest of the group came in led by a loose pomeranian. Ben lunged for the dog and came away with a mouth full of fur! I asked the trainer if I should take him home and she said no. He had his lesson a bit off to the side. He was around the small dogs the prior week, although my husband had him, but still, he didn't even look twice at them. Has anyone had their dog do a Jekyll - Hyde like this?

 

Speaking of the group training, I am thinking it was a bit of a waste of money. There are so many commands that they can't do, such as sit. Of course, sit leads to down so that makes that tricky. I wish we just had a few private lessons but those are pricey. Actually, all I want them to do is come and stay. I would be happy with that. We are going to go to the remainder of the lessons but we are also going to start our own trainig. It was totally silly, I know, but when we first got them I was so afraid to ask them to do anything. I thought of them as these tremendously sensitive dogs whose feelings would be hurt if we asked them to do anything or corrected them, etc. I now know that was a goofy thing to think. So we are now, 7 months into it, beginnig the training. Better late than never!!!

[TheFullHouse]

Sounds like Ben was a bit stressed being in that environment, especially without your husband present. It was only the second class so that doesn't surprise me at all. The next class may be totally different if your husband is along with you. It's easier to train one at a time than two I would think.

[robinw]

It might be good to continue with the group training. Maybe the trainer can show you what to do if Ben goes after another dog, and maybe being in that environment would help acclimate him to small dogs. Group training could be good! Phoenix passed with flying colours and he even learned how to sit! Neither Loca nor Treasure learned a thing but they had fun and it was good for them to get out and be around other dogs.

[OwnedBySummer]

I agree, the socialization is excellent for them.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

Perfect opportunity to teach "leave it"

[BootsyCollins]

They absolutely can sit! I'd stick with it and talk to the trainer about what might have prompted it, what signs to look for, and how to prevent / react.

 

good luck!

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

One other thing, greyhounds can sit. Greyhounds can be taught to do anything any other dog can do. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Stairs, jumping in and out of a vehicle, sit, stay, these are a few of the things that all three of my hounds do as well as the fosters that I have in and out of my home.

[Sambuca]

I agree greys can sit, BUT, when we were in training I tried to position Bu and he snapped at me. I think it hurt him. He had some sort of hip injury while racing and I think sitting bothers that, so not all can sit as easily as others.

 

When we were in obedience class, Bu napped the whole time. I had to wake him up to work with him. It was hilarious yet frustrating.

 

eta: I think the fact that it's been 7 months and they trust you more, will help with the training because you're more bonded.

Edited January 18, 2011 by Sambuca

[PrairieProf]

Just to note, plenty of greyhounds can learn to sit (mine did, it took me a while to figure out how to teach her -- getting her facing downhill on a hill did the trick) and it's easy to teach down from a stand -- greys typically go down in front first. There is no reasons greyhounds can't do great in group classes -- mine did, though I was a little frustrated the first couple of weeks. And it is great bonding with your dog to work on training. We've done LOTS of classes and it's fun. Don't undersell Ben or yourself.

 

And if he tends to be reactive to small dogs in stressful situations that's exactly the kind of thing you need to learn strategies to avert and to practice in a group setting. Avoidance is going to provide any long-term advantages.

Edited January 18, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Guest Swifthounds]

Perfect opportunity to teach "leave it"

 

And, barring injury or infirmity, all greyhounds can and will sit. They won't sit, however, if you talk the both of you into believing they can't/won't.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Don't discount your dog being able to sit. Some hate doing it, but unless they have an injury they all can do it.

 

I think the lessons are good for you guys to continue so he can learn to be around small dogs.

 

My girl is exceedingly food motivated and I have been able to train her to do all manner of behaviors. I started by teaching at mealtimes using her dinner. I began with the simple task of the "touch" command. Touch is easy because all you have to do is hide a piece of food in your hand and reward the dog with it when they touch your hand with their nose (which they will invariably do to smell the item). Pairing the action with the reward and the command until you can remove the food and just get them to touch your hand by asking. This is a really good beginning "trick" as it's simple for them to learn and it really actually teaches them how to learn. Once "touch" clicked, I was able to move on to more demanding tasks.

 

Edited January 18, 2011 by Jayne

[PrairieProf]

I agree greys can sit, BUT, when we were in training I tried to position Bu and he snapped at me.

 

I think that's the wrong kind of training if you're trying to push the dog into position. I'm not a training expert but I don't know any positive reinforcement trainers who do that.

[Guest DarkHorse]

Just a question: was the poodle off-leash and/or somewhat approaching Ben? Not even in an "advancing on him" way, but just moving closer? I find with my two that when an odd behaviour repeats itself, finding what's similar in the situations helps me identify the problem. Obviously the stress of the class would factor in, but a small off-leash (or one appearing uncontrolled) dog approaching might be another part of the trigger.

Edited January 18, 2011 by DarkHorse

[Guest ShanYu]

About the sitting... all I have to do is *think* cookie and Nike will do a spectacular series of perfect sits...

[MP_the4pack]

Everybody's commented on the sitting thing, so I won't go there. However, Ben might finally be getting comfortable enough with his surroundings that he's starting to push the envelope. And little fuzzy things might be getting interesting instead of him just staring off because he was nervous.

 

My Jade goes after anything small and fuzzy, but small and smooth coat is just fine. No problem there.

[kudzu]

No, not like that. However, I've had several dogs jump up or get very excited over little dogs being held or sitting somewhere elevated. Little dogs acting erratic near an already stressed or excited Grey might trigger something like that. I would not give up but would be very cautious at the next class.

 

And, barring injury or infirmity, all greyhounds can and will sit. They won't sit, however, if you talk the both of you into believing they can't/won't.

When I adopted my first Grey she was 4.5 yo. I taught her to sit. Had to approach it differently than how I taught my retrievers to sit but she learned it fairly quickly. Never occurred to me there would be a reason she couldn't/wouldn't sit. I then adopted a a 10 yo & taught him to sit within a few weeks. He also learned how to down, but not from a sit. I taught down from a stand.

 

Now I have a new boy, 3 yo. Teaching him to sit has been much harder than the prior two put together. We had our 2nd obedience class this past weekend. He was the only dog that did not already know sit. Until last night he would sit on any dog bed in the house in anticipation of meals but would sit no where else. No luring will work. He only sat at meal times. (Don't ask how I managed to teach him that because I don't know.) Last night we had our first agility class. Again, I had the only dog who did not know sit. [sigh] I look at him & say out loud, "When are you going to learn to sit?" He looks at me... looks at me... looks at me while his butt slowly sinks, plop! He sat. lol And he did it several more times last night. Then today at breakfast & then dinner I tried, just as I have been doing for days, taking him well away from any dog bed & wait for him to sit. Both times he sat. Somehow between breakfast yesterday morning & agility class last night the lightbulb finally flickered on.

 

If you want to train at home I highly recommend Sue Ailsby's website. Sue is an excellent Canadian trainer. Her Training Levels program can't be beat. Here's the link: Original Training Levels It is currently being revamped. The beginning of the new version is up but there are no details. However, the original version has all you need. If you have questions, just join the Yahoo Group that goes with it & folks will offer help.

 

Don't give up. Once they start to learn how to learn there is no stopping these hounds.

[Guest mirinaaronsmom]

Aaron was an obedience school dropout. Since he was my first dog ever, I enrolled him 2 months after adopting him. After the first couple of (all-breed) classes with him not doing a sit or down, the trainers just ignored us (he was the best behaved of the bunch). I was told that I should be resigned to the fact that he never would sit on command. Well, we stopped going and worked on our own and he earned his CGC, but it left a bad taste in my mouth as far as non-grey trainers go.

 

I'm thinking I might try it again (with a different group) with Mojo since he's so reactive to other dogs (not aggressive, just really excited). I'm hoping it will help him to get more desensitized to them, and create a stronger bond between us.

 

I hope it was a one-time thing for Ben. They are so quick, aren't they?

[GreyTzu]

They absolutely can sit! I'd stick with it and talk to the trainer about what might have prompted it, what signs to look for, and how to prevent / react.

 

good luck!

 

 

One other thing, greyhounds can sit. Greyhounds can be taught to do anything any other dog can do. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Stairs, jumping in and out of a vehicle, sit, stay, these are a few of the things that all three of my hounds do as well as the fosters that I have in and out of my home.

 

 

Perfect opportunity to teach "leave it"

 

And, barring injury or infirmity, all greyhounds can and will sit. They won't sit, however, if you talk the both of you into believing they can't/won't.

 

Yup, they can sit and/or learn anything other dogs can. 7 of our 8 greyhounds sat or sit on command. Dancer had us trained that when we said "Dancer SIT." She would look at us with her big lipid brown eyes and a forlorn look on her face and we would give her a treat. :lol

[Guest Zero]

Had a similar thing happen to me once. We had our young (at the time girl) out on a leash when bunch of children came running up to pet our girl. They had a Pomeranian, off leash of course, that came running up with them so of course my Holly got wound up and had me tangled up in the leash. While attempting to extract myself I hear that Pomeranian start SCREAMING. I turn around and Holly is just standing there looking at me with that dog in her mouth, and his little legs were sticking out kicking around. My only explanation is he did look an awful lot like one of her squeaky toys. Luckily she was only just holding onto him, and never even broke his skin (phew!). It was a stressful situation to be sure, but it was actually kind of funny....that look on Holly's face was like "what should I do with this?"

[GeorgeofNE]

One other thing, greyhounds can sit. Greyhounds can be taught to do anything any other dog can do. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Stairs, jumping in and out of a vehicle, sit, stay, these are a few of the things that all three of my hounds do as well as the fosters that I have in and out of my home.

 

Exactly. It's a complete myth that Greyhounds can't (or won't) sit. George is the most stubborn dog I've ever met, and even he learned how to sit, on command, in just a few days. I train him exactly the way I've trained every other dog we've ever had.

 

Quirky or not, they're still dogs.

[silverfish]

One other thing, greyhounds can sit. Greyhounds can be taught to do anything any other dog can do. Don't let anyone tell you any different. Stairs, jumping in and out of a vehicle, sit, stay, these are a few of the things that all three of my hounds do as well as the fosters that I have in and out of my home.

 

Most can, some can't, especially if they've had injuries. I will never ask Sid to sit, of course, although he occasionally does so on his own, it's a lot of work for one hip.

 

As for the little dog thing, I really wouldn't stop taking him. As others have said it's an excellent opportunity to acclimatise him and do a little 'leave it' training. Do take advantage of the trainer being there to help you with the best way to approach it, and clearly you don't want him taking chunks out of someone else's dog. If she wants you to keep totally separate and not get any closer (with training) to the other dogs I think I might see if I could find someone who was willing to work more with you on that, but even being in the same room and having to learn to ignore them while concentrating on his tasks will help him.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to be handling two by myself at a training class though, not if one was tricky. You really need to be paying attention all the time to what your dog is doing/thinking or you're not getting the best out of it - and may in fact be teaching him bad habits if he gets to ignore you or switch off.

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

Just a question: was the poodle off-leash and/or somewhat approaching Ben? Not even in an "advancing on him" way, but just moving closer? I find with my two that when an odd behaviour repeats itself, finding what's similar in the situations helps me identify the problem. Obviously the stress of the class would factor in, but a small off-leash (or one appearing uncontrolled) dog approaching might be another part of the trigger.

 

The poodle was on her owner's lap. Poor thing; she is there because she is afraid of everything-including other dogs! Ben probably set her back a few weeks! (:

 

Everyone is right about the sit. Just this morning Mercy sat; it was "crooked" but definitely a sit. I praised her up and down for a good "sit!"

[Guest JarBear]

Perfect opportunity to teach "leave it"

 

One of the most important commands IMO!

[Guest Cardiffcouple]

Had a similar thing happen to me once. We had our young (at the time girl) out on a leash when bunch of children came running up to pet our girl. They had a Pomeranian, off leash of course, that came running up with them so of course my Holly got wound up and had me tangled up in the leash. While attempting to extract myself I hear that Pomeranian start SCREAMING. I turn around and Holly is just standing there looking at me with that dog in her mouth, and his little legs were sticking out kicking around. My only explanation is he did look an awful lot like one of her squeaky toys. Luckily she was only just holding onto him, and never even broke his skin (phew!). It was a stressful situation to be sure, but it was actually kind of funny....that look on Holly's face was like "what should I do with this?"

 

 

I can see it now! Your post totally cracked me up! When Ben had the fur in his mouth a tiny part of me wanted to laugh - tiny, very tiny.

[Guest sweetpea]

Don't worry that you waited 7 months to start obedience, I waited a full year to no ill effect.

 

My goal for the class was to learn how to communicate with Sweetpea, and I wanted to work on recall.

 

Well, Sweetpea now does what I want before I know I want it, but her recall, it's just awful!

 

In the house, or on leash, she is the best behaved dog ever. (Okay, her 'stay' is a little rusty,

she just wants to be where I am, who can resist that?)

 

We don't even go to off-leash parks anymore, partly because she switches off. I mean, totally off, like

I'm some stranger just following her around the park 'cause she's purty. She doesn't hear me, she doesn't pay

any attention to me at all. It's really unnerving, and annoying too!

 

I'm not a fan of saying certain dog breeds can't be trained to do certain things, but certain dog

personalities might be better at some things than others. Sweetpea's personality is better at

being independent when she knows there's nothing I can do about it.

 

So, go to your classes, HAVE FUN, and get what works for you out of it.

 

Good luck,

Buzzy and da 'Pea

 

p.s. Sweetpea would shut down the minute I got frustrated, so remember, if it's not fun for you, they will

pick up on that.