Running away and other things

[mrfantastic]

Hi, Everyone,
I'm new here and I probably should've found and joined this a long time ago but here I am now!
Here's the background on her. We bought her from our breeder when she was 6 weeks old or whatever the minimum age is to bring them home. We bought her fully expecting her to bond with the kids and be their dog, or at least one of theirs. But she bonded with me, the mom, and I'm not going to lie, I wasn't completely disappointed . She's mine. She sleeps on the floor by my side of the bed, she follows me everywhere, she has anxiety problems if I'm away although that's been significantly reduced over the years. Anything I want her to herd, she goes after, for the most part. She knows that I don't like bugs, especially flying ones and she won't rest until she kills/eats them. Anything that makes me unhappy she attacks. Here's part of the problem... that includes my kids! I have three kids ages 1,3 and 5 and they have a lot of energy... whenever I'm upset with them she goes after them and bites them unless I call her off. But I have to repeat the command 3-4 times before she listens to me. This is with everything. She's my dog but she doesn't listen to anything I say. It's like I'm hers to protect but she doesn't listen to me. She'll attack if I tell her to but she won't stop. She'll get very aggressive with any stranger who gets near me (including the fast food drive-through) but she won't read off my emotions and stay calm if I'm calm. It's really annoying. If someone comes to the house she won't feed off of me and stay calm if I am or alert if I'm alert. But she does take commands from my husband and listens to him. If he's home she'll remain calm and run around strangers just fine. If we take her to the store she'll listen to him and walk around no problems. If I take her to the store by myself she barks at everybody and/or whines, insanely. And then there's the running away... the whole reason I joined the forum to post.
She runs away from me a lot. Not so much if she's outside with my husband but if she's outside with me she'll run away for hours. Remember how protective I said she was over me? Well, one time I had a contractor here doing some yard work and she ran off and ditched me for 5 hours while he was here with me. Then, 5 hours later when she returned, she ran right up to him barking and then bit him. She didn't break the skin and fortunately the guy is very used to his own guard dogs but still. She'd never done that before (and hasn't since). I mean, she left me while he was here and then came back aggressive on him when she;d already seen him. She runs away a lot when she's in heat also. Today she's been gone for almost 12 hours which is by far the longest and she's never been gone past dark (and it's hunting season). So if she comes back does anyone have any advice for me? The way I see it, it's a two way street. If she can't be separated from me because she wants to protect me or just not be alone and then I feel that she also has to return the obligation and not ditch me whenever she feels like it. But she's not an active participant in our conversations . Any advice on any of my problems??

[HeatherH]

To me you have the tail wagging the dog. Could you take her in for Ob training? I'd put her on a leash at all time until she gets it. Especially with such small children. That biting I wouldn’t tolerate as well as running off for hours. You need to be careful you could get charged and that poor dog taken away. Nope. I would make sure she's at my feet or at least in the same room with me and not alone with the kids. I'm about to have my first grandchild in a month and I'm waiting to see how Dutch handles it. He seems not to bother them when we're out and about. If you have the leash at least you can grab her or step on the leash if she doesn't listen. Don't be mean with any of it because they pick up on tone and demeanor. Generally when Dutch runs out of the gate (he stays on the property) I open the van door for a fleeting second he thinks we're going for a ride. If you make her your permanent shadow it doesn’t take long for them to get it. If they want their freedom they need to behave themselves. As for bonding with your kids usually the bond with one person (the one that feeds them the most) and tolerate the rest. Leaving your dog outside while you’re in a store good luck with that I’m still working on it, they don’t like separation. To me she’s bored how much exercise is she getting. These dogs are not sedentary.
As for eating flying things watch for bees they will sting them. You don’t want to find out that the hard way. Poor thing.
Again some training and lots of exercising

[Dutchringgirl]

Hi !

This is how DS are, they are a one human dog. That dosnt mean they wont play with others, but you are it now. I am Thalies person, my kids get so mad when Thalie dosnt listen to them or follow them. She is glued to me. Sadie is glued to Thalie, so its a train.

I know you didnt see the letting her get the bugs for you lead into the kids, but it did. She has a job and now you want to take it away from her. This breed herds and protects, that is what they do. That is what years and years of breeding has produced, they are not " family " dogs, even though many of us here have them as family dogs, but we know the limitations of that.

She is disrespecting you and dosnt see you as her pack leader, she sees your hubby as the pack leader. You need to let her know, what you say means something.. She needs to listen to you the FIRST time, and if she dosnt after the first time, you need to do something about that.

I dont thing she is protective of you, she is taking advantage of you.

She needs to be on a leash at ALL times and tied to YOU and YOU are the boss. You tell her what to do and if she dosnt, then do something. She is NOT to be loose outside anymore.

Recalls now are your #1 priority to be teaching her, a thousand times a day. Start her on a regular leash, and she is to follow you every where, yes, even the bathroom, and she is to be in a down, while you are...........you know.

Outside, recall, recall and recall more. Then graduate to a longer leash, a thousand more recalls. I have a 10' lead they are on until they are so solid in their recall that they can be chasing a squirrel and turn on a dime and come back to a sit in front of me.

My girls can be in a full run to me and if I yell " DOWN" they leave skid marks and are in a down in a second.

Its really not as hard as you think, they learn super fast.

[steph90]

I have had similar problems with reactivity in my DS mix. Something I would highly recommend is doing some training targeting settles, and desensitization to activity. Look up Karen Overall's "Relaxation Protocol". The idea is to show the dog that calm behavior is more rewarding than crazy behavior. I use a similar method with my dog every single day, trying to practice in different locations as much as possible. Of course, begin in the house with no distractions, then gradually add distractions when your dog is consistently successful. Once your dog has mastered calmness in the house with distractions, like your kids running around, begin back at square one out in the yard. Your dog should progress a bit faster in the new environment. Once you have the hang of that, try in the park and so on. You will also begin to notice changes in your dog's overall state of arousal in different situations. My dog used to be fairly reactive to kids and dogs, and I didn't address it at the early stages and it developed into a more serious behavior later on due to his frustration and my lack of guidance. Now I reward any display of relaxation in a challenging situation and we are making slow but obvious progress. Also if you want to keep your dog's drive, this isn't going to affect it. Mine will still get as hyped as ever, but it is just not his constant state, and its not at his every whim (Like when my nephew runs up to him, or someone is walking a dog down the street). It seems tedious, but it is a good exercise for you as well as your dog, because it trains you to notice and reward good behaviors that we generally tend to overlook, like laying quietly. I hope this helps, good luck!

[Raven]

The way I see it, it's a two way street. If she can't be separated from me because she wants to protect me or just not be alone and then I feel that she also has to return the obligation

Wow.

I either never saw this thread or purposely backed off. Last known, dog was missing for 12 hours. During hunting season. Hope R.I.P. isn't in order, dog is safe.

[Dutchringgirl]

The way I see it, it's a two way street. If she can't be separated from me because she wants to protect me or just not be alone and then I feel that she also has to return the obligation

Wow.

hmmmmm We are the animals guardians and it is up to us to care for the animals, it is not for us to expect the animals to understand the rules that humans set. I dont think that comment is fair.