Stressed Rescue LabradorXCollie

Hi JeanH and thanks for your post,
I would also like to know a little bit more about your dogs daily routine in order to help you better. However from the information you have provided so far I think you have four problems to work on:
1) as you say carra does not see you as alpha dog so she is difficult to manage
2) carra does not seem to have any general obedience
3) carra has not had the opportunity to be well socialised
4) your dog is highly intelligent and active and is not being stimulated enough


Looking at solutions

[B]Alpha Training[/B]
Following the alpha dog training will definitely help show the dog its position. It is important to remember the key points of dominance.

In a wild dog pack the dominant pack member controls :
-access to food
-access to favoured sleeping areas
-any interactions with lower pack members
-access to favoured items such as toys

In order to show your dog his position as bottom of the pack you and your whole family can take advantage of these keys points. For example

1) Carra must be the last to eat at every meal and should never get treats from the table.

2) She should never walk through doors before you.

3) If she is lying in the hallway or anywhere you have to get past make her move. If you think she will snap leave a lead on so you can move her whilst maintaining a bit of distance.

4) When you arrive home completely her for 15 minutes. Don't look at her, talk to her or pat her. After this go to her and give her some quiet attention only as long as she is relaxed and calm.

Only interact with the dog on your terms. If your or someone else is petting the dog or playing with it and it becomes aggressive or badly behaved immediately remove your attention from the dog by either removing yourself from the area or moving the dog to another area. You should do this without displaying any emotion such as anger just be a calm but decisive pack leader and the dog will appreciate knowing where it stands. Similarly you can assert your dominance by not allowing access to beds and couches or by only bringing out favourite toys when you want to play and removing them when you are finished.

Finally, read our bonus book "Secrets to becoming the Alpha Dog". This book will give you a good understanding of the hierarchical nature and behavior of your dog, and will demonstrate to you how important it is for you to teach your dog that YOU are in charge, and not her. She will be much happier for it.

[B]General Obedience[/B]
General obedience is important for two reasons, first it helps enforce your status as alpha dog, and secondly it is a great mental challenge for your intelligent dog. The basic commands in a logical order are:
1. Sit 2. Come 3. Okay and No 4. Hold and Leave.

The training of these important commands is covered in detail in the e-book, Secrets to Dog Training but here they are in brief. 


Sit: This is the simplest command to teach and very important in the early education stages. It introduces your dog to training and teaches them to focus on voice and hand commands. You need your dog close to you, still and attentive. It can be taught easily as it build on a natural behavior. Down is basically an extension of the “sit” movement and can be taught as soon as “sit” is mastered.

Come: The recall command “Come” is one of the most important commands you can teach your dog. It’s also one of the hardest for your dog to master. Whenever you ask her to “Come”, you’re asking her to leave something she finds enjoyable and interesting to return to you. That’s a pretty big ask and it calls for a lot of training.

Okay and No: “Okay” is the command that releases your dog from training. After that she’s on her own time. “No” or a throaty “AHH” is the only command which expresses your displeasure. Pick one and use it consistently. Once the wrong behavior stops – praise her to show you’re pleased she stopped.

Hold and Drop it: Teaching your dog to take and keep an object in her mouth – and release it on command – is a very useful core skill.

Start with the basics and resist moving on too quickly. Revisit earlier exercises to refresh your dog’s memory. Dogs learn by repetition so it will take several training sessions before an action can become automatic. Also refresher sessions will be needed so that the response is not lost Having just one trainer is best. Keep training sessions short and enjoyable, a few minutes several times a day, so that your dog maintains concentration throughout. Quality not quantity is the golden rule. Because your dog has the mental capacity of a toddler, be sure to praise quickly so your reaction links to the dog’s actions – no more than 2-3 seconds.
Always finish a training session on a positive note. If your dog is struggling with a new command finish the session by asking her to do commands she is familiar with and praising warmly when she responds correctly.

[B]Socializing[/B]
Once you’re satisfied with your dog’s obedience, try socializing her with other dogs – ideally dogs with calm, confident temperaments. If you think he may react by biting or fighting then consider using a muzzle as well. This will have to be a gradual process where the new dog is introduced at a neutral venue and from a distance.
Have your dog ‘Sit’ with the other dog in sight but a long way away. Treat her and praise her for following your command. Keep running through commands with her, you want to keep her focus and attention on you, while a friend gradually brings the other dog closer. If your dog looses focus and begins to react to the other dog have your friend move back to reduce the distraction. The idea of this training is to show your dog that other dogs are not a problem and focusing on you is more rewarding. You could even start this training using the other dogs in the household. You can use the same method to socialize Carra with new people as well.

When out walking, use a head collar such as a Gentle Leader or Halti because it gives you more control over your dog’s movements. As you approach another dog or person praise your dog for being calm. If she becomes upset and barks or lunges immediately turn and walk in the opposite direction without saying anything or reprimanding. This will show your dog that behaving calmly is what you expect and what it also in her best interests.

If you react to a strange dog by tightening your dog’s leash, or speaking sharply to her, you tell her you’re very wary. Her tension and aggression levels will increase. So hold a slack leash at all times. Speak to your dog in a happy, confident voice.

[B]Keeping her stimulated[/B]
There are a number of things you can try:
-Kongs or treat balls stuffed with food so she has to work out how to get the food out.
-Chews
-Lots of toys on a rotational basis so she doesn’t get bored with them
-Hide her meal throughout your house so she has to hunt for it
-teach her how to play hide and seek once her general obedience is good. Have her sit and stay in the front door way then hide in the house out of her sight, even round a corner will do to start with then tell her “ok” “come” and have her look for you. Praise or give her a treat when she finds you.
-give her things to do while she is outside on the long lead such as toys, scattered food to find or other things
-once you have worked on socialization letting her play with the other dogs regularly should provide a much needed outlet

I hope this gives you somewhere to start, let me know if you have any further information or questions and let us know how you get on.

Hi again and thanks for the extra detail,
It sounds as though you just need to work on her responses to visitors. I really think the time out technique will work for your dog if you can find a place to give her time out in. Can you use a bathroom or laundry room? You can then practice with your families help by simply having one of them knock on the door as if they are a visitor and then treating her for being calm and giving her time out as soon as she is not calm. You can practice this several times a day until people coming home or visiting are no longer a cue for her misbehavior. As for a hard copy of the books as far as I am aware this is not available but I will enquire and let you know if it is in fact possible, otherwise you could consider getting it printed off and bound at a print shop.

Hi again
Hopefully this alternative will help. Getting a head collar such as a halti would really help as it will give you full control of her without any physical effort and without having to pull and fight against her. Have her on the lead and halti and have someone from your family knock on the door pretending to be a visitor. As soon as she reacts shake a can with some coins or nails in it to make a loud noise and surprise her then ask her to sit and when she does give her a treat and lots of praise. This is the alarm/no-redirect method and is a useful alternative if time out is not a possibility. Once you have worked on the signal of knocking on the door ask them to help you practice desensitizing her to the sounds of cars driving into the driveway. This will take many regular sessions but you should soon see improvements. As she gets better you can practice without the head collar and lead. The general idea is to make listening to you much more interesting and rewarding than worrying about noises.

Use the same method when actual visitors are coming, if you do not know they are coming beforehand you will obviously not be able to have her on the lead and head collar but you can still use the can surprise and redirect her with a command and treats and praise.

Hopefully this method will be more suited to your situation, let me know what you think.