[Christopher Wong]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your great reply and pointers. I understand that it can be unreasonable to ask for the impossible/almost impossible from a dog depending on the context.

 

While I don’t know Hudson’s mix of breeds, I recently ordered a genetic testing kit to learn more. I also suspect he has some guard dog breeds in him.

As for his natural temperament (that I’ve noticed), he’s usually quite nervous when meeting new dogs. e.g. hair on his back perks up, movements are more flinchy, etc. He’s definitely much more comfortable with people and dogs he’s known longer.

Knowing all of this, I’ll control his environment/interactions better and work on his leave it. Hope this thread helps others as it helped me.

[Christopher Wong]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry I forgot to include relevant information:

where were you?
We were at the dog park. The only ones present were myself, my dog, the other dog and his owner.

Is this dog familiar to Hudson, is there a clear level of social status between them.
They haven’t met before, so they don’t have a clear social status between them. They sniffed each other a bit, but that was all.

Do you treat (food/toy/affection) your dog on the recall?
Yes. I followed Phase 3 recall steps with the e-collar and rewarded with affection. He didn’t respond to the No warning when I asked him to sit once he returned. Instead, he turned to face the dog who also approached.

 

Looking back at the situation, I can see where it could have gone wrong. 1. No clear social status between 2 dogs, 2. My dog’s natural tendency to resource guard, including myself, 3. Possible failure in leadership on my part.

I guess my next question is how I can approach these issues/behaviours properly.