training classes

[christineleclerc]

help!! i recently adopted a golden retriever who was neglected and possibly abused and he was once very scared of EVERYTHING especially korean men. it has been about 3 weeks since we got him and he is building up more and more confidence every day. now, we have noticed that he has become aggressive towards certain people (especially korean military police) and he has growled at a couple of them and lunged at them. this is really unusual for him because he barely even barks at home but i am afraid that the more his confidence builds the more he will become the "protector" so...
i was wondering if anyone knows of any training classes (that are hopefully in English) to take the pooch to (and I possibly need them as well) because I really need to stop this before it gets worse.
it also doesn't help, because he is such a big dog so when people walk by him the majority tend to be overdramatic (running away, screaming, whining etc) that it makes the situation worse because they either scare him or he thinks they want to play.

any information at all would be great!!
thanks

[cyrax]

Hello.
How old is your dog? I would suggest getting your dog a muzzle for initial training. Get a metal mesh one or a leather one (might be very expensive but are better than metal muzzles). Then you will need a prong collar and a dominant dog collar. These are your tools. NEVER use a harness to train your dog. A harness is to encourage the dog to pull. Also some medical conditions result in dogs becoming aggressive. You must consult your vet and rule out any medical condition before proceeding.
Your dog's training starts @ home. We need to know if he is aggressive towards people because he becoming dominant aggressive or if he thinks that an aggressive stance is the best defence. You can easily find this out by seeing how he behaves with you. Does he jump on you? Does he lean on you? What about his toys? How does he go about with his toys? Does he growl @ you when you approach his toys/food?
If he is dominant aggressive you WILL need a trainer to help you and that could possibly last a long time. Otherwise it should be relatively easy (heheh I hope) to get him to obey you. Once you get him to obey you in the house, you can easily control him outside. This does not mean that he will get rid of his fear of Korean men overnight.
If he is not dominant and aggressive here are some containment tips that worked for some of the dogs I worked with: Put yourself between your dog and other people. Your dog is NOT allowed to interact with ANYONE on the roads. You can tell people that he will bite. At home please ensure that your guests, especially children, know the rules - Your guests are to completely ignore your dog. Do not call his name, do not look at him and do not bother approaching him. It would be best if you get a crate for your dog and train him with the crate. Do not pet your dog when he shows aggression. Do not call him by his name when he shows aggression. If you can, correct him.
Corrections: Now these are a little hard to explain if you have never corrected dogs. Some dogs respond to corrections that are as simple as a firm "NO" and others require a very firm correction that might upset people. I'd rather punish my dog and fix the problem than have someone report the dog to the authorities as unsafe (and probably euthanised). You need to correct your dog everytime he displays any sign of dominance/aggression. Timing and consistency are the key here, both of which you will learn only through practice. If you could record your dog's daily activities and post the videos online it would definitely be of a great help.
One important thing. Some trainers might suggest the dog on the back or alpha roll to subdue your dog. This WILL work for dogs that are bluffing aggression. However a dog that is not bluffing will scratch your pretty bad on the face and possibly bite you. So do not attempt this unless you are willing to take the risk.
"Protector" can be interpreted as the Alpha of the pack. You cannot control the actions of other people but you can definitely correct your dog's bad behaviour as long as he is on a leash.
Please remember that I've given the above suggestions after reading just a paragraph describing your dog's behaviour and combining it with my limited experience with aggressive dogs. I will correct myself if I am wrong about somethings.
Hope that helps.
PS: Do you by any chance live near Samgakji?

[AfricanDream]

Hi,

I have been in touch with these people. It's the Samsung International dog training centre on the outskirts of Seoul. They train guide dogs. I receiived this....
If you have some problem of training dogs, you can email us(mydog.sei@samsung.com) about that.

Then, I can give you answers about your problem with our staff(trainer)."

If you live in the area, maybe you could take the dog for training.
I have a similar problem with my retriver cross. I saved her from the landlord and she really dislikes Korean people. she won't bite, but she's terrified.

[christineleclerc]

thanks for the responses.
i sent an email to the dog centre so I am just waiting for a reply. we have started walking him on a short leash and we give him something to carry in his mouth. he likes to carry his ball in his mouth and this way he is distracted from people. i have never seen a dog who needs to check out EVERYTHING and he gets so distracted by people so we are working with him to focus on us but i think it will take a lot of time because he is so stubborn. if this doesn't work, we will try the choker but so far, things are better.
i think the problem is also educating a lot of people in my area about how to act towards dogs, ie. if you are walking..keep walking..don't get right up to us and then start running and screaming and those that aren't afraid of him will lunge at him to pat him over his head instead of holding out their hand so this scares him. do you know any korean phrases i can use to get people to stop doing this?
thanks again and yes i do live near samgakji but i think he likes their bright coloured uniforms cause he goes after them in a playful way, never showing teeth!!
christine

[Lewis2008]

If you are still having an issue with people lunging at your dog you can tell them in Korean:
Chom ship man yo: Wait (this always works)
Sal Sal- basically be gentle.
Kay ga nol lam ni da- he's (the dog) is scared.
Man Ji Ji Ma Say Yo- Please don't touch him (the Dog)

I hope these help you. I will ask some of my Korean friends if they know any more.

Lewis

[Korea Animal Transport]

hi, This is Sohee Yoon from Chungwha Animal Hospital.
I believe we talked on the phone the other day and told you to come and visit us for a consultation tomorrow! (Samsung dog trainer Mr.Chun introduced you to us)
Anyways, I have read what you wrote carefully, and will use the knowledge for tomorrow's consultation as well. Mr.Chun got it translated somewhere and sent to us, but it was slightly different than this above. :p

[jonomo]

I adopted a dog about 6 months ago.. and he had the same problem.. abused and abandoned, he had a huge fear of people, outdoors, other animals, pretty much everything.. now he's coming around great. and he loves going for walks and meeting new folk. he use to never bark, but now he's starting to bark in middle of the night at sounds of people walking by our front door.. i'm afraid he's gonna start to get toooo barky... i don't like punishing him b/c he always seems to retreat in fear... :(

[pukka]

My dog who barks at noises I cage trained. Every night he goes to
his own cage and his room is next to the balcony where people walk
and he would not care.
The moment I let him out and sleep in our room especially weekends I like it cozy :D
But then again he barks on every noise.
I cover his cage with a fleece blanket and he would sleep all night peacefully;)

[christineleclerc]

hi everyone. thanks for all your help. l
ewis2008: thanks for the korean phrases especially the one about not touching him (it works great with my 3 year olds i teach when i don't want them touching anything, haha).

jonomo: my retriever was quiet at first and with more confidence he has become territorial. he won't bark when we aren't home but he barks at things he hears when one of us is home. usually a firm NO does the trick and he realises that it isn't anything threatening...he even started barking at the popcorn popping in the microwave until i showed him what it was!! we don't cage him cause he is so big and he rarely does it. just keep telling him No. it is hard cause they have such loud deep barks but they get better with time.

chungwha hospital: thank you for all your kindness and i am looking forward to our meeting next saturday.