Her name is Katie, I rescued her from a neighbor who didn't have a place to take her during an emergency move. She's a black Golden Retriever/ Lab mix, sweet as can be. The neighbor rescued her from a nephew drug addict who left her for days locked in the house while he used with his girlfriend. She doesn't chew anything up, though she will pull things out of the small trashcans I have around (not a big deal, I empty them daily now). She pulls some of my clothes out of the hamper to lay next too (again, not a problem, it's kinda sweet that she does that). Totally housebroken, never an issue with that.
The big prob is she lunges at some people on the leash during walks, the neighbor said she's always done that, she's 5 years old, nothing was really done to curb the behaviour other than a NO! And a yank on the lead. This is very weird for a Retriever, she looks fine, then for some reason, she'll give a big Bark and lunge at someone, this scares the living shit outta the unsuspecting passers by to say the least. Lee and Scott know I live in the 'hood, lot's of not so nice folks about, some she doesn't mind at all, others get the bark/lunge. It doesn't seem to matter what they are wearing, she decides that she don't care much for them.
I have some experience with dogs, I trained my Akita bitch I-Da-Ho, not an easy dog to train.
So, I'm using some things with her, when someone approaches us, I say "sit...stay", she obeys those commands very well, then "look" pointing to my face to make eye contact with her, this challenges her concentration, she wants to look at them. That trick works most of the time, then I learned that she loves to get brushed, she has the most beautiful, long silky coat, that works much better. Yet, if I let my guard down for a second I never know if she'll lunge.
I know she must have some serious issues and I have to be vigilant with her training, she's smart as shit. I don't do treats or clickers for training, I think they should aim to please and get praise back for the reward. Any thoughts guys??
The big prob is she lunges at some people on the leash during walks, the neighbor said she's always done that, she's 5 years old, nothing was really done to curb the behaviour other than a NO! And a yank on the lead. This is very weird for a Retriever, she looks fine, then for some reason, she'll give a big Bark and lunge at someone, this scares the living shit outta the unsuspecting passers by to say the least. Lee and Scott know I live in the 'hood, lot's of not so nice folks about, some she doesn't mind at all, others get the bark/lunge. It doesn't seem to matter what they are wearing, she decides that she don't care much for them.
I have some experience with dogs, I trained my Akita bitch I-Da-Ho, not an easy dog to train.
So, I'm using some things with her, when someone approaches us, I say "sit...stay", she obeys those commands very well, then "look" pointing to my face to make eye contact with her, this challenges her concentration, she wants to look at them. That trick works most of the time, then I learned that she loves to get brushed, she has the most beautiful, long silky coat, that works much better. Yet, if I let my guard down for a second I never know if she'll lunge.
I know she must have some serious issues and I have to be vigilant with her training, she's smart as shit. I don't do treats or clickers for training, I think they should aim to please and get praise back for the reward. Any thoughts guys??
) to sniff and pee between the sidewalk and the street, she'll still lunge even from over there. It seems like she picks up a vibe from someone, she's been perfectly passive, waggin' the tail at some, then Bam! on others. This is gonna be a tough job, but, I love her so much, it'll be worth it.
, pics or it didn't happen 
