Need some help urgent!!!! - Page 3

I would keep him on leash right with you; play on leash right with you, inside outside doesn't matter, then when he needs a nap, walk outside to take care of business, play a little all on leash with you, then let him nap in his crate, but put him in his crate with a treat (now you can take off his leash). When he is napping. When he wakes up, leash time again with treat to outside to take care of business then back in with you and back on his leash; use his kibble for treats and praise, gain his trust back with praise and treats for now.

Nan

Nan,


So for leash training has gone excellent, he's much more responsive, she has left him alone and let me maintain control. He hasn't seemed scared or afraid of me, I am going to give this a lot of time and patience as I don't want to push to much to soon but so far so good, he has responded very positively with the training on the leash at all times. If I leave the room he comes with me, he does good or sits, anything positive he gets some of his blue wilderness food. I will continue to update with progress and negatives.


Thank you,

Brian

Sounds great; he should do really well for you. good luck Nan

You are getting good advice and i am happy to read things are moving forward positively. The crate not only will help with house breaking [ destructive chewing starts soon! ] but will keep him away from the other dog. Ever hear '' separation makes the heart grow fonder''? You will have better control of his enviroment and you should make certain you are ready to deal with the pup rather than react to the pup in the wrong fashion.

GSD,

We haven't started to crating yet, I am worried if I put him in a crate all day that he will resent me more. He has had the issues with what seemed to be neglect from another male, is it a good idea to crate him right now while we're still getting over those fears with him? Everything else is going good, he hasn't had any accidents, chewed anything outside of his toys, and I have been working on me as well. I am trying to get better with my PTSD from combat and that unfortunately had come with a short fuse to anything not just the dogs, I'm still in therapy myself but lately seeing him battle his own has made me realize why I needed a PTSD dog in the first place, it's helping me be more patient and sympathetic where I may not have once been before. I love my dogs, especially Gunner (the GSD pup) him warming up to me more and more again helps me stay level headed.


Thanks a million guys,

Brian

Bfitz - it sounds like you have gotten the dog that you need. Good luck and good thoughts are with you.

Bfitz: The crate is his safe haven where no one or no other dogs can bother him; use my guys crate as a safe place but it can be a negative thing to newbies that have not used them before; I feed in the crate and "NO" you do not leave him in it all day; just for naps; to eat so no one can bother him; and if you go for a short period of time (say to the store or therapy) say not more than 2 hours they are great. However if you do purchase one get one that he can use as an adult also. Put next to your bed and let him sleep next to you in your room or let him sleep in it in the living room or wherever he is most comfortable. Think of it as his doggy house. Or not...

Much safer to travel a puppy/dog in a crate also. So hopefully you can find one to fit your car or truck and when he goes with you, put him in it. Maybe have one folding crate for the car rides (or truck rides) and one separate for your house. Good luck Nan

Bump

Ditto for the vet first.
Extremely unusual for a pup to hide, scream and pee if recent behavior was much different. Extreme fear makes a dog pee as well as extreme pain.
Any chance the pit bull attacked him when both were left alone? My neighbors male pit often does that to his female companion when they are left alone and get agitated barking at passing dogs from.up on the third floor. I can hear him.going after her, which has made her incredibly vicious towards male dogs.

As for training your new pup as a PSD for PTSD. Unless this is health/injury related rather than fear, you can pretty much forget his future as a service dog. This type of work is extremely stressful on any dog and if you are not starting out with a rock solid puppy, you would be foolish to expose other people and their dogs to a dog that will fall apart under stress and possibly be dangerous. And it is not fair to your dog to put it in a position where it will be impounded and PTS.

As someone on their second service dog, there is nothing that makes me madder than my dog being attacked by someone else's  dog.

I do not mean to be cruel but with so many fake assistance dogs out there giving real service dogs a bad rep, a puppy like yours would be immediately rejected from being fostered as a working dog candidate. You can do the Vollard Test on your own puppy and see what happens.

I am sorry but there are some things training cannot fix. I hope it turns out to be a fixable problem but I am skeptical. Just because the dog will "only be for PTSD" does not mean you can cut corners on a stable temperament and the ability to handle stress, which are absolutely necessary in a working dog along with general good health.

If you are serious about raising a working dog, you need to get another puppy or young dog. If you do not take advice from me seriously, contact the Fidelco Foundation and look at their website. They are a premiere facility for guide dogs and have their own exclusive breeding program, getting their stock from Bavaria, I believe. You can even get on a waiting list for an extra puppy or a dog that does not complete seeing-eye-dog training, which many times go to police departments so they are not crap dogs. Last time I heard, they run about $3k, a lot of dog for the money!

Good luck to the both of you!

Kinolog, I don´t think so.
Both Brian and the pup do have their own problems, and they may be able to help each other.
The OP loves this dog, and he feels responsible for the pup.
Result: He learns to control his feelings, because he doesn´t want to frighten the dog.
On the other hand the pup seems to be very sensitive, and will be able to help the OP, in case it´s able to bond well.

What´s the main reason for a PSD?`To help - in this case to help mentally ( I really don´t want to know what you have seen, Brian, no wonder you need help - and dogs are first choice to help against nightmares ).

This may become a win-win situation. Don´t give up, Brian, this little bugger needs you.