Training this dog to not go crazy around other dogs.. I wanted to quit being a dog trainer. This video contains paid promotions. Check out Solid Gold’s premium dog foods: https://solidgoldpet.com/zak ⭐️
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oof that title spooked me for a sec. really appreciate the honesty though! even professionals struggle sometimes 💪💪💪
He is a street dog. Direct and immediate interaction wih other dogs was his only social interaction and he clearly wants to interact with them. Direct interaction was his way to survive on the streets.
I suspect what I have is a street dog too. 3 years of training and he’s still bonkers around other dogs. Nothing works so far. I’m starting to think some dogs just have to be managed.
@RandomJane Ofcourse some dogs will always need some level of management!
Just like some people, some have to be managed more than others..
Wow, since the first day we “met” Bree, I thought you would be incredibly lucky to have her be with you. What a treasure she is! You did it ~ good man! lol
Zak！Thanks for being so real, and yes, there is always a day that our dog is just ‘not yet’ get it and it takes time to practice! I love how your wife said this is the next time, so let’s start it fresh~ So much respect, and thank you so much for what you have been doing!
The biggest difference between today and yesterday is the sheer number of dogs and people! This is hard for dogs to generalize. Every time is different. You’re doing fine, he’ll get it.
“Motivating him to behave a certain way from the inside outward”. I really connected with this statement ❤️
I also disagree with the more aggressive training devices. I am glad Zac refuses to resort to them.
So do good balanced trainers… any aversive in this situation would not lead to anything but more fear and anxiety. Why not play an actual game with the dog that has an objective without demanding all this obedience so that you have to use a scented ball to keep the dogs attention?
even though it was rocky at first, when he calmed down a bit you could see that he’s able to get a little closer to the dogs than last time without freaking out. Even a little bit or progress is something to be celebrated, especially when it’s so obviously difficult to obtain!
Zak what do you think about Dr. Ian Dunbar’s approach to reactivity? Or Emily Larlhams? Reactivity is a huge issue in your training style rn seeing how much you’re struggling, and a lot of people I know who watched your vids ended up with reactivity problems in their dogs, including myself, resulting in the need of searching for different approaches. I tried the whole balanced thing as well for some time until I settled back for going back to positive methods with Dunbar’s tug drills and Emily’s prevention and counterconditioning.
One thing I’d also love for you to address in a video sometime is the correct use of counter-conditioning. I realized watching Emily’s course on the topic last week on her dogmantics website that I counter-conditioned poorly before and made no progress because of that at all, and not because +R training didn’t work.
Basically if I see a dog from a distance and my dog hasn’t seen it yet and I take a treat out in preparation, I have to make sure my dog doesn’t notice that. Because if he does, and then sees the dog, the classical conditioning connects me reaching for the treat with the treat itself. So the dog isn’t really the prediction for the treat! Counter-conditioning needs the element of surprise, in her words, rewarding each time they see a dog, look to you instead, and start looking away again. And I never realized that in any video of any creator outside of hers.
Edit: Sorry btw for being so straight-forward and possibly rude, I owe a lot to you and your videos and love what you’re doing in your newest series. Reactivity is just that one issue that I personally struggled with a lot, and have only seen properly tackled in Dunbar’s and Emily’s resources, whereas Emily has some of it behind a paywall and Dunbar is very hidden in the dog training community, despite his immense impact on dog training.
A huge “Go raibh maith agat!” (Thank you!) from Ireland. My GSD is 1.5 years old and is my lifeline to get me out of the house and dealing with my PTSD. He is great off lead at socialisation classes with other dogs but has the same issues as Chop on lead.
We’ve been doing some sessions in the park where we sit or walk at a distance away from the paths and he watches other dogs. There is *some* progression but it can be disheartening.
He’s my best friend, though, so I’ll never give up on him. Thanks for providing good positive reinforcement techniques and also showing me that it’s fine to feel disheartened at times.
Your patience is amazing. Both of you are growing throughout this process. Enjoy watching your journey.
My god was this relatable. I’ve finally managed to get my dog to almost automatically sit down or lay down, when he sees a dog he wants to go towards. He’s become more or less reliable at not just lunging towards them and instead wait patiently for them to come to him. But it’s literally taken me close to 10 month to even get that far. And you can completely forget about it if he sees a dog bigger than him. The struggle is real and I get your frustration.
Oh Bree, being a ray on sunshine in Zaks dark moment. ❤️
I notice how he is much better with dogs moving slowly rather than running or quick moving dogs (which makes complete sense to me). My Marzieh would be similar. She is good as gold with dogs who are walking but if one runs past, hang on!
I love how real this is! In a lot of ways Chop reminds me so much of my dog and it’s so nice to see your positive training techniques on how to handle this type of behavior. Also, you and Bree make such a good team! Love to see it!
It took me YEARS to get my oldest’s reactivity to what I would call an 80% manageable state. I had zero success for several months when I used a mix strategy that included strategies other than positive reinforcement. Once we brought in a positive reinforcement trainer, that helped jumpstart things, but it still took years of implementing those tactics daily. That being said, the trainer ended up not being for him exactly, the trainer was to teach me how to communicate with him, which I think is what the majority of owner + professional dog training is. Now, when he knows there will be a reactive dog in our neighborhood and he hears it bark, his instinct is to look at me for his treat!! So Zak, thank you for not giving up on Chop! Some just need eeezxxtraaaa time to really crack the code against reactivity.
Thank you so much for this video, this is exactly Mando. Our trainer quit us and said she wouldn’t work with Mando until he was medicated. We’re not giving up 💕
Dont give up dogs like this can for sure be trained and from experience the meds dont work. I never got my hyper dog to calm down near other dogs but he was trained and I fully have faith in Zak finding a way to break the focus on other dogs.
Chop is like 1-2 years old, right? With situations like this, people have to keep in mind that you’re trying to under 1-2 years of an established behavior. It’s going to take time to help him with his reactivity. He did really well in this though! And I can’t wait to see that breed reveal!
My dog Loki used to be like this, I got him aged 2 1/2 and he was lunging at everyone, if they had a dog it was worse, after 3 months of avoiding other dogs I managed to get a trainer. Loki’s problem was like Chop’s that he had built up frustration cos he wanted to meet other dogs but was not allowed to now cos he can meet them he’s calm and actually not that bothered anymore. Chop needs to interact and play with other dogs! I understand it may be difficult because of his size but he needs to burn off some of that energy and frustration. Couldn’t you arrange a get together with some owners and let him play with other dogs? He has to at some time. I hope there’s a couple of videos this week cos this snippet wasn’t enough to satisfy my desire to see Chop! I love him to pieces
I’ve been trying to get my dog to learn any outdoor leash skills for a year now, and have made virtually no progress. Seeing this is both heart warming and soul shattering. I’d sell my firstborn to get my dog to learn any leash skills.
This is the most refreshing training series I’ve ever seen, so often we see highly receptive dogs or demos on dogs that are already mostly trained. It is so validating to see an experienced and qualified trainer show their struggles and set back, we reactive dog owners appreciate you!