Help with foster dog

[tollybridge]

Hi, I would like some advice please.


I have a lhasa and a shih tzu of my own but my sister has just taken in Jamie the lurcher to foster, hoping to adopt eventually.



He is 4 years old, has been in kennels for a year with no interest at all. He went to one foster home and was returned. Before that he lived with other dogs where he was caged for 23 hours a day so he has never lived in a house or had a normal life.



He has settled really well, no accidents in the house, gets on well with my dogs and my nieces dog who is a mastiff cross.



The problem is when he is out and sees other dogs he goes absolutely mad pulling and barking. We just cannot get his attention to stop him barking and if you put your hand anywhere near him he will bite.

Hes not nasty and doesnt want to fight the other dogs, I think its just excitement and he wants to play.

We were at the field today and some dogs came out of nowhere, he pulled then bit my sister and she slipped in the mud and let go of his lead and he shot off to the other dogs, he was fine with them and they with him but as a foster dog she doesnt want to let him off yet as he has no recall.

We've tried distracting him with treats and shes tried a water spray  but hes too far in the zone to listen, trying to get him to sit doesnt work  because he ignores us. She is working on training him sitting and recall with treats at home while he is quiet but I was told about a saluki x called Roly with a similar problem on here and wondered if anyone had any advice.
Apart from this he is settling really well and there are no other problems at the moment.

I'd really appreciate any advice as neither of us have had a hound before even though we are experienced dog owners

[Lisa]

Who are you fostering him for?? They should be your first port of call. If the dog was a Greyhound Gap dog I'd want you to talk to me the person who knows the dog before you consult anybody else

Sent from my SM-G900F using proboards

[emmajane]

While you are waiting to hear back from your rescue, you really need to manage him around other dogs to reduce his frustration. First of all ditch the water spray, second of all keep him a distance away from other dogs where he remains calm - if he starts barking etc then you are too close so move away. Thirdly if he is redirecting onto the person walking him then muzzle him there is a great video showing how to teach a dog to wear a muzzle here www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FABgZTFvHo

None of these methods are teaching him how to "behave" around other dogs but it will stop him getting worse and more importantly keep his owners safe, while advice from his rescue is put in place.

If the rescue comes back to you with recommendations of anything that isn't kind/force free methods then come back to us

[tollybridge]

We werent close to dogs yesterday, we were a field and a half away and he spotted the dog in the distance and went mad. We deliberately went to the fields so we could have a nice long peaceful walk thinking that we would spot a dog and be able to move away before we got too near but he was having none of it. 

The rescue said they would help with behavioural training,  waiting for them to get back. Just thought someone with experience with this breed may have more advice

[emmajane]

Lol - unfortunately it isn't what YOU think is close but what HE does. And he's telling you in no uncertain terms that you are too close for him to feel relaxed.

I feel for you, I really do. Dealing with a frustrated or fearful dog is difficult and generally requires you to change everything you do until you can work through a training plan. Walking late at night or in dreadful weather becomes the norm to avoid other people. Weekend days are bad - really bad because they are too busy. If in doubt, stay home and do some trick training to entertain him. Not being walked until you get help won't kill him, and it will give him time to let the adrenaline subside as well as not allowing him to practice behaviour you don't want.

Good luck with him - let us know how you get on

[tollybridge]

Thank you Emma jane, his whole world has been turned upside down and he needs time to understand that it will be fine. He is a lovely lad so hopefully he will relax and let us help him.