My German Shepherd, Duke would get hold of one of my heels in his mouth when I
attempted to walk away. He would hold it quite firmly, but not hard enough to
hurt and would not allow me to walk forward, but instead attempted to lead me
back into the room. This could have been a two fold problem, a ranking problem
and the German Shepherd's herding instinct.To cure Duke of this, I first reassessed any factors which may be leading him
to believe that he should challenge my rank. I considered the ranking factors previously discussed, click here if you want to review them.
I ensured that I applied any ranking factors stringently, to ensure that he was
aware of my higher rank. Once I had established this, I used sound aversion
therapy whenever he attempted to grab my heel in his mouth. For a discussion on sound aversion therapy click here. I found that a bunch of keys that I normally had in my pocket worked quite
well when I dropped them slightly behind him.
The problem was quickly solved. I suspected that it was his herding instinct
that was the reason for this behaviour.
If this procedure had not solved the problem, I would have been more concerned
that it was a ranking problem. If I had felt that he was showing dominance I
would have shouted a loud "No" and assumed a threatening position and given him
a long hard stare. After which I would have ignored him.
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