Seeking Advice - Cat fixation and pulling on leash

[preetcher]

Hi /r/germanshepherds

I've been around here for a few weeks now, and have paid the puppy tax a few times with our girl Raksha (and will again in a comment below). I'd like to ask these questions here as r/puppy101 is kind of a shit-show and most of the problems people are having there we never had, or were trained out pretty quickly.

A bit of background:

She's a German/Czech Shepherd, 9 months old and pushing 80 pounds. We got her at around 10-12 weeks, and she's generally the goodest girl, has her basics down for the most part though we are constantly working on 'leave it' and 'stay'. She's getting a decent amount of exercise, 1.5-3km walks in the morning, fetch sessions in the afternoon and an evening around the block sniffari once the kids are asleep. My wife and I both work from home full-time, which gives us ample opportunity to work with her.

We have a fairly busy household with two young children (4 and 2), and I really couldn't be happier with her attitude and attention towards them. She learned very quickly they were off limits for play and will just lie and watch them run around. Still needs an occasional correction when they're playing in the yard, but loops circles around the kids when she's off leash in the forest.

The three biggest frustrations I'm looking for advice on are:

1. I am a play object. My wife is clearly the boss, and was responsible for a lot of the day to day behavioral training (especially in regards to the kids), while I was doing the walks and outdoor exercise for the early months. She snaps to obey my wife, but can be reluctant with me when there are distractions. She also takes a very long time to settle when I'm in the room. She'll bring over toys and drop them at my feet and pace endlessly. If I leave the room she goes to her bed and lies down. I both love and hate this. I think with time she'll get to a point where she'll recognize when I'm ready to play and when I just want to sit and have a beer.
2. Cat hyper-fixation. We have two exotic short-hair cats, one ~3 and the other just 8 months. She can. not. leave. them. alone. If they are in the room she sits and stares, we can't break her attention unless we get in front of her. If they walk she doesn't move. If they run or jump she goes into chase mode. She doesn't appear to be aggressive and seems a playful chase. She's never put her teeth on them but will be pushy with her snout and give the occasional paw slap. The kitten is the worst. She's either dumb or brave. We have a gate with a cat door to keep Raksha in the main living area and out of the bedrooms, but the kitten just keeps coming in and taunting her into a chase or play which escalates rapidly.
   
   At this point I'm considering an e-collar just so I can break her prey drive and get her attention off the cats and back to us for getting into her place.
3. Loose Leash walking. We started with a 'control harness', and went through 2 sizes as she grew. it was a cheap, soft harness with front and back clips and at round 6-7 months it was clear it wasn't working. She's a nose-driven pulling machine, and is now 80 pounds of muscle. We have been using a Halti head collar, and it's helping, but it's not perfect. It took a bit of training with it on before she was comfortable on walks, but she still tries to bulldoze her face into grass or fresh snow when it's on. My wife just returned from a walk she claimed was the "best she's ever been", but that's not my experience (see item 1). I'm starting to consider a prong collar, as I think it would be better than her head being turned when she goes too far.
   I also get some leash biting, though it's been getting much less frequent as I work with her. Though I do have to carry an 'emergency stick' for the times she's absolutely incorrigible (maybe once a week?). She has to sit and focus on me and follow a few commands before she's allowed to have it though. She is perfect with the stick, but will increase her pulling regardless of the Halti

If I can offer one piece of advice to those with young GSDs, train fetch. it's been my lifesaver. I never knew it was a trained game, always thought it was a breed thing, and they either do it or they don't. It's been an absolute savior when we can't get it together for a walk.

Appreciate any/all feedback, and if please include links to training that has helped you. Far too often I see comments of simply "you need to train them to do [whatever]", which isn't super helpful.

 

[reslute]

@preetcher oh..the Czech bloodline..

The best in the world.

But true working dogs, they need set boundaries and rules and follow them consistently. And precisely because they were bred as working and service dogs, they have a strong hunting instinct. With hard work, they can be taught to run after anything only with the owner's permission, but...

for this the dog must accept that the two-legged is the boss, the instructions must be obeyed.

- daily practice 3x, on a leash, so that he does not ignore the instructions, - later in a fenced area without a leash, so that he fulfills the "stop, stay there and come back" commands 100 percent.

- if the dog pulls, then unfortunately he has learned that he can do it. Maybe change the harness to a retriever leash, maybe a choke collar - (but first learn how to use it correctly) and start the training from the beginning with a new command word.

- Look for a trainer who really understands the breed, it's not easy, because the Czech is not the pet line for exhibitions....

- ok, these are just misconceptions, but without knowing the exact situation, I don't want to say anything about the other side of the world, because the method that is good for one dog may not be the same for another.

Although the basic rule is that the dog is only half of the story, 50 percent of the work depends on the owner.. https://www.dogtrainercollege.us/how-to-live-with-a-working-dog/

 

[preetcher]

@reslute Thank you. We had a pretty basic understanding of the Czech line origins. We're working on finding her a 'job' and I think she'll take up nose work quite easily.

We won't be able to find a trainer locally.

Those are the big three things we are working on, and we have seen progress, generally following your recommendations. Just constant reinforcement, showing her what we want. I know it takes time.

Appreciate your input.

 

[reslute]

@preetcher The Czech and East German lines were originally bred specifically as border guards in the communist bloc, to catch those who try to escape from the socialist paradise. Therefore, these dogs are mainly suitable for these jobs (about the Eastern Malinois), but the Czech line is much more civilized. ..I would definitely recommend a guardian-protector course at least at the basic level, this helps a lot in helping the dog handle unexpected events well,

 

[preetcher]

https://preview.redd.it/6llwoy7g2ha...bp&s=5491601e7e23756dc4cc1ed804dfbeefefce208c

 

[erniedavid]

@preetcher Find a trainer who teaches competition obedience and is familiar with GSDs. Harnesses TEACH a dog to pull by their very nature and haltis are for horses. There is a reason no competition obedience trainer in the world uses either. Best of luck.

 

[preetcher]

@erniedavid I wish it were that simple. We live in a rural mountain town.

We are seeing improvement week over week. We've raised dogs before but this is our first GSD and it's certainly not as easy as our last GSD/husky was at this stage.