Moving to a new house with your Boerboel – What to expect/ what to do about it

[JonP]

I recently moved into a new house and started experiencing some issues with my 15-month-old BB girl. She has never lived in a house that has neighbors with other dogs and now the neighbors on either side of us have dogs that tend to bark a lot. This has caused some issues with her and barking back at them. She doesn’t know what to do with herself; even if the other dogs aren’t barking and she smells them outside she will get agitated and posture up (sometimes giving a few barks to try for a response from the other dogs). She also does this if she hears the neighbors talking outside on their patios.

 

The new house has also led her to be exceedingly jumpy with noises. I am not joking when I say that she freaks with every little noise. It is non-stop. The other day I was walking through the house and had some nails in my hand. She heard them jingling and instantly starting barking running from the front door to the garage door (she thought someone was outside).

 

She also will randomly take out some pent up aggression on our little dog (a small Cavalier). She will be playing by herself and then suddenly take interest in him with anything he is doing. She will then crouch down and focus intently on him for a moment before charging him full speed and taking him out. She is not very gentle when she does this and it has become a problem because I don’t trust her in the yard with him when someone isn’t watching her.

 

My main reason for posting is to generate some feedback on what other people have experienced with their BB’s when moving to a new home. I don’t want to correct her to the point where she no longer alerts me to strange noises, but I am struggling to teach her the acceptable time to respond or alert. I also would really be grateful for some feedback on her behavior with regards to the little male Caviler. I know lots of people successfully keep BB’s alongside toy breeds but lately I do not trust my BB with him.

[JonP]

Thank you Jennifer, I really appreciate all your effort with this. I reached out to a few trainers to see what they can do. I am still waiting to hear back from them...Can I ask what you were paying for your trainer? I'm trying to get a feel for the various prices. I am going to utilize an e-collar if the trainer agrees with the idea. I personally don't have anything against them...I just have zero experience with them. 

Jennifer said:

Once again that is why it is important to find an appropriate trainer :)  When my boy was 4 months old we began him in a training class with another trainer.  By 7 months he was shutting down and becoming more and more reactive, unresponsive, and starting to become insecure and acting out.  After talking to several people I knew it was time to make a change.

For the first month of training it was all fun and games with the new trainers.  Treats to toys, we were working on engaging his mind and getting him to learn every command.  I was taught "cue words" to reinforce his behaviors as well as words to end them and a "no" for the ones I didnt want.  To my surprise he was turning around fast, his confidence was building, and he was actually enjoying training. 

It was only after this point and the fact that he new what his commands were supposed to be that we introduced the e-collar.  During this learning phase toys, treats and cue words as well as praise were still used to reinfore the positive behavoirs and starting at a low stimulus to reinforce negative ones.  For instance at the beggining of the e-collar lessons we would have Shango in a "sit stay"  and focus on me.  Sniper (the uneutered distraction) would walk slowly by him.  Of course at first he would react!  So in an instant gave a simple "no" followed by a low stimulus.  As soon as he focused back on me it was a "good" and treat.  Slowly but surely we added more and more stressors to help reinforce the behaviors we wanted.  And slowly but surely he learned that when their were distractions and I needed focus he was happily and willing to give it!  For our fence guarding/aggression I never use a leave it command.  I use a recall.  He went barreling to the fence I would say "Here".  With the dogs or human running on the other side of course he was so riled up he didnt listen.  So of course it was a "no" stimulus "here" while slowly turning it up till we got our desired response of him turning and coming back. Then it was full of excitement and praise till the moment he got back to me!  Till over time he would be sure to listen for that recall and then it got to the point where why even bother going or if he does I can stop him as soon as I say..

The point is that even with the e-collar (which only becomes a negative reinforcer to a undesired behavior or a quick reminder for a desired one) especially with a nervous dog you have to make training fun and that they know what you expect out of them!  You cannot just use an e-collar without the praise, toys and treats as well.

It has been five months now and my boy has blossomed.  We had taught him to focus on me before he gets anxious or fearful and I could not have done it without my trainers :)