Thread: Help i have now made an anxious gsp/lab

I have created an issue with my gsp/lab cross by telling him off for constantly marking while walking and training. He now will only walk in front for half of the block before he gets anxious and urinates whenever i give him a command. He then gets between my legs and refuses to walk in front again.

Help! Im really disappointed because he was doing so well and ive gone and screwed him up

It’s not terminal, my last shepherd did this for a while too.
I backed off the training a bit, lots of playtime, reassurance, then after a month started training again.
He was fine.
I think I just pushed him too hard, to fast.

I noticed in my GSP heading that too much telling off is also very negative for him and he gets timid. Its hard though, too much slack and hes a crazy boy

during sheep dog trails a dog is allowed to stop and piss........its a good thing,social networking,putting your mark on someone elses thread....
when you relax,the dog will too.
my big black bitch was a shocker for the pee in submission thing,I can still cower her to peeing stage with not much morethan a look.....its managable once you realise dog is mirroring YOUR MOOD....heck I can play chess with daughter and dog picks up when Im in a corner and comes close to make sure all is ok....stop n smell the roses,let dog know its ok. good luck and keep us posted.

Get another breed well actually get a bitch. Much more biddlebal and not so high strung.

He becomes unfocused and will not follow commands as he would rather go piss on something, so thats a behavior id like to reduce atleast. He is now relieveing himself randomly while walking and will come and cower between my legs. I have never told him off for squatting and urinating properly just when he cocks a leg. He is fine for a while and then decides that he wont walk in front as soon as i tell him anything, even slow down.

Make a cardboard cut out of a policemans leg and praise the hell out of your dog when it pisses on it. If you ever get a visit from boys in blue, your dog will know exactly what to do

Well, i guess there is a first for everything, first time i have heard of a dog reprimanded for pissing...dogs use their marking to find their way over the same trail, bloody handy when i am lost and the dogs not.

Sounds like a whole heap of confusing things going on here. you don't tell him off for pissing "properly" or for "squatting" but only when he cocks his leg ? Male dogs normally piss by cocking a leg unless they are bought up in a place with no trees or things to cock their leg against and will go into a small squat to pee.
Is he entire ? and what is his age. He may be marking if his hormones are kicking off.
As Mimms says, he is now probably associating pissing with being told off, so you will have to swap to praise for pissing until he knows if ok to do.

Originally Posted by matto1234

He becomes unfocused and will not follow commands as he would rather go piss on something, so thats a behavior id like to reduce atleast. He is now relieveing himself randomly while walking and will come and cower between my legs. I have never told him off for squatting and urinating properly just when he cocks a leg. He is fine for a while and then decides that he wont walk in front as soon as i tell him anything, even slow down.

Impossible to loose his way, he has walked the same block a million times but is non responsive when on a pissing tangent. He is one and a half ,entire and is much better in different or new areas. I stand still and tell him to carry on when he goes between my legs , takes a fair while sometimes before he will walk again

Im not trying to sound hard, but agood dog is just as cheap to keep as a bad dog. Just way more rewarding, you will have this dog for another 10 yrs or more are you prepared to put up with that for that time frame. I had GWP Bitch that was always cowering or pissIng submissively, it had no confidence and got to be dangerous so I shot it after 2 yrs. Got a replacement for free off the breeder and never looked back.

My dog (gsp)used to do this.Even when I came home from work and he greeted me at the door he would have a nervous pee....I dont know if I did anything wrong but it drove me nuts....I changed the routine slightly by coming in the back door and not making eye contact...praise and rewards when he came up to me..no growling for peeing.It stopped fairly quickly.When in the bush the dog is the leader....(I am still the boss)...he goes where he wants and I follow...I'm the shooter not the hunter...he is the hunter let them pee or do what they do but stay just in front and hunt.....I have had my dog for 13 years and he has pointed 100's of deer ...so glad I put the time into him....good luck.

Originally Posted by Filthman

My dog (gsp)used to do this.Even when I came home from work and he greeted me at the door he would have a nervous pee....I dont know if I did anything wrong but it drove me nuts....I changed the routine slightly by coming in the back door and not making eye contact...praise and rewards when he came up to me..no growling for peeing.It stopped fairly quickly.When in the bush the dog is the leader....(I am still the boss)...he goes where he wants and I follow...I'm the shooter not the hunter...he is the hunter let them pee or do what they do but stay just in front and hunt.....I have had my dog for 13 years and he has pointed 100's of deer ...so glad I put the time into him....good luck.

same same,I changed the when get home routine to...I come in gate and squat down and give quiet pat when dog comes over...no hype or pressure,works most of the time.the other time she will still pee is coming off chain at kennel.....the excitement is just too much.look away and wait...then continue.

re the stand between legs...shut them.if dog wont go infront,turn around,dog now in front...stay CALM....you will get there...its possibly/probably all the nervous tension in air due to the bubble thing,not to mention there is a hell of alot more dogs/people waling around than usual.

Take him out for a good fun run with you on a pushbike to burn off some energy before you start training. Take him away from this normal route where I am guessing 10,000 other dogs are all marking

just be carefull on pushbike....especially on warm day....very easy to take the pads off paws....