Jazzy is now six years old. She's a sweet-natured dog until..... a skateboarder goes down the street, a truck with a trailer rattles down the road, a wire-haired dog is heading towards us (seriously, I don't know why, but it's a thing.) or a cyclist whizzes by. Then, she turns into this screaming ball of female as if there was a spider on her chair.
Tonight, all four happened at once. Now, I bought this new "Cesar Milan" type training lead. And it seemed to work really well. She's heeling practically like a pro and learned to ignore a few squirrels, (forgot to put them in the list above) but man, my heart jumped into my throat tonight when she went after the skateboarders. She was securely restrained, she wasn't going to get them, but with the fuss she put up and the noises she made, I just wanted to kick her.
Yes, I got mad at my dog. The rest of the way home on the trails in the woods, I gave her the riot act about learning to act her age. "Jazzy, if you managed to break free and chase one of those teenagers, someones gonna yell, PIT BULL attack, and put you down permanently. Don't you get it you stupid dog!!!!"
So, I'm not sure how to cure her or get her desensitized, except to put her in more situations but I'm thinking one of those training farms. Send her away for two weeks and get a new dog in return, right? ha ha ha. They work, but I couldn't do it. For now, I will just keep plugging away with her training and see if I can get her to settle. It may take until she's 13 before it happens.
She is so prey-driven yet so scared of every noise that she hears. I can see the conflict on her face, "Do I chase it or run from it?" Poor baby, I guess I'm not that good a pack leader. I have to growl a little harder and be a bit more assertive and maybe, just maybe, she'll settle. grrrrr.....
Okay, she is not as bad as all that, but sometimes it feels like it. Sorry, guys, I just needed to rant and rave.