soft mouth training for a 14 month Rottie-Shepard cross

Question
Hello,

I have a 14 month Rottie x Shepard, weighing about 110 lbs that we adopted at 5 months from a local Humane society. He had a list of issues stemming from his seizure after the first owners had him tied up outside in November(in Canada the winters are quite unfriendly). He was only 2 months at the time. HE reacts on the leash, and this is his most aggressive moments. We did a 6 week adult training course, where most of the time he had blinders set up in out working space so he didnt get fixated on the other dogs. he would bark and lunge uncontrollably when he is close to another dog. HE would jump and bite us if we came by another dog while on the leash. HE would nip at your hands any time you tried to touch and pet him. HE is much more accepting of touching for pets, and play now, but still nibbles at hands and clothes when he wants attention, or when he plays. We have trained him to accept some fears, like puddles, loud traffic, dogs, most people and children, but he has bitten and very hard when walking in deep snow. he wants to bolt an run through it as quickly as possible. when he is off leash in our yard or the park, he often does not come when we call, and only comes close with treats and tries to run i we reach to touch his collar to leash him. if i am holding his collar too long before leashing, he will turn and start biting my hands with progressively more force. i know some trainers have said to say ouch and ignore, turn away or overt attention, but once he is in this mind frame of not wanting to be leashed when he becomes fearful, he will not stop unless i let him free, or we walk off, eventually he will calm again. this is usually what i do, but as big as he is, the bites are dangerous.

HE is incredibly friendly and calm most of the time. he plays well with other dogs, with no aggression. he loves to meet new people, but it is difficult to get him to stay calm and not jump or mouth their hands. We have been doing touch training since we got him, but the reaction to being leashed or held by the collar to come in the house or in uncertain circumstances has him biting hard and difficult to control when he does.

I would appreciate any and all help

Please let me know what you think.  

Answer
Lemon juice.  Or other bitter tasting liquid the dog does not like.  Get th elittle plastic lemon from the grocery, splash it liberally on your hand and hold a small treat in your fingers. If the dog grabs the fingers it gets the bad taste.  After a few trials it learns not to grab hands and only the treat. If the dog grabs hands or other naughty items, quickly squirt the juice directly into the dogs mouth and say, "No bad dog, juice."  Once the dog lears (and usually quickly) that juice is bad, all you need is the threat, "juice" and show the bottle. Part of the no means no porgram.

I would not have put blinders on the dog. It fears what it cannot see. The dog needs a desensitization program.   I have discribed three methods in many of the previous posts. A local trainer should be familier with at least three such programs, and you can get an excellent video from 4pawsu.com called "calming signals."

Regards and Merry Christmas
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwinmd Kennels LLC
www.dogkennel.org