Hello Terri, My experience working with the Thai Ridgeback seems very much like what youre describing. I find they can be rather moody regardless of age, sex, etc. I find it often relates to what there needs are at the time or whats going on in the environment at the time. it could be too cold, too hot, dog is tired, or excited, needs to relieve itself, etc...it could be any myriad of things but for whatever reason the dog is not so interested in me and what I want to happen at that moment. Kinda like a cat, eh? In regard to corrections you could call them sensitive, but I call them reactive. Ive been trained in a more traditional method incorporating positive reinforcement along with corrections. However I do not think the traditional physical leash pop corrections are always appropriate for all breeds, and the Thai Ridgeback(along with other primitives) is one of them. the Thai ridgeback in the wrong mood/state of mind will often object to such corrections. In these circumstances I would opt to use something like a squirt bottle or shake can to disrupt the unwanted behavior. These types of corrections are less likely to bring out any dominance issues and allow us to convey to the dog that something it did was not acceptable without a confrontation. If you do happen to get into a confrontation over a correction i would advise you not to just stop the session. that would only teach the dog that it only needs to snarl and/or scream at you to get out of the task at hand. Instead push through but modify your approach to minimize the dogs objections/reaction. taking a step back to give the dog some easy successes is a good idea as well before aiming for some quick easy wins with whatever caused the problem in the first place. We always try to end on a good note but if thats not happening just put her away and start again later. I find that at first many of the TR do not show much prey drive(not really into the toys) especially if there are food rewards around. They can be motivated with toys but i needed to ditch the food rewards for awhile and tighten up on the amount of freedom the dogs had. starting them with a toy on a string also really helped to build drive in them. Once youve got her into the toy, trading for food treats can help to minimize possessive tendencies. Ive attached some pics for you. This was her first day on the agility equipment. The other pics are just us hanging out and the dog being quite the social sweatheart (so long as nobody asks much of her). Keep in mind they arent all like this (dominant, independent, pushy, challenging/questioning, etc.), though as a generalization i wouldnt disagree. I do have another female that comes across as quite biddable. she has a very different personality though her temperament is much the same. From my experience the other breeds you mention are all high drive dogs: much easier to motivate and focus. Those dogs love working where the TR is more "freedom loving". Its something I try to keep in mind when working with them.
Who is that dog on the homepage? I dont know but I think its a pretty sad example/representative of a Thai Ridgeback.
Feel free to email me. Id like to hear more of your experiences.
James
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