Aussie needs help with re-training and settling down adopted GSD!!!

[Frontsite]

G'day Mike,

I have recently adopted my best mates 5 year old Female German Shepherd named Kayle. He and his wife have had Kayle since she was a puppy but recently, and for unknown reasons, Kayle attacked and killed a goat on their farm. Since they bought the farm, she has had very little training and she was able to roam free across the farm with little supervision. They have horses due to foal and they felt that they could no longer keep her and offered her to me as she and I have a very close bond having been around her since they bought her.

Kayle has had some exposure to obedience training while she was a pup and util about 18 months old and has learned what I would call a rudimentary level of obedience, that is to say that she is obedient to a point but pushes the boundaries at every opportunity. She will allow correction of her actions depending upon the volume and depth of the voice applying the "correction" and often times she needs to be repeatedly told to do something before complying.

Her history of training is sketchy, I don't think it lasted very long and despite their best efforts, my mate and his wife were not as consistent with the training as they could have been and whilst Kayle was being trained they have used positive, negative and physical reinforcement to correct the behaviour. If I could liken this to a human analogy - it appears that Kayle has developed into a teenager without familiar boundaries and as such a rebellion is in full swing!

I have been around her all her life and despite her 'scally-wag' behaviour and attitude toward goats, her rebellion and resistance, she is an absolutely beautiful Dog with a lovely temperament toward people, (goats and other dogs...ah, not so much).

I know you must be a busy bloke and I am writing from down under but I would really like to see her do well living with me and I and her need some positive direction forward to bring her back into obedience; so, I have a couple of questions if you don't mind:

1. Would Kayl still be able to respond to obedience training and if so, where should I start? Being 5 years old, is she too old?
2. Is she too old for socialising with other dogs? if not, what can I do to re-socialise her?
3. It doesn't appear that food or praise are motivators for her during training - anything you could suggest?
4. If there is anything that I haven't asked that I should have, or that you know I can do, I would be very greatful

Mike, I really respect the way you train dogs and joined K9-1.com with a client membership because I admire the way you go about your training; I really need some advice and would really appreciate your help.

If you or guys from your team are ever down under...drop me a line.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Dave (Frontsite)

[Teresa]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to then forums! How great that you are taking in Kayle, especially since you already had a bond with each other.

The starting point would be at the first layer of the Triangle working your way from the bottom up.

To answer your questions:

1. Kayle can definitely still respond to training, she is not too old. I would start from the beginning building a strong bond with her. There is a section on establishing a relationship in the aggression rehab section of this website Also begin training at Phase 1. Even if she knows some basic obedience it never hurts. You want to be certain that she knows all of Phase 1 before moving on to Phase 2 and same for Phase 3.

2. She is not too old to re-socialize with other dogs. I would start by teaching her to wear a muzzle comfortably. (see video in aggression rehab section)

3. Have you read through the Pack Structure layer of the Triangle? Are you following the rules closely? Following the rules in Pack structure can help increase motivation in dogs who are otherwise lacking. You didn't mention if she is motivated by toys (ball/ tug etc) These can also be great motivators for dogs.

Remember to start in Phase 1 in the video section and the first layer of the Triangle and work your way up.
Keep posting your questions as you have them!

Best,
Teresa