We have just come back from three weeks on the beach with Mole (9mo) and it was "interesting"!! First week was quiet and I had him off lead most of the time unless I saw small children and he was fine. The second week there were many more people and dogs and Mole was very keen to play. Recall went out the window!! Not all the dogs wanted to play for as long as he did so we went for a long line approach. I did walk him early mornings when there were very few people apart from dog walkers and had him off lead then so he could swim but I kept an eye out for other dogs. I think the problem is at 9 months they are very exuberant and pretty much full grown so it's a tough one. We are working on a stronger recall now we are back home!! I don't believe they should have kicked your dog though - horrible experience. Hope you're both ok. Go with the long line - ours was a bit shorter than 30ft I think but gave him some freedom and me peace of mind! And maybe try the early mornings - worked well for us! Sam and Mole
So sorry you had such a horrible experience. Some people really aren't nice!! There was no reason to kick your dog! I think a 30 ft long line would really help so you could stop him running to on lead dogs if needed. I spent a lot of time making myself more exciting than other dogs by jumping around, talking really excitedly, and always having something in my hand to play with. This really helped as she will 95% of the time ignore other dogs. Occasionally she will say hi, but stops, looks at me and waits for me to say 'go on' after I've checked with the other owner. Harley has her doggy friends whom she plays with when we are on walks, but rarely interacts with new dogs unless they are labs!
What a truly horrid thing to do to a puppy, I do hope you are both OK and there are no lasting effects. Long leash and working on a strong recall sounds like a plan. Just remember your pup is still a baby and in their world everyone loves them and are there for the sole pleasures of fusses and playtime!
Thanks for advise. Just have a question as I cant seem to find the answer after re-reading the long line training. How do you stop her in full running mode to make sure she does not hurt her ie: do a back flip like a bungie jumper. Other lesson was not to turn it into a chase....
The best thing is to attach the long line to a back fastening harness. Then there's no risk of hurting your dog or of back flips It's also important to be very vigilant and to scan the environment for anything your pup might want to run to. Don't wait to act when the 'object/person of desire' is 20m away - act when they are 100m away. Get your pup near to you, get their attention on you and gather up and shorten that line. Only let the line lengthen again when the 'object of desire' is long gone. And working very hard on your recall is also critical.
Just awful, you were very restrained which I'm afraid I wouldn't have been I will never understand what makes people tick. You have had great advice about long line training so good luck and hopefully you won't meet any more wicked people. xx
Rachael has hit the nail on the head - you can't relax for a second, and have to be constantly scanning for things that your dog might react to. At this stage, it means your walks may not be the relaxing pastime you had envisaged, but training at this stage will mean that, down the line, you will be able to relax. My DH is a bit rubbish at this; when he doesn't see something and I point it out to him, he'll say "oh, but I was looking at XYZ". Apparently, he can't look at two things at once ...
Yes I figured about looking all the time. My wife is not that good so it tends to be me. I was more question the round the dunes/corners situation. They are the ones I wont see coming. On reflextion of yesterday, I could and should have done more. Lesson learnt and wont do that again. In general her training (and mine) us going well. Working through all the books and articles so getting there.
We can't avoid all tricky situations. Everyone has the odd set back. And we're all definitely still learning!!
I'm a little confused at the thread, but at some point you say Vanilla jumped at a kid? Don't you think it was a bit of a stretch to have an untrained dog off leach in a beach with kids? Imho, Its pretty understandable if it was his kid, why did he kick Vanilla.
I don't think it's understandable or OK to kick a puppy or dog (unless it is actually attacking you, another person or your dog). Anyway, Vanilla's owner now has a plan to prevent the whole scenario from arising again, so it's done and dusted.
She jumped up to say hello for a second and the kid responded. Not sure I get your comment: 'Imho, Its pretty understandable if it was his kid, why did he kick Vanilla.' But I now have a plan moving forward through the advise here...so can bow move on to the next challenge that awaits..
I don't mean to say it is ok to kick a dog, but the jump at the little kid might have been seen as a risk to the child. I really don't know the age and size of Vanilla but a big lab can be really scary, either to a child or a chiuaua....
I find long lines quite tricky and even if you have your dog in a harness (which you absolutely must do, never on a collar) it is difficult to stop a strong dog running at full pelt. Even with a harness on, they come to a very, very sudden stop if there has been any slack in the line. Not having slack in the line is key, stomping on the end of the line after your dog takes off, and waiting for him to hit the end of it, isn't the right way to use it in my view (and if you are holding the line in your hands this can damage you too). I'd start your training with it in a quiet place, in the open so you can see other dogs and people approach, get used to handling the line, and working out the best way to use it. For me, I found that the best use of a long line is to allow me to stop things going wrong by rapidly shortening the line to normal lead length when I spot a distraction (before my dog) and to quickly get hold of my dog to recover a situation if it goes wrong - rather than stop my dog once he has taken off.
Agree with you re being scary depending on circumstances. She is 18weeks and approx 40cm in height to the spine, so not very big. But neither are excuses. I will just make sure it does not happen again...
Thanks for the advise. This was pretty much how it went today with the long line. Worked well, when distractions occured and she was off fir a swim even though it is winter here...that was less fun for me after...
We were just hyper alert with the long line and I shortened it when I saw any potential distractions. I do have a bungee attachment on the line and a harness. We seemed to be able to cope fine as long as I was alert and when walking around the dunes I just shortened the line to a manageable length. He actually picked up in it very quickly and started to sit when he saw other dogs approaching until I checked to see if it was ok to let him off and play or just walk by. Nothing beats a beach walk with a lab. Hope you don't have any more incidents, sounds horrible. Sam and Mole
There are much better ways to handle situations without resorting to violence children can be just as damaged by seeing violent behaviour
I agree. However being a father myself, I might have done the same. And seeing my own puppie, things can happen real fast and in dire straits... you act, and that's it. That's why i'm saying: Putting myself in the place of the father, with potential injury to the child, his reaction is understandable.
So what happens if the person who is with the puppy decides to "protect" their puppy by punching you ? Abuse and violence breeds abuse and violence there are better ways of dealing with this type situation
