Looking for advice in walking my dog past people and other dogs. He attention seeks and wants to play with other dogs, refusing to move. I have tried using distractions and treats however this only works temporarily. This often results in needing to change direction (with great difficulty!) And being unable to walk in the direction I want to!
I found it easier to step to the side, get Ella in a sit, and let the other people/dogs walk past us. It was easier to control the situation this way. After a while, Ella got so used to the routine that she did it automatically. In time we were able to begin walking past people. If I absolutely had to walk past a dog, I'd just grab a high value treat, shove it in her mouth and get past as quickly as possible. I'll still use this technique occasionally if needed.
Thanks. Glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem! I will try this method and hopefully he realises I'm not putting up with his carry on!
I agree with what Emily said above. If you have any friends with dogs then try to set-up some training sessions together where you can walk your dog at a comfortable distance where he still obeys commands and isn’t above his threshold (pulling, not listening etc) parallel to your friends dog. Then start to move closer until you can walk around your friends dog while still maintaining control. It’s worth it as mine used to see a dog twenty metres away and would try to pull towards it. He’s not perfect now but he can walk past most dogs while paying attention to me and not pulling.
It's not about your dog 'realising" anything. It's about you teaching him that you are the most fun, important, rewarding being on the planet and the source of all good things. That's when he will give his attention to you and walk past other dogs.
The Look At That (LAT) technique is very powerful for teaching your dog to be calm around triggers - either ones that excite him or that make him anxious. You can read more here: https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/look-at-that.22184/
Definitely not the only one! Maisy still does this but not to the extent she used to a few months ago. I found that I could catch her attention easier after I started taking her to doggy day care where she could play with lots of dogs. Now that she is used to other dogs more she is less interested with random dogs in the park. She still sits and watches and will not budge if she finds a dog interesting, which is all very well sitting and waiting but if they are in the distance this can be quite a long while. High value treats don't seem to work in this situation, I just wait now, occasionally having an exciting 'look at that' episode, before giving up and then more waiting. I'm sure you know the drill.
Hi I have the same issues. It’s really hard work isn’t? I have to hold Mason 9 months back by his harness and even then he sometimes pulls forward. He just wants to greet everyone and when off lead he does! Just bought long line as I cannot have him running towards owners any more (when we are on our own he is so good) I too cannot get him to change direction he sits and then lies down waiting for them. I too try to distract but he ain’t having it. I do praise when they have gone by at their pace!!
Definitely a LAT fan here, it's one of the best things I taught my dogs. It will help you in all sorts of situations e.g. people, dogs, wildlife, cars, joggers, tractors, you name it the list goes on x
I would lure him along with a treat over his nose to get him to go in the direction you want. Look at That and Listen to That are two of the most powerful ‘tools’. Absolutely brill. I also use ‘middle’ if I think my 16 month old is going to over react but these days I am finding LAT the most useful and very effective.
Look at that technique is good. I've been using that with my 1year old... No words with it but just if she looks in the direction of a distraction then I say good (which is what i use as the marker)then give her a treat. I also remember the idea of moving away if it's too overwhelming...and as someone said food at the nose or mouth... Just doing these things recently. It's good☺️
Yes This is so like Nellie. I am always having to be on the alert and clip her on lead.she is ten months and is improving all the time. It can be stressful though,having to be continually one step ahead
Hi, it’s nice to know there are more than one dog/puppy like this. Like her name. Me too I scan the field before I let off and always watching I do get caught out sometimes. This morning walking along and out of nowhere 2 vimaraas came from behind us and were friendly, Mason followed them back to his owner and they had a nice time as we chatted.
This is something I work on in my dog training class. It is not easy to get your dog to walk past other dogs. but if you can do it in a controlled setting it is easier. I have my owners walking in 2 circles an outer ring and inner ring. this way the dogs get use to seeing other dogs coming at them. If a dog reacts they either move in the middle of the circle to get their dog in a sit and to focus on them or they over out of the outer circle and do the same thing. Once the dog is fine with all the dogs walking around them they move back into the circle. After a week or so of this exercise I move on to having the people great eachother. stopping put the dog in a sit and say hi to eachother. I find this is a high value training exercise.
We do this. We do a few exercises. We do contra-rotating circles. 2 lines on either side of the arena, walking toward each other other and passing, a big circle all walking toward the middle followed be an on-lead recall backwards (to the start position). A line of dogs in a sit down the middle and the other line have to pass through them, sometimes at a run. It is very good for us to be able to practice in a controlled environment. Coco couldn't manage this at first, but now he's getting very good. He doesn't, however, translate it easily to outside. Work in progress.
Thanks for the compliment on her name It’s lovely when you meet a friendly owner who has dogs big and friendly enough to cope with a boisterous lab. Nellie used to play with wiermiener ( sorry about the spelling) but unfortunately another dog started joining in and it wasn’t working so I changed my time for walking . Now I often run across a lab mix who she plays with.
I suppose I am lucky that I live near fields where lots of people walk their dogs. Sometimes there are lots of dogs,sometimes none. So I go with the flow and use quiet times to train , other times when there are friendly dogs she plays and when they are too small or unfriendly or on lead that all goes towards training .So I feel she is getting all she needs without training classes ,which is often IMO more about training owners than the dogs. No disrespect because classes are a godsend to some dogs and owners
Anytime, it’s a lovely name. I know what you mean, it’s hard to avoid some owners sometimes but we try our best they probably think I’m a bit mad when I’m constantly reassuring my dog or rather myself! I’m sorry I spelt it wrong that’s a shame you changed your time but if it helps you then that’s ok. Sounds like they have a great time
I thought you spelt it right but we know what we mean lol It’s just nice to get a bit of mutual support xx
