My 18 month old lab is very very excitable. So far, so normal. When I used to take her out on off lead walks she would run up to every dog she met at 100 miles an hour and want to play. I used to think this was a problem, and took steps to deal with it, but now she ignores the dogs and goes up to the owner, jumping up and mouthing their clothes/hands etc! I have resorted to the long line (again!) but this isn't a long term solution. Please help me, I am at a loss to know what to do as she doesn't behave like this at home or with people she knows.
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks My Tatze is two years old and is worse now than when she was one. I have treats in my bag and lure her past people with a treat in my hand. This works 99% of the time - but I worry about the 1%. So if it's a child / old person or a person with a light coloured coat or no dog (very rare on our walks!) I pop her on the lead before we go past.
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks Juno has always been recalled and her lead clipped on when passing people on her walks whether it is people walking, cyclists, joggers, people with dogs, people with children, horses etc. If she finds any one of these groups exciting I distract with a treat.
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks Hi, yes high value treats as you walk past with her on lead and lots of praise for no jumping up. You will get there, Hattie is 7 years old and hasn't jumped up at people on a walk for years and she's off lead, she mostly comes to me for a treat when she sees someone, unless she knows them then she gets a treat of them Use every opportunity to practise as MaccieD suggests xx
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks Hi there,what is your general recall like? We aren't reliable if there are other dogs in the area so I have to be vigilant for that ( although I cross my fingers and say we aren't soooooo bad these days.... But Dexter is almost 3 : ) I worked through Pippas Total Recall and was actually able to do a lot of set ups for recall from humans and that's what has helped us.If you can rope in assistants that is what I would suggest,try and use any visitors that come to your home to practice with and start off really small at home then in the garden if you are able..Then take it outside and use the long line as a training aid where the distractions are ramped up and she can't resist the fun and reward of running over to say hi to folks she sees x
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks Yes, it is hard isn't it? I do pop her on her lead but it means she gets no opportunity to play with other dogs as she always has to be secured to protect their owners! It also gives the totally wrong impression as I think people always assume she is aggressive as she is on her lead. It is actually far too busy in lots of places I go (or people appear from round corners etc) to make this entirely practical, and I also worry that she will never learn not to do it if she is always ushered past. I guess the only way is to set up situations as you suggest.
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks Personally I don't want Juno to run up to any dog to say hello and play, or for that any dog to come running up to her to play/greet unless I decide it is OK. I've never viewed any dog on a lead as aggressive, there are many reasons why they may be i.e. training or on restricted exercise. Juno has only been allowed lead walks since February and you couldn't get further from aggressive with my wimp It's not a case of ushering past but training whether she is allowed to greet or not. I've been pretty lucky here in France that the majority of dog owners put their dogs on lead when they see another owner and dog so the owners have the choice of allowing greeting etc.
Re: Jumping up at strangers on walks 5 month old Tara is a "people jumper", even when on the lead. She especially likes kiddies, as they have easily nipped noses! I have resorted to using an anti-pull harness, to hold her back, and she is kept on the lead amongst people. Unfortunately, our local park (the regular run) is criss-crossed with paths used by kiddies going to the local primary schools, so plenty of opportunity for her. Will she ever get off the lead?
