Hi. My Labrador is so friendly and lovely that she wants to say hello to every dog she meets. This is fine, but she will see a dog on the other side of the park and sit down. She won’t move, even for chicken. She will just sit patiently and wait until the other dog either comes close enough to greet or leaves the park. It’s a busy park so it’s impossible to get her out for a decent walk. I’m left standing in the middle of the park. Any ideas?
At least she sits. My 9mth old lab bolts off determined to jump on & play with other dogs. Not always popular with other owners! Yours seems fascinated. Have you tried running off & calling her to run with you
All young dogs have the tendency to do that. There are several threads on the topic but essentially you need to make yourself more interesting than the other dog. Best is to use rewards. Initially a-lot of them during the duration that you pass the other dog. And keep reinforcing that you are getting the attention. With time the dog will be focused on you when other dogs come. To the point your dog will calmly walk by the other dog even when that dog is pulling and barking to get attention. As all of these training steps it is easy if you take the time and build up to the distraction level. Ie in the beginning i would change direction ir go to other side of the road, etc. good luck. And look how Pippa explained it as she does a much better job than me
My 9 month old stops the second she sees another dog. If they are far away she will run forward a little then stop, and keep doing this as I walk but as soon as we get close she runs over to them. She is very good in that she will stop and let the other dog come over to her first to see if they are up for playing, if they are the she is a very happy pup! If not she will just come running back to me. If we see a dog she likes to play with I tell her she can go but she won't run over until we get closer. I have used the phrase 'this way' when I want her to come and follow me. She is very responsive to this and knows that she needs to be with me.
Allowing dogs to meet on the leash is not good form and makes it harder to stop the behavior. Unfortunately all to many dog owners are to keen to let their dogs greet other dogs on leash. I outright tell them that I don’t want it. Does not make for many friends. that said I do let my dog of leash to play with other dogs. Actually outside of city Perci is never on leash. Yet the decision to interact with other dogs is mine. We are not perfect Yet by all means but good work in progress (long leash helps). But we work on it every single day. Makes for a calmer dog and more relaxed walk
