Hello Our puppy is coming up for 6 months now. Similar experiences in the early days to lots of people here: very mouthy, crocodile pup in the early days, constant concern about house training. Can say that after the same worries and wondering what on Earth we’d let ourselves in for, Lottie is doing really well: she doesn’t bite at all, and is very gentle when playing; she doesn’t jump up at anyone, even when excited; she doesn’t bark unnecessarily… She’s pretty calm for the most part. She’s a real delight and has brought a lot of joy to our family (I mean she still gets the zoomies at times, and can be a bit restless when tired but I’m not worried about that) Her recall is pretty good, and she walks well on the lead. However, the problem is when we see other dogs. She stops dead to watch them. She doesn’t bark or pull on the lead, she just parks her bum on the pavement and watches. She’ll say hello nicely if the owner is coming our way but if they’re on the other side of the road, she insist on staring at them until they’re out of site. And then for another few minutes for good measure. It’s not aggressive. It’s curious. I’ve tried excitedly trying to cajole her along. I’ve tried calmly too. I’ve tried standing in the way to block her vision and I’ve tried putting a treat in front of her nose. Sometimes these work. Sometimes not. But at almost 20kg we’re clearly not moving until she’s ready Any ideas about how I can move on from this (quite literally!) Thanks
Sounds like it might be time to specifically train a release cue - a "let's go" cue of sorts. If she does a sit in this situation, then start her training with a sit to stand up cue. Start small with a sit to stand and proof it over and over in all settings. And then add on a let's go cue once she is standing. I can see this as a sit to have collar or harness attached or removed - release to a stand - and then let's go - either time to go for a walk, or time for free play. Good luck!
My six month old Winnie has done this since I first started walking her at 12 weeks. I think it’s her way of taking things in & assessing the situation. I now use come on then & she trots along, sometimes I do have to go and stand close to her for reassurance if it’s a lorry or bus. She was taught to sit to have her harness on, at the front door, at roadsides and come on then for release. Working well.
Hi, my lab had the same curious stare and plonk down to stare at other dogs. What worked for us was cueing him to walk on before he spotted the other dog and sat down, so high value treat at the ready, the handler spots the distraction, cue him to look, treat, walk on, stream the treats if you have to and away you keep on going with the dogs attention on you. Now if he sees another dog, he looks up at me, walks on and away we go phasing out the treats gradually. Consistently do the same routine and you get there. Take the treats aka his kibble out of his rations for the day of course. Hope you found this useful.
