Looking for some advice or tricks to help teach my year old Harrier how to ignore other dogs when on a walk, that will work off leash if possible. He's very excitable and over friendly, think the kind of person who likes to run up and give you a hug despite never meeting you. which is an issue of course and means less and less time off lead as i never know what dog is coming round the corner of forest or on the beach and its not fair on other on lead dogs if he bounds up to them. Now I am working on his recall and have went back to basics and I am now using a whistle and working in my local park beside my house. Thankfully there are no other dogs but plenty of smells and he will come every time. I have him on a harness and long line but he is doing beautifully coming each time i whistle and i click, treat and let him go again. Today he ignored the nearby sheep in the neighbouring field (thankfully he isn't to interested in live stock and field is secure) as well as showing interest in a neighbours labradoodle in its yard and came after three pips of the whistle which is the note i am using. but i have yet to try this when out on walks and I don't want to kill the whistle. is there any tips on getting him to focus on me and not other dogs when out on a walk? I've been that naught owner with the deaf dog more than once due to him slipping his collar and I want to nip it in the bud and solve it. also treats? as the ones i had been using were limited edition they were turkey and goose semi moist and i can not find any similiar that he will love as he can't have chicken due to intolerances and ordinary turkey he isnt to fond off. Needs to be low fat if possible as he is on a diet lol
I would first train ignoring other dogs on lead as it is probably too much to ask for off lead to start of with. I use a "look at me" cue or you could use a ball or a favourite toy to get him to focus on you in these situations. As for the low fat treats how about sardines, a firm favourite here?
I've taken to keeping him on lead but it falls on deaf ears with him, he gets so hyped up even after the dog gets out of sight. look at me doesn't work, sit doesnt work only thing that works is dragging him on. its like he gets tunnel vision XD I am now the crazy person out on a walk with treats and toys falling out of nearly every pocket lol he turns his nose up at sardines, he's sooooo fussy got the cats to come running though
Do you have any friends with dogs that you could set up some distance desensitisation with? Could you maybe attend some training classes to help around other dogs? As for treats, wow turns his nose up at sardines what about bits of turkey frankfurter?
none handy enough and they're just as bad, so tend to just hype each other up. My local trainer is a little out of the way for me, and last time i contacted him when charlie was younger about it, he wasn't very welcoming so put me right off. He gets around other dogs alot, just focusing is his issue on me, he just wants to play think its going to be a case of stubborn out doing the stubborn hound. haha anything to smell he hates for a hound I think mine is kinda broken. hmmm havnt tried turkey frankfurter that might be worth a try! he loves natures menu meat treats but at £3 a packet they were gone in a day
Shame you don't have any calmer dogs around and about the trainer. Now that Charlie is older might your trainer be more positive? Have you ever clicker trained? You could start to clicker train for EVERY look at you on and off lead. We do this with our rescue Lab x Pointer Charlie which is really helping his focus. It's such a positive method of training and if my Charlie can focus I am sure your's can
right now I'd rather avoid the trainer is possible as money is tight and the results i've seen from others who use him havn't been exactly wonderful (dogs not listening and charlie is more obediant so I dont know) I have actually, I use a clicker for his re call and despite only being 4 days he's doing great, i can have the long line trail and every 3 pips of the whistle he comes rushing back without hesitation. That's actually a very good idea, might help with teaching him not to pull as well if i can get him to focus more on me. Thank you ^^
Ignoring other dogs, when he is supposed to be doing something else - eg focus on you, walk at heel, play a game with you - is a differently matter from recalling away from other dogs. They go hand in hand to some extent of course, but you rightly identify that you need both. This is because if you only have recall, your dog will recall but then run back over to other dogs - then you'll recall again, and so on. Eventually, you'll just bust your recall constantly using it like this. So, as you say, you need your dog to stay calm and focused on you when he sees another dog. There are various different techniques to do this, a bit long to explain in a post. Two books that you may find very useful are: Control Unleashed (or the puppy version, which is just as useful) by Leslie McDervitt When Pigs Fly by J Killon They contain slightly different, and in my view not entirely consistent techniques but they both work. I prefer control unleashed to when pigs fly, but that's because it's more compatible with gundog stuff, which I try to do. Best of luck with it.
Control Unleashed, YES. I have both books JulieT mentions and found I got the most mileage out of CU but they both have valuable information.
My Lab was rewarded with a tennis ball, so now he sees other dogs he come rushing back for the ball. It does have a wee problem though as he scans the horizen to look for a dog, just so he can rush back to me for the ball!
Thank you everyone ^^ I will look into aquiring the book from somewhere, seems quite pricey but if it works I don't mind. Managed to find a bunch of treats he is going crazy for....weird dog tried them once before and nope but mixed them all into his treat bag and went and got a special rope, squeaky toy just for distraction training so he hasn't seen it yet as its hidden in my bag.
