Bob hardly ever barks, I mean every now and then he'll let one out in the house and it'll make us all jump as it's so unexpected! OH will tie him outside a shop and he'll be fine as well. BUT tie him outside a play ground area and he'll just lose the plot totally! I KNOW it's because he wants to join in and play and thinks he's missing out on the fun and he has done on a couple of occasions at a certain park where dogs are allowed (he particularly likes the roundabout and slide... lol!) But our local playground does not allow dogs and my little boy loves to play there. So we usually do a walk along the river first so that Bob can burn a few beans and then tie him up so that my little boy can have a play. (Trying to keep everyone happy here!) We have tried ignoring the barking and going back and rewarding him with a treat when he's quiet. But he generally shuts up as soon as he sees me coming towards him so not sure the treats are reinforcing the silence so to speak. Just wondered if anyone had any other suggestions we could try? Thank you!
I would suggest a kong as this would keep him occupied but don't know how this sits with eating after exercise. It's hard to ignore a barking dog especially if there' slots of people using the park!
I think it's a lot to ask, to tie a young dog up and have him see his people walk off and engage in activity and play while he has to watch. I'd say it's something that you would have to build up slowly, starting with a few seconds in a much less exciting place and going from there. Certainly, I reckon Charlie would go nuts if I did this with him without taking it very slowly.
I would say take you son out separately to the park, walk the dog or go to the playground - not both.
Agree with Boogie on this one. It's a lot to expect Bob to miss out on all the fun while he sits tied up. Is it possible for either you or OH to stay with Bob while the other goes into the playground and treat him for being quiet.
It isn't an issue when both of us are with Bob, because one person can stay with him to keep him calm or carry on the walk. It's when it's just one adult plus Arthur and Bob.. we can't physically be in 2 places at the same time. We discussed it more over dinner and have decided that it's not fair on him as it's the only time he's noticeably stressed out. He such a chilled dog usually. So we will try and avoid parks from now on when Arthur is in tow. I just wondered if there were any training tips. But it seems that avoiding the situation completely from now on is the best way forwards... By the way, I MUST get a video of Bob going on the slide and roundabout at our other park. He totally adores it!
You could get him to be ok with it, it is a training issue in a way - you could train him to sit there without being tied up (if you wanted to put the time in to do that). You would train it in the same way as anything else: tiny baby steps, building the duration and distractions very slowly and so on.
Problem is I'm usually tied up pushing my little boy on the swing! So it'd need both of us there. it would be a very useful thing to train that's for sure. what steps would you take? 1 minute tied up to start with with lots of treats for being good then leave the park, then 2 mins, 3 mins etc? And build it up like that? He'd have to be tied up as we tie him up inside the park and dogs aren't strictly allowed to be there...
I have only tied Charlie up outside the ranger's office at the Common, and outside the cafe when I'm on my own and get a cup of tea. The first time I did it, I tied him up, and stood with him giving him a stream of treats. Then I walked away for a few seconds. I returned, untied him and we went on our way. Then I walked into the office and back out again, gave him a treat, and went back into the office. Next time I left him long enough to buy a map...and so on. I haven't progressed this further but the next steps would be to do it somewhere more exciting. I wouldn't be able to start with him watching any form of play because he is not relaxed in those circumstances even when I'm with him. So I'd say with Bob, you'd want him to be able to calmly watch the playground for the length of time you are going to ask of him with you at the side of him. So can he do a proper settle and relax with you there? Once he can, I'd walk away for a bit, then a bit further, then for a bit longer...only pushing it as far as he is successful and remains settled.
