Hi. Dyson is now 8 months and doing well with one exception. When out walking on a loose lead the pulling has almost stopped, he sits at the pavement and waits to be told to cross ( which I am really proud of ) unless he spots another dog. He goes nuts...or should I say wants to play. I've tried bribery with food - not interested. I've got him to sit while the other dog passes - he literally ends up on two legs with me holding on tightly. I'm at my wits end so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Driven to despair..! I also had this - and still have it a bit if an off lead dog comes for a sniff and hello. I struggled, and I'm sure others will give you better advice but I got passed this by: Charlie on a padded harness so I had no hesitation or fear of hurting him if I needed to hold him very strongly or even drag him away - sometimes backwards. Never, ever, allowing him to get to the other dog if he was lunging - telling the owner of the other dog we weren't going to say hello, so please walk on. Hugely high value treats - over the top - messy fish in oil and roast beef at one point. Keeping his attention on me way before we were close to the other dog - and either sit and almost constant C&T with super high value rewards for keep sitting (not everyone thinks this is a good idea but it worked best for us), and then later, walking passed quickly with me holding treats and talking in a high pitched excited voice.
Re: Driven to despair..! Yes, what Julie said. I'd add that it is important to be proactive in scanning the environment and getting distance between you and the other dog as soon as you spot one. Distance is your friend. What a dog can't cope with at 5 metres they can cope with at 20 metres. Get to a distance at which your dog can cope. Then lure him into a sit in front of you with his back to the other dog. That way you can see what's going on while keeping your dog's gaze on you rather than on the other dog. Use whatever treats you need to use to get your dog's attention - keep shovelling those treats in. It can be hard to handle a clicker as well as treats as well as your dog - you don't need the clicker, you can just shovel the treats in and use slow sounding soothing words as praise for giving attention to you. In time, things will improve. He'll learn that the arrival of another dog on lead heralds sitting for yummy treats. He'll start to look to you for his treats and it will all gradually become easier. It is probably best to initially put a ban on interacting with other dogs on lead. You want him to give up on the possibility of getting to say hello. Or, if he is in fact anxious about the other dog, you want him to be relieved of the pressure of saying hello. We have a permanent ban on interacting with other dogs on lead.
Re: Driven to despair..! There is light at the end of the tunnel Sam was a shocker for pulling towards other dogs , I never thought we would get past this stage but food helped , I taught him the Look at Me command, it took ages but slowly slowly we got there , and as said , its made easier if you can cross the road , distance is your friend whilst you teach
