Luka is now 16 months old and not too well socialized. We live in a rural area and small village nearby but here in france no puppy classes or such help was available . Most dog owners pull their dogs away so luka has not had much contact. He sees a dog and pulls hard toward it barking and getting overexcited. Makes most people go the other way! Luka is not aggressive just way playful. Also he still gets overexcited when he sees someone he knows. All but one person knows to stay calm, 4 paws on the floor routine et. But he still gets wound up. He is with me all day on a house renovation project. He has heard every tool air and electric powered and nothing upsets him. Yet out walking in town if I stop to talk to someone he starts panting heavily and looks stressed then starts a high barking. He also can't lie still while trying to sit at a cafe! I am trying to find help here but so far without success. I try to encourage relaxed times and give him a treat or belly rub to say this is good, be calm. I am a calm person and he is very good with me but out in public is still a problem, help please.
Re: Help with socialising I can really empathise, having lived in rural France myself with four dogs What I would do is to take him to town with you, just for very short times to start with , no café or stops, just a very short walk around and then very gradually build this up . I appreciate the stress panting but the only way to solve this is to keep taking him , stay relaxed yourself, no matter how much he pants . Its purely the fact that he is " out of his comfort zone " but he will adapt and slowly begin to realise that being out and about can be interesting, just a matter of patience and repetition , he will get there, just take it slowly
Re: Help with socialising Thanks for your replies. I will continue taking him round town and keep at it. I am in the Correze dept near brive la gaillarde
Re: Help with socialising Ah, that's a shame. I know quite a few doggy Brits (not "dodgy", as I nearly wrote!) but no-one near you. I would have suggested meeting up with them for socialisation otherwise. We drive past Brive la Gaillarde a few times a year when we go back to the UK to visit. We normally do it in one hit, but now we've got Willow, we'll be splitting the journey up in future, so if we ever stop near you, I'll let you know and we can introduce our pups. Sadly, it won't be this side of spring now, because the ski season will have started before she's covered to travel to the UK.
Re: Help with socialising Kate is right about the socializing - do short little trips into town as often as you can, but keep them short. He will get used to it, especially if you stay calm yourself and show him all is ok.
Re: Help with socialising I am also very interested in learning tips for helping us with our boy for lying quietly at cafes. He is 2.5 years old and still does not have the patience to lie quietly while we have a coffee, even after a lot of play on the beach so that he's exhausted. No, if there is a dog to meet and greet, he will bark to let us know he is impatient and wants to get going. And even if there is no dog around, he still doesn't enjoy lying quietly while out and about. But when we get home, then he flops down for a sleep. He is incredibly well socialised and very friendly. I take him everywhere and he can cope in every situation, but as long as he is being kept busy -- he rarely will lie quietly if I want to sit and relax. He is good at lying quietly at the hardware store while I'm selecting products. But it's the cafes that we struggle with... Oh how I dream of taking a nice stroll down to a café and have him lie quietly while we have a coffee in peace!
Re: Help with socialising It took me quite a while to get my dog to be sensible in the pub. First, I rehersed a "settle" cue. I had to do this in an empty field, I still struggle if there are other dogs - but I push on. Settle means "nothing that is happening is to do with you". I stand on Charlie's lead and ignore him. He is rewarded for relaxing by more activity. Once he started recognising my stance and standing on the lead as "might as well have a snooze, it's going to be boring for a bit". I tried in a quiet pub - reward was a wander outside and so on. Built it up. It can be, and often is, ruined by someone sneaking him a chip, giving him a cuddle and so on - that's just normal life though. But it works pretty well. He often is alert rather than properly settled in the pub, but always stays reasonably still, and the periods where he will switch off and snooze are getting longer.
Re: Help with socialising [quote author=MF link=topic=8385.msg119048#msg119048 date=1413991070] Oh how I dream of taking a nice stroll down to a café and have him lie quietly while we have a coffee in peace! [/quote] I'm working on this at the moment from scratch with a 2 year old..... http://www.thelabradorforum.com/index.php?topic=8165.0 We live in Dubai which is totally dog unfriendly .Dogs are supposed to be on lead at all times and in all places ...with a lot of public places totally prohibiting dogs.Dexter had never walked past a shop ,seen a cafe or even walked along past reasonable heavy traffic.We have a provisional plan to take him back to the UK for a couple of months next Summer to escape the extreme temps of the Dubai Summer,something we never envisaged when we first got him.If we put him ( and us :) through the ordeal of a flight back I want it to be worth it,I want him to be able to come out for days with us....if his routine is the same as it is here he may as well be here ??? So I've cracked on as you can read in my thread .Dexter has a good settle at home but it's impossible for me to transfer it at the moment.I do exactly as Julie says,foot on the lead and he sits on the mat that I take with us ( I'll phase that out ) and I get my phone out and ignore him....2 things happen,he sits and stares intently at me definately not switched off for a settle or he flops down and settles but then immediately jumps up as the flies really bother him ( I've had advice on that and have a product on its way to me which I think will help) based on progress so far,I think he will do it.if it wasn't for the flies I think I would have got it because NOBODY talks to me,in fact I am viewed with open distrust I think....people stay away so I haven't got new people coming over exciting him.....but the stage is going to come when I will need that so I'm going to have to start recruiting friends ......a man walked past with a pug today,Dexter was interested and curious as he was sitting our 'look at me' prevented any reaction or any tables being harmed in the training of my dog ;D It hasn't been as iffy as I thought,I thought it would fry his brain but he's actually been very good ....the worst behaviour is actually getting to the cafe,he pulls or tries to pull like mad....massive back step to our performance on lead,but Im thinking it's because Im taking his bowl and feeding him there....maybe I should stop that but then I couldn't enjoy my coffee thinking he's hungry as he gets fed after his main morning walk which is when we go for coffee ;D Modifying to say,so sorry Laura for the hijack of your post ....I got carried away and have just realised you started the thread ...... Also MF don't want to teach you how to suck eggs....you can already take your dog into places and him not be reacting apprehensively ......that was what I was afraid of.....was terribly worried there might be barking
Re: Help with socialising At long last I have tracked down a canine club about an hour drive away. They meet every Saturday for training and socializing. I have been invited to come this Saturday. Looking forward to it a lot for finally a chance for Luka to learn to be with other dogs and for us to better our training. Will let you all know how the day goes!
Re: Help with socialising Would love to hear how you get on, really good On you persevering to find a suitable place x
Re: Help with socialising Fantastic, hope Luca has fun and you too. I think that's why I am so obsessed with this site being able to talk to other dog owners .
Re: Help with socialising Yes I am so happy to finally find help. Luka is so lovely but we do have to improve and time is of the essence as he is getting older. Luka may have to learn some French but not worried as he is a smart lad. Dexter in Dubai, wow I feel for you. We worked there 4 years and it is one hot place. Empathize the difficulties you face there with a woofer.
Re: Help with socialising This afternoon was our first session at the canine club. we arrived early so hopefully could meet one of the instructors to introduce Luka. Glad we did as Luka gets so worked up, anxious, barky etc, were able to have a little one on one before the class started. There are a lot of people and dogs and Luka was as I figured he would be-overwhelmed. After about half an hour he started to settle down. We managed to keep up with the others and do walking, sits, lying down etc etc. After an hour Luka was much better and finally starting to give me eye contact. He was the best in the exercise where he sat with the instructor and I went across the field then called Luka to come then sit next to me. One lady was knocked down by her dog and one just sort of strolled along. So there is hope in socializing Luka, it will take time but at least I have this club and people to help. The instructor did say Luka is a bit of a job but was pleased at how he did overall. As the club is about an hours drive Luka who is normally seen in the rear view mirror looking out the back was not to be seen! fast asleep on his cushion, exhausted after his first day at school! so happy to have this every saturday now, hooray!
Re: Help with socialising Sounds like a really positive session so good when they fall asleep in the car......means they were well and truly worn out
Re: Help with socialising My Daisy is about 7 months old and has spent her short life with me on a 10 acre farm, surrounded by fields. It's truly a doggy paradise, but offers very little in the way of socializing! We've been to a very useful 8 week puppy class, and am about half done with a 5 week beginner class run by a not-very-good local trainer (I'm viewing it as a socializing opportunity, since I seem to know more about dog training than she does!), and though I try to get into town, it doesn't happen very frequently. I get home from work around 4 PM and it's already getting dark. Now, with winter descending, walks around town with a bouncy Lab are even less appealing! It's so much simpler to take both dogs (Henry is a Golden mix) out into the field and let them race around, practicing retrieves and sit-stays, playing tug-o-war, working on "leave it!!" (too much tempting frozen horse poop!). The video links are quickies of the two dogs playing with their "shared" frisbee, about 2 weeks apart. Note the difference in the landscape! It is SO grim in the winter way too much of the time... :-\ https://flic.kr/p/p4a4x5 https://flic.kr/p/q7RST3
Re: Help with socialising Oh wow, what a contrast. Your dogs are gorgeous Laura, it sounds like you did so well at that class. To get him settled and responding to you was a real achievement. With further classes (ie more exposure and practise) you'll find it'll get easier and easier and more and more enjoyable
Re: Help with socialising Language wasn't a problem either as I have a fairly good grasp of French but I decided to start using french commands for new skills. This way we integrate ourselves better and become part of the club. I so wish I had found this place when Luka was much younger. He is still a baby in the words of our vet at 18 months and will I think do very well. I like very much how the instructor works with the fogs and owners. All I can say us never give up.
Re: Help with socialising Living in the Southish UK, i loved your pictures. We rarely get snow, only rain. It was great watching the dogs bounce around together.
