Hi everyone, Not been on here for a wee while hope everyone doing well and enjoying their growing pups! I'm writing in desperation for help/advice really. Rosie, who is now 5 months, is coming along nicely training on the lead. BUT, other dog owners insist on making a huge fuss of her, baby talking her and giving her treats. So essentially they are training her to jump up, be silly and out of control and rewarding her for it. What can I do?? I've tried asking them to ignore her as I'm training her to walk/not jump/ manners but it seems to fall on deaf ears and they pamper her more for being a puppy and doing so well! Driving me nuts! So does anyone have any advice how I can train her to have good manners outside the house (she is trained to behave well with visitors to the house - doesn't jump or go silly) despite others making a fuss of her when she's jumping up etc. they think its cute 'she's only a puppy' but she'll knock 'em over in a month or two she'll be much bigger - they won't be schmoozing then!! Help please- finding it so stressful out on walks now ((
Re: Help with walking! I agree that it's really a challenge - and very annoying - when people do this and reward jumping.... Is she being walked off-lead, meaning that she is free to go up to people if she wants, or on lead? I'm assuming it's on the lead, since you said she was coming along well with her lead walking If she's on the lead then that means you are not too far away from her when people approach, which means I'd suggest the strategy of being very proactive in getting her to sit for a really good treat (or, even better, stream of treats) from you before people are close enough for her to jump on them. She has to stay sitting or you immediately walk away with her. Don't worry what other people think of this! To get her to sit without jumping you might need to have the treat in front of her face initially. It might also help to crouch down beside her, holding her collar and giving treats, while she is patted. Whatever it takes to keep those paws on the ground. I think the answer is to be really proactive and assertive about the need for her to sit and the need to immediately depart from the scene if she jumps up (whether encouraged to or not). Unless you totally avoid people you can't control what they do, so focus on stepping in to control what your dog does instead. I'd also do more practice with visitors to your house - keeping Rosie's focus on you while sitting as they entice her to jump (starting with fairly low key invitations to jump then making it harder with more enthusiastic invitations as she gets better at resisting the invitation). All non-jumping should be rewarded with awesome treats (like roast chicken) that outweigh any benefits of jumping up.
Re: Help with walking! I feel your pain, it drives me mad when people indiscriminately feed/reward my dogs when out and about. A friend of mine once solved this by announcing loudly to all strangers not to feed the dog as she was diabetic....worked like a charm apparently.....didn't stop the verbal or patting praise but it was a good step in the right direction for a greedy lab.
Re: Help with walking! Much sympathy Jennyann - I get similar but with me it tends to be other dogs on leads. Charlie is 6 months now and about 25% of the time still lunges towards other dogs on his lead. I feel the worst thing will be if he lunges and is successful in getting what he wants (to say hello to the other dog). I'll be stood still (I can't walk away without literally dragging Charlie along backwards) encouraging Charlie to walk on with me, waiting to reward any move in the right direction, Charlie lunging, other dog strangling itself to get to Charlie - and the other owner gives in and allows their dog to pull them over to Charlie. I have started to say "no, we won't say hello if that's ok, he is not allowed to lunge" - I had to say it 3 times the other day, and got told that my dog "only wants a friend to play with"! Rachael - your advice is good for me too I think, thanks.
Re: Help with walking! Can really empathise with this situation, its a proper pain : I really struggled with Sam on lead for a while and so we undertook some really intense training, walking round the village . It started to pay off, making him sit and " look at me " then a reward , but a lady I know used to watch out for me, come out into her garden and call out to Sam who would then lunge like a bucking bronco to cross the road to her . I tried being polite but it fell on deaf ears and in the end I just had to tell it like it is, insisting that she ignore Sam when out and about , she was a bit iffy at first but hey, our dogs, we call the shots ;D
Re: Help with walking! If i don't want people to let their dog near mine i have been known to invent a dose of kennel cough
Re: Help with walking! I'm with Kate, I just tell people how it is now. Would you dream of handing sweets to someone elses child without asking, especially if they were misbehaving? So why do people think it's ok for a dog. : Lochan and Barbara - great ideas ;D Helen x
Re: Help with walking! I came across a website selling collars and harnesses, with leads, that had printing on them - a variety......blind dog, deaf dog, the yellow dog one too saying scared or anxious - can't recall quite the words now. There was also one with "TRAINING" embroidered on it - think it was blue - different colours for different problems. Do you think this might help?
Re: Help with walking! I've seen them here too in one of the daycare centres .....really good idea.The ones here fixed onto your existing lead or harness x
Re: Help with walking! I know that this one says for Staffies but it shows all the leads with different dogs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STRONG-AS-LEATHER-STAFFORDSHIRE-BULL-TERRIER-COLLAR-LEAD-HARNESS-By-Dexil-/171104063105?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Kitchen_Steamers_Cookers_PP&var=&hash=item27d698ce81
Re: Help with walking! At puppy class we were given advice to overcome this problem which was to tell the person to 'stay away as my dog has mange" Very similar to the above advice of the invention of kennel cough, works like a charm.
Re: Help with walking! What were we just saying... David's dad has just arrived, I am ready with treats in hand and Hattie & Charlie sitting beautifully infront of me totally focused so as to avoid 'jumping up', I say SEVERAL times "just go into the kitchen Geoff" what does he do, he stands watching me and then patted them before I had released them, but to their credit they didn't jump . It is other people it's not us or our dogs. arrrggghhhh Helen xxx
Re: Help with walking! [quote author=charlie link=topic=2346.msg22460#msg22460 date=1377354052] It is other people it's not us or our dogs. [/quote] Yes...er...mostly. Muddy pawprints on the front of the lady jogger's WHITE (of course) leggings this morning was definitely my puppy. :-[ :-[ :-[ So got to crack this jumping up thing. He doesn't do it often now but, boy, when he does it he does it with style...
Re: Help with walking! Oh god Julie.....anyone that can get away with white leggings deserves muddy paw prints on them the show off!!! I say Dexter doesn't jump and then suddenly a random leap occurs......sometimes at me. so actually he does!so when does it stop?does it? ??? We had visitors yesterday,same routine as ever,allowed a couple of barks,then told quiet,sit and stay and treats at the door....allows visitors in,no jumping......although didn't stay in sit :-[.....we are walking into the lounge chatting and I turn round and Dexter is up by my friends head.......luckily they have dogs .....but chihuahuas..... ;D Today he stayed in sit at the front door while the water man delivered ,all the movement of water bottles getting brought in past him,money changing hands and door locked.....didn't move.....has me stumped sometimes I tell you!
Re: Help with walking! Charlie is just the same, Angela - he was as good as gold today when the girl who helps me out from time to time came to give a hand with the beds. Laundry bags in and out, piles of sheets and pillow cases thrown down the stairs. Perfect puppy. Wagging his tail and waiting quietly for a cuddle when she had a chance. 10 mins later, a delivery man comes with a single box and hooligan jumping up puppy puts in an appearance. : (PS - not sure she was really getting away with the white leggings. So perhaps she deserved it. ;D ;D ;D)
