My husband and nephew were playing football in the park and me and Ned were sat on the side in the shade and I’d been playing some focus games with him and he was laid nicely. This family were walking along the path that runs along side and stopped watching with their black lab. The man started walking over to us. Ned stayed laying down as they approached and I was saying good, just look, good. Then he sprung up and there was absolutely no controlling him at all. He’s a massive dog, someone asked me the other day if he’s a Great Dane! He was diving around bowing at the other dog and trying to lick his neck. The other lab was older and was having none of it. The leads got tangled so the man dropped his and then when the other dog retreated back a bit Ned lunged so hard that my ankle bent over my knee buckled the other way, my other leg slipped and I ended up flat on my back. I managed to laugh about it at the time. But now I’m just mortified and upset. Ned is 11 months old now and still so reactive when there’s other dogs but this was so so much worse I thought by now we could enjoy going places with him and I just don’t feel confident going anywhere that there might be other dogs and that was before this afternoons disaster
Sorry to hear this happened. I don't have any words of wisdom, only to say I feel your pain! My boy is 13 months and gets very excitable around other dogs. I cant have him off the lead with one in sight because he would just run over to it no matter how far away. He would not be able to settle whilst another dog walked past either. And he has also once before pulled me over in an attempt to get to another dog but you did better than me cause I did walk off in tears. So I'm sorry I can't say anything encouraging! I just wanted to say you're not alone. I am told he will grow up I'm just trying to keep exposing him to dogs in a controlled environment in the hope he will just get over them!
Hi @Beezette, you have my sympathy too, my young Lab, who is 2 yrs 3months is very much like that, although becoming less so as she matures. But other dogs are still a massive draw for her. You know, reading your post, you didn't do anything wrong at all, the other man chose to approach you with his dog. Very difficult then to ask Ned to focus on you when the distraction was so close, all the advice regarding Look At That training makes the point that distance is your friend, so really you were in a difficult position. It's awful when their leads get entwined, but it seems to me you were minding your own business. Do you do any LAT training with him? It is helpful I find.
Yeah we’ve been to training classes and he would be ok there. They’d line all the dogs up and hold Ned at one end and we’d be at the other with dogs and sausages everywhere and he’d recall straight to us. It’s out in the real world where things don’t work. We try LAT. Where we normally walk can be quite narrow in places, if I see someone coming I usually get to the side and get him to sit and watch until they go passed which was hit or miss but was improving slowly. This was a great big hideous step back from where I thought we were. I think if he got to play with more dogs the novelty would wear off but because he’s so big and boisterous no one every wants to play with him
I have never let my dogs play as play can easily suddenly turn into fighting also large Labs can get damaged. My dogs do walk with other dogs, but walk and enjoy sniffs together. You really need your dog to focus on you and enjoy playing with you. Don't worry though, your dog is young and these things happen, my last Lab was a nightmare at times, it gets better with age.
Just to give you a bit of sympathy. We got Coco when he was 16 months old. Total untrained nightmare, and I fell onto my back or my face most walks in the beginning. It gets better. Toady, nearly 3 years (!) later, we had a lovely sensible walk near quite a few other dogs - no lunging. It gets better with tons of effort, then one day you come home and say "hey! that was near enough perfect", like we did today. Oh and the play thing - yes, I'm with you on that and think "if he got to play...." but he rarely does for the same reason you state. He gets supervised play at dog training once a week. I still arrange my walks to avoid other dogs. Unless I'm with OH. Ignore the step back, concentrate on the little steps forward. I promise, you ARE moving forward.
